Barnes & Noble NOOK Top Indie Favorites for August and September 2024
Seattle, WA – Award-winning author Kelly Vincent re-imagines their teenage years in their empowering series “The Art of Being Ugly” — a compelling story of a teen grappling with their gender identity. The anticipated finale, “Ugliest,” (KV Books LLC, August 13, 2024) is a necessary and impactful commentary on the struggles LGBTQ+ teens face amidst a hyper-conservative landscape threatening the rights of queer people.
Life, academics, and activism. Facing hate and bigotry, can this agender teen make a difference in LGBTQ+ rights?
About the novel: Determined to excel, seventeen-year-old Nic Summers strives to find time to survive physics, build confidence, and enter a competitive art mentorship at the local university in Oklahoma City. However, Nic’s stress skyrockets when a protest video results in them and a trans friend being forced by the school to move to the girls’ dorm. Burning with a strong sense of justice, the normally shy teenager summons the courage to speak out against damaging state legislation. But when the vision goes viral, they’re shocked when the authorities hand down an ultimatum: stop or be expelled.
Can Nic dig deep and prevail against institutional bullies ready to erase their identity?
Sharing the plight of those too often silenced, author Kelly Vincent opens the door to understanding and empathy. Through the eyes of a big-hearted main character, Vincent leads the way toward accepting and appreciating each other’s differences.
“Ugliest”
Kelly Vincent | August 13th, 2024| KV Books LLC
Young Adult | LGBTQ+ | Fiction
Paperback | 9781958342169 | $10.99
Ebook | 9781958342152 | $2.99
KELLY VINCENT (they/ them) wrangles data weekdays and spends the rest of their time playing with words. They grew up in Oklahoma but have moved around quite a bit, with Glasgow, Scotland being their favorite stop. They now live near Seattle with several cats who help them write their stories by strategically walking across the keyboard, with their first novel, “Finding Frances,” a fine example of this technique.
Their four subsequent books, “Ugly,” “Always the New Girl,” “Binding Off,” and “Uglier,” were released in 2022 and 2023. “Finding Frances” and “Always the New Girl” won several indie awards and “Ugly” was selected as the Honor book for SCBWI’s Spark Award in the Books for Older Readers category for 2022.
Kelly has a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Oklahoma City University’s Red Earth program. Learn more about Kelly on their website.
Follow Kelly Vincent on social media:
Instagram: @kvbooks
TikTok: @kv_books
Facebook: Kelly Vincent, Young Adult Author
In an interview, Kelly Vincent can discuss:
- How current legislation, such as the “don’t say gay” bill and attacks on gender affirming care inspired parts of the plot for “The Art of Being Ugly” series
- Why trans and nonbinary stories need to be showcased in the young adult genre
- How writing Nic’s story helped Vincent navigate their own journey with their gender identity
- The writing exercise that inspired the series: Vincent imagining themselves as a teenager now instead of in the 80’s and 90’s
- How the safety of trans and nonbinary people cannot be separated from politics
- The importance of protecting the rights of trans and nonbinary people and how rolling back rights for LGBTQ+ folks negatively impacts everyone
- How Vincent’s horror over the Oklahoma trans teen Nex Benedict’s real-life tragedy motivated them to expedite the release of this story well before the November US elections
Praise for “The Art of Being Ugly” Series
Barnes & Noble NOOK Top Indie Favorites for August and September 2024
BookLife Editor’s Pick
“A hopeful and empowering novel of teen activism.”
–Kirkus Reviews
“An important work of YA fiction, Vincent’s evolving storyline and mature thematic focus make this a profound work of LGBT literature.”
–SPR Reviews
“Kelly Vincent’s novel Ugliest is the earnest continuation of an agender Oklahoma teenager’s coming-of-age story.”
–Foreword Reviews
“Empowering journey of LGBTQ teens standing up against adult judgment.”
–BookLife Review, Editor’s Pick
Honor book in SCBWI’s 2022 Spark Award in the Books for Older Readers category
Semifinalist in the 2019 BookLife Prize for Fiction, Children’s and Young Adult category
“The compelling story will resonate with young adults going on their own difficult journeys and should help them feel less alone” —Kirkus Reviews, UGLY
“A book so obviously special and powerful that it feels like a gift” –BookLife Reviews, Editor’s Pick, UGLY
“For readers looking for a novel that champions the underdog, offers a deep dive into the heartache and triumphs of growing up, and presents a candid look at the struggles facing LGBTQ+ youth, this novel hits all the marks and more, for a valuable addition to contemporary YA literature.”
–Self-Publishing Review, UGLY
Listed in Kirkus Reviews Top 100 Indie Picks for 2023 (December 15th, 2023)
Kirkus Reviews Editor’s Indie Pick (October 15th, 2023)
“Those seeking a thoughtful story about gender issues, with an endearing main character, will enjoy Ugly.” –BlueInk Reviews, UGLIER
“An impressively honest and intimate first person POV powers this story of a young person struggling with gender and trying to find their place in a world that is seemingly determined to ‘erase’ them”
–Kirkus Starred Review, UGLIER
“Uglier depicts a captivating story of adolescent growth.” –BookLife Prize, UGLIER
“Uglier is commendable for fostering increased empathy and understanding, and offering a beacon for young readers navigating the turbulent landscape of identity and acceptance” –Self-Publishing Review, UGLIER
“Nic is still the same lovable, unwavering hero that she was in Vincent’s last book, despite the cost she suffers for simply trying to be herself… Readers will be eager for more of Nic in the future.” –BookLife Review
An Interview with Kelly Vincent
1. Tell us about the thought experiment that inspired “The Art of Being Ugly” series.
I struggled with my gender growing up in Oklahoma in the 80s and 90s, and after I learned about the concept of gender not being a binary, I really felt like mine was a story worth sharing. That concept wasn’t in my mind when I was growing up, so I constantly felt like a girl utterly failing at being a girl and just being generally wrong. I wondered what it would be like to grow up now when those ideas are out there. I put Nic through the experiences I had been through—most of the incidents in the book Ugly really happened, although some are exaggerations and things were shifted time-wise—but also gave them Google, which made everything different. The books Uglier and Ugliest are almost all fiction, but I was still imagining myself going through those experiences, constantly asking myself, what would you have done in this situation?
2. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing trans, non-binary, and agender teens today?
I think it is fundamentally difficult to understand your gender when it feels different from what everyone else thinks it is, especially as a teenager (or an even younger kid) because you don’t have much life experience to build on. Most kids—especially those in red states—also don’t have exposure to ideas around what’s possible in terms of gender identity in a way that’s safe and fair. They often absorb the idea that deviating from the binary or what other people think makes them a “freak,” and in states where hateful politicians are creating legislation that takes away their ability to identify accurately (and giving permission to everyone else to mistreat anyone not conforming), it’s especially dangerous. People in positions of authority parrot anti-bullying talk when people are looking, and then turn around and back the bullies because the “freaks” deserve it for not conforming. This was my experience growing up and I honestly don’t think it’s changed much in school settings.
3. How have current events impacted your writing?
Every piece of anti-LGBTQ legislation that hate pushes through red state legislatures is distressing. So many people who don’t actually support these laws have been sitting by, electing these politicians filled with hate and thinking it doesn’t matter since it doesn’t affect them. But there have been some signs that people are waking up and it’s just so important that people are made to understand how important it is to stop letting politicians strip everyone of their basic human rights.
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A former award-winning journalist with national exposure, Marissa now oversees the day-to-day operation of the Books Forward author branding and book marketing firm, along with our indie publishing support sister company Books Fluent.
Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.
