Kyle Lukoff

Kyle Lukoff
Born (1984-06-05) June 5, 1984 (age 40)
Skokie, Illinois, United States
OccupationSchool librarian
Alma materBarnard College
Notable worksWhen Aidan Became a Brother, Too Bright to See
Website
kylelukoff.com

Kyle Lukoff is a children's book author, school librarian, and former bookseller.[1] He is most known for the Stonewall award-winning When Aidan Became a Brother and for Call Me Max, which gained attention when parents in Texas complained about the book being read in an elementary school classroom[2] and a Utah school district canceled its book program after the book was read to third graders.[3]

Personal life

Lukoff is a transgender man, who transitioned in 2004[4] while an undergraduate at Barnard College, a historically women's college. Much of his work centers on transgender children. He is Jewish.[5]

Education

Lukoff went to Edmonds-Woodway High School then graduated from Barnard College[6] in 2006. While at Barnard, he was a member of Columbia University's Philolexian Society.[7] He earned his Master's degree in library science from Queens College in 2012.[8]

Career

Lukoff was a school librarian at the Corlears School in New York City[9] until he quit his job to write full time in 2020. His first book, A Storytelling of Ravens, was published in 2018 by House of Anansi Press and illustrated by Natalie Nelson.[10] His second book, When Aidan Became a Brother, illustrated by Kaylani Juanita,[11] is a story about a transgender boy awaiting a new sibling.[12] The book was published by Lee & Low, an independent publisher known for works by unpublished authors and illustrators of color.[13]

Lukoff's Max and Friends series was released in November 2019 with Call Me Max, illustrated by Luciano Luzano.[14] In April 2020, he published Explosion at the Poem Factory, which was illustrated by Mark Hoffman.[15] In 2021, he published Too Bright to See, which won the Stonewall award and a Newbery Honor,[16] and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.[17] He also wrote Different Kinds of Fruit.

Publications

Books

  • A Storytelling of Ravens, 2018
  • When Aidan Became a Brother, 2019
  • Explosion at the Poem Factory, 2020
  • Too Bright to See, 2021
  • Different Kinds of Fruit, 2022[18]
  • If You're a Kid Like Gavin,[19] 2022, with Gavin Grimm
  • Awake, Asleep, 2023
  • There's No Such Thing as Vegetables, 2024[20]
  • I'm Sorry You Got Mad, 2024[21]
  • Just What to Do, 2024[22]
  • A World Worth Saving, 2024[23]

Book Series

  • Max
    • Call Me Max, 2019
    • Max and the Talent Show, 2019
    • Max on the Farm, 2020
  • Mermaid Days
    • Mermaid Days #1: The Sunken Ship, 2022[24]
    • Mermaid Days #2: The Sea Monster, 2022
    • Mermaid Days #3: A New Friend, 2023

Essays

  • "Taking up Space" in Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation[25]
  • "Evaluating Transgender Picture Books; Calling for Better Ones" in School Library Journal.[26]
  • "Second Trans on the Moon" in YA Pride.[27]
  • "A letter to trans writers who are thinking about trying to get published."[28]

Awards

References

  1. ^ Flynn, Kitty. "Five questions for Kyle Lukoff". The Horn Book. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  2. ^ Yorio, Kara. "LGBTQ+ Book Challenges Continue As Texas Parents Object to "Call Me Max"". School Library Journal. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  3. ^ EST, Samantha Lock On 2/15/21 at 10:28 AM (2021-02-15). "Transgender boy book prompts Utah school district to suspend reading program". Newsweek. Retrieved 2021-03-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "2019 Festival Author Lineup – Texas Book Festival".
  5. ^ "Blog: Conversations About Queer and Trans Literature with Picture Book Author Kyle Lukoff".
  6. ^ "Magazine Preview: In Transition". Bwog. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  7. ^ "#49 - Poem Explosion with author Kyle Lukoff - Buttons & Figs (podcast)". Listen Notes. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  8. ^ Kyle (2012-09-13). "A Letter to Corlears Parents". Corlears School Library Blog. Retrieved 2022-03-15.
  9. ^ "Staff Profiles | Corlears School | NYC". Corlears School. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  10. ^ "A Storytelling of Ravens". House of Anansi Press. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  11. ^ Lukoff, Kyle; Juanita, Kaylani (2019). When Aidan became a brother. Lee & Low Books Incorporated. ISBN 9781620148372. OCLC 1055840422.
  12. ^ "Kyle Lukoff". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  13. ^ "About Us | Lee & Low Books". www.leeandlow.com. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Reycraft Books | Max and Friends: Call Me Max". www.reycraftbooks.com. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Explosion at the Poem Factory". House of Anansi Press. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  16. ^ "American Library Association announces 2022 Youth Media Award winners". 24 January 2022.
  17. ^ a b "Too Bright to See". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  18. ^ "Different Kinds of Fruit by Kyle Lukoff: 9780593111185 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  19. ^ "If You're a Kid Like Gavin". HarperCollins. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  20. ^ Lukoff, Kyle (2024). There's No Such Thing as Vegetables. Macmillan. ISBN 9781250867841.
  21. ^ "I'm Sorry You Got Mad by Kyle Lukoff: 9780593462911 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  22. ^ "Just What to Do by Kyle Lukoff: 9780593462942 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  23. ^ "A World Worth Saving by Kyle Lukoff: 9780593618981 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  24. ^ "The Sunken Ship: An Acorn Book (Mermaid Days #1)". shop.scholastic.com. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  25. ^ Bornstein, Kate; Bergman, S. Bear (2010). Gender outlaws: the next generation. Basic Books. ISBN 9781580053082. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  26. ^ Lukoff, Kyle. "Evaluating Transgender Picture Books; Calling for Better Ones". School Library Journal. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  27. ^ Lukoff, Kyle (21 November 2016). "Second Trans on the Moon". YA Pride. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  28. ^ "A letter to trans writers who are thinking about trying to get published". Kyle Lukoff. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  29. ^ a b Harris, Elizabeth A. (2022-01-24). "Donna Barba Higuera Wins Newbery Medal for 'The Last Cuentista'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  30. ^ HCHO (2020-01-27). ""When Aidan Became a Brother" and "The Black Flamingo" win 2020 Stonewall Children's and Young Adult Literature Award". News and Press Center. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  31. ^ "Charlotte Huck Award (fiction for children)". NCTE. Retrieved 2020-01-27.