Q&A: Kosoko Jackson on “The Forest Demands Its Due”
Author photo by Sara Nicole Lemon
How the page-turning YA horror/fantasy evaluates systemic violence toward marginalized teens.
“Yellowjackets” meets “The Taking of Jake Livingston” in the acclaimed author’s first foray into dark, paranormal horror…
Lambda Literary Award Finalist and LGBTQ author Kosoko Jackson has entered the horror scene with The Forest Demands Its Due (Quill Tree Books), which hits stores in October 2023. The novel is a chilling examination of how society perpetuates violence against marginalized teens—The Forest Demands Its Due aims to encourage young people to push back against the manipulative world of the elite and to step into their power.
“Queer books are here to stay, let me be clear,” the author says. “I do hope this novel expands some readers’ knowledge on what books with queer characters can have, and how integral queerness is, not only to history, but to storytelling.”
Below, we have more info about the book—plus Jackson talks about writing the novel. The author explains what inspired him to write paranormal horror, how he used the fantasy to comment on systemic racism in education, and reveals the other stories that inspired his new book.
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About the book
Seventeen-year-old Douglas Jones wants nothing to do with Regent Academy’s king-making or nefarious history; he’s just trying to survive. Until a student is murdered and the next day no one remembers he ever existed, except for Douglas and the groundskeeper’s son, Everett Everley.
In his determination to uncover the truth, Douglas awakens a horror hidden within the forest surrounding Regent, unearthing secrets that have been buried for centuries. A vengeful creature wants blood as payment for a debt more than 300 years in the making—or it will swallow all of Winslow in darkness.
For the first time in his life, Douglas might have a chance to grasp the one thing he’s always felt was missing: power. But if he’s not careful, he will find out that power has a tendency to corrupt absolutely everything.
Reviews:
“Magic, mystery and murder combine in Jackson's dark academia thriller that will have you jumping at shadows and eager to stay out of the woods. Sharp, visceral, and all together stunning, The Forest Demands Its Due will haunt you long after the last page.”—Sasha Peyton Smith, author of Witch Haven
“Strange magic, mad creatures and cruel curses abound in this eerie tale of becoming. This book calls to you sure as the dark forest calls to Douglas—and if you know what’s good for you, you'll answer that call.”—Chuck Wendig, author of Aftermath
The Forest Demands Its Due
Kosoko Jackson
Quill Tree Books, HarperCollins
Categories: Fantasy Horror, Teen & YA Black & African American Fiction, LGBTQ+ Romance for YA
About author Kosoko Jackson
Kosoko Jackson is a digital media specialist, focusing on digital storytelling. Occasionally, his personal essays and short stories have been featured on Medium, Thought Catalog, The Advocate, and some literary magazines.
When not writing novels that champion holistic representation of Black queer men across genres, he can be found obsessing over movies, drinking his (umpteenth) London Fog, or spending far too much time on Twitter. He is a Lambda Literary Finalist, and an avid Taylor Swift fan. THE FOREST DEMANDS ITS DUE is his third young adult novel, but his first foray into horror.
Q&A with Kosoko Jackson
What inspired you to dive into paranormal horror?
I think horror is such a reflection of society and a representation of social justice in an accessible way. Horror is all about taking a concept people fear, and making it into a big bad worth conquering. Queer kids, and Black kids, deserve the same too, which, at its core, is what the big bads in this novel are; threats against queerness and Blackness.
Why was it important to set this book in the middle of a prestigious academic institution? How does The Forest Demand Its Due comment on systemic racism in education?
As someone who grew up in a predominantly white institution (PWI), I remember how hard it was to navigate this space while holding onto my Blackness and not feeling like a part of me had to be sacrificed to survive. Georgetown University, and its history of slaves used to build its historic institution, is an example (and was a huge inspiration for this novel).
The Forest Demands Its Due is a story that discusses how these spaces chip away at the parts that make anyone unique, and how these “king and queen” maker institutions demand more from you than most are willing to pay, in order to succeed.
I wanted to talk about that through a lens of magic, horror and fantasy to keep readers on the edge of their seat, but also teach them a small bit about how the world functions for marginalized people.
Can you talk about the inspiration of other media that inspired the book? (Disney movies, Brothers Grimm, gothic fairy tales, etc.)
I’m a huge fan of fairy tales. Not to spoil anything in the book, but a big part of this is the gothic tale you learn about in the story, who gets to write history, and how history is twisted to suit the writers.
I’m also a big fan of historical documents, and how history and time twists these documents, depending on your knowledge base and culture, to tell a different tale. Think about quotes—such as blood is thicker than water—which mean completely different things if you know the full expression.
Or let them eat cake, something Antoinette never said. That’s a big theme in this novel.
Find out more about Kosoko Jackson online
Twitter: @kosokojackson
Instagram: @kosokojackson
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