KU graduate now children’s author

A KU graduate is now a successful writer who tackles complicated issues, like race, in her children’s books.

Brittany J. Thurman, from Louisville, Kentucky, gradated with a BA in Drama from Kingston University in 2009.

“My first year in Kingston was purely to study abroad, but once that year was over I realised I didn’t want to leave Kingston, or England,” said Thurman.

Thurman credits Kingston and its professors as a large part of her life that helped her to realise that she wanted to be an author.

Her first play, Fireflies, was written at a playwriting course at Kingston University.

“The support of my professors let me know there were people who saw worth in my work and that I had no reason to give up,” said Thurman.

Thurman loves to write children’s books now, often influenced by stories from her grandmother about life during the Civil Rights Movement.

She is most proud of a children’s picture book she wrote about the true story of four girls who were killed in a racially charged church bombing in 1963.

“I refuse to let their story become buried under the rubble and I believe children should know their history so that the past does not become repeated,” said Thurman.

Thurman said that she did not always know she wanted to write for children but that working with children in her daily life moved her in that direction.

Thurman said: “I want nothing more than for a child to see themselves in my characters, and for them to know that they can achieve their dreams too.”