Jessica Wilson

A beautifully moving story about losing home and finding hope, from a debut author and illustrator pair.

Discover a world of myths and magic in How the Rivermaid Grew Her Tail, a stunning anthology that celebrates the storytelling traditions of West Africa and the Caribbean. Jessica Wilson gathers lyrical, interwoven folktales that have travelled across oceans and through time. From Nigeria and Ghana to Jamaica and the USA, these stories have gathered new colour and meaning along their journey. Each story is introduced with the country, people and traditions where the tale originates, making the collection both immersive and accessible for young readers, families and classrooms. Paired with Sophie Bass’s vibrant, symbolic illustrations, this anthology immerses readers in the colours, foods, landscapes and characters of West Africa and the Caribbean. Stories include: How Anansi Became King of All Stories (Ghana, Ivory Coast & Togo) How the Rivermaid Grew Her Tail (Jamaica) Why the Sun and Moon Live in the Sky (Nigeria) . . . and many more. Told through authentic voices, this book is created by author Jessica Wilson, who has Jamaican heritage, and illustrator Sophie Bass, who has Trinidadian heritage. With its cultural richness and celebration of ancestral heritage, this anthology creates a safe, joyful space for children to see themselves represented.

A gorgeous celebration of cooking Jamaican food with Granny. Dylan is feeling low, and Granny knows just how to lift his spirits...she'll show him how to make a rainbow! From red ackee to orange plantain, and a rainbow of colourful fruit, this beautiful, uplifting story shows the richness and deliciousness of Jamaican foods. Young children will love guessing the next colour on this magical journey of food and family love. Rasta Granny's Rainbow features simple, lyrical recipe-poems for such classic dishes as fried plantain, fruit cake and duckanoo. From award-winning poet Jessica Wilson, with rising star illustrator Rochelle Falconer.

‘There simply is no better literary voice for this moment in history than Jessica Wilson.’Sonya Renee Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of The Body is Not an ApologyWe will rewrite the narrative of Blackness that centres and celebrates our joy.For too long Black women have been left out of discussions about body image, food, health and wellness. By bringing the bodies of Black women centre stage, eating disorder specialist Jessica Wilson asks us to reimagine the ways we think about, discuss and tend to our bodies.This book is a call for body liberation now. It’s Always Been Ours pushes back against some of the unhealthy ideals within the wellness movement. Seamlessly blending stories of clients, friends and celebrities, Jessica reveals how a fixation on thin, white women negatively impacts how Black women exist within our bodies and harms all women. Jessica urges us to reject a diet culture that disproportionately harms Black women. She offers, instead, a politics of body liberation that prioritizes Black women’s physical and psychological needs.With just the right mix of wit, levity and wisdom, Jessica shows us how a radical reimagining of body narratives is a prerequisite to wellbeing for everyone. It’s Always Been Ours is a love letter that celebrates Black women’s bodies and shows us a radical and essential path forward to rediscovering vulnerability and joy.

WE WILL REWRITE THE NARARTIVE OF BLACKNESS THAT CENTERS AND CELEBRATES OUR JOY. In It's Always Been Ours eating disorder specialist and storyteller Jessica Wilson challenges us to rethink what having a "good" body means in contemporary society. By centering the bodies of Black women in her cultural discussions of body image, food, health, and wellness, Wilson argues that we can interrogate white supremacy's hold on us and reimagine the ways we think about, discuss, and tend to our bodies. A narrative that spans the year of racial reckoning (that wasn't), It's Always Been Ours is an incisive blend of historical documents, contemporary writing, and narratives of clients, friends, and celebrities that examines the politics of body liberation. Wilson argues that our culture's fixation on thin, white women reinscribes racist ideas about Black women's bodies and ways of being in the world as "too much." For Wilson, this white supremacist, capitalist undergirding in wellness movements perpetuates a culture of respectability and restriction that force Black women to perform unhealthy forms of resilience and strength at the expense of their physical and psychological needs. With just the right mix of wit, levity, and wisdom, Wilson shows us how a radical reimagining of body narratives is a prerequisite to well-being. It's Always Been Ours is a love letter that celebrates Black women's bodies and shows us a radical and essential path forward to rediscovering their vulnerability and joy.

"There simply is no better literary voice for this moment in history than Jessica Wilson."-- Sonya Renee Taylor, New York Times bestselling author, The Body is Not an Apology "This is going to be such a necessary book. We don't get written about and our issues with food and our challenges with our bodies never get the attention that they deserve."-- Roxanne Gay, New York Times bestselling author, Bad Feminist and Hunger In It's Always Been Ours, eating disorder specialist and storyteller Jessica Wilson challenges us to rethink the politics of body liberation by centering the bodies of Black women in our cultural discussions of self-image, food, health, and wellness. Interrogating a status quo that perpetuates white supremacist ideas about who Black women are, how they live in their bodies, and what Black health means, she creates a context for understanding how whiteness and capitalism have shaped the ways we view and treat our bodies, and how even well-intentioned solutions to this problem continue to center thin white women. With an incisive blend of historical documents, the work of popular authors, and the narratives of clients, friends, and celebrities, Wilson examines the ways that ideas about respectability and restriction have harmed Black women. With wit and levity, she challenges what it means to have the "right" body, and helps all women understand that a radical reimagining of body narratives is a prerequisite for vibrant wellbeing. It's Always Been Ours is a love letter that encourages Black women to find joy in their bodies and their identities.

Alt Hist is the new magazine of historical fiction and alternate history. The second issue features eight new stories and also three book reviews. From ancient Egypt to World War I, and the death of Abraham Lincoln, there is something for every fan of historical fiction in Alt Hist Issue 2. Stories featured in Alt Hist Issue 2: 'Long Nights in Languedoc' by Andrew Knighton 'The Apollo Mission' by David X. Wiggin 'Son of Flanders' by William Knight 'In Cappadocia' by AshleyRose Sullivan 'The Orchid Hunters' by Priya Sharma 'Death in Theatre' by Jessica Wilson 'The Scarab of Thutmose' by Anna Sykora 'The Watchmaker of Filigree Street' by N. K. Pulley And reviews of: Historical Fiction Writing: a practical guide and tool-kit by Myfanwy Cook Ruso and the River of Darkness by R. S. Downie Rome Burning by Sophia McDougall