Junauda Petrus facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Junauda Petrus
Born	Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupation	Author, filmmaker
Genre	Young adult fiction
Notable awards	Coretta Scott King Honor Award (2020)
Spouse	Ngowo Nasah

Junauda Juanita Petrus-Nasah is a talented American author and filmmaker. She is also a performance artist. Her first novel, The Stars and the Blackness Between Them, won a special award called the Coretta Scott King Honor Award.

About Junauda Petrus

Her Early Life and Interests

Junauda Petrus was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This area is on the traditional land of the Dakota people. Her family has roots in the Afro-Caribbean islands. Her mother was born in Trinidad, and her father was from the US Virgin Islands. They later moved to Minnesota. Junauda was one of four daughters.

As a child, Junauda dreamed of becoming an astronaut. She loved to read books by many different authors. Some of her favorites included Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, and Alice Walker. She also enjoyed stories by V. C. Andrews and Anne Rice. Later in life, she met her wife, Ngowo Nasah, who is from Cameroon.

Her Creative Career

Junauda Petrus is known for her creative works. In 2015, her piece called There Are Other Worlds was performed. She also co-wrote a play named Queen with Erik Ehn. This play was performed in 2016.

Queen was partly inspired by a poem Junauda wrote in 2015. The poem was titled "Could we please give the police departments to the grandmothers?". This poem was later included in a book called How I Resist: Activism and Hope for a New Generation. A picture book based on this poem was released in 2023. It is called Can We Please Give the Police Department to the Grandmothers?.

Her Books and Films

Junauda's novel, The Stars and the Blackness Between Them, came out in 2019. It is a story about two 16-year-old Black girls growing up in Minneapolis. The book explores their journey and friendship. In 2021, Junauda shared that she was working on turning her novel into a film.

After a sad event in Minneapolis, Junauda wrote a short piece. It was called "Sweetness for George".

Themes in Her Work

Junauda Petrus's stories and art often explore important ideas. She writes about black communities and their future. Her work also covers strong female friendships and finding one's identity. Healing and desire are also big themes. She gets ideas from her mother, nature, and other women. The musician Al Green also inspires her.

Junauda is connected with The Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis. She also helped start a group called Free Black Dirt. This group is for writers and artists. They want to start important conversations through their art. They also organize events to show new plays and performances by rising artists.

What is a "Pleasure Activist"?

Junauda describes herself as a "pleasure activist." She believes her art can help people heal. She connects her work to themes of desire and pleasure. She wrote about this idea in a book by Adrienne Maree Brown. The book is called Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. It explains that pleasure activism means making social justice work feel good.

Her Life in Minneapolis

Junauda Petrus lives in Minneapolis with her wife, Ngowo Nasah, and their family.

Awards and Recognition

Junauda Petrus has received several awards for her work. In 2016, she was named a Twin Cities artist of the year by City Pages.

In 2020, her novel The Stars and the Blackness Between Them won a Coretta Scott King Honor Award. This is a very respected award for books by African American authors.

She has also been given several fellowships. Fellowships provide support for artists to continue their creative projects.