NO HEADLINE

• Courtesy Simon and Schuster
• Issa Rae

Why name this book after your YouTube series? It invites comparisons between you and J.
One, the familiarity of it. Two, because I’m still the awkward black girl. Even though I’m not J specifically, J is an extension of me. I felt like this was an opportunity to tell more about myself and what makes me awkward. That title just felt the most appropriate.

The book’s first chapter, “A/S/L,” is about how you tried out AOL chat rooms. Why write about it?
I think it really just shaped — it was the genesis of my internet creation, in that I was creating characters, I was exploring the communities of the web and I grew up online in a way that a lot of other kids didn’t at the time. So much of that shaped my childhood and informed my identity in the future.

Did you have to dig deep to, say, remember the screen names of dudes you IMed?
I definitely made up the dude’s screen names — I cannot remember those for the life of me — but those first conversations were pretty easy to remember. I just remember cringing. Every single time someone brings up “A/S/L?” I just get rapid flashbacks to that time. I can’t believe I did that. I can’t believe I got away with that. I could have been the victim of a child predator. My mom was always in fear of that. I’m not sure if she’s reading it now or if she’s finished reading it, but she hasn’t mentioned that chapter, so I guess she’s like, “I’m just glad you’re alive.”

Which was more awkward to write about, yourself or your family?
For sure, my family. They didn’t ask to be in the book. Actually, writing about them wasn’t awkward — it was bringing it to my dad. He was like, “Whoa. Is this going to be out there for people to read?” but it really forced us to talk about it. It turned an awkward situation into something that was fruitful for our relationship.

Which did you need to get off your chest more, “Connecting with Other Blacks” or “When Coworkers Attack”?
I feel so bad about “When Coworkers Attack” because I single out a coworker. She was talking shit, and that was why I even wrote that chapter: “Really, bitch? You want to talk shit?” Now I’m dreading the fact that she may read it. “Connecting with Other Blacks,” I felt, was necessary to get out there, just to show the types of blacks I love and the types of blacks I try to avoid as an awkward black person.

It was nice to see those types laid out, showing w there’s more than one type of “black.”
Exactly. That was my whole hope — to show that we’re not all the same.

What was it like to work with Larry Wilmore?
It was an amazing experience. He is the truth, and I really value my time being with him, especially with him being a veteran on TV and with all the things that he’s worked on, just being a good listener and good writing partner and so smart. I learned so much with him writing the pilot.

Like what?
We had these open-ended conversations before we even sat down to write. I thought, “Cool, we’re just getting to know each other.” He was very open with his life, and I was very open with mine. Then when we sat down to write, it was so easy. I realized that everything that we had talked about was the foundation of the script, and without my knowing it. That was just a fun creative process.

What are you watching right now?
Everything. Veep. I love How to Get Away with Murder. It’s really what I’m not watching. Netflix — I just watched everything there, especially the British shows.

One of the first shows I watched on Netflix was the original version of The Office.
Yeah! My brother actually had given me the DVD set of the original Office a long time ago, and I put off watching it. I ended up watching it on Netflix. And loving it.

What was the last awkward thing that you did?
That’s a good question. I mean, all of these interviews. Public appearances are awkward for me.

The average person isn’t touring the country and being like, “Here I am!”
Yeah. I’m presenting myself and saying the same things. That’s weird.