Venessa Vida Kelley is a Nuyorican writer, illustrator, and sequential artist. They are the author and illustrator of their debut novel, When the Tides Held The Moon, which is an American fairytale they describe as a queer, historical romantasy. Venessa joins The OTHERWORLDS to talk about Benny's journey of self-discovery, found families, activism, the importance of Emmett's arc in Tides, and much more!
The idea for Tides came from an illustration Kelley did for Mermay, and you can purchase art via Kelley's Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/vkelleyart Kelley is now writing and illustrating a graphic novel called Manu Faces the Music, which will be released in 2026. For more information about Kelley, Tides, and Manu Faces the Music, follow Kelley on Instragram @vkelleyart or visit their website https://www.venessakelley.com