Fun fact: Joss Kendrick could have been an unreleased Contemporary Character.
Explanation of said fun fact: Sharon Pajka, an expert in deaf representation in children's literature, noted on the blog that she was asked to consult on the series in 2016- nearly four years before Joss released. In 2017, American Girl trademarked the names 'Emory Van Zant' and 'Murph'. In 2018, 2 books written by Erin Falligant, who wrote Joss's books, were listed for a June 2018 release. The books were eventually pulled, and in July 2018, the Contemporary Character line was announced to be retiring.
So... what happened?
American Girl has worked on Joss since 2016, which was proven with the 'Murph' trademark in 2017 and Sharon Pajka's blog. Normally, they would have thought of Joss in 2018. Instead of doing that, they decided to rename Emory Van Zant to Joss Kendrick and save her to be the Girl of the Year in 2020, since the Contemporary Character line wasn't doing well. Unfortunately for American Girl, they decided to revive the line this summer for a Fall 2021 release, so if they just thought of that earlier, they wouldn't have to make Joss the Girl of the Year after all.
Fortunately for us, Joss is an amazing Girl of the Year. So thank you, American Girl, for shelving Joss until this year.
@animestorys not even close to what there doing with the contemporary
Considering that Kira's books look like they were also written by Erin, could it be possible that Joss's old story was given to Kira once she made her transition from Emory?
I honestly think American Girl needs to hang up the contemporary line unless they can find a way to make it marketable. I heard next year that they are attempting to make the contemporary line an "all-black" line which to me feels like their way of copping out of making a Historical doll of color or GOTY of color, which are their most POPULAR lines. The reason no one got into the contemporary lines is because no one found a reason to. What's the point of buying a random modern girl when they can make a Truly Me doll and get all the modern accessories they desire? Not to mention Girl Of The Year is more popular because it …
@kmharmon120 none of us really knew that she was originally going to be that. Joss’s story is Emory’s story, just with a different name. So basically, imagine joss displays just with saying “Emory Van Zant” on them, and that’s kinda how it would go. 😉
Wait....I didn't know Joss was originally going to be a contemporary doll!! I'm glad they decided to go ahead and make her this year's girl of the year instead. Maybe Emory will eventually be a girl of the year, but I'm not sure when. If you have any more information on Emory, please let me know.