“Whenever I think of people who have gone through something, I'm always like, but they were human before this. Before they were monsters, they were human. Before they were zombies, they were human.” — Tiffany D. Jackson

Some of the most unsettling monsters don’t come from nightmares or ghost stories. They walk among us in daylight, smiling widely and blending in. They can be shaped by our environments, our circumstances, or people’s choices—and in stories, as in life, they challenge us to look closer and see the human before the horror.

Tiffany D. Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of Allegedly, The Weight of Blood, Blood in the Water, and many more. She received of the Margaret E. Edwards Award, honoring her significant and lasting contribution to teen literature. She blends real-world horrors with the sharp tension of a thriller, always keeping our emotions and nerves on edge!

In this episode, Tiffany shares how her own encounters with “unintentional monsters” have shaped her writing. She opens up about how growing up between Brooklyn and Westchester sharpened her view of the world and the people in it. Tiffany also talks about finding her voice in film school, why stories like Monday’s Not Coming are drawn from real-life cases, and how fiction is her way of building empathy where the headlines fall short. Buckle up for a gripping episode from Tiffany’s very first anecdote about a childhood horror.

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Tiffany’s reading challenge celebrates African-American horrors and thrillers, genres she’s been questioned for writing.

Peruse selected titles and Tiffany’s full reading challenge for free at thereadingculturepod.com/tiffany-d-jackson

This week's Beanstack Featured Librarian is once again Kelly Shelton, an elementary librarian for Garland ISD in Garland, Texas. She shares how building a strong reading culture goes beyond the library—into the hallways, the bus line, and even your students' plays!

Show Chapters

Chapter 1: Unintentional Monsters

Chapter 2: Take Me Back to Brooklyn 

Chapter 3: What Happened to You?

Chapter 4: A Safe Harbor

Chapter 5: Their Eyes Were Watching God

Chapter 6: Core Memories

Chapter 7: Reading Challenge

Chapter 8: Beanstack Featured Librarian

Links

• The Reading Culture
• The Reading Culture Newsletter Signup
• Follow The Reading Culture on Instagram (for giveaways and bonus content)
• Tiffany D. Jackson
• Tiffany D. Jackson Instagram
• Their Eyes Were Watching God
• Sister Souljah
• Lockdown TV Series
• Beanstack resources to build your community’s reading culture
• Jordan Lloyd Bookey

Host and Production Credits

Host: Jordan Lloyd Bookey
Producers: Mel Webb and Lower Street Media
Script Editors: Josia Lamberto-Egan, Mel Webb, Jordan Lloyd Bookey