Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is making her literary debut.
The American actor turned British royal will publish a children’s picture book next month, People magazine reports. The Bench, will be published by Random House Books for Young Readers. The illustrations are by Christian Robinson, whose books include Last Stop on Market Street (with Matt de la Peña), winner of the Newbery Medal and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor.
The publisher says the book “beautifully captures the special relationship between father and son, as seen through a mother’s eyes.”
“Evoking a deep sense of warmth, connection, and compassion, The Duchess’s debut children’s book gives us a window into shared and enduring moments between a diverse group of fathers and sons—moments of peace and reflection, trust and belief, discovery and learning, and comfort and nurture,” Random House says on a webpage for the book.
Meghan said the book’s inspiration came from a literary gift she gave to her husband, Prince Harry.
“The Bench started as a poem I wrote for my husband on Father’s Day, the month after Archie was born,” Meghan said in a news release. “That poem became this story.”
Late last year, a British newspaper reported that Meghan was interested in writing fiction, with one source saying, “Fiction is something she has always wanted to try her hand at, and she could be assured that anything she writes would sell well, regardless of its quality.”
The Bench is slated for publication on June 8.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.