Loyalty is thrilled to virtually welcome Nicole Chung, Susan Harness, Mariama Lockington, Mark Oshiro, and Lisa Wool-rim Sjöblom to celebrate the release day of When We Become Ours!! We are so excited to be able to celebrate such a special book with so many of its wonderful contributors. This event will be held digitally via Crowdcast and is free to attend. Click here to register for the event. You can also order the book from our website to be added to the event's registration list, and there will also be an option to snag the book during the event.

"An emotion-filled collection." —Kirkus Reviews

Two teens take the stage and find their voice . . .

A girl learns about her heritage and begins to find her community . . .

A sister is haunted by the ghosts of loved ones lost . . .

There is no universal adoption experience, and no two adoptees have the same story. This anthology for teens edited by Shannon Gibney and Nicole Chung contains a wide range of powerful, poignant, and evocative stories in a variety of genres.

These tales from fifteen bestselling, acclaimed, and emerging adoptee authors genuinely and authentically reflect the complexity, breadth, and depth of adoptee experiences.

This groundbreaking collection centers what it’s like growing up as an adoptee. These are stories by adoptees, for adoptees, reclaiming their own narratives.

Nicole Chung is the author of A Living Remedy, which was named an Editors’ Choice by The New York Times Book Review and a best book of 2023 by Time, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Booklist, and USA Today, among others. Her 2018 debut, the national bestseller All You Can Ever Know, has been translated into several languages and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in the Washington, DC area.

Susan Devan Harness is a member of the Salish & Kootenai Confederated Tribes and a cultural anthropologist and a writer. Her award-winning book Bitterroot: A Salish Memoir of Transracial Adoption was published by the University of Nebraska Press.

Mariama J. Lockington is an adoptee, author, and educator who has been telling stories and making her own books since the second grade. Her middle-grade debut, For Black Girls Like Me, earned five starred reviews and was a Today Show Best Kids’ Book of 2019. Her sophomore middle-grade book, In The Key of Us, is a Stonewall Honor Award book and was featured in the New York Times. Her debut young adult novel, Forever is Now, was published on May 23, 2023. Mariama holds a Masters in Education from Lesley University and a Masters in Fine Arts in Poetry from San Francisco State University. She calls many places home, but currently lives in Kentucky with her wife and her little sausage dog, Henry.

Mark Oshiro is the award-winning author of the young adult books ANGER IS A GIFT (2019 Schneider Family Book Award), EACH OF US A DESERT, and INTO THE LIGHT, as well as their middle grade books THE INSIDERS, YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, DAVID BRAVO, and STAR WARS HUNTERS: BATTLE FOR THE ARENA. They are also the co-author (with Rick Riordan) of the #1 New York Times Bestseller and #1 Indie Bestseller THE SUN AND THE STAR: A NICO DI ANGELO ADVENTURE. When not writing, they are trying to pet every dog in the world.

Lisa Wool-Rim Sjöblom is a Korean adoptee who grew up in Sweden and the author of Palimpsest: Documents from a Korean Adoption. She is a comic book artist, illustrator, and adoptee rights activist fighting for truth and justice for adopted people and first families.

Please note Loyalty has a zero tolerance policy for harassment or intimidation of any kind during this virtual event.

Nicole Chung, Susan Harness, Mariama Lockington, Mark Oshiro & Lisa Wool-rim Sjöblom for WHEN WE BECOME OURS