Conducted with Andrew Joseph White and Kathai Teen Ambassador Bella Gustafson.
Kathai Interviewer
Can you give a summary of your books and experience as an author?
Andrew Joseph White
Hi! My name is Andrew, and I’m a queer, trans, and autistic author. I wrote Hell Followed with Us, an NYT and Indie bestselling horror novel with a whole laundry list of nominations, and The Spirit Bares Its Teeth, my gothic fantasy sophomore novel, releases in September. I also have two more books—Compound Fracture and my adult debut You Weren’t Meant to be Human—coming out in 2024 and 2025.
My work uses horror and other genres of speculative fiction to explore my trans and autistic experience. Things are difficult for my community right now, and I’m honored that I get to be one of the people creating art that expresses our anger, fear, and drive for change.
Kathai Interviewer
Did you write a lot as a kid? Did any pieces you wrote when you were younger inspire your books or characters?
White
I was constantly writing as a child. I started before I could even form the shapes of letters with a pencil; I would scribble between the lines of a notebook and demand that it be read back to me, even though nothing was actually there. I have hundreds of old stories scrawled on lined paper, saved on old flash drives, and uploaded to the cloud. As soon as I knew what writing was, I knew for a fact that I didn’t want to do anything else with my life.
While I rarely take inspiration from my childhood self—I had a lot of bizarre ideas about how the world worked—you can look at my old writing and see echoes of the sorts of things I write about now. There have always been monsters, there has always been anger, there has always been acts of impressive violence. There’s always been queer stuff too! While none of it is particularly overt, it’s easy to pick up a fifteen-year-old notebook of mine and go, “Oh, this kid for sure grew up to be trans.” Funny how that turns out.
Kathai Interviewer
What has writing taught you about yourself? Have you learned from your characters?
White
Oh, I love talking about this—I swear, I wouldn’t have figured out I was queer, trans, or autistic if not for my writing. Several times in my life, I felt drawn to write about certain kinds of people, but I didn’t know why. I just quietly did my research, wrote my stories, and metaphorically hid them under my bed.
And in doing that research, I discovered something about myself. I learned that the lives of people in these communities resonated with my experience, and was driven to find out more. Each time, I came away with a deeper understanding of myself that allowed me to fully embrace the world—I was able to put a name to something I’d been struggling with, and grow for the better.
Kathai Interviewer
What was it like attending college for writing? What advice do you have for people booking into doing the same? Is there any particular factor that should encourage or deter someone from majoring in creative writing (or similar fields)?
White
In short, I went to school for writing because I’m not particularly good at much else, and had no interest in getting better at anything else either. I also got my master’s in creative writing in an attempt to put off the real world long enough to publish my debut novel. I don’t regret the time I spent in school for creative writing, but to be honest, it’s just a good writer’s group you pay a whole lot of money for. If you do go to school for creative writing, I recommend making the most of it—double-major in a lucrative field, take classes towards becoming a teacher, and/or take advantage of internship and mentoring opportunities. I did none of those things, and while I’m doing pretty good for myself, I see all the cracks I could have fallen through. You do not need a degree in creative writing to be a good writer, and anyone who says you do is lying.
Kathai Interviewer
What advice do you have for young writers (and artists)?
White
As a young trans writer, I was gripped by a fear of misrepresenting and damaging my community through my work. I felt pressured to hide the hard and messy parts of my identity, because I didn’t want outsiders to think badly of us.
Don’t give in to that fear. If you feel that weight bearing down on your shoulders, don’t let it buckle you. The best stories are about the messy parts. But at the same time, you are more than your ugly parts and sharp edges, and if you feel like readers will only want your work if you lay out your trauma for them, that’s not true either. Write what makes you scream, or sing, or fall in love with creating. When you’re young, you can worry about marketing later.
Kathai Interviewer
Similarly, what (about writing/being an author) would you tell your younger self if you got the chance?
White
I would tell myself that my work gets infinitely better after I figure out I’m a boy. I’m not kidding! My writing was fine beforehand, but it was thematically…hollow, I guess. Once I discovered I wasn’t a girl, I was able to understand all the rest of my feelings I’d kept bottled up, and I’ve simply bloomed from there.
Kathai Interviewer
Anything else?
White
I highly encourage any young writer who wants to publish a book to do their research on what that looks like. The publishing industry is utterly bizarre and hilariously misrepresented, so arm yourself with as much knowledge as possible. I learned about publishing by following a bunch of authors on Twitter—we love to talk about how weird it is—but there’s so many resources available to you these days! Have fun!
Fin.
Thank you for reading. This interview was managed and conducted by Kathai Ambassador Bella Gustafson. Reach out @bells.psd on Instagram. Follow @kathai.official for more information.
Comments