New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson answered students’ questions and dove deeper into her writing during a virtual author’s visit on Feb. 9 at Oak Park and River Forest High School.

During third period, multiple English classes and individual students arrived in the Little Theater to hear from Jackson. The event was organized by school librarian Amber Hooper and moderated by OPRF freshman Malynn Widd.

Jackson is the author of multiple young adult novels including “The Weight of Blood,” “Monday’s Not Coming,” and “Allegedly.” Along with providing page-turning stories, Jackson covers important topics like sexual assault, drug abuse and racism in her novels. Her debut novel, “Allegedly,” was nominated for the NAACP Image Award in 2017.

Hooper explained that Jackson was selected for a visit because of the popularity of her books in the school library, saying that, “Her books are some of the most widely circulated books in this library.” Hooper also credited the fact that Jackson has had books on the Illinois Student Choice Lincoln Book Award list the past two years. The Lincoln Award is voted on by high schoolers, who also have a say in what books make it on the list.

During her visit, Jackson discussed her novels, writing process, motherhood, life as an author and more. Jackson also imparted important advice to the students in the room. Widd said some of the advice she found most helpful was understanding that writing “doesn’t have to be perfect your first time. Writing is a creative outlet. You don’t have to force it.” Widd said she wanted to be the moderator for Jackson’s visit after she enjoyed reading “Monday’s Not Coming” and thought the experience would be fun.

Students at the author’s visit were able to submit their own questions to be answered by Jackson. Questions spanned
multiple topics from the themes in her writing to aspects of her daily life. “The fact that students were able to hear from a New York Times Bestselling author, I think that’s inspiring,” Widd said. “Just her being able to answer questions direct- ly from the audience.”

The author’s visit was an impactful experience for those who attended. Xiomara Grachan, who attended the visit with her English class, said it made her think more about the people behind books. “It’s hard to reflect back on a book and think about the fact that a real person wrote it,” Grachan said. “I don’t always think about that. I usually just think about the book, the plot, and not who wrote it.”

Hooper agreed, saying an author’s visit “makes the books come alive. It makes the human behind the story more
real.” Jackson’s visit was the second author’s visit of the school year. Earlier this year, the library partnered with the English Division and hosted a visit with Sara Farizan, author of “Why I Learned to Cook” from the young-adult literary anthology “Fresh Ink.”

Looking ahead, Liza Wiemer, author of “The Assignment” will be visiting in-person with history classes, and Monique Gray Smith will be visiting virtually to talk about her book “Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults” with the environmental science students. Hooper pointed out that, “In the library we enjoy reaching out and partnering with the divisions we feel will be most connected to the author.”

Students who missed Jackson’s visit can look out for next year’s list of author visits on the library’s website at the end of May.