Black Focus Q&A — Jason Reynolds

Your writing often centres around the experiences of young people capturing their voices with authenticity and empathy—how do you ensure that your portrayal of youth resonates with readers across different backgrounds and generations? 

I don’t dwell on it too much. I’m fortunate to be a writer who interacts directly with my intended audience. I make time to visit their spaces and immerse myself in their world, ensuring I can relate to them. My job is to bear witness and represent them authentically. I chose to write this book to help me work through my own issues. I ask myself: what is masculinity? I don’t believe I benefit from it, but I know it profoundly impacts our lives. Men often live incomplete lives because of the constraints of masculinity. We can’t cry, experience joy fully, hug, or express emotions freely. No one ever asked me how I felt before losing my virginity. It’s either celebrated or chastised, but never are we asked about our feelings before taking that significant step. I wanted to demystify who men are. We have insecurities, body issues, and worries about public opinion. We deserve a moment to be kids fumbling through a big moment in life.

Twenty-Four Seconds from Now explores themes of time, pressure and decision-making. How did you approach weaving these threads together? 

By using symbolism. The tricky part with a book like this is that it can’t be long. If it drags on, it risks becoming something entirely different. I’m aware that as a 40-year-old man writing about children, sex and sexuality, I have a significant responsibility. I had to employ symbolism to ensure it didn’t veer into inappropriate territory or become an essay. Symbolism allowed me to portray consent and show young people making decisions without sensationalism. For instance, in Twenty-Four Seconds from Now, I used Granma’s comments on wrinkled clothes to subtly convey easing tension surrounding making big decisions. I had to write the themes into the subtext rather than address them directly.

Your work often addresses societal issues and challenges, encouraging readers to confront uncomfortable truths. How do you navigate the balance between delivering a powerful message and ensuring that your stories remain accessible and engaging to a wide audience? 

I’m not trying to teach a lesson. I’m not a teacher or a parent. All I aim to do is say: this is who young people are. Young people have the intellectual and emotional capacity to understand their feelings, even if they can’t always articulate them. My intent is to entertain and present children as their truest selves. I believe adults often lack humility when it comes to understanding young people. We, the adults, are the entitled ones. We should be asking more questions about what young people are experiencing. However, many adults struggle with finding the right language too.

This book is not just for young people but also for adults. It’s meant to equip them with the skills to engage in conversations about healthy sexuality, consent, and nurturing romantic relationships. Adults need to guide young people on matters like hygiene, safe sex practices, and fostering open, honest communication. Unfortunately, young people often lack the language because adults don’t provide them with the necessary space to express themselves. Writing this book required extensive research. It was through YouTube that I realised the necessity of these conversations. I watched numerous “Truth or Dare Car Edition” videos where, overwhelmingly, if two young people kissed, the boy would often grab the girl’s throat. It highlighted a lack of tenderness among young men. Much of the book explores the importance of tenderness in all our relationships, emphasising the significance of being gentle. My research extended to primary sources, including conversations with my 22-year-old brother and interviews with friends. Their stories ranged from interesting to profoundly beautiful.

Twenty-Four Seconds from Now explores speculative fiction, presenting a world where time is both a gift and a burden. What inspired you to explore this concept, and what do you hope readers will take away? 

There are several reasons why the book had to be structured this way. Firstly, I couldn’t delve into explicit sexual content because it would have sensationalised the narrative, and sex wasn’t the focal point. So I began the book right before the act. Time constraints also meant I had to be strategic in how I explored events. Using time jumps—24 seconds from now, 24 days ago, 24 hours ago—created a sort of foreplay, with the most intense moments frontloaded. 

Twenty-Four Seconds from Now (Faber Children’s) publishes on 8th October 2024