CANR
WORK TITLE: Slay
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.authorbrittneymorris.com/
CITY: Philadelphia
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; husband’s name Steven.
EDUCATION:Boston University, B.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
AWARDS:Four-time winner of NaNoWriMo.
WRITINGS
Contributor to Chimaerid.
SIDELIGHTS
Brittney Morris is a writer who incorporates her love of reading and playing video games into her work. She studies economics at Boston University and also founded and served as president of the university’s Creative Writing Club. Morris is a four-time winner of NaNoWriMo.
Morris published her first novel, Slay, in 2019. Seventeen-year-old honors student Kiera Johnson is the only Black girl at Jefferson Academy, which leaves her feeling isolated. However, at home, she plays the Slay video game, allowing her to connect with Black gamers through the Nubian-themed role-playing card game around the world. She keeps the fact that she is the game’s developer a secret from everyone. When a gamer is murdered over an in-game dispute, though, Slay is demonized in the media for inherent racism. While attempting to protect her identity, she attempts to set matters right while maintaining that it is righteous to be unapologetically Black.
Writing in the American Booksellers Association website, Morris linked her decision to overlap the every-day world with the gaming world in the novel as it mirrored her own experiences as a child. She shared: “Growing up, I lived between worlds like Kiera did. Among my family and other Black people, I could be myself unapologetically. At school and at church, I had to code-switch or use my ‘telephone voice’ and be constantly mindful of white people’s feelings. It felt like stepping in and out of an alternate reality. Kiera literally hops between worlds, so it felt natural for her real world and the gaming world to overlap.”
In an interview in BookPage, Morris talked with Olivia Rhee about her motivations for writing Slay. She recalled: “I was inspired to write Slay after seeing Black Panther on opening night. The minute I left the theater, I was wishing someone would create a Wakanda Simulator video game. Since I’ve never programmed a video game before, I thought writing a book about one would be the next best thing.” Morris continued: “Walking into that theater was my first experience walking into a room full of Black people and feeling total unconditional acceptance, regardless of the music I’d heard, how I was dressed, how I spoke or whatever other impossible criteria I’d inflicted on myself before allowing myself to feel ‘Black enough.’ I knew the minute I left Wakanda that I had to go back. So I came up with the idea of a girl who gets to go to ‘Wakanda’ whenever she wants.”
A contributor to Kirkus Reviews opined that “nongamers might get bogged down in the minutiae of the game play, but the effort is well worth it.” A Publishers Weekly contributor lauded that “this tightly written novel will offer an eye-opening take for many readers and speak to teens of color.” Booklist contributor Enishia Davenport stated: “More than a novel, this is a conversation about safe spaces” and “why they’re necessary for minorities.” In a review in School Library Journal, Desiree Thomas remarked that “readers are invited to learn about the black experience in game culture through a compelling new lens.” Writing in Nerd Daily, Sasha Zatz noted that “the characters are so lovable.” Zatz concluded that “it discusses race, identity, relationships, and more in such an important way at the same time as being impossibly fun to read. What a gem of a book!”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, July 1, 2019, Enishia Davenport, review of Slay, p. 66.
Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2019, review of Slay.
Publishers Weekly, September 18, 2018, CLaire Kirch, “Simon Pulse Acquires YA Novel Inspired by ‘Black Panther’;” July 8, 2019, review of Slay, p. 86.
School Library Journal, July 1, 2019, Desiree Thomas, review of Slay, p. 50.
ONLINE
American Booksellers Association, https://www.bookweb.org/ (November 20, 2019), Jessica Palacios, author interview.
BookPage, https://bookpage.com/ (August 12, 2019), Olivia Rhee, author interview.
Brittney Morris, https://www.authorbrittneymorris.com (November 20, 2019).
Nelson Literary Agency, https://nelsonagency.com/ (November 20, 2019), author profile.
Nerd Daily, https://www.thenerddaily.com/ (October 9, 2019), Sasha Zatz, review of Slay.
Slay website, https://www.slaythebook.com/ (November 20, 2019), author profile.
We Need Diverse Books, https://diversebooks.org/ (September 17, 2019), author interview.
Bio:
Brittney Morris is the author of SLAY. She holds a BA in economics from Boston University because back then, she wanted to be a financial analyst. (She’s now thankful that didn’t happen). She spends her spare time reading, playing indie video games, and enjoying the rain from her house in Philadelphia. She lives with her husband Steven who would rather enjoy the rain from a campsite in the woods because he hasn’t played enough horror games.
Brittney is the founder and former president of the Boston University Creative Writing Club, and she’s a four-time NaNoWriMo winner.
Current reading: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Rosie Brown
Currently playing (or watching a lets-play of): Baba is You
Currently Listening to: Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak
Q: Can I get a free copy of SLAY?
A: I do book giveaways on Twitter and Goodreads, and via my newsletter. And when SLAY releases on September 24th, 2019, please check your local library! To request an ARC, please contact my publicist via my Contact page.
Q: What are you working on next?
A: Way too many things! Editing book 2, writing book 3, guest posts, conferences, and bookstore appearances. For a full list of where you can find me, check out my Events page.
Q: What's your favorite video game?
A: What a cruel question to answer; how dar you? Okay, okay, I'll narrow it down to three: Undertale (if you've played it, you know how mind-blowing it is, and why it's on my list). Papo & Yo (which explores intergenerational trauma and mental health like I've never seen). And Dance Dance Revolution (because it's the closest I'll ever come to working out with a smile on my face. Don't judge me).
Q: Can I interview you for my blog/channel/site/podcast?
A: I love doing interviews! Please contact my publicist via my Contact page for interview/appearance requests.
Brittney Morris is the author of SLAY. She holds a BA in economics from Boston University because back then, she wanted to be a financial analyst. (She's now thankful that didn't happen). She spends her spare time reading, playing indie video games, and enjoying the rain from her house in Philadelphia. She lives with her husband Steven who would rather enjoy the rain from a campsite in the woods because he hasn't played enough horror games. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @BrittneyMMorris, and online at authorbrittneymorris.com.
Brittney Morris is the author of SLAY. She is also the founder and former president of the Boston University Creative Writing Club. She holds a BA in economics. Brittney spends her spare time playing video games, slaying at DDR, and enjoying the Seattle rain from her apartment. She lives with her husband, Steven, who would rather enjoy the rain from a campsite in the woods because he hasn’t played enough horror games. You can find her online at AuthorBrittneyMorris.com and on Twitter or Instagram @BrittneyMMorris.
Simon Pulse Acquires YA Novel Inspired by 'Black Panther'
By Claire Kirch | Sep 18, 2018
Comments
Courtesy of Simon Pulse
Brittney Morris.
After a lively auction involving seven editors from the Big Five, Simon Pulse, the Simon & Schuster teen imprint, acquired North American and audio rights for Brittney Morris’s debut novel, Slay, in what Quressa Robinson of the Nelson Literary Agency disclosed was a six-figure deal for two books. Morris, 27 and a graduate of Boston University with a B.S. in economics, who recently quit her job in Seattle as a business analyst to write full-time, says that the Black Panther movie inspired her to make her first serious attempt at writing fiction.
“I left the theater a Wakandian queen,” she explained. “And then I went back to work the following Monday, back to the same routine. Nothing had changed after my religious experience that weekend. It felt like I was living a double life in a way, like I had a secret identity that stepped into a whole different world when I left the office.” The solution to this dichotomy for her was to sit down and whip out—in 11 days—Slay.
RELATED STORIES:
More in Children's -> Book News
More in articles by Claire Kirch
Want to reprint? Get permissions.
FREE E-NEWSLETTERS
PW Daily Tip Sheet
More Newsletters
Slay is the tale of 17-year-old Kiera Johnson, a black teen game developer battling a real-life troll intent on ruining the Black Panther-inspired online role-playing card game she has created and that has become especially popular among black gamers worldwide. But when an African-American teen, Jamal Rice, is murdered during a dispute over the in-game currency (“Slay Coins”), Slay is widely disparaged in the mainstream media and elsewhere as a racist, exclusionist, and violent hub for thugs and criminals.
Faced with the threat of an anti-white discrimination lawsuit, Kiera suspects that a rich, white, male classmate at the private school that she attends, Wyatt, is behind it. Desperate to maintain her secret identity as Slay’s developer, Kiera proposes a virtual duel to resolve the dispute: if she wins, Wyatt drops the idea of litigation. If Wyatt wins, Kiera hands over to him complete control of the game.
Courtesy of Simon Pulse
Jennifer Ung.
“It was a perfect storm,” Simon & Pulse editor Jennifer Ung recalled of her initial response to the manuscript. “It’s a commercial concept with deep emotional themes and a voice that really pulls you from page one. The book beautifully explores what it means to be a person of color in a world without a lot of safe spaces; as an editor of color, that really resonated with me. It’s a well told story with nuanced characters you want to root for as they navigate difficult situations.”
Slay will be published simultaneously in hardcover, audio, and digital formats under the Simon Pulse imprint in fall 2019. The author and agent, who retain television/film rights, report that they have received queries to date from close to 20 TV and movie studios interested in adapting the book for the big or small screen. Nelson Literary Agency also disclosed that it is fielding “multiple offers” from U.K. publishers, and that Slay will be the agency’s featured title at Frankfurt in October.
After writing Slay in 11 days, Morris participated in the Twitter-based pitch extravaganza, #PitMad, on the 12th day, and received responses from 140 agents. Realizing that her tale resonated with the publishing industry’s gatekeepers, she then decided to query in the traditional way her “dream list” of a handful of agents, including Robinson, whom she selected out of the several agents who responded to her query with offers to represent her.
Disclosing that she was the first African-American female graduate of her high school in [Corvallis, Ore.]- and the only African-American woman at her previous place of employment, a large company, Morris says that her background has had a significant impact upon her interactions with the world that seeped into her fiction writing. “I got used to feeling out of place in a room full of people who don’t look like me, and shrinking myself down to something that’s ‘acceptable’ by everyone,” she said, explaining that her efforts included “toning down” her hair, “policing” her vocal inflections and tone of voice, and omitting cultural references from her conversations “when I thought nobody in the room would understand” them.
Morris said, “I wrote Slay for black teens who live between worlds as I did, who feel pressure to be one version of themselves at work or school, and only get to be themselves among people who share their experiences.”
Q&A with Brittney Morris: SLAY
September 17, 2019 by We Need Diverse Books 2 Comments
Today we’re delighted to welcome Brittney Morris to the WNDB blog to discuss SLAY, out September 24, 2019.
Warcross meets Black Panther in this dynamite debut novel that follows a fierce teen game developer as she battles a real-life troll intent on ruining the video game she created and the safe community it represents for Black gamers.
By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the “downfall of the Black man.”
But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, SLAY is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals, and an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for “anti-white discrimination.” Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?
SLAY tackles the impact trolls have on people’s lives, especially for marginalized creators. Why was this important to write about? What do you hope readers get out of Kiera’s experience with trolls?
As long as people can stay anonymous on the internet (and that’ll probably a long, long time), there will be trolls. Cowardly, selfish, simple-minded trolls who want attention and space to air their dirty laundry. Since there’s not much we can do to get rid of them, and since wagering an online video game universe that you created in exchange for the troll getting lost isn’t always practical, here’s how I deal with them: Ignore them. Block them. To extinguish a fire, starve it of oxygen. Attention is their oxygen.
And if you’re in a situation like Kiera’s, if you’re leading an online community, if you’re a moderator, if you’re a forum administrator and someone’s harassing the people you lead, and for some reason, you’re unable to block them, you have to set an example. Lead in such a way that you expect people to follow. Kiera chose to duel her troll in the open, to let everyone in the game and on the news know what they’re up against if they challenge her. She chose to set an example. But you may choose to ignore, block, or report your trolls and encourage everyone else in the group to do so, and that’s okay too. It’ll often save your energy and time too.
Were you inspired by Black Panther in your creation of SLAY and if so, in what ways? Is Keira a Black Panther fan?
I was absolutely inspired by Black Panther. That was my first experience walking into a room full of Black people and feeling like I belonged, just as I was, with my cardigan and nerdy glasses, having never experienced several major elements of Black culture. I was enough. That love and acceptance I felt when I left the theater changed my life. I wanted to share that experience with the world and remind other Black people that we’re varied enough, that our culture is vast enough, that we live across enough of the world, there’s most definitely a place for them.
How is SLAY, the game, a safe community space for Black gamers? Are there spaces like this in real life that you might recommend to Black teen gamers?
SLAY is a safe community for Black gamers because it’s exclusive to Black gamers. It’s an all-Black space where Black people can be themselves without the white gaze. It’s a space where Black gamers can have fun without having to make white people comfortable.
In real life, there are plenty of Black gamers groups on Facebook (these days, those groups are the only thing keeping me on Facebook). There are also Black lets-players (people who upload or stream playthroughs) whose comments and chats tend to be full of people of color—off the top of my head, CoryxKenshin and SonicFox.
Were there any storylines that you wanted to explore in this book that you didn’t have the opportunity to?
I think I explored everything I wanted to, but I could write about Kiera and Cicada’s friendship forever. Black girl best friends are kinda my favorite.
What are you working on next?
SLAY was a love letter to Black people worldwide. My next book is a love letter to Black men in particular, a 50,000-word appreciation post if you will. It’s about two teenage Black boys. One can see into the future, and one can see into the past.
The book is about living with the pressure of knowing what your ancestors went through to get you where you are today, the threat of violence, brutality, and incarceration in your future, and navigating the present under the weight of toxic masculinity. Being a Black man is uniquely difficult. It’s high time they had the spotlight on our bookshelves.
Tell us about a couple of published or upcoming books that you’ve loved.
I recently read I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver, and I learned so much about how to be a better ally to non-binary folks. Also, the romance was so darn sweet. Ben and Nathan forever and ever.
Upcoming book: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Rosie Brown (out June 2020). I can’t talk about this book enough. Think Children of Blood & Bone meets Spirited Away. If you’re a Miyazaki fan like I am, you won’t want to miss this one. Every turn of the page there was a new twist. I wasn’t ready, and neither are you,…but preorder it anyway when it becomes available.
* * * * * *
Brittney Morris is the author of SLAY. She is also the founder and former president of the Boston University Creative Writing Club. She holds a BA in economics. Brittney spends her spare time playing video games, slaying at DDR, and enjoying the Seattle rain from her apartment. She lives with her husband Steven, who would rather enjoy the rain from a campsite in the woods because he hasn’t played enough horror games. You can find her online at AuthorBrittneyMorris.com, on Twitter and Instagram @BrittneyMMorris.
Brittney Morris is the author of Slay. She is also the founder and former president of the Boston University Creative Writing Club. She holds a BA in economics. Brittney spends her spare time playing video games, slaying at DDR, and enjoying the Seattle rain from her apartment. She lives with her husband Steven, who would rather enjoy the rain from a campsite in the woods because he hasn’t played enough horror games. You can find her online at AuthorBrittneyMorris.com, on Twitter and Instagram @BrittneyMMorris.
Brittney Morris
Contemporary Young Adult
How They Came to Us
It may seem like an author is sending their query into the void, but Quressa found Brittney through her query inbox. Brittney already had two offers of representation so Quressa knew she needed to get on top of things. Meanwhile, Kristin read quickly and kept messaging Quressa to hurry up and finish. After Quressa finished the manuscript—she even cancelled an editor lunch because she couldn’t put the book down—she finally understood why Kristin was so enthusiastic and offered Brittney rep. Brittney made Quressa wait two long weeks, where she ended up getting several more offers, before she finally accepted. While Brittney’s query was originally just to Quressa, Kristin’s enthusiasm was so infectious that Quressa decided to bring her along for the ride.
Bio
Brittney Morris is the founder and former president of the Boston University Creative Writing Club, and her work has been published in The Boston University Chimaerid Literary Magazine. She was chosen as a Novel-In-A-Day participant 2016, a four-time NaNoWriMo winner, and an active informal mentor in #PitMad and #DVPit. She will be a 2018 Pitch Wars mentor. You can find her on twitter @BMichelleMorris.
IndieBound
An Indies Introduce Q&A With Brittney Morris
Printer-friendly version
Brittney Morris is the author of SLAY (Simon Pulse), a Summer/Fall 2019 Indies Introduce young adult selection and a Fall 2019 Kids’ Indie Next List pick.
Morris received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Boston University, where she was the founder and president of the BU Creative Writing Club. She currently lives in Philadelphia and enjoys reading and playing indie video games in her spare time.
Jessica Palacios of Once Upon a Time in Montrose, California, who served as a member of the panel that selected Morris’ book for the Indies Introduce program, called it “a great, action-packed book that can be given to so many people.”
Said Palacios, “Gamers get ready! Kiera is your normal student dealing with family, a boyfriend, and high school, except she is also the game developer behind a secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. But when the game is exposed to the media, people want to tear down the safe space she has created. I loved the gameplay, energy, family dynamics, and the few chapters told from different players’ perspectives. I want to SLAY!”
Here, Palacios and Morris discuss representation, code-switching, and the creation of safe spaces, all present in the author’s debut.
Jessica Palacios: SLAY — the book and the game — are about building relationships, establishing safe spaces, and facing challenges. Why did you want to overlap the everyday world with the gaming world?
Brittney Morris: Growing up, I lived between worlds like Kiera did. Among my family and other Black people, I could be myself unapologetically. At school and at church, I had to code-switch or use my “telephone voice” and be constantly mindful of white people’s feelings. It felt like stepping in and out of an alternate reality. Kiera literally hops between worlds, so it felt natural for her real world and the gaming world to overlap.
JP: While the main character is Kiera, we also get to experience SLAY through other characters (Claire, Jaylen, John). Why did you feel like it was important to show us the wide world of gamers?
BM: The world of gaming is huge and gamers ourselves are so diverse and different! Claire is a star student in Paris, Jaylen is a trans girl in New Orleans, John is a Black Studies professor in Boston who barely knows his way around a controller, and Maurice is a businessman in Beijing who plays SLAY to wind down at the end of the day. I wanted to show that SLAY is available to people of all talents, all backgrounds, and all experience levels, just like how Black people of all walks of life are entitled to explore their Black identity.
JP: As booksellers, we often get asked to recommend books for kids who spend too much time playing video games. How do you think your book challenges the assumption that gaming is bad?
BM: Ooh, I love this question. I was a reluctant reader and avid gamer as a kid, so this hits home. Video games have been an underutilized educational tool for years. Games like Fortnite and Minecraft tend to get the spotlight, which I would argue are educational in their own ways, but there are also indie games that explore topics like depression, suicide, social advocacy, immigration reform, and even racial identity and racial bias. Lots of these indie games feel like playing a novel — a colorful, interactive, immersive novel. And SLAY — I hope — feels like reading a video game. An educational, empathy-inducing, exploratory video game.
JP: Your book adds a safe space in YA literature in the same way Black Panther adds one to movies. Why do you think it is important to build that sense of community and belonging in the media we consume?
BM: Wow, thank you! That’s a huge compliment. Everyone needs a space where they can be themselves. As Black people, we often have to exist in spaces where our Blackness is considered “too much” or even “unprofessional.” When you exist in those spaces for so long, you begin to hate what makes you “too much” or “unprofessional” to white people. You begin to hate your own culture. Without a space to exist free of the white gaze, we can’t thrive and foster community amongst ourselves. We need to remember that we are beautiful as a people, however our Blackness is perceived elsewhere.
JP: Who in the real world would you like to battle against in SLAY?
BM: Just for fun? So many. Angie Thomas, Lizzo, Oprah...I’d say Beyoncé, but I don’t feel like getting murdered today. I’d also like to fight Kanye or Chris Brown for entirely different reasons.
SLAY by Brittney Morris (Simon Pulse, 9781534445420, Hardcover YA, $18.99) On Sale Date: 9/24/2019.
Brittney Morris
'Question anyone who tries to tell you what your identity should mean.'
BookPage interview by Olivia Rhee
August 12, 2019
Brittney Morris’ Slay is a bold, timely and hard-hitting young adult novel about 17-year-old Kiera Johnson, the creator and developer of SLAY, an online video game for black individuals. Slay follows Kiera’s journey toward self-discovery and acceptance as she struggles to keep the SLAY universe alive amid violence, criticism and hatred from the outside world. We reached out to Morris to discuss her inspiration for Slay, the importance of representation and the role Black Panther played in the creation of her debut novel.
What inspired you to create the world of SLAY, an online video game wherein black players are able to duel, communicate and connect?
I was inspired to write Slay after seeing Black Panther on opening night. The minute I left the theater, I was wishing someone would create a Wakanda Simulator video game. Since I’ve never programmed a video game before, I thought writing a book about one would be the next best thing!
Can you tell us more about why Black Panther was so inspiring?
Sure! Walking into that theater was my first experience walking into a room full of Black people and feeling total unconditional acceptance, regardless of the music I’d heard, how I was dressed, how I spoke or whatever other impossible criteria I’d inflicted on myself before allowing myself to feel “Black enough.” I knew the minute I left Wakanda that I had to go back. So I came up with the idea of a girl who gets to go to “Wakanda” whenever she wants, and thus, Slay was born!
What advice would you give to readers who, like Kiera, are struggling to balance their identity and societal expectations?
Question anyone who tries to tell you what your identity should mean, whatever it is. Black, gay, transgender, disabled, whatever. You are in the driver’s seat. You decide what to include in your identity and what not to. If you’re Black but you’ve never seen Coming to America, don’t feel like you have to (but consider it, because it’s objectively hilarious). Societal expectations often stem from stereotypes. Don’t be afraid to not fit them. And surround yourself (online or in real life) with people who support your existence, however you present it.
How is representation important in YA lit, and how do you tackle the issue of representation as a writer?
Representation is important for all ages, but it’s especially important for kids and teens as they absorb the world’s expectations. The majority of my childhood heroes were cishet, white, neurotypical, able-bodied men, so that’s what I thought a “hero” looked like. I knew I wanted Slay to be about Black experiences worldwide, and how we’re all heroes of our own stories, and I couldn’t do that without intersectionality. Slay includes people of several genders, skin tones, languages, family structures and socioeconomic circumstances, because all of those things impact one’s own definition of Blackness.
Kiera also has problems connecting with her parents and her younger sister, Steph. Why did you choose to focus so heavily on the development of Kiera’s relationship with her family?
As a Black woman, I come from a lineage of wisdom and resilience. The political climate in which American Black people operate has changed each and every decade, so every generation has a vastly different frame of reference for what it means to be Black. I wanted to capture those intergenerational differences between Kiera and her parents. Charles and Lorette come from a generation in which code-switching was not only the norm in professional spaces but also expected of them, lest they miss out on employment opportunities, etc. They want Kiera to have the best chance at success, so logically that means encouraging her to bury any trace of slang, wear new and clean clothes and not be too loud. But Kiera defines success differently, and she believes there’s room in her honors-student way of life for a little AAVE [African American Vernacular English]. Kiera’s sister, Steph, on the other hand, sees their parents’ conservative outlook and high-tails it in the opposite direction, asserting that it’s high time Black people demanded equality and respect and operated unafraid to take up space. It’s possible for Kiera, Steph and her parents to exist in the same loving household, even with such fundamental differences between them, and I wanted to show how such a balance could be functional and healthy.
In the world of SLAY, players are able to connect with other Black individuals from all around the world. What do you think Kiera and other SLAY players are able to gain from this global connection?
As an American kid, I used to think all Black people lived in either Africa or America, depending on whether our ancestors had been kidnapped by slavers or not. (How fascinating an echo chamber the American education system is.) I think if SLAY existed when I was a kid, someplace where I could’ve been in chat rooms or MMOs with Black people worldwide, I would’ve realized how prolific we are, how varied our experiences and how there’s a place for me among them.
"Societal expectations often stem from stereotypes. Don’t be afraid to not fit them."
How do current events affect or inspire your writing, if at all?
Every time #SayTheirName trends and every time there’s another “Barbecue Becky,” I get inspired to write about our experiences all over again. If people can’t understand when we say that police presence is terrifying, or that shows like “When They See Us” need to come with trigger warnings or that white people who call the police unnecessarily are as dangerous to us as murderers, maybe they’ll understand if they see a story like that playing out in a virtual landscape, or in a speculative contemporary world with superpowers and access to the ancestral plane. Maybe they’ll believe fiction. And maybe Black people will enjoy the relief of having our stories and history told through a different lens than pain and unrequited patience every Black History Month.
In SLAY, players are able to create and customize their own video game characters with names, unique clothing and physical characteristics. If you were a SLAY player, what would your character look like?
First, I’d be 5’8”, because my real-life self is 5’2” and I’m still not over it. Second, I’d have a twist-out down to my waist, because who doesn’t want waist-length natural hair that NEVER requires detangling? A mermaid tail would be tempting, but I’d also want to wear a huge ball gown, and those aren’t really compatible. But then I’d also want to be a Black samurai with white body paint. I don’t know, I’d be that person with an inventory that’s 90% clothing, 5% weapons and 5% crafting materials. I’d be someone different every day.
In many ways, this book is the story of Kiera’s personal growth and journey toward self-discovery. In what ways did your personal story and teenage years affect your writing?
I’ve always loved video games, and I’ve always felt overwhelmed by the weight of what the world expects me to be as a Black woman. Kiera’s journey to figuring out what Blackness means for her closely resembles my own. I think as teens, it’s already tough figuring out what the world expects from you, and if you’re Black, there’s a whole new world of expectations, with centuries of arguments behind every one. So I thought, why not explore what it means to be Black, what it means to weigh the expectations of family, friends, “woke” people that you trust and your own beliefs about it, via something fun? Like video games!
What are you working on next?
Being a Black teen in America today means living with the threat of future violence in police brutality and the school-to-prison pipeline, and living in the shadow of a past full of oppression and pain, while somehow navigating the present. My next project explores the life of just one teen living under these circumstances and how he handles the societal pressures placed on Black men, especially teenage Black men. I’m very excited about it!
This interview was conducted by BookPage and sponsored by Simon Pulse. All editorial views are those of BookPage alone and reflect our policy of editorial independence and impartiality.
Morris, Brittney SLAY Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster (Young Adult Fiction) $18.99 9, 24 ISBN: 978-1-5344-4542-0
A high school senior secretly creates a massively multiplayer online role-playing game dedicated to black culture but is attacked in mainstream media after a player is murdered.
Frustrated by the rampant racism in the online multiplayer game universe and exhausted by having to be the "voice of Blackness" at her majority white high school, honors student Kiera creates SLAY--a MMORPG for black gamers. SLAY promotes black excellence from across the African diaspora as players go head-to-head in matches grounded in black culture. Although Kiera is proud of the game and the safe space it has become for hundreds of thousands of participants, she keeps her identity as lead developer a secret from everyone, including her black boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are a tactic on the part of white people to undermine black men and hold them back from success. When a dispute in SLAY spills into the real world and a teen is murdered, the media discovers the underground game and cries racism. Kiera has to fight to protect not only her identity, but the online community she has developed. Despite some one-dimensional characters, especially Kiera's parents, debut author Morris does a fantastic job of showing diversity within the black community. Nongamers might get bogged down in the minutiae of the game play, but the effort is well worth it.
Gamers and black activists alike will be ready to SLAY all day. (Fiction. 13-18)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Morris, Brittney: SLAY." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2019. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A593064313/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b3a5e3a9. Accessed 11 Nov. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A593064313
Brittney Morris. Simon Pulse, $18.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-534-44542-0
Morris's not-to-be-missed YA debut explores gaming culture and the diversity of the African diaspora. When black teen Kiera Johnson creates a virtual reality game called SLAY as a safe space for black gamers, she knows she must keep her identity as its developer secret. Her black boyfriend, Malcolm, insists that video games are "a distraction promoted by white society," her parents will disapprove of her embracing certain aspects of black culture, and the students at her predominantly white school just won't understand what a game by and for black people really means. But when the massively popular game's existence is threatened after a dispute results in a player's murder and the media stirs controversy, a new player emerges, forcing Kiera to wager the game's control in a duel to maintain her secret identity and avoid a discrimination lawsuit. This tightly written novel will offer an eye-opening take for many readers and speak to teens of color who are familiar with the exhaustion of struggling to feel at home in a largely white society. Told from Kiera's point of view with peeks into the minds of other characters, and peppered with easily accessible references to black culture, teens and adults alike will race through every page, relating to the importance of online friends, sharing Kiera's desire to make the world a better place, and discovering that blackness is impossible to define. Ages 12--up. Agent: Quressa Robinson, the Nelson Literary Agency. (Sept.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"* Slay." Publishers Weekly, 8 July 2019, p. 86. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A593351761/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c827acd2. Accessed 11 Nov. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A593351761
* SLAY.
By Brittney Morris.
Sept. 2019. 336p. Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse, $18.99 (9781534445420). Gr. 9-12.
So often, Black gamer girls and Black girls in STEAM are overlooked. However, Morris unapologetically brings both identities front and center with her explosive debut. Seventeen-year-old gamer Kiera Johnson finds that being Black leaves her largely ostracized from the larger gaming community. As a result, she ingeniously creates SLAY, her own online virtual reality game that becomes more than a hobby--it becomes a community for thousands of Black gamers to embody Nubian personae in a role-playing game. The game functions as Kiera's refuge from the racism and traumas of the outside world. But her precious, necessary safe space is threatened when a player is killed due to an in-game dispute. It creates a stir in the media and paints SLAY'm a negative light. The game is stereotyped much like many Black people are; it's being called violent and criminal; and it's charged with being racist and exclusionary. Suddenly, Kiera is faced with the need to both protect her game and keep her identity as the developer secret. This excels at depicting everyday life for Black teens and the very specific struggles Black teens face. More than a novel, this is a conversation about safe spaces, why they're necessary for minorities, and why we should champion their right to exist without being branded exclusionary or racist.--Enishia Davenport
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Davenport, Enishia. "SLAY." Booklist, 1 July 2019, p. 66+. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A595705180/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=1dd3cd48. Accessed 11 Nov. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A595705180
MORRIS, Brittney. SLAY. 336p. S. & S./Simon Pulse. Sept. 2019. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9781534445420.
Gr 7 Up--Kiera Johnson is a 17-year-old African American girl attending a predominately white high school. She tries to fit in by keeping her head down and her grades up. However, her classmates often see her as a reluctant spokesperson for an entire race of people. Her sister and boyfriend want her to be more combative, and her mother wants her to be more docile. Kiera's best friend, Harper, often unwittingly adds fuel to the fire by asking pointed race-based questions of her own. The mental gymnastics involved in constantly having to code switch to fit in with everyone else's idea of black womanhood is exhausting for Kiera. In an effort to keep her sanity, she secretly creates an exclusive online role-playing game called Slay. Characters duel using elaborately designed cards that highlight the diversity of the black experience. Kiera and her moderator, Cicada, manage to hide their identities while providing a much-needed respite for the black gaming community. Kiera's carefully constructed facade is threatened when one of the players of Slay is murdered. Now Kiera has to decide how far she's willing to go to protect the oasis she created for her community. VERDICT This book adds another layer to the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo narrative. Readers are invited to learn about the black experience in game culture through a compelling new lens. Exploring different versions of the African American experience, this is an important tide for public and school libraries.--Desiree Thomas, Worthington Library, OH
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Thomas, Desiree. "MORRIS, Brittney. SLAY." School Library Journal, July 2019, p. 50+. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A592556742/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b4c4a75c. Accessed 11 Nov. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A592556742
Review: Slay by Brittney Morris
Sasha Zatz October 9, 201900 comments2 min read
Share this:
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
3
Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
3
Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
More
If you love gaming and teenage girls who stand up for their rights, you will adore Slay. It was important and moving, I just couldn’t put it down! The author was inspired to write it after watching Black Panther, so I thought it was smart to pick it up just after I watched the movie and I was not disappointed.
The novel follows Keira, who secretly developed Slay, an online gaming community where black people duel from all over the world. But when someone is shot because of the game, it’s all over the news…and Kiera doesn’t know what to do.
The plot was so engaging, entertaining, and impossible to put down – it will have you up at 2am reading. It was so immersive and interesting and it was definitely character-driven, but was exciting none the less!
“If black gamers want their own space online away from the eyes of the majority, let them have it. Y’all have Mummy and Legacy of Planets. Do you need to have everything?”
The characters are so lovable, especially Kiera and her younger sister, Steph. They felt like such real people with their struggles and insecurities. Kiera’s voice felt real and easy to relate to, her thoughts and opinions are great to read and the dynamic between the two sisters was absolutely beautiful to watch their relationship grow. The side characters, especially Claire aka Cicada, were awesome. It was awesome to see their lives and views occasionally dotted throughout the book, and from Kiera’s perspective too.
Slay, the game, was so interesting! It was fun to see quite a few scenes inside the game and how the rules worked, whether you game or not. I think a lot of gaming based books and even gaming, in general, are often very male-dominated so the feminist aspects of this book are awesome.
Slay was such an amazing and important book that I’d definitely recommend everyone picks up. It discusses race, identity, relationships, and more in such an important way at the same time as being impossibly fun to read. What a gem of a book!
Slay is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
Will you be reading Slay? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
By day, seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student, a math tutor, and one of the only Black kids at Jefferson Academy. But at home, she joins hundreds of thousands of Black gamers who duel worldwide as Nubian personas in the secret multiplayer online role-playing card game, SLAY. No one knows Kiera is the game developer, not her friends, her family, not even her boyfriend, Malcolm, who believes video games are partially responsible for the “downfall of the Black man.”
But when a teen in Kansas City is murdered over a dispute in the SLAY world, news of the game reaches mainstream media, and SLAY is labeled a racist, exclusionist, violent hub for thugs and criminals. Even worse, an anonymous troll infiltrates the game, threatening to sue Kiera for “anti-white discrimination.”
Driven to save the only world in which she can be herself, Kiera must preserve her secret identity and harness what it means to be unapologetically Black in a world intimidated by Blackness. But can she protect her game without losing herself in the process?