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• Don't Let Me Go - 2025 Harper, New York, NY

• Kevin Christopher Snipes website - http://www.kevinchristophersnipes.com/

  Kevin Christopher Snipes is a multidisciplinary writer who spent his early career in the theater writing such plays as A Bitter Taste and The Chimes. Later, for Gimlet Media/Spotify, he created the queer fantasy podcast The Two Princes, which The Guardian named one of the Best Dramatic Podcasts. His debut novel Milo and Marcos at the End of the World was an official selection of the NEA’s Read Across America program, and his follow-up novel Don't Let Me Go is currently being translated into German and French editions.

• Geeks Out - https://www.geeksout.org/2022/07/10/interview-with-author-kevin-christopher-snipes/

  Interview with Author Kevin Christopher Snipes

  By: Michele Kirichanskaya
  Jul 10, 2022
  Kevin Christopher Snipes is a New York-based writer who was born and raised in Florida. He spent his early career in the theater writing such plays as A Bitter Taste, The Chimes and Ashes, Ashes. Later, for Gimlet Media, he created the queer fantasy podcast The Two Princes. He can generally be found watching reruns of Doctor Who and The Golden Girls in his spare time. Milo and Marcos at the End of the World is his first novel.

  I had the opportunity to interview Kevin, which you can read below.

  First of all, welcome to Geeks OUT! Could you tell us a little about yourself?

  Hello! I’m a New York-based playwright and novelist, though most people probably know me as the creator of the queer fantasy podcast The Two Princes, which ran for three seasons on Spotify.

  How did you get into writing, and what drew you to young adult fiction and speculative fiction specifically?

  My mother told me recently that when I was a child, I used to walk around the house carrying a dictionary that I would study, so I guess I’ve always been curious about language and words. I certainly grew up in a storytelling household. My mother read to me before bed, and my father would make up fantastical stories during long car rides to keep me entertained. Eventually, as I got older, I just started telling my own stories.

  For the first twenty years or so of my life, I was primarily focused on playwriting. Theater was my first love. Then one day, about ten years ago, a friend gave me a copy of Andrew Smith’s YA novel Grasshopper Jungle, and it blew my mind. If you don’t know the book, it’s a story about a bisexual teenager who’s having trouble deciding if he’s in love with his girlfriend and his male best friend. On top of that, the world gets invaded by giant killer praying mantises and then all hell breaks loose. I loved it. And it made me realize that I wanted to write stories like that—stories that blended romance, action, sci-fi, and a queer sensibility into one seamless adventure.

  What can you tell us about your debut book, Milo & Marcos At The End Of The World? What inspired the story?

  Milo and Marcos at the End of the World is about two boys who fall in love and who then have to keep that love a secret from their very religious parents and conservative community. Things get even more complicated when a series of unprecedented natural disasters strike their city whenever the boys touch. This leads the boys to consider the seemingly impossible possibility that maybe God is punishing them for being gay and that if they don’t stop seeing each other, their love might just bring about the end of the world.

  The book is primarily inspired by my experiences as a closeted queer teenager growing up in a small town in Central Florida. High school (as I’m sure most people will agree) can be an incredibly fraught period in our lives. We’re still figuring out who we are and what we want, and we’re terrified of getting it wrong. It’s a time when every emotion is heightened. Every choice feels like it’s life or death. You think you’ll die if the person that you like doesn’t like you back. You think the world will end if anyone finds out about your secret. It’s a lot. So I wanted to write a book that captures how exciting/terrifying/earth-shattering that time of life can be for a young person—especially a young person in love who is coming to terms with his sexuality.

  How would you describe your creative process?

  As a mild form of insanity. Basically, I hear voices. Most of the time I ignore these voices, but every once in a while, they’ll happen to say something interesting, and I’ll write it down. That’s how most of my plays were born. From conversations or questions that popped into my brain while I was walking down the street, minding my own business. Of course, after that initial gift of inspiration, it then becomes up to me to sit down and build a proper story around it. That’s when the real work begins. Even so, I’ve never written anything that didn’t start as a little voice in my head saying, “What if…?”

  As a writer, who or what would you say are some of your greatest creative influences and/or sources of inspiration?

  The first YA novels that I ever read were by Andrew Smith and Adam Silvera, who are both masters of queer speculative fiction, so I can only imagine how much my own writing has been shaped and influenced by their work. I’m also a huge fan of the Russell T. Davies era of Doctor Who. I love his approach to writing science fiction, which is to use fantastical or futuristic stories as metaphors to comment on our world today and address issues of race, class, sexuality, and oppression. It’s science fiction that matters. Science fiction with a purpose. And that’s something I try to emulate in my own work.

  What are some of your favorite parts of writing? What do you feel are some of the most challenging?

  Perhaps it’s because of my background in playwriting, but I love writing dialogue. Especially quick, witty banter. For me there’s nothing more enjoyable to write or sexier to watch than two intelligent, charismatic characters engaged in a flirtatious war of words. It’s a great way to show attraction, chemistry, and desire without having to make anyone take their clothes off.

  On the other hand, I find actual sex scenes incredibly awkward to write. I don’t think of myself as a prude, but my characters are my babies, so when they start to get amorous with each other, I want nothing more than to give them their privacy. Instead, I’m forced to become David Attenborough narrating some erotic nature documentary. It’s very embarrassing, but it’s part of the job.

  Aside from your work, what are some things you would want people to know about you?

  It’s an irony not lost on me that despite being an atheist, I am obsessed with Christmas. If it were up to me, I’d keep a tree up in my apartment from November to March. I love the decorations, the lights, the music. I love the cheesy but oh-so-satisfying Hallmark movies. I love the Rankin/Bass Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer claymation special, especially the character of Hermey the Elf, who’s an OG gay icon if ever there was one. I love it all.

  What’s something you hope readers will take away from Milo & Marcos At The End Of The World?

  I hope they’ll feel seen. When I was a teenager, there weren’t many books or films or TV shows with queer characters. I almost never saw people like me represented in pop culture (unless it was as the butt of a joke). So my hope is that young people who might be struggling with their identity or questioning their place in the world, will see themselves in my book and not feel quite so alone or out of place in their own skin.

  What’s a question you haven’t been asked yet, but wish you were asked (as well as the answer to that question)?

  Milo, the protagonist of my book, has an obsession with The Golden Girls that very much mirrors my own, though we disagree about who our favorite character is. If you asked Milo, he’d say Rose Nylund. But if you asked me, I’d say Blanche Devereaux. Obviously only one of us can be right. And since I’m real and Milo’s not, I think I win.

  What advice would you give to other aspiring creatives?

  I wouldn’t presume to give anyone advice. I barely know what I’m doing myself.

  Finally, what LGBTQ+ books/authors would you recommend to the readers of Geeks OUT?

  I’ve already mentioned Grasshopper Jungle, which is a great place to start if you’re looking to get into YA. You also can’t go wrong with Adib Khorram’s Darius the Great is Not Okay, Adam Silvera’s They Both Die at the End, and Zack Smedley’s Deposing Nathan.

• JeanBookNerd - https://www.jeanbooknerd.com/2022/07/kevin-christopher-snipes-interview-milo.html

  Kevin Christopher Snipes Interview - Milo and Marcos at the End of the World
  7:00 AM JBN, Jean Book Nerd, Kevin Christopher Snipes Interview - Milo and Marcos at the End of the World 1 comment

  Photo Credit: Maggie Marguerite Photography

  Kevin Christopher Snipes is a New York-based writer who was born and raised in Florida. He spent his early career in the theater writing such plays as A Bitter Taste, The Chimes and Ashes, Ashes. Later, for Gimlet Media, he created the queer fantasy podcast The Two Princes. He can generally be found watching reruns of Doctor Who and The Golden Girls in his spare time. Milo and Marcos at the End of the World is his first novel.

  Greatest thing you learned in school.
  I before E except after C or when sounding like A as in “neighbor” or “weigh.”

  Alternatively, I guess I also learned how to believe in myself as a writer. But that didn’t come with a clever rhyme.

  Tell us your most rewarding experience since being published.
  Walking into my local Barnes and Noble here in NYC and seeing my book displayed on their wall of “New and Notable Releases” was a pretty cool moment.

  Was there a defining moment during your youth when you realized you wanted to be a writer?
  Ha-ha! “My youth.” You make it sound so far away! I guess it was. Oh well… Anyway, to answer your question: As a teenager I loved to write stories. Especially plays. Theater was my passion, but I always thought of it as a hobby. It never occurred to me that a person could actually be a playwright because all the playwrights I knew of had lived long ago and were now dead (Shakespeare, Wilde, Shaw, etc.). Then one month I happened to attend back-to-back productions of Patrick Marber’s Closer and David Auburn’s Proof at the Hippodrome State Theater in Gainesville, Florida. I got to experience two incredible contemporary plays grappling with contemporary life, and it was like a light went on in my brain. I suddenly realized, “Oh, these are NEW plays, which means they must have been written by NEW playwrights, which means playwriting is an actual profession that still exists!” So I became a playwright. Then later on I branched out into writing podcasts like The Two Princes and novels like Milo and Marcos at the End of the World.

  What’s the best advice you can give writers to help them develop their own unique voice and style?
  That’s a touch question. Unlike form and structure, voice is not something that I believe a writer can be taught. Which is rather ironic considering it’s incredibly easy to teach someone how to mimic another writer’s voice, especially if that voice is as unique as Tennessee Williams’s or Oscar Wilde’s. But finding and developing your own voice is something that only the individual writer can do because no one else can tell you who you are.

  What are some of your current and future projects that you can share with us?
  I’ve just started work on my second YA novel for HarperTeen. I can’t say much about it, but like Milo and Marcos, it’s going to be a contemporary queer love story with a sightly fantastical twist. I’ve also been working on a collection of original nursery rhymes (also with a twist) that I’m excited to get out into the world.

  In your newest book; MILO AND MARCOS AT THE END OF THE WORLD, can you tell my Book Nerd community a little about it.
  Milo and Marcos at the End of the World is about two teenage boys who fall in love in Florida and who then have to keep that love a secret from their very religious parents and conservative community. Things get even more complicated when a series of unprecedented natural disasters strike their city whenever the boys touch. This leads Milo and Marcos to consider the seemingly impossible possibility that maybe God is punishing them for being gay and that if they don’t stop seeing each other, their love might just bring about the end of the world.

  TEN RANDOM FACTS ABOUT MILO AND MARCOS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
  1. The Kanapaha Botanical Garden that Milo and Van visit in the book is a real place in Gainesville, Florida, and it does indeed feature freely roaming alligators. They do not, however, sell gator-shaped popsicles. I made that up so Van could have a treat.
  2. The Jackie Robison Memorial Baseball Park that Milo and Marcos visit is also a real place. As far as I know, it’s still standing in Daytona Beach despite the events depicted in the book.
  3. Van Silvera is named after one of my favorite YA authors, Adam Silvera.
  4. Milo’s teacher Ms. Snook is named after my college English professor. Like her fictional counterpart, Dr. Snook also had her class adapt Shakespeare scenes into contemporary vernacular.
  5. Like Marcos, I too have a cool uncle who’s in a band.
  6. Pat Benatar is one of my favorite singers which is why Ms. Silvera’s ringtone is “Love is a Battlefield.”
  7. Originally, the character of Caleb Yates only appeared in Chapter 30, but he ended up being such a funny, clueless dude that I decided to expand his arc and weave it throughout the book.
  8. Milo’s love of Betty White isn’t the first time that I’ve created a character with a fondness for The Golden Girls. In my first play, A Bitter Taste, the character of Talker is obsessed with Bea Arthur.
  9. Milo’s school, Spruce Crick, is based on my own high school Spruce Creek. I altered the name slightly because I took a few creative liberties in the way I depicted the campus. Though I stand by my comments about the cafeteria food being inedible.
  10. Milo’s favorite restaurant, Holloway’s Downhome BBQ, is not a real place, which is sad because they’re world-famous curly fries sound really good.
  What do you hope for readers to be thinking when they read your novel?
  When I was growing up as a closeted queer teenager in central Florida, there were very few (if any) books, movies, or tv shows featuring queer characters or queer love stories. It was like the entire entertainment industry (along with the entire world) was saying people like me did not/should not exist. It was incredibly demoralizing, and it made it very difficult for me to accept myself. So it’s my hope that my book can provide queer teens with the visibility, validation, and support that they deserve and that I wish I’d been able to experience in my youth.

  What part of Marcos and Milo did you enjoy writing the most?
  Chapter 42. I don’t want to ruin the plot with spoilers, but Chapter 42 is where the book suddenly veers off in (what I hope is) a spectacularly surprising direction. As someone who loves sci-fi, I really enjoyed getting to inject something so fantastical and unexpected into the story, especially as up until that point the book is a pretty traditional coming-of-age love story.

  What was your unforgettable moment while writing MILO AND MARCOS AT THE END OF THE WORLD?
  As I mentioned earlier, theater was my first passion. I originally moved to NY to become a playwright and I had been working in theater for many years when I decided to take a stab at writing Milo and Marcos. In those early days, I had no idea what I was doing. I was really branching out of my comfort zone by writing a novel, and I was pretty sure it was garbage. On a whim, though, I brought the first five chapters of the book into my writers’ group to get feedback from my fellow playwrights. I figured they would confirm that I had no idea what I was doing and tell me to get back to writing plays. Instead, their enthusiasm for the book and their demands to know what happened next made me realize that I might not be as hopeless at writing fiction as I feared. It certainly gave me the encouragement to keep writing.

  If you could introduce one of your characters to any character from another book, who would it be and why?
  One of my all-time favorite YA novels is Andrew Smith’s Grasshopper Jungle. It’s a queer love story set during (yet another) potential apocalypse, so I think Milo and Marcos would have a lot in common with the characters of Austin and Robby. They could swap survival tips and dating advice.

  TEN REASONS TO READ MILO AND MARCOS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
  1. A loveable if anxiety-ridden narrator.
  2. A possible apocalypse.
  3. A journey to self-acceptance.
  4. A journey to sex.
  5. A surprising amount of Golden Girls references.
  6. Van Silvera: the best friend a boy could wish for.
  7. Caleb Yates: the most clueless boy in the universe.
  8. Very clever chapter titles.
  9. Lots of twists and turns that will take you on an emotional rollercoaster.
  10. It’ll piss off Republicans.
  What is the craziest thing you have ever done?
  Deciding to write a book despite having no formal education in fiction writing seems pretty crazy to me.

  What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives?
  I think everyone should read Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States and Richard Dawkins’s The God Delusion. I can’t think of two books that have shaped my understanding of the world so completely as these seminal texts. I would make them required reading in high schools if I could, though I suspect they are far more likely to be banned from classrooms on account of their critiques of capitalism, religion, and imperialism.

  Best date you've ever had?
  Yikes. Given than I have been perpetually single for my entire life, I don’t think I can claim to have ever gone on a date that wasn’t a total disaster. But I live in hope!

  What is your happiest childhood memory?
  When my family would go on long car trips, my father used to make up funny stories to keep me entertained. Most of these stories involved the Muppets (whom I adored), and they would usually be engaged in battle with these bizarre alien creatures called Kissy-Woos, which my father invented. Kissy-Woos were basically giant pairs of lips that could fly through space and kiss you to death by sucking the flesh off your bones. I know that sounds a bit gruesome, but bear in mind that their only real victims were Muppets, so I was thoroughly entertained.

  If you could be born into history as any famous person, who would it be and why?
  Historically, the past hasn’t been a great place for someone to be gay, so I think I’ll stay in the present. Then again, considering everything that’s happening in this country right now, the present isn’t so great either. Can I go to the future?

  What were you doing at midnight last night?
  Binging Heartstopper on Netflix for the third time. It’s such a feel-good show. I put it on whenever I start to despair about the world. It sooths my soul.

SNIPES, Kevin Christopher. Milo and Marcos at the End of the World. 384p. HarperTeen. Jun. 2022. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780063062566.

Gr 7 Up--When Presbyterian teen Milo went to church camp three years ago with his best friend Van, he encountered the only stumbling block he has experienced in his faith: an unexpected crush on his aggressively atheist roommate, Marcos. Milo's years of successfully avoiding confronting his sexuality come to an end when Marcos moves to town, and it becomes clear that Milo's crush has not only persisted but is reciprocated. The two boys tentatively embark on a relationship, but each milestone is marked by a bizarre natural disaster that leaves Milo increasingly certain that his faith and sexuality can only exist in opposition to each other. His internalized homophobia, combined with anxiety about what this means for his faith, is matched with realistic fears of how his parents will react to learning their son is dating another boy. Although the central plot revolves around the conflict between faith and identity, religion is not portrayed as inherently negative, and the book notably does not end with Milo renouncing either his religion or his relationship with Marcos. Instead, readers are left with the promise that Milo, Marcos, and their families have started down a path that can incorporate all aspects of their identities. VERDICT A strong secondary purchase for school and public libraries where queer books are popular.--Austin Ferraro

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
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Ferraro, Austin. "SNIPES, Kevin Christopher. Milo and Marcos at the End of the World." School Library Journal, vol. 68, no. 9, Sept. 2022, p. 113. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A715572414/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fdc544cc. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

Snipes, Kevin Christopher MILO AND MARCOS AT THE END OF THE WORLD HarperTeen (Teen None) $17.99 5, 24 ISBN: 978-0-06-306256-6

A teen boy figures out his true feelings in this heartfelt page-turner.

Milo Connolly is a "super-religious, super-shy nerd"--or at least that's what his fellow seniors would say. Except for his agnostic soccer star best friend, Van, a girl he met at church, people in Port Orange, Florida, would be pressed to even remember him. All there seemingly is to Milo is being the son of adamantly Republican Presbyterian parents. It's not completely untrue; he does appreciate the structure and clarity of church life, but there's more to Milo than his timidity and anti-social inclinations. Like what happened at camp three years ago--or what almost happened, anyway--something he'd be happier burying forever. Except now, like a bad omen from the heavens, Marcos Price has come back into his life, and once they're face to face, the earth literally moves. The more the boys explore their feelings for each other, the more the natural disasters pile up. Milo becomes convinced God is punishing him for being gay. Now he must decide whether being with Marcos is worth it if it means the world is going to end. Milo's journey is sincere and moving, written in engaging prose and wrapped up in a satisfying conclusion. Characters are well-rounded and believable, and it's impossible not to root for them to get their happy endings. Milo is White; Van is Puerto Rican, and Marcos is White and Cuban.

A funny, sweet, and emotional navigation of faith and queerness. (Fiction. 13-18)

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Snipes, Kevin Christopher: MILO AND MARCOS AT THE END OF THE WORLD." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A696498536/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=09bbff56. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

Kevin Christopher Snipes. HarperTeen, $17.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-06-306256-6

Playwright and podcaster Snipes's debut--a tender romance with an engaging premise--is a sensitive portrayal of a Christian teenager grappling with his sexuality. Seventeen-year-old Milo Connolly's first day of senior year is derailed by a giant sinkhole appearing in front of his Port Orange, Fla., high school; it's further complicated when he realizes that 17-year-old Marcos Price, whom Milo crushed on at church camp three years before, has moved to town. Devout white Presbyterian Milo has spent their time apart trying to forget that summer, but when half-white, half-Cuban atheist Marcos reveals that he feels the same way, the boys attempt a tentative courtship that seems doomed from the start: Holding hands sparks a blackout, a day at the beach brings a hailstorm, and their first date ends with a meteor destroying Marco's car. After a kiss publicly outs them to a crowded stadium and lightning strikes the arena, the boys must face their conservative families as well as Milo's certainty that God is destroying the world as Milo begins to reject his internalized homophobia. Snipes thoughtfully captures Milo's internal turmoil on his journey to self-acceptance, and the teens' willingness to explore their relationship amid calamity offers an engaging image of headlong first love. Ages 13--up. Agent: Tanusri Prasanna, Foundry Literary + Media, (May)

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"Milo and Marcos at the End of the World." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 14, 4 Apr. 2022, pp. 51+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A700952556/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ea4bdbe5. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

Snipes, Kevin Christopher DON'T LET ME GO Harper/HarperCollins (Teen None) $19.99 5, 20 ISBN: 9780063062610

Two boys are repeatedly reincarnated together, finding love throughout history--but with loss soon following behind.

At a summer carnival in present-day Orlando, Florida, Riley Iverson faints upon meeting his friend's "hot new neighbor," Jackson Haines. Seeing Jackson conjures up a vision of the two of them together in Pompeii. Riley retreats further behind the walls he's put up to protect his bruised heart. Jackson, who's a straight jock, feels pressure from his high-achieving parents, and he's not sure whether he plays football for himself or because it's expected. He's haunted by something that led him to leave Tallahassee, but meeting Riley makes the adjustment easier. It feels like they've always belonged together, leaving Jackson questioning his sexuality. Both boys, who are coded white, begin suddenly passing out and dreaming of steamy interludes between their past selves--as well as their subsequent deaths. All of this makes finding a way forward together difficult: How much is a life with one's soulmate worth if it means you don't get to live long at all? With flashes of humor and wisdom sprinkled throughout, this layered story of love cut short is endearing, entertaining, and full of heartache. The blend of love and tragedy on both cosmic and familial scales will appeal to fans of Adam Silvera, and the occasional commentary on the current state of queer rights makes it a topical and necessary exercise in solidarity for queer teens.

A sweet, heartbreaking summer romance with a timey-wimey twist. (historical note)(Romance. 14-18)

Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Snipes, Kevin Christopher: DON'T LET ME GO." Kirkus Reviews, 1 May 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A837325509/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c41e4a8d. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

Ferraro, Austin. "SNIPES, Kevin Christopher. Milo and Marcos at the End of the World." School Library Journal, vol. 68, no. 9, Sept. 2022, p. 113. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A715572414/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fdc544cc. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025. "Snipes, Kevin Christopher: MILO AND MARCOS AT THE END OF THE WORLD." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A696498536/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=09bbff56. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025. "Milo and Marcos at the End of the World." Publishers Weekly, vol. 269, no. 14, 4 Apr. 2022, pp. 51+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A700952556/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ea4bdbe5. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025. "Snipes, Kevin Christopher: DON'T LET ME GO." Kirkus Reviews, 1 May 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A837325509/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c41e4a8d. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

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