Photo by Austin Carey for The Lafayette
Allison Stein ’27 collaborated with Lafayette College custodian Joe Swarctz to create her recently published children’s book “2062: Sally in Spectropia.”
For nearly four years, Allison Stein ‘27 has interned at a publishing company, helping other people put their stories into the world. However, this past summer, the name on the cover was her own.
Released on Aug. 1, Stein’s first published book, “2062: Sally in Spectropia,” follows Sally, a young girl navigating the colorful, futuristic city Spectropia.
“I think nowadays we need to start reimagining that future,” said Stein.
“That’s sort of what I was trying to do with 2062,” she continued.
Written for readers ages 7-11, the book takes place in 2062 — the same year imagined in the TV show “The Jetsons,” a significant inspiration for the setting of Spectropia — and follows Sally as she foils the evil plans of two major villains, Mr. M. Stach and Cy Burns.
According to Stein, the book goes out of its way to showcase elements such as community gardens and solar panels to create a sense of community.
“I just wanted to make an effort to imagine a semi-possible, semi-happy future,” Stein said. “I think that’s something a lot of people need to be able to imagine right now.”
The idea for Spectropia had been sitting with Stein since high school. It was not until college, however, that Spectropia made the leap from idea to manuscript, coinciding with her blossoming publishing career.
During her first-year seminar, Stein met Eva Acker ‘27, who connected her with her mother, Angel Ackerman, the founder of Parisian Phoenix Publishing. Stein soon began interning with the company, gaining an inside look at the industry she would eventually enter as an author.
“She continuously looks for opportunities where she can explore avenues and grow as a person and a professional,” Ackerman said of Stein.
Through her work at the publishing company, Stein met Joe Swarctz, a Lafayette custodian and children’s book illustrator. When she began the process of looking for an illustrator, she asked Swarctz to help bring Spectropia to life.
“She has a quirky sense of humor, so it kind of matches her personality,” Swarctz said.
The illustrations began with Stein’s ideas, but neither she nor Swarctz treated them as final. Stein would explain what she envisioned, and the two would cooperate from there.
“It started as a blank canvas,” he explained. “She had some ideas, but obviously she’s not an illustrator, so she kind of sketched out some stuff.”
This collaboration gave Swarctz room to add in his own ideas. For instance, he suggested changing Sally’s ride to a stingray-like creature, inspired by his own daughter’s love of the animal.
A month into its release, Stein is still finding ways to put “2062: Sally in Spectropia” into readers’ hands. She has donated copies to Little Free Libraries, gifted books to professors with children and hopes to get her book into Easton Public Library and the Lafayette College Store.
“I would love to write more editions of 2062, probably with different characters and different cities,” said Stein. “Then also writing other things over time, longer pieces.”
For now, she hopes her first book gives young readers a reason to imagine the future differently.
“I hope they have fun,” Stein explained. “I want them to feel like the future can be fun and lovely and not frightening.”