Nico Tortorella to Publish Children's Picture Book About Self-Acceptance — See the Cover! (Exclusive)

'So much of this book is about giving something to my children,' says the 'Younger' and "City on Fire' actor

Nico Tortorella is writing a new chapter.

The actor and LGBTQ advocate (who identifies as gender fluid and prefers he/him pronouns in writing) has revealed the cover of his debut picture book, Olivette Is You, exclusively with PEOPLE. The book, illustrated by Melissa Kashiwagi, is forthcoming next fall from Random House Books for Young Readers.

“I've always imagined I would work in the kids' space,” Tortorella tells PEOPLE. “Even as a kid, I knew I was going to do something in this space, and so much of this book is about giving something to my children.”

Known for his roles in Paramount+’s Younger and AMC’s The Walking Dead, Tortorella, 35, is already an established author. He penned the poetry collection, all of it is you, in 2018, as well as the memoir Space Between in 2019, the latter of which details the actor’s exploration of gender identity and expression.

Olivette Is You deals with similar themes of self-acceptance, this time for young readers. The title, which is reminiscent of Tortorella’s previous book and his drag persona, Olivette Isyou, who he performed as in season 1 of RuPaul’s Secret Celebrity Drag Race, is inspired by Tortorella's own experiences, per the book's description.

Tortorella had the first ideas for Olivette, the book’s spirited protagonist, while he and his spouse, entrepreneur Bethany C. Meyers, were in the beginning stages of growing their family.

“As Beth and I were starting our fertility journey, I had a dream about this kid named Olivette that came to me,” Tortorella says. “It just kind of all hit and made a lot of sense and it represented all of these parts of myself and Bethany from the past, present, future.”

Related: Sexually Fluid 'Younger' Star Nico Tortorella Opens Up on His Relationship with Partner Who Identifies as a Lesbian

Tortorella began writing while he and Meyers were trying to have a baby; a process that the actor says he thought “would come so easily" and which "was not the case.” (Tortorella spoke with PEOPLE about the experience earlier this year.) The couple welcomed their daughter, Kilmer Dove Meyers Tortorella, in March.

“[This character] was an outlet to put everything that I was experiencing onto a page,” Tortorella says. “Olivette represented this hope, this light at the end of the tunnel that really contained the entire universe.”

The book's message of acceptance is especially important for Tortorella, who came out as gender fluid in 2018 and has become a staunch advocate for the LGBTQ community.

“The world, in this country, feels extra divided right now. There's no denying that,” he says. “The point of this book is to bring people together. It's really about recognizing two ends of spectrums and exploring the space between.”

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In addition to his writerly endeavors, Tortorella recently appeared in the Apple TV+ series City on Fire, based on the bestselling novel by Garth Risk Hallberg. The show follows the aftermath of an NYU student’s death in 2003 New York; Tortorella plays a former rock singer not unlike the era's indie heroes.

As for family matters, Tortorella is already reading Olivette Is You to his daughter. He hopes the book will not only inspire children, but also parents, and urge everyone to embrace all parts of who they are.

“I unconditionally believe that anything and everything in this life is possible,” Tortorella says. “And nobody anywhere can tell me otherwise.”

Olivette Is You will be published on April 20, 2024 by Random House Books for Young Readers.

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