Misty Copeland Reveals Cover for “Letters to Misty: How to Move Through Life With Confidence and Grace ”(Exclusive)

'Letters to Misty: How to Move Through Life With Confidence and Grace' features the dancer's advice for young readers

Misty Copeland is taking her knowledge of ballet off the stage and into readers’ hands.

Copeland, who made history as the first African American female principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, shared with PEOPLE the cover for her forthcoming middle grade book Letters to Misty: How to Move Through Life With Confidence and Grace.

The book is co-written with author Nikki Shannon Smith and is due out from Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, on May 6, 2025. In it, Copeland offers life advice to young readers based on the letters she herself has received over the years from fans.

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This advice, which is equally applicable both on and off the dance floor, covers several themes “from body confidence to balancing various commitments and how to break out of your comfort zone,” according to a synopsis of the book. Alongside those themes, Copeland offers personal anecdotes from her own experiences to bring her perspective to life.

Copeland noted that she's received support throughout her career from mentors who have helped her navigate the barriers that come with working in a white-dominated industry in order to help her "become the dancer and person she is today." She wrote the book, in part, because she wanted to pass on the knowledge she has learned.

“I think it’s really important to have a community around you, a support system, mentors, people that are going to be there for you on those days when you just aren’t strong enough to do it yourself,” she said, per a release for the book.

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The dancer said that, thanks to her successful career, many young people have looked to her for guidance and have asked for her advice on “everything from dance-specific questions to life lessons about being the 'other' in certain spaces,” and she felt it was important to share her story to help them on their own journey.

Copeland is also the author of the 2014 memoir Life in Motion, which tells the story of her journey to becoming a principal dancer in the world-class American Ballet Theatre. She has also written several children’s books, including Firebird, Bunheads and Black Ballerinas.

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Letters to Misty: How to Move Through Life With Confidence and Grace is set to hit shelves on May 6, 2025 and is available for preorder now, wherever books are sold.