Rayana Johnson’s Giant Leap with Jill Tew
Sat, Oct 03
|Decatur Square Stage
Middle-grade readers will love to take a giant leap with Jill Tew!
Time & Location
Oct 03, 2026, 3:00 PM – 3:45 PM EDT
Decatur Square Stage, 1 W Ct Square, Decatur, GA 30030, USA
About
Jill Tew has written a hilarious and heartfelt middle-grade novel about a STEM-loving Black girl finding her place in the universe in Rayana Johnson’s Giant Leap!
Purchase your book from Little Shop of Stories and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the festival.
This event is free and open to the public. No tickets are required, and seating is first come, first served.
Signing information:
Signing time: 4:00 PM
Signing location: Core Dance Studios, 133 Sycamore St.
About the Author
Jill Tew is the award-winning, critically acclaimed Caribbean American author of dystopian romance and middle-grade novels that imagine Black girls in exciting new worlds. Her books have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal, and have been featured in The New York Times, People, and elsewhere. Her debut, The Dividing Sky, was declared a best book of the year by Kirkus, Reactor, Publishers Weekly, and Bookshop.org, and was featured in The New York Times as one of Veronica Roth’s favorite dystopian novels. Her new book is Rayana Johnson's Giant Leap.
About the Moderator
Monica Brown is an accomplished school librarian, literacy advocate, and educational leader with Gwinnett County Public Schools. With a career in education spanning nearly three decades and more than a decade dedicated to school librarianship, Monica has built her career around connecting students with books, authors, ideas, and experiences that inspire them to become lifelong readers and learners. In 2026, Monica was named the Gwinnett County Public Schools School Librarian of the Year, an honor recognizing her innovative leadership, commitment to literacy, and dedication to creating meaningful learning experiences for students. She is known for developing engaging, student-centered programs that make reading exciting and accessible while transforming the school library into a place where every student can discover, create, and belong. Monica is passionate about the power of books and the important role authors play in helping young people see themselves, understand others, and imagine new possibilities.