Christine Hartman-Derr in conversation with Steph Littlebird
The Literary Arts Bookstore and NAYA are pleased to welcome author Christine Hartman-Derr to celebrate her latest middle-grade novel, Raven Rising. Hartam-Derr will be joined in conversation by Steph Littlebird.
About NAYA:
Founded by the community, for the community, NAYA is a regional center for Native resilience and self-determination. We wrap community in culturally specific programs, steward generational impacts, amplify community victories, and share a culture of reciprocity. Together, we heal historical traumas, restore balance to our lives, and achieve thriving Indigenous futures.
About the book:
Perfect for fans of Christine Day and Cynthia Leitich Smith, this debut novel follows a Cherokee girl who, after the tragic loss of her parents, tries to acclimate to difficult social dynamics in her new school and a curious magic that her mother may have passed down to her.
Raven Miller only just moved to Bear Creek Falls, but she already hates it. There’s a clique that has it out for her, a vice principal who keeps targeting her for dress code violations, and a cruel rumor going around that Raven is a witch who killed her parents. If it weren’t for her new friends Laurel and Hazel, she’d be lost.
The “witch” stuff would be easy to shrug off, but Raven does possess magical powers in the kitchen—the treats she makes can mysteriously change the lives of those who eat them. Though she doesn’t bake anymore—not since the accident that took her parents’ lives.
Then the clique’s bullying and the vice principal’s watchful eye intensifies. When the girls’ attempts to retaliate fall flat, Raven wonders if the magical sweets she used to make could whip up a justice so powerful it would set everything right. In order to find out, she’ll have to face the things she’s been avoiding. Can Raven rise above the pain of her past to secure a better future?
Christine Hartman-Derr
Christine Hartman-Derr is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. Her short fiction is included in Just YA as well as in the Michael L. Printz Award–winning anthology Legendary Frybread Drive-In. Her debut picture book, Until We Meet Again: Donadagohvi, and debut novel, Raven, Rising, are forthcoming from Heartdrum/HarperCollins Children’s. Further work can be found on Indigenous Reads Rising, Booklist, and in the Bank Street College of Education Occasional Paper Series. Originally from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Christine lives in East Tennessee with her spouse, children, and a rambunctious crew of lovable pets with themed names. Learn more at ChristineHartmanDerr.com.
Steph Littlebird
Steph Littlebird ​is an artist, curator, writer, and a member of Oregon’s Grand Ronde Confederated Tribes (Clatsop Chinook, Afalati Kalapuya). Steph received national recognition as curator of This IS Kalapuyan Land (2020), an exhibition at the Five Oaks Museum in Portland, Oregon, which was featured by ArtNews and PBS NewsHour. Littlebird's first illustrated children's book, My Powerful Hair (2023), was awarded the national Carter G. Woodson Social Studies Award (2024). Her author debut, You Are the Land, an ode to the Willamette Valley, was published by Penguin Random House, released February 2026.
