May 21, 2020
children’s series Stella and Roger to Denene Milliner at Simon & Schuster in substantial pre-empt
Clothilde Ewing
“Clothilde Ewing's 'Stella' is exactly who I've been looking for from the second I founded my imprint—a spunky, funny little girl with a huge imagination and great stories to tell.."
"Stella is my daughter, their friends, our neighbors--the everyday little Black girl next door. Clothilde's series speaks directly to the mission of Denene Millner Books to highlight those everyday lives of Black children in a big way. I'm so proud she trusted Denene Millner Books with these adorable stories” said Denene of this sparkling series of children’s novels from former TV producer and activist Clothilde Ewing. After an illustrious career in television, at CBS and producing the Oprah Winfrey Show, Clothilde decided that she wanted to make a difference in the world. This she most certainly did through her work on the 2012 re-election campaign of Barack Obama, as well as at the Chicago City Trust. And then came her new idea… The mother of two young children, she says, ‘I was taken aback after having children of my own and finding it more difficult than I anticipated to find stories featuring a black child simply being a child. I could use any number of words to describe Stella, from precocious to funny, creative to kind. I would not, however, include that she is black. This isn’t a defining characteristic, it just is.’ These exceptional and vibrant novels are the result, as Clothilde adds, ‘… it will be critical for all of our children to see ordinary black children having childlike experiences that have nothing to do with race.’ To be published September 2021 we can’t wait to see Stella and Roger brought to life!