Public Service Announcement #17
my fave books from last year + a word for 2025 + latest unfoldings + what is your word of the year?
PSA: Word of the Year 2025
The last several years, I’ve chosen a word as guide and fortune-teller. This year’s is UNFOLD.
To unfold is to take action.
To unfold is a process.
To unfold is to let go of particular outcomes.
To unfold is to unfurl in order to move, for wings or legs to uncurl and fly or carry you.
To unfold is to deconstruct, take something apart to understand it and, rebuild it in a new way.
To unfold is to love.
To unfold can be to tell the truth.
To unfold is to believe in what you can’t yet know, to hope.
A word of the year can be a helpful tool, a little reminder, a grounding fir every day or for when it’s time for an intersection, decision, or reflection—in writing, in creating, in relationships, in all of it. For example, a couple of weeks ago, I had a decision to make with a dear collaborator and others. When I initially felt strongly one way and my partner felt another on the project, I remembered: unfold. With that cue, I knew it would work out beautifully no matter what. That we’d talk about it. That I could trust them and their wisdom and the team. And you know what? It is working out beautifully—and still unfolding!
To convey UNFOLDING through my favorite medium—story—here are what are essentially my favorite books I read in 2024, whether published last year or not—picture books, middle grade novels, YA, non-fiction, and memoir. They embody different meanings of unfold.
The Rights of Every Child
This new initiative is going strong—and I hope you’ll follow along by signing up for the newsletter! We’re sharing art pieces every week created to convey one of the simplified rights from the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The two latest moving, powerful illustrations are from artists Amira Shalaby and Rob Liu-Trujillo. Enormous thanks to them for their generosity, talent, and spirits of justice and care!
The Rights of Every Child on IG + Website + facebook
Recent unfoldings
Celebrated the one-year anniversary of The Libros Lincoln Heights with To Make. It’s a special bookstore that features ALL local authors! Maker ribbons were made!
While there, I met poets Karo Ska and Alex Petunia, and I commissioned a pop-up poem from them on The Rights of Every Child!
“To the Children and Youth of the World.” Isn’t it moving, deep, and beautiful? They created it onthe spot, collaboratively on their typewriters! Thank you so much to these compassionate poets and bright souls. There’s a video of them reading too.
Had another opportunity to facilitate a writing workshop on voice and identity at Pasadena City College where, every time, college students give me a big dose of hope. Thank you author-professor Katherine Kottaras for having me!
Did some end-of-year visits to L.A. bookstores with friends and met up with my writing support group. Shouts to bookshops Bel Canto in Long Beach and Ojalá in Highland Park!
What is your word of the year?
You’re invited to share in the comments!
January paid subscriber meet-up!
Okay, let’s have another virtual hello + inspiration-session + Q&A! If you’d like to join, please upgrade your subscription! We’ll have a little video get-together planned for mid-late January.
Paid subscriber upgrades
Aside from supporting me as a writer, I host video Q&A’s two-four times a year for paid subscribers. Our first two were neat opportunities for discussion together! If you’re a subscriber who’d like to upgrade before the next one this fall, you can join in too! And if you can’t, no worries about that either.
Thank you for spending this time with me and for reading! I hope it served you as moments well spent. And please do tell a friend, leave a comment, or stay tuned for the next PSA from Danielle Davis.