I Am YEG Arts: Jessica Carmichael

Jessica Carmichael’s debut novel, The Full Picture, is the sort of coming-of-age love story that she wishes she could have read as a young adult. A self-described ​“third culture kid” with Ghanaian and Bajan roots, Jessica found there was a gap in traditional publishing for stories reflective of experiences like hers. Determined to change that, she forged her own path by launching her own press. This week on the blog, hear from Jessica about the journey to publishing her first novel (launching December 5 at Felice Café), some important lessons she learned along the way, and why storytelling focusing on the diaspora and our formative years continues to captivate and inspire her. 

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do. 

I write young adult fiction, primarily about black youth who are figuring out life. I really love the idea of coming-of-age stories like The Summer I Turned Pretty that let young people figure out who they are while going through the trials and tribulations of life, which often includes romance. I’m passionate about telling stories about people in the diaspora, but also back home on the continent [Africa].

I found that there was a gap in that market when I was pursuing traditional publishing with my agent. Conventional publishers had difficulty positioning The Full Picture into their traditional marketing strategies, so I decided to self-publish my book. 

I’ve started my own small press, Hibiscus Press, to publish YA stories in and out of the diaspora. The Full Picture is the press’s first publication, and I plan to bring on some others afterward. 

Tell us about your connection with Edmonton and why you’ve chosen to make it your home and creative base. 

I moved to Edmonton in 2023. I grew up in Vaughan, just outside of Toronto. A friend moved to Edmonton about five years ago, and I visited for Thanksgiving. October in Edmonton is so beautiful; I was enamoured with the city. So, when I was ready to venture out on my own, I decided Edmonton would be a great fit for me. 

I’ve fallen in love with Edmonton’s small city, big city vibe. It’s the perfect mixture of both, and I’ve been able to grow and find a new community in the city. There’s a unique African community here. My dad is from Barbados, and my mom is from Ghana. Ontario is really Caribbean-based, which is amazing. And here, it’s really African-based and getting back to that side of my culture has been incredible. 

How did you get your start in writing? Have you always been a storyteller? 

I have always been a storyteller and an avid reader from a young age. My older sister was also an avid reader, and whatever she read, I was reading. 

In high school, I discovered Wattpad, which is an online site where you can write and share your own stories. On Wattpad, I found stories with characters who looked like me, and they often featured one of the boy bands I was into at the time, and I would get lost in those stories. After a while, I was like, I want to try this for myself. 

After I visited Ghana for the first time, the pandemic hit, and I was living back at home. At that time, I wanted to read books that took me back to Ghana to feel that experience again. I decided to read diverse fiction moving forward, so a lot of black authors, and people of colour in general. It inspired me to tell my story. And I found there was a gap; the YA experience for African teens was just not there. There’s a lot of Black American, some Caribbean, and African literary fiction that is more concerned with the hardships we face. But I wanted to write about teens trying to figure life out, who get to kick their feet at romance scenes and all that stuff. I really wanted that to exist, and I just couldn’t find anything, so I started writing my own. 

While the book is set in Ghana, I wanted it to be very Toronto/​Canadian specific about that particular experience of what it feels like to be a Canadian third culture kid. It’s something I experienced, and I know that a lot of people in Edmonton and in different parts of Canada also experience it when their parents immigrate here. 

As a writer, where do you find or create community and in what ways is connecting with others important to your writing practice? 

I’m so grateful for my community of writers. Because I started writing during the pandemic, a lot of that community is online. I have made community with women from all over including here and in Ghana, the UK, US, and Toronto. 

I grew up in a very tight knit community, and coming to a new city, it can be hard to meet people and especially if you’re in certain religious spaces. I wanted to give back and find young people to inspire. So that’s what I’ve done through the Africa Centre, where I’m mentoring a student. 

Tell us more about your soon-to-be-released debut novel, The Full Picture and about what drew you to writing for a YA (young adult) audience? 

The Full Picture is five years in the making. Set during Ghana’s December festive season, it follows a first-year university student who goes back to Ghana for the first time since her mother’s passing. She’s trying to uncover who her mom was because her father doesn’t want to talk about her mom’s story. But while she’s there, she meets two boys, one from Canada and one from Ghana, and they represent these two different sides of her and who she wants to be versus who people expect her to be. While on the journey of trying to figure out who she is and what she wants for herself, she’s also trying to figure out love. 

Time and time again, I’ve found myself drawn to YA stories because I find there’s another level of grace given to these characters; they can be a little bit messier. It’s a transformative age and sets you on a certain trajectory of who you are and what you want to be. During my YA chapter, I was trying to figure things out without any kind of guidance or any experiences that resembled mine. 

The cover art is so warm and inviting. Tell us about how it came to be. 

This book started off with a different cover. My first attempt was a very humbling experience. It didn’t work out, but from that experience, I learned how to clearly communicate my vision and ideas and learned that the artist’s time is precious. 

For the second version of the cover, I found an artist who was already on my bookshelf. I took a chance and messaged Fatima Baig. She really loved my work and aligned with the vision of the story I was trying to tell. It was a big learning curve for me, and I’m happy that it happened, because I wouldn’t have this cover if not for that. 

You’ve successfully navigated publishing your first novel. Tell us about the experience and what your advice is for others looking to do the same. 

My advice is research, research, research. I was so grateful to have the audiobook narrated and ready to drop at the same time as the physical book, which is not really common, especially for small independent publishers. But at the time, I didn’t consider the fact that the book should be the absolute final version before you start recording. Thankfully, I had such a great narrator, and she graciously made some changes. But her time is precious, so make sure you have as much information as possible. 

A lot of money goes into putting work out, and as much as I budgeted and mapped it out, there were still things that I overlooked. Obviously, writing and putting the story together are important, but the operational side is just as important. You’ll see the difference when you put effort into making sure your budget is as aligned as possible and that things run smoothly. 

Tell us more about what you’re currently working on and what’s next for you. 

The big thing I’m excited about is the book launch in Edmonton at Felice Café on December 5 at 7 pm. It’s going to be a moderated conversation between me and a local creative. We’ll talk about the story and my vision, do a short reading, and celebrate. 

The other thing I’m working on is getting into the flow of writing again. I took a long break after I wrote The Full Picture. My spirit was crushed during the process of traditional publishing. While I got a lot of really great feedback, I also encountered some resistance due to where my book could sit in the market. I took a bit of a hit to my ego, for a bit, I didn’t know if I was actually good at this. 

Now that my book is out for early advanced reviews and it’s been receiving a lot of great feedback, it’s validating my belief in my abilities. I’m working on writing a short story and getting my creative muscles back, and hopefully that can eventually be developed into a longer form. I hope to write about a young boy from Barbados and his journey as an athlete. I used to be a sports reporter at university, and I want to talk about a serious athlete and the mental health issues he faces as an athlete dealing with an injury. 

About Jessica Carmichael

Jessica Carmichael is a proud Bajan-Ghanaian, born and raised in ​“the city above Toronto,” and now happily residing in Edmonton, Alberta. A published sports journalist, she is passionate about writing and reading stories that explore the complex experiences of Black-Canadian youth. Jessica holds a joint honours degree in Communication Studies and Multimedia from McMaster University, and The Full Picture is her debut novel. Learn more about her at: https://​byjes​si​cacarmichael​.co…