A neighborhood writer is about to have no less than two extra books – each Cherokee-related – to be printed in 2024.

Brad Wagnon’s journey in literature started in 2015, when Alex Stephenson got here to Wagnon with the thought to create youngsters’s books with Cherokee tales.

“[Alex] does [kids books] on his own, and he wanted to do some books on Cherokee stories, but he didn’t know which ones to do or what to do, so basically, I provided the stories in my own words, and then he did the illustrations for them,” Wagnon mentioned.

Stephenson and Wagnon self-published their first e book – “How The World Was Made: A Cherokee Story” – about eight years in the past. “The Land of the Great Turtles” was printed out of Tennessee across the identical time. Native Voices Books later produced a 3rd e book for the duo referred to as “The First Fire: A Cherokee Story.”

Wagnon’s want to provide Native tales didn’t cease there. He additionally got down to publish some books in Cherokee and English, so establishments like Cherokee immersion faculties may use them. In 2020, Wagnon’s and Stephenson’s first two books had been produced in Cherokee and English by Native Voices Books.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wagnon mentioned, the duo took a break from creating their literature, however in 2022, Wagnon had the thought to create a e book over the Cherokee syllabary.

“I wanted to do it like an alphabet book for kids – like a board book, but I wanted it to be the Cherokee syllabary,” Wagnon mentioned. “The idea I had was that we would take syllables out of the syllabary, we would find a word that had that syllable in it that was significant to Cherokee culture, and we would basically make that page for that syllabary character themed after that word.”

Stephenson determined to create extra youngsters’s books of his personal, which prompted Wagnon to discover a totally different illustrator for the syllabary e book. Wagnon then met Cherokee artist Beth Anderson, who shall be illustrating his Cherokee syllabary board e book. Native Voices Books now desires to broaden the syllabary e book into two separate works – a board e book for youthful youngsters and a hardback image e book with extra data added for older readers. The e book for youthful readers will drop April 2024, whereas the opposite will seem in August 2024.

Wagnon has one other e book set to drop in 2024 in Canada, and he mentioned this has been an eye-opening expertise. The literary work shall be a fourth- by means of sixth-grade stage Cherokee historical past e book. Wagnon mentioned he’s not sure if or when the e book shall be distributed within the U.S. Saunders Book Co. has a sequence over Native American tribes, and so they cowl about 5 tribes a yr, with Cherokee being one of many chosen tribes this yr.

Wagnon had lots of enter on the e book, so he mentioned it made him really feel like a “real author,” since most of his literary works up thus far had been retellings.

“One of the things that I wanted – since they were from Canada, and I didn’t know how much they knew about Cherokee culture – was to have the final say about what got put out there,” Wagnon mentioned. “I didn’t want something put out there that was not representative of true Cherokee culture. I didn’t want headdresses and teepees and all that kind of stuff.”

Wagnon mentioned his and Stephenson’s unique objective, when this literary journey started, was to contribute tales to the world that may final for generations.

“I think it’s everybody’s goal to not be forgotten or to contribute something to the world, and that was our goal – to contribute. It has never been about making money or being famous,” Wagnon mentioned.