FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2018 file photo, Lupita Nyong'o attends the National Board of Review Awards Gala in New York. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers announced Thursday that Nyong’o’s picture book,“Sulwe,” will come out next January.
FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2018 file photo, Lupita Nyong'o attends the National Board of Review Awards Gala in New York. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers announced Thursday that Nyong’o’s picture book,“Sulwe,” will come out next January. Photo by Evan Agostini
FILE - In this Jan. 9, 2018 file photo, Lupita Nyong'o attends the National Board of Review Awards Gala in New York. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers announced Thursday that Nyong’o’s picture book,“Sulwe,” will come out next January. Photo by Evan Agostini

Celebrities

Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o is working on a picture book

The Associated Press

January 18, 2018 12:14 PM

NEW YORK

Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o is working on a picture book.

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers announced Thursday that Nyong'o's "Sulwe" will come out next January. According to the publisher, the Kenyan actress' debut book will be a story about "colorism," the favorable treatment given to people with lighter skin. Sulwe is a 5-year-old girl from Kenya coming to terms with her dark skin. The book's illustrator is still to be determined.

Nyong'o said in a statement that the book would draw on her own experiences of being "taunted" about her skin.

Nyong'o won a best-supporting actress Oscar for "Twelve Years a Slave." Her other credits include "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" and the upcoming "Black Panther."