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A local author is set to have at least two more books – both Cherokee-related – to be published in 2024.
Brad Wagnon’s journey in literature began in 2015, when Alex Stephenson came to Wagnon with the idea to create children’s books with Cherokee stories.
“[Alex] does [kids books] on his own, and he wanted to do some books on Cherokee stories, but he didn’t know which ones to do or what to do, so basically, I provided the stories in my own words, and then he did the illustrations for them,” Wagnon said.
Stephenson and Wagnon self-published their first book – “How The World Was Made: A Cherokee Story” – about eight years ago. “The Land of the Great Turtles” was published out of Tennessee around the same time. Native Voices Books later produced a third book for the duo called “The First Fire: A Cherokee Story.”
Wagnon’s desire to produce Native stories did not stop there. He also set out to publish some books in Cherokee and English, so institutions like Cherokee immersion schools could use them. In 2020, Wagnon’s and Stephenson’s first two books were produced in Cherokee and English by Native Voices Books.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wagnon said, the duo took a break from creating their literature, but in 2022, Wagnon had the idea to create a book over the Cherokee syllabary.
“I wanted to do it like an alphabet book for kids – like a board book, but I wanted it to be the Cherokee syllabary,” Wagnon said. “The idea I had was that we would take syllables out of the syllabary, we would find a word that had that syllable in it that was significant to Cherokee culture, and we would basically make that page for that syllabary character themed after that word.”
Stephenson decided to create more children’s books of his own, which prompted Wagnon to find a different illustrator for the syllabary book. Wagnon then met Cherokee artist Beth Anderson, who will be illustrating his Cherokee syllabary board book. Native Voices Books now wants to expand the syllabary book into two separate works – a board book for younger children and a hardback picture book with more information added for older readers. The book for younger readers will drop April 2024, while the other will appear in August 2024.
Wagnon has another book set to drop in 2024 in Canada, and he said this has been an eye-opening experience. The literary work will be a fourth- through sixth-grade level Cherokee history book. Wagnon said he is not certain if or when the book will be distributed in the U.S. Saunders Book Co. has a series over Native American tribes, and they cover about five tribes a year, with Cherokee being one of the selected tribes this year.
Wagnon had a lot of input on the book, so he said it made him feel like a “real author,” since most of his literary works up to this point were retellings.
“One of the things that I wanted – since they were from Canada, and I didn’t know how much they knew about Cherokee culture – was to have the final say about what got put out there,” Wagnon said. “I didn’t want something put out there that was not representative of true Cherokee culture. I didn’t want headdresses and teepees and all that kind of stuff.”
Wagnon said his and Stephenson’s original goal, when this literary journey began, was to contribute stories to the world that would last for generations.
“I think it’s everybody’s goal to not be forgotten or to contribute something to the world, and that was our goal – to contribute. It has never been about making money or being famous,” Wagnon said.
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