An Indies Introduce Q&A with Anna Sortino

Anna Sortino is a young adult author who wrote Give Me A Sign, which is about characters that are both different in their own ways, bringing diversity to the community. She interviews Abby Rice who serves on a panel to get more information about this book, Give Me A Sign. Sortino mentions that she wanted to bring about awareness about topics that are not necessarily popular in the media. She wanted to make every character with their own unique aspect so she chose to have the setting for this book at a summer camp. As part of the Deaf culture, she wanted one of her characters to have hearing aids. She was very careful of how she represented her characters but she wanted to cast a diverse capacity of people. She states, “Disability is all around us, and it’s time to get more comfortable with embracing it.” As a person who attends summer camps, she had the knowledge of what it is like to be part of a camp but what struck her most was the Deaf and Blind campers she interacted with one summer. Sortino is  Deaf and she knows the feelings when being marginalized by society. She says that connecting with people of different experiences helps her and many others grow and feel supported. This book she wrote is not only intended for the Deaf and those who use ASL but for anyone who feels they need to find their place. She wants to let her readers know that they are not alone!

Read more here on Q/A with Anna Sortino.