Netflix & Chill? YA Love & Romance
Young love is a beautiful thing, but no two couples are ever alike. We’re bringing together four writers, each of whom examines the joys and dangers of being head-over-heels in their own ways. BRITNEY S. LEWIS (The Dark Place) brings us a horror-romance between two Black, time-traveling teens who attempt to solve a mystery that could change both their lives; KEITH F. MILLER, JR. (Pritty) introduces us to characters who find themselves torn between romance and safety after the murder of a Black journalist; JONNY GARZA VILLA (Canto Contigo) explores the ways grief changes their main character, Rafie, and how that affects the relationship he wishes he could have with his mariachi rival, Rey; and LAUREN YERO (Under This Forgetful Sky) writes a star-crossed love story following Rumi Sabzwari and her companion, Paz, in a starkly unequal world struggling to find their place.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
BRITNEY S. LEWIS is the Kansas award-winning author of The Undead Truth of Us and The Dark Place. She has a B.A. in corporate communications with an emphasis in business and art. When Britney isn't daydreaming about new stories, she is an urban hiker, exploring the city on foot, looking for iced coffee. She can also be found watching TV shows with her husband and her pup or practicing West Coast Swing. She lives in Kansas City. LEARN MORE
JONNY GARZA VILLA is a product of the Great State of Texas; a Sagittarius sun, Capricorn everything else; a former very bad baseball player and a former pretty good drag queen; a plant parent; and an author of contemporary young adult novels inspired by their own Tejane & Chicane and queer identities including their debut novel Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun, a Pura Belpré Honor Book, a Finalist for the Texas Institute of Letters' Jean Flynn Award for Best Young Adult Book, and a Kirkus Best YA Fiction of 2021 selection; Ander & Santi Were Here , a Stonewall Honor Book, a Barnes & Noble YA Book Club selection, a LatineLit Bestseller, an AudioFile Earphone Award Winner, and named a Best YA of 2023 selection by Bookshop.org and Audible; and, most recently, Canto Contigo. They live in San Antonio. LEARN MORE
KEITH F MILLER, JR. is an award-winning educator, artist, and researcher who studies healing literacies and their role in supporting BIPOC communities in healing, growing, and thriving through trauma. The founder of Healing By Any Means, LLC, Keith’s work powers people, projects, and healing-centered research in service of systems and narrative change through the arts. He has an MFA in creative writing from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, NY and an MS in educational psychology from University of Wisconsin - Madison. Keith is also an executive producer of Pritty: The Animation. Pritty is his debut novel, book one of a series. LEARN MORE
LAUREN YERO is a Cuban American writer and teacher who writes speculative, near-future stories of resistance, adventure, and first love that question the structures our world is built upon. Born in Florida, she received her BA from Davidson College and her MA in Literature and Environment from the University of Nevada Reno. Her desire to connect more deeply with her Cuban roots led her to study and work throughout the Spanish-speaking world—including Chile, where she drew inspiration for her debut novel Under This Forgetful Sky. She lives with her family in the mountains of western North Carolina. LEARN MORE
HOST
NICOLE ZELNIKER (she/they) is the author of several books, including Until We Fall, which was a finalist for the Forward Indie Awards in LGBTQ+ adult fiction. Their forthcoming historical fiction novel, From Where We Are, comes out with Vine Leaves Press on May 21. She’s also the founder and editor-in-chief of the literary magazine Knee Brace Press. In her free time, Nicole enjoys re-reading her favorite books, listening to musicals, and bothering her cat.