We recently connected with Anitra Rowe Schulte and have shared our conversation below.
Anitra, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I am generally an all-out type of person. It’s hard for me to do something halfway, which I think traces back to my childhood and, more specifically, to my parents. They had incredibly high expectations for me and my sisters. They always pushed us to improve upon even our best, which was frustrating at times but got us invested in the pursuit of progress more so than a final prize. We weren’t rewarded with big allowances or candy, but instead with hugs and words of affirmation. They’d also leave our papers on the kitchen table for everyone in the family to review, read and discuss. In our house, hard work was an expectation, and growth was a continual process of sharing efforts and learning from small victories. I also factor into the equation that I grew up in a very small town. There wasn’t much to do, in terms of arts, restaurants, entertainment or the like. There also wasn’t much competition. If you wanted to try something new, you could do so and find a taste of success. As a result, I filled the quiet in our community by filling my plate with activities. All the sports, all the clubs. This really helped me learn to balance and juggle and keep lots of things moving forward at the same time, which has served me well at every stage in my life – from college and the working world, to my parenting and author journeys.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Since as early as kindergarten, I knew I wanted to write books. So being a children’s book author with a few titles out, and a few more nearing publication, feels both surreal and natural – and humbling and joyful reality for which I’m extraordinarily grateful. It is my oldest, wildest, biggest dream come true.
Writing has always been a strength for me, and I wrote poems, short stories, and novellas in my 20s. But my writing really took off after I had children, which is quite funny because that’s when free time became a very rare commodity. Perhaps that’s precisely why I began carving it out, putting guard rails around it, and using it so efficiently. If I wanted to write, I had to prioritize it like never before. During this time, I also returned to my first love – picture books. In reading to my girls, I remembered how much I loved the genre. Picture books, to me, are much like theater and movies. Words and visuals coalesce in such a powerful, immersive way, etching images and sounds into your memory. They have such a unique way of meeting you in your place of emotional need (whether you are aware of it, or not) and delivering beauty, laughter, comfort, and hope. It brings me to tears, just thinking about it.
It’s perhaps not a surprise that my books are very personal and heartfelt. DANCING WITH DADDY, illustrated by Ziyue Chen, is about a girl’s first father-daughter dance. The main character uses AAC and a wheelchair, and eats with a feeding tube – supports and tools that I yearned to find incorporated into children’s literature in a neutral way, so that my oldest daughter could find herself in a modern story. This very desire is at the heart of my upcoming chapter book series STARLIN. The main character of this story is a creative, theatrical, disabled girl, and I’m thrilled to be partnering with illustrator Katie Crumpton to bring more disability representation to the chapter book space.
My newest picture book release, WILLOW AND BUNNY, illustrated by Caldecott honor medalist Christopher Denise, is about a bunny who finds friendship and protection under the branches of a broad willow tree, and how we all help each other weather unexpected storms in our lives. It is utterly gorgeous, and I cannot wait to share it with young readers in schools this winter and spring.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three things that have guided my author journey so far, and which continue to propel me, are curiosity, the joy of creating, and community.
The first C: Curiosity. When I read children’s books, I do so voraciously and with curiosity. As I flip the pages and experience the story arc, I try to take notice of everything I’m feeling. What lit me up? What excited and interested me? Why? What is this book saying to me, personally? And what might it be trying to say to the world, in a larger sense? When we seek to learn as much as we can about our craft, and notice the impact of the creative choices of our contemporaries, as well as legendary creators, we also develop our own preferences and tastes and pick up intangible things that inform our future work.
The second C: Creating. Weaving words is hard work, but dang is it fun. When we are creating, we get to escape for as long as we’re able and enter a whole other place entirely – a bubble where we are safe to put down ideas, imagine completely new things, and explore our experiences and feelings. My advice for making the most of your creative moments is to find what works for you. Have you noticed a time of day, or physical place, where you easily get into, and stay in, the zone? Make a point to put yourself there. For me, it’s a 5 a.m. alarm, a candle, a cozy blanket on my lap, white noise in my earbuds, and a mug of coffee. Do you, and do it often!
The third C: Community. Have mercy, I need this. Writing is so solitary, and the chances of having a close friend or family member on the same path as you is slim – at least, in my world. So who are you going to reach out to when you need feedback, or to vent or compare notes and experiences? I’m an introvert, and I prefer to do a lot of things on my own, but not this journey. No way. I need people by side, and I want to be that person for others. Cheering on my friends and celebrating their work is absolute the best and a huge part of my author joy.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
Confession time: I have a hard time saying no – especially to exciting opportunities and new experiences. This leads to self-induced overwhelm. Sometimes it takes a day or two for me to recognize I’ve reached the end of me, and that it was all my own doing.
That said, I am not willing to let those things pass me by. Not a deadline, conference, or school visit. Not an interview, speaking engagement, or retreat. (If I can help it.) I would rather dig in and dig deep, and move other things to the back burner, than pass up a chance to grow and explore all that could be just beyond the next hill.
When I leap into the deep end of a new adventure, something obviously has to give. So what will it be? What are the things that you are willing to let slide, or set aside, at least for a little while, so you can fulfill your dream?
I will always get my people where they need to be, and I will always make sure they are well fed. I’ll always keep them in relatively clean clothes and covered in love. But cleaning my house? Watching that latest show? Tending to nonessential messages? Those things get back burner status. I also pray every day for clarity and direction, and do my best to listen and follow. Much as I take responsibility for my journey, recognizing that there is a bigger plan that I don’t and can’t control gives me immeasurable comfort and peace.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.anitraroweschulte.com
- Instagram: @anitraroweschulte
- Twitter: @anitraschulte
