Dashka Slater
Bestselling Author, Journalist for The New York Times Magazine and Mother Jones


Dashka Slater has been telling stories since she could talk. An award-winning journalist who writes for such publications as The New York Times Magazine and Mother Jones, she is also the author of nine books of fiction and non-fiction for children and adults.

 

Her 2017 true-crime narrative, The 57 Bus, has received numerous accolades, including the 2018 Stonewall Book Award from the American Library Association, the 2018 Beatty Award from the California Library Association, the California Book Award Gold Award for Young Adult Literature, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor. It was a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist, an LA Times Book Award Finalist, and the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association Young Adult Book of the Year, in addition to receiving four starred reviews and being named to more than 20 separate lists of the year’s best books, including ones compiled by the Washington Post, the New York Public Library, and School Library Journal. It has been a community-wide read for cities, counties, school districts, colleges, and universities.

 

Dashka Slater is a popular speaker with audiences of all ages, from preschool to professional. She frequently appears as a speaker, panelist, and moderator at writing conferences, universities, and industry gatherings. She has taught creative writing and journalism to students as young as 5 and as old as 85.

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Hardcover
The Book of Fatal ErrorsThe Feylawn Chronicles
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
FSG Books for Young Readers

Award-winning author Dashka Slater spins a tale of friendship, magic, and eternal life in The Book of Fatal Errors, an evocative and witty middle-grade fantasy. Rufus doesn’t just make mistakes – he makes fatal errors. Along with his snooty cousin Abigail, they soon become entangled in the tantalizing world of the feylings, mischievous fairly-like creatures desperate to find their way home. In helping the feylings, Rufus tumbles down a dark path rich with age-old secrets and difficult truths. Any move he makes might be his final fatal error. Or perhaps, his most spectacular beginning...

Escargot
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
FSG Books for Young Readers

In A Book for Escargot, the standalone sequel to Escargot--written by award-winning and New York Times-bestselling author Dashka Slater and illustrated by Sydney Hanson--we follow a funny and charming French snail through a library to find the book of his dreams.
Bonjour! It is moi, Escargot, your favorite French snail. Today I am going on a trip to the library, where there are so many stories to choose from!

Hardcover
The 57 BusA True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
FSG Books for Young Readers

Sasha, a white teen, lived in the middle-class foothills and attended a small private school. Richard, a black teen, lived in the crime-plagued flatlands and attended a large public one. Each day, their paths overlapped for a mere eight minutes. But one afternoon on the bus ride home from school, a single reckless act left Sasha severely burned, and Richard charged with two hate crimes and facing life imprisonment. The case garnered international attention, thrusting both teenagers into the spotlight.

Hardcover
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
FSG Books for Young Readers

Bonjour! Escargot is a beautiful French snail who wants only two things:
1. To be your favorite animal.
2. To get to the delicious salad at the end of the book.
But when he gets to the salad, he discovers that there's a carrot in it. And Escargot hates carrots. But when he finally tries one—with a little help from you!—he discovers that it's not so bad after all! A charming and interactive picture book ideal for picky eaters and animal lovers alike.

Confessions of An Ignoramous
Why knowing everything gets in the way of understanding anything. Stories from an unconventional childhood and an explanation why ignorance has been the key to Dashka's success as a journalist.
Swimming Outside My Lane
How Dashka learned to swim after faking it for years, nearly got kicked out of her neighborhood pool for bad behavior, and ended up building a restorative justice circle for formerly incarcerated lifers with her lap-swimming nemesis.
The Difference Between Looking and Seeing
An examination of how compassion makes for better and more accurate observation.
Look, A Squirrel!
A multimedia journey across genres from a writer whose career as a poet, novelist, journalist, and children’s book writer has allowed her to crib from a variety of handbooks.
Everything I Know I Learned in Oz
An exploration of why childhood reading matters, using personal history, professional experience, a few fascinating scientific studies, and three generations of people whose lives were shaped by one series of children’s books.



Listen to The Grotto‘s episode on turning news into inspiration featuring Dashka Slater.

What happened on Bus 57? Listen to the podcast on KALW radio where Dashka Slater explains the story.

KQED News shares “A Tale of Two Oaklands Colliding on ‘The 57 Bus'” with Dashka Slater.

East Bay Express interviewed Dashka Slater about her book The 57 Bus.

Read Dashka Slater’s blog.

Find out more about Dashka Slater on her website.

"Thank you so much for working with us for the last several months to make today happen, and for your skillful, intelligent, evidence-based, heartfelt and heart opening presentations and leadership of discussions. We had a very large turnout (quite unusual given the density of most individuals’ schedules on this campus) and the focused engagement and enthusiasm was palpable. You spoke and led discussion with: #60BSN Seniors at Brandy Beazley’s and Cynthia Stacey’s Leadership and Community Health classes; and 200 (standing room only crowd!) at noon. I/we are so appreciative of your willingness to navigate our scheduling process, for your preparation for today, and for all that you gave of yourself during your time at SMU."
- Marjorie Hammer, Community Reads Team, Samuel Merritt University, Oakland CA

"Thank you for an incredibly thoughtful, developmentally appropriate, engaging talk. Students, staff, faculty, and community members have gone out of their way to tell me how much they enjoyed and appreciated listening to and engaging with you. You inspired many."
- Emily Neilsen, Coordinator of First-Year Events, Northern Vermont University-Johnson

“Your keynote during New Student Orientation was an absolute hit and our students loved you. Your text resonated with our student population and we'd like to continue the conversation.”
- Juhi Bhatt, Ed.D, Assistant Dean of Students for Community Standards & Student Involvement, Division of Enrollment Management & Student Success, SUNY Fashion Institute of Technology