Center for the literary arts in New York State
EXPLOITATION AND THE MUSIC INDUSTRY: YA FICTION
Shani King
6:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 9, 2026
Conversation / Q&A
The Alice Moore Black Arts and Cultural Center
135 South Pearl St., Albany NY 12202
Shani King, children’s book writer and Vice Dean of Rutgers Law School, is the author most recently of You Are My Favorite Story (2026), a heartfelt celebration of the bonds between fathers and children, coauthored with N. Jeremi Duru, and illustrated by John Jay Cabuay.
In a starred review, Kirkus called it “an excellent choice for story time and an emotional conversation starter,” and said, “King and Duru encourage dads to be emotionally available: to affirm love, pain, fright and nervousness, and embrace the imperfection of fatherhood.” An expert on juvenile justice and refugee law, King is also the author of the children’s books Have I Ever Told You (2019) and Have I Ever Told You Black Lives Matter (2021).
Professor King will spend the day visiting elementary schools in Albany, and will speak about juvenile justice and writing children’s books at the Alice Moore Black Arts and Cultural Center in the evening.
Major support and funding provided by the Carl E. Touhey Foundation. Cosponsored by the Alice Moore Black Arts and Cultural Center (AMBACC).
from the publisher
A ripped-from-the-headlines novel of ambition, music, and innocence lost, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Jason Reynolds!
Be bold. Get seen. Be Heard.
For seventeen-year-old Denver, music is everything. Writing, performing, and her ultimate goal: escaping her very small, very white hometown.
So Denver is more than ready on the day she and her best friends Dali and Shak sing their way into the orbit of the biggest R&B star in the world, Sean "Mercury" Ellis. Merc gives them everything: parties, perks, wild nights -- plus hours and hours in the recording studio. Even the painful sacrifices and the lies the girls have to tell are all worth it.
Until they're not.
Denver begins to realize that she's trapped in Merc's world, struggling to hold on to her own voice. As the dream turns into a nightmare, she must make a choice: lose her big break, or get broken.
Inspired by true events, Muted is a fearless exploration of the dark side of the music industry, the business of exploitation, how a girl's dreams can be used against her - and what it takes to fight back.
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