Katie and Kevin Tsang's brilliant Sam Wu series comes to a close with the sixth installment Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Space.  We were pleased to have the opportunity to catch up with Katie and Kevin to talk with them about the series and their exciting future plans.

Congratulations on the publication of Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Space can you tease a little about what readers can expect?

Sam Wu is finally going to Space Camp--something he's been wanting to do since the very first book! It felt like the perfect setting for the final book in the series. And the whole crew is going too--Sam and his best friends Zoe and Bernard, plus his nemesis to friend Ralph Philip Zinkerman and his twin sister Regina. At camp, the friends will have to face a variety of fears as well as compete in Space Camp challenges! We had so much fun writing this one and did lots of research about what Space Camp is really like.

It is the final book in the series how does it feel to have reached this point?

We are so excited and grateful that we were able to do the series as we initially planned it. We always wanted there to be six books, and we always wanted the last one to be at Space Camp. It is definitely bittersweet to be wrapping the series up, but we've loved writing the books and hope kids will continue to read them and be inspired to face their own fears. 

Can you tell us a bit about how you collaborate when writing the books?

It took us a while to figure out what worked best for us! We always start with a lot of brainstorming and talking out the plot and the characters. When we first started thinking about the series, we would go on long walks to figure out what we wanted to do with the story. By book six it was much easier because we knew all the characters and both of us felt so comfortable writing in Sam's voice. Once we know the concept for a new book, we'll sit down and do a very detailed outline to make sure we are on the same page. Then we write everything together -- we sit in the living room and connect our laptop to a large monitor, and we take turns writing different chapters and scenes. The person who isn't typing can jump in at any time with suggestions or ideas, and we alternate who is typing and who is reviewing. If we start to argue about anything (which of course happens!) we take a five minute break and then come back to it. Now that we have a baby we have to take her schedule into consideration too, so we mostly work in the evenings after she's gone to sleep. 

What were your biggest fears as children and why?  Were you able to overcome these?

Kevin: I was, and still am, terrified of sharks. So writing SAM WU IS NOT AFRAID OF SHARKS felt very close to home! I think I have a healthy fear of them though, I definitely wouldn't want to get close to one. 

Katie: I used to have a recurring nightmare about being chased by dinosaurs in a giant parking structure. I think I have Jurassic Park to blame! Now my fears are all around meeting our writing deadlines...

The original Reflecting Realities report shone a light on just how narrow the UK's publishing has been in terms of representation.  Kevin, you grew up in Georgia, were you able to see yourself reflected in books and do you feel this had an impact on your interest and engagement with reading?

Kevin: My favorite thing to read as a kid were the Goosebumps books, and while I didn't see myself reflected in a lot of books, or anyone who looked like me, I still liked reading. I think I would have enjoyed reading about kids of Asian heritage though, and wish there had been more options available. I'm glad that now there are so many more options for kids to find themselves in books. 

Another finding within Reflecting Realities  was how the tendency for inclusive books to focus around issues and the dearth of humour.  How important is humour and do you feel there is a tendency among gatekeepers to overlook the funny in favour of the serious? How can we overcome this?

It was very important to us to make the SAM books funny books that appeal to all children, but just happen to be inclusive and have a hero of Asian heritage. The books aren't about Sam's cultural background, they are about him facing his fears with the help of his friends, which lots of kids can identify with. But we made sure to include details about Sam's Chinese heritage in the food he eats at home, or in the stories his grandma tells him. We really believe funny books have the power to create real positive change in the world. 

Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Ghosts was selected for BookBuzz, how did it feel to have the book as part of a large-scale National initiative?

We were thrilled when Sam Wu was selected for BookBuzz because we knew it meant that so many readers would have the chance to meet Sam, which felt great. We were also happy it was selected because we wrote it to be as accessible as possible so even reluctant or less confident readers could enjoy it. Nathan Reed's brilliant illustrations also make it super appealing and accessible. 

Now that the series is coming to an end, do you have ideas or plans for future books together and is there anything you can reveal to us?

We have a new series coming out this fall, called Dragon Realm, about a group of kids who meet at a summer camp in China and then discover dragons in the mountain behind camp! It is pitched slightly older than the Sam Wu books, and is longer and not as highly illustrated, but still has similar themes of being brave and facing challenges with the help of your friends. The new series is also much more fantastical and more directly inspired by Chinese myths and legends. And we would love to also keep writing books in the same age range as Sam Wu too...we'll see what happens!