Q&A: Ibi Zoboi, Author of '(S)Kin'

We chat with award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi about S(K)in, which is a novel in verse based on Caribbean folklore—about the power of inherited magic and the price we must pay to live the life we yearn for. PLUS we have an excerpt to share with you at the end of the interview!

Hi, Ibi! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

I’m Ibi Zoboi and write for children and teens. (S)KIN is my tenth book, but my first published Young Adult fantasy novel (in verse).

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

I was always a storyteller. Some people would call them tall tales. I exaggerated the littlest things just to make it more interesting. But I fell in love with spoken work first, and this when I first began to try my hand at poetry. I was also an aspiring journalist, but there’s no room for the imagination and metaphors in journalism. This is what led me to fiction.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

The first book you ever remember reading: The first book I remember reading and re-reading on my own was Judy Blume’s Blubber.
The one that made you want to become an author: I can name one. There are two: Edwidge Danticat and Octavia Butler.
The one that you can’t stop thinking about: I haven’t stopped thinking about Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler since I read it when it first came out.

Your latest novel, ***(S)Kin*, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?**

Fiery. Rage. Longing. Belonging. Beauty.

What can readers expect?

Readers can expect the five words I listed above.

Where did the inspiration for (S)Kin come from?

I’m from the Caribbean where there is a huge magical world of carnival characters. I’ve always wanted to infuse Caribbean folklore into my stories, the same

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I loved examining the girls’ internal conflicts. Like all young people, they are grappling with identity, but real and magical.

With this being your contemporary fantasy debut, did you approach writing (S)Kin differently from your other books?

Absolutely. I had to balance world-building with an unconventional magic system and the emotional journey of two girls who are coming to terms with their powers. And it’s a novel-in-verse! I thought of all the ways I could complicate the story, and went for it.

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Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

The most challenging thing is the poetry aspect. I had to think deeply about how the words on the page also tell a story. The shape of the poems and how they mirror and merge acts as a subplot.