It Rains Diamonds on Neptune celebrates The Telling Room’s young authors from the last ten years, in commemoration of the organization’s twentieth anniversary. This collection pairs youth voices with established writers from Maine’s community, writing across genres, identities, experiences, and themes—with pen and ink illustrations throughout. These stories, poems, essays, and recipes touch on pressing topics impacting youth today, from climate change, LGBTQ+ identity, gun violence, and racism to finding community, cultural connections, humor, and hope in unexpected places. The resilience, imagination, and creativity of youth shine throughout It Rains Diamonds on Neptune, inviting readers of all ages into its powerful pages.  

Featuring Authors: Maryam Abdullah - Samaa Abdurraqib - Johan Alexander - Lexi Barstow - Zoe Blackman - Mike Bove - Taryn Bowe - Marpheen Chann - Maddie Curtis - Oliver Curtis - Samara Cole Doyon - Ian-Khara Ellasante - Leigh Ellis - Corah Hanlon-Gamet - Tess Gerritsen - Nick Fuller Googins - Leaticia Hannah - Kauther Hassan - Leela Marie Hidier - Yann Tanguy Irambona - Zahir Janmohamed - Stu Kestenbaum - Richard Kheang - Khalil Kilani - Natalia Mbadu - Coco McCracken - Brooks Miller - Leila Nadir - Chris Packard - Rocío Pérez - Mira Ptacin - Noor Sager - Lauren Saxon - Arwyn Sherman - Hailey Talbert - Rebecca Turkewitz - Jules Vázquez - Arisa White - Maya Williams - Noah Williams

Illustrated by Otto Wolyniec.

Advance Praise for It Rains Diamonds on Neptune:

“It Rains Diamond on Neptune brings together a stunning collection of writing from Maine’s literary community and confirms the vital role the Telling Room has played for twenty years in inspiring and celebrating writers of all ages in our state. I was deeply moved by these personal and profound pieces, which respond to each other and to our bewildering and exhilarating, terrifying and miraculous experiences in this life. This book is a treasure.“ — Lily King, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author

“This stunning intergenerational, multi-genre anthology sparkles with kaleidoscopic beauty and wonder. ‘I stepped through a doorway and magic emerged,’ reads the title poem. And the reader, too, steps through not just one doorway but an entire hallway of them, each offering a distinctive pairing of urgently needed Maine voices. Uniquely arranged so pieces by established authors are offered in response to those by youth authors, It Rains Diamonds on Neptune creates an ambience of intimate conversation while never shying from the difficult. Throughout, each piece captures the beauty and challenge of becoming who we are with compassion, imagination, and language that glitters as hard as it hits.” — Julia Bouwsma, Maine Poet Laureate and author of Midden

“It Rains Diamonds on Neptune feels like a journey into a world filled with hope, fear, courage, resilience, and, above all, a yearning and need for kindness, compassion, and nurturing. This 20-year Telling Room anthology is a book for our times—for this particular moment. The stories from this remarkable group of writers reflect the complexities of our world while reminding readers that hope always lies in the simple power of human connection.” — Bob Keyes, Chair of the Maine Arts Commission and author of The Isolation Artist

“A wonderful showcase of the breadth and talent of the young writers of Maine.” — Eliot Schrefer, Stonewall Honor Award Winning author of The Darkness Outside Us

"A brave, beautiful, big-hearted book. It Rains Diamonds on Neptune is just what I needed (and dare I say, we all need): an ode to connection, to community, to creativity. To our stories; to the wit and wisdom, the unfettered imagination, the incredible resilience—the joy!—of youth voices. To finding, forging home wherever you may find and forge—and even lose, and even imagine: yourself." — Tanuja Desai Hidier, author of Born Confused and Bombay Blues