10 days until MURRAY OUT OF WATER!

Keep reading to learn about upcoming events, preorder swag, and more!

I honestly don’t know where the time is going…May 21st, the release date of my debut middle grade novel Murray Out of Water feels like it’s just around the corner…AND IT IS. Launch day is now just TEN days away! How did the time go by so fast?

Well, a lot has been happening and I’m trying my best to soak in every joyous moment. I’ve had many joyous little wins lately. Let’s catch you all up!

First, my finished author copies came in and they are truly GORGEOUS. I am truly overwhelmed that I wrote a book and it looks like a real book-shaped thing! It’s shiny! The blue is SO vibrant! The interiors are gorgeous. And hopefully you will think the words are too.

Preorder swag

Preorder signed and personalized copies from The Curious Reader and click “signed copy” (North Jersey) or Thunder Road Books (South Jersey) to receive the goodies, either for pick-up or shipped to you. If you’re from out of the area, both bookstores are incredible.

Or, preorder from whatever retailer you want and submit your receipt on my preorder form (limited to the first 50 receipts, but open internationally). You will receive a signed bookplate with my fancy new author signature!

Upcoming Events

I updated the events page on my website with exciting events coming up in May and June to celebrate Murray!

Here is the rundown for May:

Tuesday, May 14 4:30-6:30pm: Share Your Story event at St. Cloud Elementary School, West Orange, NJ

I am so excited to join TWENTY-EIGHT other authors at St. Cloud Elementary this week to sign some copies of my book for kids, hand out coloring and activity sheets, and more. I’m seriously honored—this looks like an incredible event and I wish more schools had engaged, organized parents to help make stuff like this happen! Y’all are superheroes.

Thursday, May 23 at 7pm:

The Adult School of the Chathams, Madison, and Florham Park is a lifelong community learning organization that I have been working with since 2015 and they do incredible work bringing lectures, workshops, and classes to their students in the North Jersey area.

And on Thursday, May 24th at 7pm, I’ll be doing an event with them as a speaker instead of an intern-turned-lifelong volunteer! Come to the Kemmerer Library in New Vernon, NJ to see my partner and local educator, Olivia Anne Gennaro, and I in conversation about my book. The event is free, but registration is required here.

May 24: LAUNCH EVENT at Bureau of General Services Queer Division with Nicole Melleby!

Last and definitely not least, thanks to the incredible volunteers over at the Bureau of General Services, Queer Division, a bookstore housed in the LGBT Center in NYC! I’ll be in conversation with my friend, colleague, and mentor Nicole Melleby, author of the recently released and brilliant novel Winnie Nash is Not Your Sunshine!

The launch event is on Friday, May 24th at 7pm and if you can’t make it in person, the event will be streamed live on their YouTube Channel here!

More blurbs

I am behind posting the lovely blurbs I have gotten on Instagram because there is SO MUCH STUFF going on! But rest assured, I will continue to spotlight them. Here is one I recently shared from A.J. Sass, author of fantastic queer middle grade reads Ana on the Edge, Ellen Outside the Lines, Just Shy of Ordinary, and Camp QUILTBAG (with Nicole Melleby).

Taylor Tracy has gifted readers with a lyrical and deeply moving debut about life's unexpected challenges and the allies who help us through them. Readers will fall in love with Murray as she navigates a new friendship, family discord, and revelations about her own identity. Ultimately, Murray Out of Water is a gentle reminder that difficult moments in our lives will eventually pass. This beautifully-told story of queer kids finding one another and embracing their magic, on the other hand, will stay with me forever.

-A. J. Sass, awarding-winning author of
Ellen Outside the Lines, Ana on the Edge, and Camp QUILTBAG