This interview originally appeared in the September/October 2024 Horn Book Magazine as part of the Publishers’ Previews: Fall 2024, an advertising supplement that allows participating publishers a chance to each highlight a book from its current list. They choose the books; we ask the questions.

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With text by George M. Johnson and illustrations by Charly Palmer, Flamboyants: The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I’d Known explores a singular epoch in African American history from a queer perspective.

Photo: Vincent Marc.

1. Who among your subjects would each of you most like to have met?

GMJ: Langston Hughes. He was connected to everyone in the Harlem Renaissance. Countee Cullen because he was so complex; his story is fascinating. He mentored James Baldwin.

CP: Langston Hughes and Josephine Baker. Hughes, a great writer, appeared to be a cool person. Baker revolutionized the entertainment industry.

2. George, what pieces of queer culture from the Harlem Renaissance were you most surprised to discover?

To me, Hughes’s “Spectacles in Color” is one of the earliest essays on LGBTQ ballroom culture. And learning that Zora Neale Hurston’s manuscripts were almost burned when she passed away and were saved by chance. We could have lost a lot of history!

3. Charly, which subject was most challenging to paint?

None; each carries their own energy. I paint based on my feelings rather than on what I see, which makes the experience truly enjoyable.

4. George, do you think we’re seeing a Black Renaissance in writing for young people today?

Definitely. When I grew up I saw so few writers for Black young adults. Now we have so many (still not enough) telling the stories we needed when we were teens.

5. George, do you have words of encouragement for librarians facing censors?

They are not alone. Society is on their side; authors will continue to write books for them to place on the shelves. They are superheroes; focus on the lives they are saving.

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