WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE MORE CHALLENGING ASPECTS?
Challenges are what make us grow, reinvent ourselves, and be flexible — it’s an integral part of Abàyo Houses’ development. However, it disheartens us to see the complicated obstacles we run into deliberately left behind by racist and ignorant people in the literature industry to slow us down. Those obstacles are agents that are not BIPOC who say they are here to represent #ownvoices and include more diverse stories in the industry, yet send out rejection letters saying they are not comfortable/confident selling/marketing our stories. Those obstacles are inaccurate information pumped by agents, publishers, the broader publishing industry, diverting people who are hopeful of one day getting their stories published. This results in so many people who completely have given up on dreaming of becoming a writer because the journey itself is too complicated to understand. It happened to us and is still a challenge we face. How we continue to combat it is educating ourselves, exploring our own curiosity, and reflecting on the lessons we acquire. We are normalizing setting our own rules in a society that fearmongers you if you take ownership of your business.
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MOST REWARDING ASPECTS OF YOUR WORK SO FAR?
The most rewarding aspect of our work so far comes from the space we created because we refused to accept deceitful representation. Every day working at Abàyo House is a special experience because we no longer have to juggle the anxiety of wondering who will publish our work, books, ideas—or who would approve our creative collaborations or ventures. Instead, now we shift our energy to get it done because we already gave ourselves permission. Even if we face roadblocks, we have the confidence to maneuver those obstacles because we continue to establish Abàyo House—a place that says yes to our dreams. A place that tells us, “Go on now, what are you waiting around for—tell your story!”
NAME A BLACK MUSLIM WOMAN WHO HAS BEEN AN INSPIRATION TO YOU.
Aisha Yusuf is a Black Muslim woman that is an inspiration to us. She is a Gen Z that possesses the qualities that come with it—being young, savvy, swift, ambitious, and innovative—yet also blessed with an old soul. She is grounded, reflective, resourceful, and resilient. Aisha’s personal story of beginning her writing career at just the age of 15 years old enduring many hardships and uncertainty—ultimately leading her to publish her YA mystery novel with a company that she co-founded, is an inspirational story that personally fuels each of us. We don’t take her journey for granted. She is a Black Muslim woman that teaches us not to give up on our dreams and stories, to get right back up however slow after a knockdown. She proved it is possible to get back up.
