“Robin and Her Misfits,” a young adult novel by Dr. Kelly Ann Jacobson, assistant professor of English at the University of Lynchburg, has been named Virginia’s 2024 “Young Readers” selection for “Great Reads for Great Places.”
The book, published in 2023, reimagines the Robinhood story from a queer perspective.
“As someone who has spent most of my career in the state of Virginia championing queer stories for young adults, especially in areas of the state where there is often resistance to access to these books, being selected for this honor means so much to me,” Jacobson said.
“Robin and Her Misfits” is one of several adult and YA novels written by Jacobson. Among others, she is the author of “Tink and Wendy,” a queer reimagining of the Peter Pan story, and a forthcoming novel, “The Lies of a Toymaker.”
“The Lies of a Toymaker” was described by Publishers Marketplace as “another gender-bent queer retelling, pitched as ‘Pinocchio’ meets Steven King’s ‘The Gunslinger.’” It will be published by Three Rooms Press in May 2025.
“Great Reads for Great Places” is an initiative of the Library of Congress’ Center for the Book. The list of books, compiled from the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, is distributed during the annual Library of Congress National Book Festival.
This year’s festival will be held on Saturday, Aug. 24, in Washington, D.C.
Jacobson, who teaches Introduction to Creative Writing, Fiction, Poetry, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing, and Advanced Creative Writing, also is writing a textbook. The textbook, “Young Adult Fiction Writing,” will be published by Bloomsbury Academic.
