Shout Outs!

2022

Publication of Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge.
Book launch at Silver Unicorn Books, Acton, MA.
Runaway Reviews:
- “A stunning picture book debut.”—Starred review Publisher’s Weekly.
- “With a distinctive, haunting voice, powerful images, and thought-provoking story structure, this unique look at a remarkable young woman’s life choices and decisions offers an utterly necessary but seldom highlighted perspective on the contradictions within our society’s foundations.” Starred review Kirkus.
- “A moving complement to Dunbar’s Never Caught.” Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books.
- “A fine addition to all collections.” Booklist.
Book Launch of Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep at the Writer’s Barn, Austin, TX.
Boston Globe article about Runaway, “New England Literary News.”
Author interview on NET Radio, Nebraska’s NPR station.

Book Talk at Brook Academy, North Andover, MA.
Black History address at Harte-Hanks Corporation’s Town Hall.
Author visit and reading of Runaway at P.S. 10 (Brooklyn, NY) with first graders.

Book Talk, Lincoln Free Library, Lincoln, MA.
Book Talk/Study (three sessions) with Lincoln middle-grade students and parents, sponsored by First Parish of Lincoln.
Massachusetts School Librarian Conference panel on writing nonfiction for young readers.
Author visit with fifth-graders at the Healy School, Somerville, MA.
Panel discussion, Racial Consciousness through Storytelling, New York Association of Black Psychologists, Black History event.

Author interview for Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb.
Three-day professional development on teaching and writing nonfiction with elementary students in Florida’s Read with Me! project.
Book Talk/Author interview on Dream Gardens podcast: Talking Up the Children’s Books We Love.
Book Talk with Communities Organizing Against Racism COAR of Concord, Carlisle, and Boston.
Author visit with eighth-graders at Evansville (IL) Plaza Park International Prep Academy.

Biographers International Group conference, chairing a roundtable discussion on writing biographies for young readers.

Harvard-affiliated authors’ welcome-back reception at the Harvard Coop (Cambridge, MA), September 10, 3:00 to 5:30 p.m.

Concord Festival of Authors, Saturday, October 16, 10 a.m. A virtual book discussion of Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge, and how to talk to help children understand colonial-era slavery without shame or guilt. Ray will be in conversation with Nikki Tupin, educator and program director of the Robbins House, an 18th-century house formerly inhabited by the first-generation descendants of enslaved African American Revolutionary War veteran Caesar Robbins.
Interview of literacy and Black Boys and Young Men www.weareherelit.org.

Jane Addams Peace Association listed Runaway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judges as a finalist for the Jane Addams Award.

Essay “Old Stories Made New” appeared in Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-Winning Children’s Book Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing. Edited by Melissa Stewart and published by NCTE. In the essay, I give examples from Runaway to show how I achieve my goal of writing biographies of Black subjects for all young readers.
Essay “Black Lives/Young /Readers” appeared in Biographers International Organization newsletter, The Biographer’s Craft.
Prepublication announcement for Runaway The Daring Escape of Ona Judge in Harvard Magazine.

Contact him to learn more about speaking engagements.