Azriel Hackett Email & Phone Number

I've been a storyteller for as long as I can remember. In elementary school, I began to write them down, and have been doing so ever since. As I grew older, I found that my passion lies in the intersection between writing and social justice, especially in the Black community. This is why I pursued a minor in African-American & Africana Studies alongside my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a concentration in Fiction at Emerson College. Even before 2020, it was painfully clear to me how great the need is for diverse voices in the literary world.During the Summer of 2021 I had the privilege of being an Editorial Intern at Candlewick Press, which helped me realize how much I love working in the editorial side of the publishing industry and how much passion I have for the book creation process. While employed there, I was also awarded a Children’s Publishing Internship Grant by We Need Diverse Books, a non-profit organization dedicated to diversifying the publishing industry. As a grantee, I attended weekly workshops where I conversed with professionals in every aspect of the publishing industry, from editorial to marketing to cover design and beyond. While at Emerson, I was a contributing author and editor of Flawless Mag, a magazine published bi-annually by Flawless Brown, the artist collective for women and non-binary people of color on campus. We spent weeks reading through and approving submissions for publication, then designed spreads for each chosen piece. In addition, I was a member of the Students Unapologetically Resisting, Growing, and Engaging (SURGE) Staff at the Social Justice Center on Emerson’s campus. Over the course of two years I worked on projects related to Black art in Boston. More specifically, I helped build an archive for Ms. Elma Lewis, a prominent Black artist and social justice advocate in Boston.Currently, I am working at Penguin Random House, as an Editorial Assistant at their Viking Children’s Books Imprint. Here, I get to assist 2 editors in publishing books for a wide range of ages, with a specific emphasis on stories that reflect the diversity of our readers.All in all, I hope to continue to find opportunities where my writing, editorial skills, and passion for social justice can be used to help others, spread knowledge, build community, and make the world a better place.