Middle Grade Ninja

Ellen Whitfield and I discuss how she went from being a reader to a copyeditor to a book reviewer to a publicist with BOOKS FORWARD. We talk specifically about budget numbers for authors preparing to promote their newest launch, strategies for promoting backlists, entering awards contests, what every author should include in their email signature, working with a publisher's in-house publicity team, and so much more. Ellen balances her understanding of “the other side of the desk” when it comes to media pitching, with a true love of an avid bibliophile. She was part of the journalism community for more than seven years, working at respected print and online media outlets including The Dallas Morning News, The Advocate newspapers of Baton Rouge and New Orleans (where she coordinated book coverage), the Waco Tribune Herald and others. Her experience on the editorial side of the travel, community and lifestyle sections of newspapers, along with her social and online media savviness as a popular Bookstagrammer, is to the benefit of authors across genres. She has an eye for design and a passion for detail. Ellen provides daily mentorship to the Books Forward team and trains incoming publicists to provide expanded services to our growing and beloved Books Forward family. A Louisiana State University graduate, Ellen lives in the Bayou State with her newspaper-executive husband, bright-and-spirited daughter (we know where she gets that from!) and an ever-growing collection of 550 books.

Gregory Maguire and I chat about his career and why he continues to write for children when WICKED is now the fifth longest-running Broadway musical. We discuss writing about depression in animal fables such as in his newest middle grade novel, CRESS WATERCRESS, how a lack of television and a lot of writing set him up for early success, the mystery of inspiration, and so much more. And he gives a very brief sneak preview of his next book, THE WITCH OF MARACOOR. Gregory Maguire received his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University, and his B.A. from the State University of New York at Albany. He was a professor and co-director at the Simmons College Center for the Study of Children's Literature from 1979-1985. In 1987 he co-founded Children's Literature New England. He still serves as co-director of CLNE, although that organization has announced its intention to close after its 2006 institute. The bestselling author of Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Lost, Mirror Mirror, and the Wicked Years, a series that includes Wicked, Son of a Witch, and A Lion Among Men. Wicked, now a beloved classic, is the basis for the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name. Maguire has lectured on art, literature, and culture both at home and abroad. He has three adopted children and is married to painter Andy Newman. He lives with his family near Boston, Massachusetts.

Elly Swartz and I discuss her career as an author and her newest novel, DEAR STUDENT. We talk about being an author during the pandemic, her average workday, the advantages of writing yourself letters from your characters, researching psychological issues for character creation, creating curriculum guides, learning from your rejections, a ghost story, the importance of being yourself, and so much more. If you're watching the video version, look forward to seeing a lot of my cohost, Mabel the cat. Elly Swartz grew up in Yardley, Pennsylvania, where she lived a happy childhood filled with laughs, family dinners, and crooked birthday cakes. She studied psychology at Boston University and received a law degree from Georgetown University School of Law. The mother of two grown sons, Elly now lives in Massachusetts with her husband. Finding Perfect was her debut novel.

Don Handfield, Joshua Malkin, and I talk about the differences between writing screenplays and collaborating to write a graphic novel, such as their newest, UNIKORN. We talk about acting with Robert Duvall, getting around lawsuits from McDonalds for THE FOUNDER, persevering to make KNIGHTFALL, being a videogame architect, guest staring on SAVED BY THE BELL: THE NEW CLASS, a potential rift in time/between universes, ghost hunting, and so much more. Don is the co-creator of History Channel's drama series Knightfall and produced The Founder, starring Michael Keaton, and Kill The Messenger, starring two-time Academy-Award nominated actor Jeremy Renner. Don also wrote and directed the Saturn Award-winning film Touchback starring Kurt Russell and Christine Lahti. His first comic series The Rift was produced by Steven Spielberg/Amblin Entertainment as an episode for the upcoming Apple reboot of Amazing Stories. His second series, The Mall, was optioned by Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) for development into a TV show. Don was named one of the top new faces of independent film by Filmmaker Magazine and has written screenplays or produced films for all the major studios. Joshua has written feature projects for Sony, Warner Brothers, Cross Creek Entertainment, Universal Pictures as well as for more than a dozen production companies, both big and small. These include: an adaptation of the 80's cult franchise Beastmaster, a supernatural thriller for Australian company See Films and a “re-boot” of the franchise Buck Rogers In the 25th Century. He also wrote and produced three documentaries: two about the art of puppetry, and the other about underground comics. In 2008, his screenplay Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever completed production for Lionsgate. He is currently developing an animated family film for Intrigue Entertainment, a horror movie for Traveling Picture Show, and a TV series for showrunner Jonathan Glassner (Outer Limits, Stargate SG-1.) Joshua is a professor of screenwriting at the University of California Riverside, a story architect for the video game industry, and the proud father of twins.

Libby McNamee and I chat about historical fiction and her novels SUZANNA'S MIDNIGHT RIDE: THE GIRL WHO WON THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR, DOLLY MADISON AND THE WAR OF 1812: AMERICA'S FIRST LADY, and her upcoming book about Elizabeth Van Lew. We discuss writing about the past with empathy, distilling history into a fictional narrative, history as a context for the present, and so much more. Libby McNamee is an author and lawyer. She loves exploring America's many historical sites. When a descendant told her the TRUE story of Susanna Bolling from Virginia and her heroism during the Revolutionary War, Libby was determined to share it with the world. “Susanna's Midnight Ride” is her first published novel. She is currently writing “Dolley Madison and the War of 1812: America's First Lady.” In addition, she is a member of the American Friends of Lafayette, the American Revolution Roundtable, the Historical Novel Society, and James River Writers Libby served as a US Army JAG Officer in Korea, Bosnia, Germany, and Washington State. A native of Boston, Libby graduated with a BA in Government/International Relations and French from Georgetown University cum laude in 1988, a JD from Catholic University Law School in 1993, a Certificate in English Law from the London School of Economics in 1999. She has lived in the Richmond, VA, since 2002.

Erika Lewis and I discuss Irish mythology, world building in fantasy, and planning a series such as the one kicked off by her new middle grade book, KELCIE MURPHY AND THE ACADEMY FOR THE UNBREAKABLE ARTS. We talk about her collaboration with R.A. Salvatore, her approach to different types of projects from comics to novels to screenplays, the pirate Grace O'Malley, multiple ghost stories, flying saucers, and more. Erika Lewis grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, spent summers with her grandparents in Worcester, Massachusetts, and currently lives in Los Angeles, California. With a passion for storytelling set in magical places, she spends as much time as she can traveling. When she's not writing, she can generally be found scribbling notes in a blank book while wandering through abandoned buildings, all kinds of museums, and graveyards. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, her list of credits straddles the comics and novel space, including Game of Shadows from Macmillan's Tor Books, Firebrand and Acursian from Legendary Comics, #Guardian from Awesome Media & Entertainment, and The 49th Key from Heavy Metal Publishing. The Color of Dragons is her debut YA, coming from HarperTeen October 19th, 2021, and Kelcie Murphy and The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts is her middle grade debut coming from Starscape/Macmillan March 1st, 2022.

Leslie Patricelli and I discuss her career writing and illustrating board books and her recent middle grade novels in THE RIZZLERUNK CLUB series, BEST BUDS UNDER FROGS and THE BIG BAD LIES. We talk about her time designing for Microsoft, self-publishing a book in 1993, her approach to illustrating her books for older readers with ink vs painting her picture books, our mutual love for Stephen King, the difficulty of scheduling, the necessity of deadlines, ghosts walking up walls, and so much more. Leslie Patricelli lives in the mountain town of Hailey, Idaho with her husband, Jason, her daughter Tatum, three cats and a devoted, stick-loving dog. Of the many outdoor activities she loves doing in the mountains, skiing untracked powder and mountain biking during wildflower season are at the top of the list. Her son, Beck, is living and playing music in Brooklyn, NY, and her daughter, Tia, is majoring in environmental studies at University of Washington. Her husband is a drummer, music engineer, ski instructor, and her on-request editor.

Elana K. Arnold and I talk about the virtue of islands and plotting a mystery without knowing the ending in her newest novel, JUST HARRIET. We also discuss her series, A BOY CALLED BAT, writing about autism, questions of power, theme, the over prioritizing of plot, how to generate more ideas, making readers feel safe without patronizing them, how we all contain multitudes, author vs reader responsibilities, the random penguin slaughter of 2012, werewolves, an illegal ferret, and so much more. Elana K. Arnold is the author of critically acclaimed and award-winning young adult novels and children's books, including the Printz Honor winner Damsel, the National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and Global Read Aloud selection A Boy Called Bat and its sequels. Several of her books are Junior Library Guild selections and have appeared on many best book lists, including the Amelia Bloomer Project, a catalog of feminist titles for young readers. Elana teaches in Hamline University's MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program and lives in Southern California with her family and menagerie of pets.

Leslie Connor and I talk about writing your way through imposter syndrome and her process in creating her newest novel, ANYBODY HERE SEEN FRENCHIE? We discuss how she started out as an illustrator who transitioned to being an author, putting your characters through hell, problematic writing, characterization, sentence length, dialect, starting with the end of your story, writing about autism, a real-life ghost story, the importance of reading your work aloud, and so much more. Leslie Connor is the author of several award-winning books for children, including two ALA Schneider Family Book Award winners, Waiting for Normal and The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle, which was also selected as a National Book Award finalist. Her other books include All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook, Crunch, and The Things You Kiss Goodbye. She lives in the Connecticut woods with her family and three rescue dogs.

Meera Trehan and I discuss writing from the perspective of a mansion in her new book, THE VIEW FROM THE VERY BEST HOUSE IN TOWN. We talk about how she discovered she wanted to write, her journey to becoming a published author, which included joining the SCBWI and getting serious about her approach, as well as the wisdom of STORY by Robert McKee. We also chat about how she amicably parted ways with one literary agent and found another, tips for drafting a novel, a flying saucer story, and so much more. Meera Trehan grew up in Virginia, outside Washington DC, where she read as much as she could, memorized poems, and ate enough cookies to earn the nickname “Monster” after the Cookie Monster. After attending the University of Virginia and Stanford Law School, she practiced public interest law for over a decade before turning to writing for children. Meera writes everything from picture books to young adult and her work has been published in various magazines. She's an active member of SCBWI, the Writer's Center in Bethesda, and has been a mentor for Pitch Wars and Author Mentor Match. She lives in Maryland with her family, and as of this writing, three fish. Meera is represented by Molly Ker Hawn at the Bent Agency.

Hugh Howey returns to the show, proving reality is a simulation. We talk about his upcoming picture book CANNIBAL HAIKU as well as the WOOL and BEACON 23 television adaptations and his experiences in writers' rooms, and touring the sets. He drops tantalizing hints about some other upcoming projects for film and television as well as his new novel, ACROSS THE SAND, and a new WOOL trilogy!!! I ask several specific craft questions about some of my favorite stories of his and we get a bit philosophical, discussing mortality, the impact of peer pressure, theories of mind, victims of belief systems, our thoughts on God, AVATAR, the nastiness of ants, and so much more. Hugh Howey is the author of the award-winning MOLLY FYDE saga, the horror classic I, ZOMBIE, and the New York Times and USA Today bestselling WOOL series. The WOOL OMNIBUS won Kindle Book Review's 2012 Indie Book of the Year Award -- it has been as high as #1 on Amazon -- and 40 countries have picked up the work for translation. Television and film versions of WOOL, SAND, and BEACON 23 are all in development.

Lane Heymont and I have a far-ranging discussion about books, movies, publishing, the evil of the Sackler family, the nature of forgiveness, his path from being a literary assistant to founding The Tobias Literary Agency, why it's crucial for him to be passionate about the projects he represents, why writers should always be writing, moral clauses in book contracts, the consolidation of major publishers, being a mensch, and so much more. Lane's love affair with literature began at the age of eight when his grandfather offered him $5 to read and discuss the classics of literature. He began his publishing career in 2012 at The Seymour Agency and in 2016 formed The Tobias Literary Agency. With his eclectic taste and particular passion for horror, Lane is the top literary agent in the genre. Some of Lane's favorite reads include: FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley, THE HUNGER by Alma Katsu, SKELETONS AT THE FEAST by Chris Bohjalian, KNIGHT OF THE BLACK ROSE by James Lowder, the DRAGONLANCE CHRONICLES by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, IN COLD BLOOD BY Truman Capote, I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS by Maya Angelou, and THE DINOSAUR ARTIST by Paige Williams. His favorite writers include Sheridan Le Fanu, Mary Shelley, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, Alma Katsu, Chris Bohjalian, and Lovecraft despite his politics and gross bigotry. Lane represents a broad range of commercial fiction and serious nonfiction. In fiction, he is open to projects broadly defined as speculative fiction. He is most interested in horror defined however one defines it. This includes select young adult projects. He prefers contemporary settings and is always looking for own voices projects by BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other underrepresented cultures/identities in both fiction and nonfiction. In nonfiction, Lane acquires celebrity projects, science, cultural studies, history, and pop-culture.

Tina Wells and I discuss the first book in her newest series, HONEST JUNE, as well as how she arranged for an exclusive distribution period through Target Stores. We talk about how she founded her first company at age 16 and built a successful career as a marketer before she became a writer. She shares specifics about how this has allowed her to research her demographic and incorporate reader feedback to ensure future books will resonate with tween readers. We also talk about series planning, being one of six children, the importance of authentic representation, and so much more. Tina Wells is a business strategist, advisor, author, and the founder of RLVNT Media, a multimedia content venture serving entrepreneurs, tweens and culturists with authentic representation. Tina has been recognized by Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business, Essence's 40 Under 40, and more. For over two decades she led Buzz Marketing Group, an agency she founded at age 16 with clients like Dell, The Oprah Winfrey Network, Kroger, Apple, P+G, Johnson & Johnson, and American Eagle that Tina connected with her network of 30,000 buzzSpotters® and 7,000 “momSpotters”, all influential millennials and passionate end-consumers. Tina is also the author of seven books, including the best-selling tween fiction series Mackenzie Blue, its new spinoff series, The Zee Files, and the marketing handbook, Chasing Youth Culture and Getting It Right. Tina's board positions have included THINX, the United Nations Foundation's Global Entrepreneurs Council, The Franklin Institute and Young Entrepreneur's Council. She has also served as the Academic Director for Wharton's Leadership in the Business World Program at the University of Pennsylvania and is a member of the 2017 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute.

Authors Adama Bah, Salvador Gómez-Colón, Freshta Tori Jan, and I discuss their debut novels in the I, WITNESS series. In ACCUSED, Adama Bah recounts being arrested and detained by the FBI under the false accusation that she was a potential suicide bomber. In HURRICANE, Salvador writes about his experience during Hurricane Maria and raising money for Puerto Rico in the aftermath. In COURAGE, Freshta describes being persecuted in Afghanistan during a genocide. We discuss how writing about their trauma helps to put it into perspective and helps them heal. Adama Bah's story has been featured in Adama, a short documentary, and Patriot Acts, a book about post 9/11 injustices. This is the first time Adama's story will be told for middle grade readers. She now lives in New York with her husband and family. Salvador Gómez-Colón is a climate resilience advocate and the founder of Light and Hope for Puerto Rico. His work has been covered by TIME , CNN, the Guardian, and the New York Times, among others. Salvador is currently a student at Yale. He lives in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Freshta Tori Jan is a student at Calvin College, the founder of Sew True Products, and serves as a public speaker for marginalized groups. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

It's the fourth mega-sized Middle Grade Ninja clips show, featuring snippets from episodes 101 through 146 that aired in 2021. This episode is so stuffed with incredible content it had to be broken up into TWO PARTS Don't miss PART TWO. New episodes are scheduled to return January 8th. Until then, enjoy this compilation of clips from conversations with AUTHORS Christina Li, Caroline Gertler, Rucker Moses, Theo Gangi, Donna Galanti, Mike Johnston, Lisa Fipps, Nick Goss, Esabella Strickland, Carrie Seim, Dorothy A. Winsor, Carole Boston Weatherford, Kyle Lukoff, Luke Cunningham, David LaRochelle, Mike Wohnoutka, Alane Adams, Susan McCormick, Robert Beatty, Payal Doshi, Jasmine Warga, Erin Entrada Kelly, Ali Standish, Nicole Kornher-Stace, Melissa Hope, Alyson Gerber, Kathleen Burkinshaw, John David Anderson, Chris Negron, Sara Pennypacker, Jessica Vitalis, Rajani LaRocca, Katherine Paterson, Gayle Forman, Sarah J. Schmitt, Diana Rodriguez Wallach, Ross Carley, Karen Phillips, Mary Ann Koontz, Elizabeth A. San Miguel, Diana Catt, Tony Perona, Elizabeth Perona, David Neilsen, Michelle Jabès Corpora, Samantha M. Clark, Alda P. Dobbs, Aura Lewis, Emily Barth Isler, and Seanan McGuire, LITERARY AGENTS Saba Sulaiman, Holly McGhee, Mary C. Moore, Marie Lamba, and Becky LeJune, EDITORS Sara-Jayne Slack, Sailaja N. Joshi, Amy Maranville, and Leila Sales.

It's the fourth mega-sized Middle Grade Ninja clips show, featuring snippets from episodes 101 through 146 that aired in 2021. This episode is so stuffed with incredible content it had to be broken up into TWO PARTS Don't miss PART ONE. New episodes are scheduled to return January 8th. Until then, enjoy this compilation of clips from conversations with AUTHORS Christina Li, Caroline Gertler, Rucker Moses, Theo Gangi, Donna Galanti, Mike Johnston, Lisa Fipps, Nick Goss, Esabella Strickland, Carrie Seim, Dorothy A. Winsor, Carole Boston Weatherford, Kyle Lukoff, Luke Cunningham, David LaRochelle, Mike Wohnoutka, Alane Adams, Susan McCormick, Robert Beatty, Payal Doshi, Jasmine Warga, Erin Entrada Kelly, Ali Standish, Nicole Kornher-Stace, Melissa Hope, Alyson Gerber, Kathleen Burkinshaw, John David Anderson, Chris Negron, Sara Pennypacker, Jessica Vitalis, Rajani LaRocca, Katherine Paterson, Gayle Forman, Sarah J. Schmitt, Diana Rodriguez Wallach, Ross Carley, Karen Phillips, Mary Ann Koontz, Elizabeth A. San Miguel, Diana Catt, Tony Perona, Elizabeth Perona, David Neilsen, Michelle Jabès Corpora, Samantha M. Clark, Alda P. Dobbs, Aura Lewis, Emily Barth Isler, and Seanan McGuire, LITERARY AGENTS Saba Sulaiman, Holly McGhee, Mary C. Moore, Marie Lamba, and Becky LeJune, EDITORS Sara-Jayne Slack, Sailaja N. Joshi, Amy Maranville, and Leila Sales.

Authors Seanan McGuire, Mira Grant, A. Deborah Baker, and I discuss how they're all Seanan McGuire and how she transitions between genres and intended age groups. We discuss her years as a standup comedian and how she transitioned to an award-winning author, her love of dice and My Little Ponies, her creative process, how she plans a series and keeps continuity, our mutual love of Stephen King's IT (the book, not the movie), why JURASSIC WORLD made her feel unwelcome to her favorite franchise, the critical importance of representation, knowing which stories are yours to tell, filking, and so much more. Oh, and she takes me on a tour of her haunted library, so don't miss that. Seanan McGuire was born in Martinez, California, and raised in a wide variety of locations, most of which boasted some sort of dangerous native wildlife. Despite her almost magnetic attraction to anything venomous, she somehow managed to survive long enough to acquire a typewriter, a reasonable grasp of the English language, and the desire to combine the two. The fact that she wasn't killed for using her typewriter at three o'clock in the morning is probably more impressive than her lack of death by spider-bite. Often described as a vortex of the surreal, many of Seanan's anecdotes end with things like "and then we got the anti-venom" or "but it's okay, because it turned out the water wasn't that deep." She has yet to be defeated in a game of "Who here was bitten by the strangest thing?," and can be amused for hours by almost anything. "Almost anything" includes swamps, long walks, long walks in swamps, things that live in swamps, horror movies, strange noises, musical theater, reality TV, comic books, finding pennies on the street, and venomous reptiles. Seanan may be the only person on the planet who admits to using Kenneth Muir's Horror Films of the 1980s as a checklist. Seanan is the author of the October Daye urban fantasies, the InCryptid urban fantasies, and several other works both stand-alone and in trilogies or duologies. In case that wasn't enough, she also writes under the pseudonym "Mira Grant." For details on her work as Mira, check out MiraGrant.com. In her spare time, Seanan records CDs of her original filk music (see the Albums page for details). She is also a cartoonist, and draws an irregularly posted autobiographical web comic, "With Friends Like These...", as well as generating a truly ridiculous number of art cards. Surprisingly enough, she finds time to take multi-hour walks, blog regularly, watch a sickening amount of television, maintain her website, and go to pretty much any movie with the words "blood," "night," "terror," or "attack" in the title. Most people believe she doesn't sleep. Seanan lives in an idiosyncratically designed labyrinth in the Pacific Northwest, which she shares with her cats, Alice and Thomas, a vast collection of creepy dolls and horror movies, and sufficient books to qualify her as a fire hazard. She has strongly-held and oft-expressed beliefs about the origins of the Black Death, the X-Men, and the need for chainsaws in daily life. Years of writing blurbs for convention program books have fixed Seanan in the habit of writing all her bios in the third person, so as to sound marginally less dorky. Stress is on the "marginally." It probably doesn't help that she has so many hobbies. Seanan was the winner of the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and her novel Feed (as Mira Grant) was named as one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2010. In 2013 she became the first person ever to appear five times on the same Hugo Ballot.

Emily Barth Isler and I discuss her childhood as an actress featured on ONE LIFE TO LIVE and elsewhere as well as performing for the Clinton White House, and how she eventually transitioned to the family business of writing, the “safe career choice.” We also talk about her new novel, AFTERMATH, how to process trauma through writing, how to take action on school shootings, how to set goals for your fiction to become a more effective author, and so much more. Emily Barth Isler lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and their two kids. A former child actress, she performed all over the world in theatre, film, and TV. In addition to books, Emily writes about sustainable, eco-friendly beauty and skincare, and has also written web sitcoms, parenting columns, and personal essays. She has a B.A. in Film Studies from Wesleyan University, and really, really loves television. Find her at www.emilybarthisler.com

Aura Lewis and I discuss the process of writing and illustrating her newest book, SPECTACULAR SISTERS: AMAZING STORIES OF SISTERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. We talk about how she went from being a freelance artist to working in publishing, the role her MFA played in that transition, designing the credit sequence for the Hulu Show MRS. AMERICA, the importance of focusing on your passion, choosing to be an artist every day, who we might've been in past lives, and so much more. Aura Lewis is an author-illustrator and designer with an MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She is inspired by fashion from around the world, playful color, vintage design and popular culture. Aura's work is featured in books for children and adults, on television, stationery, ad campaigns, murals and editorial publications. Her publishers include Harper Collins, Hachette, Abrams, Sterling Publishing, Chronicle Books, Quarto, Scholastic and Simon and Schuster.

Alda P. Dobbs and I discuss writing about the Mexican Revolution as well as her own family's history in her new novel, BAREFOOT DREAMS OF PETRA LUNA, and then translating that story into a second language. We talk about how Alda gained confidence as a writer, the advice she received from Avi, how she applied for grants and became “hardheaded,” found her literary agent, sold a book and wrote another during a pandemic, and so much more. Oh, and I accuse her of back engineering flying saucers while she was in the air force:) Alda P. Dobbs is the author of the upcoming novel Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna. She was born in a small town in northern Mexico but moved to San Antonio, Texas as a child. Alda studied physics and worked as an engineer before pursuing her love of storytelling. She's as passionate about connecting children to their past, their communities, different cultures and nature as she is about writing. Alda lives with her husband and two children outside Houston, Texas.

Michelle Jabès Corpora, Samantha M. Clark, and I discuss their new series AMERICAN HORSE TALES. We talk about Michelle's experience as an editor for Harper Collins, a concept developer, and a ghostwriter, as well as Samantha's experience as a journalist, a managing editor, and the regional advisor for the Austin chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. We also discuss comparisons between the Dust Bowl and the 2020 pandemic, working in Hollywood, gaining the confidence to be an author, treating writing like a job, two ghost stories, our ideal superpowers, and so much more. Michelle Jabès Corpora is a writer, editor, community organizer, and martial artist. In addition to working in the publishing industry for more than a dozen years as an editor and concept developer, she has ghostwritten five novels in a long-running middle grade mystery series. American Horse Tales: The Dust Bowl is Michelle's first novel under her own name. Her second novel, The Fog of War: Martha Gellhorn at the D-Day Landings (Pushkin Press), also publishes in 2021. Samantha M. Clark loves stories about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances because if four ordinary brothers and sisters can find a magical world at the back of a wardrobe, why can't she? Until she finds her own real-life Narnia, she writes about other ordinary children and teens who've stumbled into a wardrobe of their own. She grew up in different countries around the world and now lives with her husband and two funny dogs in Austin, Texas. Samantha is the regional advisor for the Austin chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators and she explores wardrobes every chance she gets. Her debut novel, The Boy, the Boat, and the Beast, was lauded as “an unforgettable, life-affirming tale” by Booklist.

David Neilsen and I discuss the advantages of traditional publishing and independent publishing and why he transitioned to a hybrid author with his newest release, LILLIAN LOVECRAFT AND THE HARMLESS HORRORS. We also talk about his time as a screenwriter, how he narrated his own audiobooks, book marketing, hosting murder mystery parties, leading ghost tours, and so much more. David Neilsen is the author of odd, weird, supernatural, and occasionally slightly disturbing stories. He is the author of Doctor Fell and the Playground of Doom, Beyond the Doors, and Lillian Lovecraft and the Harmless Horrors. David is based next door to Sleepy Hollow, NY and also works as a professional storyteller up and down the Hudson River Valley. His one-man performances based on the work of H.P. Lovecraft have sent many screaming into the hills in search of their sanity while his education school presentations have inspired hundreds of Middle Grade-aged children.

The Speed City Sisters in Crime return to the scene of the… podcast? Returning for their first appearance since episode 79, they've just released a new anthology, TICK OR TREAT: TALES OF ALL HALLOWS EVE. I sit down with authors Ross Carley, Diana Catt, Mary Ann Koontz, Elizabeth Perona, Tony Perona, Karen Phillips, and Elizabeth A. San Miguel, to discuss writing and reading mysteries, publishing tips, flying saucers, and so much more. Speed City Sisters in Crime is the Indiana chapter of the world-wide mystery/crime writers' association Sisters in Crime. The Speed City chapter was founded in 2005. Members of the organization are published mystery and crime authors, writers working on mysteries and thrillers, and readers and fans of the literary genre. There are currently 40+ members who live in Indiana or the Midwest. Speed City Sisters in Crime hosts monthly meetings with speakers on topics of interest to mystery and crime writing. Past speakers have included police officers, prosecutors, investigative reporters, forensic specialists, weapons experts, researchers, and publishing and media professionals. Chapter members have published 6 short story anthologies over the years with the themes that are related to Indiana or the midwest. Members of the organization have also written and produced a play, Deadbeat, which was performed at a local fringe festival and will soon be available to for others to produce. The chapter also hosts writing and other educational workshops for its membership with well-known authors and publishing professionals.

Diana Rodriguez Wallach and I discuss cults, demonic possession, and writing YA horror in her new novel, SMALL TOWN MONSTERS. It's a Halloween-themed episode, so we talk about Ed and Lorraine Warren, Stephen King, and that time Diana lived in a haunted house. Writing occasionally comes up as well, so we also discuss her journey through multiple literary agents, how she plots her fiction, her writing and reading habits, the importance of Latinx representation, a revelation about writing from a psychic, and so much more. Diana Rodriguez Wallach is a multi-published author of young adult novels. Her most recent, SMALL TOWN MONSTERS, is a YA Latinx horror novel that will publish in Fall 2021 through Random House's Underlined imprint. Additionally, Diana is the author of the Anastasia Phoenix Series (Entangled Publishing), a trilogy of young adult spy thrillers. The first book in the series, Proof of Lies, has been optioned for film and was chosen as a finalist for the 2018 International Thriller Awards for Best Young Adult Novel. Additionally, Bustle listed her as one of the “Top Nine Latinx Authors to Read for Women's History Month 2017,” and Paste named Proof of Lies one of the “Top 10 Best Young Adult Books for March 2017.” Diana is also the author of three Latina young adult novels: Amor and Summer Secrets, Amigas and School Scandals, and Adios to All The Drama (Kensington Books). Amor and Summer Secrets placed second at the 2009 International Latino Book Awards for Best Young Adult Novel. Diana also penned a YA Greek-myth inspired short-story collection entitled Mirror, Mirror (Buzz Books). In 2011, Diana published an essay in Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories (HarperCollins), which was the only essay from the anthology selected by Scholastic to be used in its classroom materials. Diana is also featured in the anthology, Latina Authors and Their Muses (Twilight Times Books, 2015). Diana has taught as a Creative Writing Instructor for Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth since 2015, and she has led Creative Writing Workshops in inner-city schools throughout the Philadelphia region for over ten years. She previously wrote as a blogger for Quirk Books, and she currently volunteers with the nonprofit organization Mighty Writers, which promotes writing in urban communities. Diana holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University, and currently lives in the Philadelphia area with her husband and two children.

My friend, Sarah J. Schmitt, and I discuss her path to publishing IT'S A WONDERFUL DEATH her newest novel, WHERE THERE'S A WHISK, and why you should never give anyone else power over your art. She shares how she found her editor on Twitter, how she secured her literary agent, and how she survived the collapse of her publisher. We also chat about author income fluctuations due to the pandemic, discussing hybrid publishing with your literary agent, writing fast first drafts, being active in the local writing community, telling a story from outside your own perspective, WATERSHIP DOWN, visions of the afterlife, and so much more. Sarah J. Schmitt is a K-8 school librarian and Youth Service Professional for Teens at a public library who, in addition to planning a variety of events, enjoys opening up the world of books to reluctant readers. She runs a teen writing program that combines Skype visits from well-known authors and screenwriters and critique group style feedback. Prior to immersing herself in the world of the written word, Sarah earned her Masters of Science in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs from Indiana University where she worked with first year college students as they acclimated to college life. Sarah lives outside of Indianapolis with her husband, two kidlets and a cat who might actually be a secret agent. She is an active member of SCBWI, ALA and the Indiana Library Federation and is a regular participant at the Midwest Writer's Workshop.

Gayle Forman and I discuss her career from a journalist for SEVENTEEN to a celebrated YA novelist and the launch of her first MG book, FRANKIE AND BUG. She describes the experience of having IF I STAY adapted into a film and tells an excellent ghost story. We chat about WE ARE INEVITABLE, writing to get out of poverty, how there is no promised land for writers, playlists created for her novels, her writing process, life during the pandemic, dealing with anxiety, and more. Oh, and she mentions living within a five-block radius of authors Libba Bray, R.J. Palacio, E. Lockhart, and Jacqueline Woodson. Award-winning author and journalist Gayle Forman has written several bestselling novels for young adults, including the Just One Series, I Was Here, Where She Went and the #1 New York Times bestseller If I Stay, which has been translated into more than 40 languages and in 2014 was adapted into a major motion picture. Gayle published Leave Me, her first novel starring adults, in 2016 and her latest novel I Have Lost My Way was released in March of 2018. Gayle's essays and nonfiction work has appeared in publications like The New York Times, Elle, The Nation and Time. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and daughters.

Two-time Newberry Award winner and one of my childhood heroes, Katherine Patterson, and I discuss how she transformed from a “mediocre writer” to a Living Legend (so designated by the Library of Congress in 2000). We chat about her newest novel, BIRDIE'S BARGAIN, how Hollywood demanded a sequel to BRIDGE TO TERABETHIA, the time she kissed Robert Patrick, the importance of maintaining the feeling of childhood injustice, writing sparse descriptions, the mysteries of inspiration, the influence of THE YEARLING, the nature of God, and so, so much more, and we have a whole lot of fun doing it. Katherine Paterson is the author of more than 30 books, including 17 novels for children and young people. She has won the Newbery Medal twice, for Bridge to Terabithia in 1978 and Jacob Have I Loved in 1981. Her book The Master Puppeteer won the National Book Award in 1977; The Great Gilly Hopkins won the National Book Award in 1979 and was also a Newbery Honor Book. For the body of her work she received the Hans Christian Anderson Medal in 1998, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2006, the NSK Neustadt Award in 2007, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award (Children's Literature Legacy Award) in 2013, and the E. B. White Award in 2019. In 2000 she was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress. Paterson is a vice-president of the National Children's Book and Literary Alliance and is a member of the board of trustees for Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in Montpelier, Vermont with her dog, Pixie. http://www.middlegradeninja.com/ http://katherinepaterson.com/ The audio from each episode is available as the Middle Grade Ninja Podcast on Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, itunes, Podbean, Podblaster, RadioPublic, blubrry, Listen Notes, Google Play, and many other fine locations.

Rajani LaRocca and I discuss the importance of finding a community of writers and how that led her to publication, as well as her newest novel, MUCH ADO ABOUT BASEBALL. We talk about the “slight fairytale” that led her to finding her literary agent, her time as a pitch wars mentor, plantsing, coordinating publicity and school visits (even during a pandemic), her Stem Women in KidLit podcast, the value of an author's time, how doctoring makes her a better writer, and so much more. Rajani LaRocca was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area with her wonderful family and impossibly cute dog. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, she spends her time writing novels and picture books, practicing medicine, and baking too many sweet treats. She is also the cohost of the STEM Women in KidLit Podcast. Her middle grade debut, Midsummer's Mayhem (Yellow Jacket/Little Bee Books), an Indian-American mashup of A Midsummer Night's Dream and competitive baking, was an Indies Introduce selection, an Indie Next pick, a Kirkus Best Middle Grade Book of 2019, and a 2020 Massachusetts Book Award Honor title. Her middle grade novel-in-verse, Red, White, and Whole (Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins, 2/201), has received multiple starred reviews and is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and a Spring 2021 Indie Next Top Ten Title. Her third middle grade novel, Much Ado About Baseball (Yellow Jacket/Little Bee Books) will publish in June 2021 and is Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. Her debut picture book, Seven Golden Rings: A Tale of Music and Math (Lee & Low, 2020) is set in ancient India and introduces the basics of binary numbers. It received multiple starred reviews and is the winner of the 2021 Mathical Book Prize for grades 3-5. She is also the author of the forthcoming picture books Bracelets For Brothers (Charlesbridge, April 2021), Where Three Oceans Meet (Abrams, 2021), The Secret Code Inside You (Little Bee Books, September 2021), I'll Go and Come Back (Candlewick, 2022), Masala Chai, Fast and Slow (Candlewick, 2023), and more. Learn more about her at www.RajaniLaRocca.com and on Twitter and Instagram @rajanilarocca.

Jessica Vitalis and I chat about her debut novel, THE WOLF'S CURSE. And we have a detailed discussion about the six-figure, two-book deal her agent, Sara Crowe, negotiated for her. We also talk about how Erin Entrada Kelley fell in love with Jessica's book and helped her secure that vital representation. And we chat about the time Jessica was visited by a ghost, how to write an omniscient narrator, researching to help with fantasy worldbuilding, and a lot of other great stuff you're going to love hearing about. Jessica Vitalis is a Columbia MBA-wielding writer specializing in middle grade literature. An American expat, she now lives in Canada with her husband and two precocious daughters. She loves traveling, sailing, and scuba diving, but when she's at home she can usually be found recording book talks for Magic in the Middle and changing the batteries in her heated socks. Her debut novel, The Wolf's Curse, will be published September 21, 2021 by Greenwillow/HarperCollins with a second book to follow.

Becky LeJeune and I chat about how she went from being a criminal justice major while working in a Walden Books to an editor and now a literary agent with the Bond Literary Agency. We talk about how she evaluates manuscripts, why you don't want to convince an agent to represent a genre they're not currently selling in, advice about finding comp titles, asking why the author is the best person to tell a particular story, our mutual love for horror and haunted houses, the type of writer behavior that might scare an agent, and so, so much more in a far-ranging discussion stuffed with valuable information. Becky LeJeune met Sandra Bond at the Denver Publishing Institute when she was a student there in 2007. After DPI, she spent 2 years working as the managing editor for a cookbook imprint, and then 5 years as an acquisitions editor at The History Press before joining Sandra at BLA in 2014. She is interested in adult and teen general fiction, horror, mystery/thriller, historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy, and cookbooks. Becky is open to queries through: https://querymanager.com/becky_lejeune

Sara Pennypacker and I discuss tips for writing from the perspective of a fox in her long-anticipated sequel to the classic novel PAX, PAX: JOURNEY HOME. We chat about how she interviews animals and how she addresses darker subjects such as the full cost of war in children's literature. We also talk about the novelization of SHARK TALE, how focusing on an injustice often leads to discovering a story's theme, the critical role an author for children must play, the principal of oneness, the importance of remembering the story is boss, and so much more. Sara Pennypacker was a painter before becoming a writer, and has two absolutely fabulous children who are now grown. She has written over twenty children's books including Pax (illustrated by Jon Klassen), Here In The Real World, the Clementine and Waylan series (both illustrated by Marla Frazee); Stuart's Cape and Stuart Goes to School (both illustrated by Martin Matje), Meet the Dullards, and others. Sara splits her time between Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Florida She divides her time between Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Florida. You can visit her online at www.sarapennypacker.com.

Chris Negron and I discuss how he became an author, how his Parkinson's disease makes him a better writer, and his newest book, THE LAST SUPER CHEF. We wonder if writers ever actually retire and how learning alternate titles of great works might forever change them. We chat about choosing an audiobook narrator, the Atlanta writers club, UFO disclosure, episodic storytelling, politics in fiction, the importance of trusting your reader, and so much more. Chris Negron is the author of Dan Unmasked, his debut novel released in July, 2020, and The Last Super Chef, coming July, 2021. Both contemporary middle grade novels are published by HarperCollins. KitLitExchange.com says Dan Unmasked “broke my heart” and “needs to be on every library shelf.” Chris grew up outside Buffalo, New York and attended Yale University. His short fiction has appeared in numerous literary journals, with one piece longlisted for the Top (Very) Short Fictions of 2016 by Wigleaf.com. If you spot him in the wild, it's probably in a comic book shop, which also explains a large portion of Dan Unmasked‘s plot. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, and his writing is represented by Alyssa Jennette at Stonesong.

Marie Lamba and I discuss her terrible experience with her own novel that led her to become an agent with the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency for the past decade. We talk about the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing, each of us sharing our tales. We also chat about the pandemic's effect on publishing (and its future effects), an agent's average workday, a ghost-adjacent story, the importance of not allowing anything to kill your joy of writing, and so much more. Marie Lamba (www.marielamba.com) is author of the young adult novels What I Meant… (Random House), Over My Head and Drawn, and of the picture books Green Green: A Community Gardening Story (Farrar Straus Giroux), and A Day So Gray (Clarion). Her articles appear in more than 100 publications, and she's a frequent contributor to Writer's Digest. Marie has worked as an editor, an award-winning public relations writer, a book publicist, and has taught classes on novel writing and on author promotion. http://www.middlegradeninja.com/ https://www.jdlit.com/ https://marielamba.wordpress.com/ The audio from each episode is available as the Middle Grade Ninja Podcast on Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, itunes, Podbean, Podblaster, RadioPublic, blubrry, Listen Notes, Google Play, and many other fine locations.

John David Anderson and I talk about a little bit of everything in this far-ranging conversation between two Hoosier authors who like STAR WARS and Kurt Vonnegut. We chat about Anderson's newest novel, STOWAWAY, as well as his classic, MS. BIXBY'S LAST DAY. Also discussed: writing two novels a year, leaving your heart on the page, space pirates, communicating messages to young readers, the Grateful Dead, flying saucer disclosure potentially messing with our science fiction, the value of writing during a pandemic, mythological action figures, cloning authors in the future, and so much more. John David Anderson is hardly ever called John David Anderson. He is called Dave by most people who know him, John by the IRS, and Mr. Anderson whenever he's inside the Matrix. He wishes he could go by J.D., but Salinger beat him to it. If he was a Star Wars character he would want to be a Jedi named Raith Starglider, but knows he would more likely be a used Bantha salesman named Bobba Twinklebeans. A graduate of Indiana University and the University of Illinois where he majored in reading Moby Dick over and over, Dave "Twinklebeans" Anderson is now the author of several books for middle grade audiences, including Sidekicked, The Dungeoneers, Ms. Bixby's Last Day and Posted. The backs of his novels claim that he is "critically acclaimed." His son thinks he is the best writer that ever lived. His daughter thinks he's just alright. His Mom always seems to think he needs to eat more. This last bit is definitely not true. Dave believes in the power of books to enrich young people's lives and help them to ask (and answer) deep questions while simultaneously laughing so hard they snarf soda through their noses. When he eventually grows up he wants to be Indiana Jones. Till then, he wants to be a root beer connoisseur. He lives with his wife, two kids, and vast Lego collection in Indianapolis, Indiana.

To commemorate the 76th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Kathleen Burkinshaw and I discuss her novel, THE LAST CHERRY BLOSSOM. This is one of the most important conversations I've ever had and I'll be thinking about it for the rest of my life. Parts of it broke my heart and may break yours as well. You will hear my most awkward, deflecting nervous laughter as this is the first time I've ever been moved to tears on the show. But this talk is also uplifting and will change the way you view writing. And we genuinely laugh a lot and there's an excellent ghost story near the end, so it won't be all solemn. Don't miss this conversation and share it with everyone you know. As promised, here's a link to a YouTube video of “Who's Minding the Nukes” from 60 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJdsIzjzVuA&t=1s Kathleen Burkinshaw is a Japanese American author, the daughter of a Hiroshima survivor and resides in Charlotte, NC. She's a wife, mom, and owns a dog who thinks she's a kitchen ninja. In 2019 she spoke about her mother's experience in Hiroshima at the United Nations (NYC). This summer she spoke at UN worldwide virtual events as well as a Japanese American National Museum webinar with author Naomi Hirahara in honor of the 75th anniversary of atomic bombing. Kathleen has been featured on PBS, local NPR stations, Asian American magazines/newspapers, both Japanese and English programs on NHK World Japan, as well as in 2 major Japanese newspapers. She has presented to middle/high schools around the world for the past 10 years. Writing gives her an outlet for her daily struggle with chronic pain from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. Her MG/YA historical fiction, THE LAST CHERRY BLOSSOM, is now a United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs Resource for Teachers and Students and has been used in classrooms around the world. The trade paperback came out in August 2020 (available wherever books are sold and through Scholastic WNDB Reading Club). THE LAST CHERRY BLOSSOM has been nominated for 2019 NC School Library Media Association YA book award,2019-2020 Volunteer State Book Award (Tennessee), 2018& 2016 Scholastic WNDB Reading Club selection, and Finalist for NC Sir Walter Raleigh Fiction Award, the 2018 Sakura Medal, Japan, and the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award(southeast region), Represented by Anna Olswanger, Olswanger Literary.

Alyson Gerber and I discuss how to talk about food and diet for teens and creating sympathetic parent characters in her newest YA novel, TAKING UP SPACE. We also chat about how her ADHD is helpful to her as an author, the benefits of a background in acting, her writing workday, how wearing a back brace as a teen helped prepare her for the pandemic, how she selected her audiobook narrator, a ghost named Mary, the attractiveness of armpit hair, and more. Alyson Gerber is the author of the critically-acclaimed, own-voices novels Braced and Focused published by Scholastic. Her third novel Taking Up Space will be in stores on May 18, 2021. She has an MFA from The New School in Writing for Children and lives in New York City with her family. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @AlysonGerber. Braced, Focused, and Taking Up Space are all Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections. Braced received three starred reviews and has been nominated for state book awards in Oklahoma, Indiana, New Hampshire, Virginia, South Dakota, and Georgia. Focused was picked as a best book of year by The Today Show, Kirkus Reviews, and A Mighty Girl and has been nominated for state book awards in Rhode Island, Oklahoma, and Michigan. Alyson's latest novel, Taking Up Space, based on her experience with disordered eating, will be published on May 18, 2021. Taking Up Space will help readers recognize how much they matter and see that if something negative is taking up space in their minds, even if there isn't a name for it, they should ask for help.

Melissa Hope and I discuss her popular YouTube channel for authors, HOPEFUL HAPPENINGS, and how it paved the way to publish her debut novel, SEA OF KINGS. We chat about how she taught herself to write, collaborating with her marine biologist husband, working with Jolly Fish Press, finding beta readers, scheduling time to read while raising three kids, music to write to, and more. Melissa also shares how she found herself represented by an untrustworthy agent and how other writers can avoid finding themselves in a similar situation. Please note, there was a slight broadcast delay when we recorded, so we occasionally interrupt each other. Melissa Hope earned her degree in English and is passionate about sharing her knowledge to help writers improve their craft and connect with the writing community. She escaped the frostbite normalcy of Canadian winters to live in Florida with her family, bipolar cat, and growing collection of scuba gear. Visit her website www.authormelissahope.com to watch free writing tutorials. Here are links to the soundtracks we discussed: The Grey Lady by Alexandre Desplat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDZTsLouf-E Fireworks by Nicholas Hooper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRjjq9dR7R4 Noon by Éric Serra: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc6e8NOswOg Melissa's Playlist on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ulqYBRUUjzwoo8rwTUfxQ?si=fa18aef7bc544a48

Nicole Kornher-Stace and I discuss classic science fiction and her new middle grade novel, JILLIAN VS PARASITE PLANET. We also talk about the importance of portraying platonic friendships and not just romantic relationships in fiction, parasites, parenting, homeschool during a pandemic, anxiety, big dumb action movies as inspiration, video games, the importance of writing the story that's trying to chew its way out of your head, and so much more. Nicole Kornher-Stace lives in New Paltz, NY, with her family. Her books include ARCHIVIST WASP (Small Beer Press/Big Mouth House, 2015) and LATCHKEY (Mythic Delirium, 2018), which are about a far-future postapocalyptic ghosthunter, the ghost of a near-future supersoldier, and their adventures in the underworld. She has two more books due out in 2021: FIREBREAK, forthcoming from Saga, and JILLIAN VS. PARASITE PLANET, forthcoming from Tachyon. You can find her on Twitter @wirewalking, where she is probably semicoherently yelling about board games, video games, hiking, fictional representation of strong platonic relationships, good books she's read recently, or her cat. She is represented by Kate McKean at Morhaim Literary Agency.

Ali Standish and I discuss her writer's journey, which included an MFA in children's writing from Hollins University and an MPhil in Children's Literature from the University of Cambridge, as well as working in the same building as her future literary agent (and sitting in her chair). We talk about Ali's newest novel, THE MENDING SUMMER, writing and launching a book with a new baby during a pandemic, the significance of food descriptions, virtual school visits, discussing adult subjects such as alcoholism in books for children, second book syndrome, Matt Damon, a super-creepy haunted doll house, and so much more. Ali Standish grew up in North Carolina and graduated from Pomona College before spending several years as an educator in the Washington, D.C. public school system. She has an MFA in children's writing from Hollins University and an MPhil in Children's Literature from the University of Cambridge. She lives with her Finnish husband and rescue dogs in Raleigh, NC.

Erin Entrada Kelly and I chat about her writing habits and how she learned to focus on what her creative spirit wants her to do. We discuss how she won a Newberry Award and immediately quit her day job, as well as her newest middle grade novel, MAYBE, MAYBE MARISOL RAINEY. We talk about how she always remembers an affinity for the characters and the story and the experience of writing it, but not necessarily the craft involved. Also discussed: the HELLO, UNIVERSE Netflix adaptation, dialogue with inanimate objects, breaking out of your writing bubble, characters achieving their goals before their author, the usefulness of third-person perspective, getting control of negative thoughts, a ghost alarm, and so much more. Erin Entrada Kelly received the 2018 Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe, a 2021 Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space, the 2017 APALA Award for The Land of Forgotten Girls, and the 2016 Golden Kite Honor Award for Blackbird Fly, among other honors. She is also the author and illustrator of the Maybe Maybe Marisol Rainey series. She is a New York Times bestseller whose work has been translated into several languages. Her fifth book, Lalani of the Distant Sea, was a finalist for the 2020 Mythopoeic Award for Children's Fantasy. Lalani received six starred reviews and was named one of the best books of the year by the New York Public Library, The Horn Book, Booklist, BookPage, and others. All Erin's books are Junior Library Guild Selections. In 2018, Hello, Universe and You Go First were both acquired for adaptation. Hello, Universe is being adapted by Netflix, and You Go First is being adapted for the stage. Erin has a bachelor's degree in women's studies and liberal arts from McNeese State University and an MFA from Rosemont College. She lives in Delaware. She teaches in the MFA programs at Hamline University and Rosemont College. She also teaches fiction with Gotham Writers Workshop. Erin is Filipina-American.

Mary C. Moore and I discuss her career from zookeeper to literary agent with Kimberly Cameron and Associates, as well as the types of projects and clients she's looking to represent. We talk about the difference between a large agency and a smaller one, the ways in which she evaluates manuscripts and authors, the support she provides writers both during submission to editors and after, the pandemic's impact on publishing, a message from a cockatoo, a unicorn sighting, being a green witch, and so much more. This episode is jam-packed with publishing insight you don't want to miss. Always a passionate reader, Mary C. Moore made the career change to publishing in her early thirties. She graduated from Mills College, Oakland with a MFA in Creative Writing and English, dabbled in freelance editing and copy-writing, before starting an internship at Kimberley Cameron and Associates. She quickly fell in love with agenting, and dedicated two years as Kimberley's assistant, before beginning her own client list. Her daughter was born shortly after causing a small hiatus, but she continued part time, making deals with Harper Collins, Penguin Random House, Macmillan and more. In 2019 she officially began agenting full time, becoming an associate member of the AAR. She is eager to further build her client list in fiction, both children and adult. She reads widely and enjoys all fiction genres, but is especially seeking bookclub fiction with light speculative elements, female detective stories, whimsical middle-grade, and young adult that explores identity and culture. She does not represent non-fiction (including memoir), picture books, or self-published novels (although she will consider your next project).

Jasmine Warga and I discuss her newest novel, THE SHAPE OF THUNDER, as well as gun violence in schools and mental health in youth. We also talk about her process of pantsing and revising to find her stories, how storytelling rekindled her love of science, how she overcame her habit of hoping between stories, how she learned to make time for writing, astrology, a ghost story, developing healthy reading habits, and so much more. Jasmine Warga is the author of the New York Times bestseller Other Words For Home. Other Words For Home earned multiple awards, including a John Newbery Honor, a Walter Honor for Young Readers, and a Charlotte Huck Honor. She is also the author of young adult books, My Heart and Other Black Holes and Here We Are Now, which have been translated into over twenty different languages. The Shape of Thunder, her next novel for middle grade readers, will be published in May 2021. Originally from Cincinnati, she now lives in the Chicago-area with her family.

Sailaja N. Joshi, Amy Maranville, Payal Doshi, and I discuss Mango + Marigold Press and their newest release, REA AND THE BLOOD OF THE NECTAR. We talk about the cycle of their book from submission to acquisition, editing and revising, marketing and promotion, all the way to its launch and beyond. We discuss the importance of increasing diversity in publishing, the role of luck in an author's career, a flying saucer story AND a ghost story, crucial advice for writers, and so much more. Sailaja N. Joshi is a design thinker, intersectional feminist, mother to two, a bibliophile, an entrepreneur, lover of bold, modern design, diversity activist, and an aspiring dog owner. A Massachusetts native, Sailaja grew up a voracious reader. From Leo the Lop to Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Amelia Bedelia, she loved every book she read. If you were to ask her today what her favorite book is, she'd likely say either the Harry Potter series OR The Tao of Pooh. It really depends on the day. She has always been interested in exploring multicultural generations and loves using those skills in new and exciting ways as the CEO and founder of Mango and Marigold Press. Mango and Marigold Press is an award-winning independent publishing house that shares the sweet and savory stories of the South Asian experience. Founded in 2014, the company has produced fourteen books across four different product categories and been featured on The Today Show, Us Weekly, People Magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post and so much more. In 2019, the company unveiled its #1001DiverseBooks initiative. With this program, Sailaja has committed to raising the funds to donate 1001 new, diverse books to literacy nonprofits bridging the accessibility gap within Children's Literature. Community members can sponsor books for just $10 and through this program ensure that every child has access to high-quality, diverse kid's lit. The company launched the initiative with its 14th book Finding Om and reached their goal of raising funds for 1001 books in just five short days. The company's mission has expanded to not only bridging the diversity gap in children's literature but also improve the accessibility of diverse children's lit in underserved communities. Amy Maranville is a Massachusetts-based editor with extensive experience in children's literature. In addition to her work as a senior editor for Mango + Marigold Press, Amy owns her own editing and writing company called Kraken Communications. Amy has worked with dozens of authors, many of them publishing for the first time, to bring forth their unique voices and experiences. She has also authored six picture books, two animated stories for a typing company, and has two easy reader non-fiction texts coming out next year. She lives in Somerville with her husband, two young sons, and a very sleepy basset hound named Barney. Payal Doshi has a Masters in Creative Writing (Fiction) from The New School, New York. Having lived in the UK and US, she noticed a lack of Indian protagonists in global children's fiction and one day wrote the opening paragraph to what would become her first children's novel. She was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband and three-year-old daughter. When she isn't writing or spending time with her family, you can find her nose deep in a book with a cup of coffee or daydreaming of fantasy realms to send her characters off into. She loves the smell of old, yellowed books. Rea and the Blood of the Nectar, the first book in TheChronicles of Astranthia series is her debut middle grade novel. For more information, visit her website, www.payaldoshiauthor.com, or follow her on Instagram @payaldoshiauthor and on Twitter @payaldwrites.

Robert Beatty and I discuss his many successes in life as a CEO and a writer, as well as his newest novel, WILLA OF DARK HOLLOW. We chat about his working with Amy Adams on the upcoming WILLA OF THE WOOD television show and the process that led to the publication of SERAFINA AND THE BLACK CLOAK. We talk about how writing is a skill and how he learned it, his 15 unpublished novels, the importance of staying bold, competitive fencing, the importance of sheer determination, assembling a publishing team, assembling robots of such quality he and his daughters were commended by President Obama at the White House, and ice cream flavors named after his characters. Robert Beatty is the author of the #1 New York Times best selling Serafina series published by Disney Hyperion, a spooky mystery-thriller about a brave and unusual girl who lives secretly in the basement of the grand Biltmore Estate. Serafina and the Black Cloak was a #1 New York Times best seller, has been on the list for more than 59 weeks, and won the prestigious 2016 Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize. The second book in the series, Serafina and the Twisted Staff, became a #1 New York Times best seller in the first week of its launch and earned a "Starred Review" from Kirkus Reviews, which said, "Even better than its predecessor, a sequel that delivers nonstop thrills from beginning to end." Enjoyed by both young readers and adults, the books are being taught in over a thousand classrooms nationwide. Robert Beatty lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina with his wife and three daughters, who help create and refine his stories. He loves to explore Biltmore Estate and the darkened forest trails where his novels take place. He writes full-time now, but in his past lives, Robert was one of the early pioneers of cloud computing, the founder/CEO of Plex Systems, the co-founder of Beatty Robotics, and the chairman/CTO of Narrative Magazine. In 2007, he was named an Entrepreneur of the Year. When asked about the inspiration for his books, Robert said, "Serafina's journey grew out of my desire to write a story about an unusual and heroic young girl for my three daughters."

Leila Sales and I talk about her career in publishing as well as her newest middle grade novel, THE CAMPAIGN. We discuss in depth how she read submissions as an editor and made her decisions about rejecting and accepting them. She shares her habits for successfully writing while being extremely busy, the pros and cons of decentralizing publishing, composing chapters that flow well, revealing the psychology of characters, allowing readers to reach their own conclusions, rules for exposition, and tons of other great tips you don't want to miss. Leila Sales is the author of seven critically acclaimed novels for children and young adults, including This Song Will Save Your Life and Once Was a Time. Her books have been optioned for stage and screen, selected for many state award lists, translated into a dozen languages, and received numerous starred reviews. Leila has also edited award-winning and bestselling fiction and nonfiction books for readers of all ages. Her authors have included award-winning actors Viola Davis and Bob Balaban; New York Times bestselling authors Gayle Forman, Max Brallier, and Ame Dyckman; National Book Award Finalist Elizabeth Partridge; MacArthur Fellow Xu Bing; and many more. Leila has also managed classic children's publishing properties including Corduroy, Angelina Ballerina, Ferdinand, The Snowy Day, and others. Leila was born in Boston, Massachusetts; received her degree from the University of Chicago; and worked at Penguin Random House in New York City. She is now based in Austin, Texas, where she writes, edits, and speaks about books and publishing all over the world.

Dr. Susan McCormick and I discuss writing about medical realities that are sometimes frightening for the middle grade audience in her new novel, THE ANTIDOTE. She shares her thoughts on how the pandemic has impacted young people and reasons for us to be optimistic about the future. We also chat about muses and the mysteries of writing, her secrets of success, a ballerina horror story, how to think about something later so you can focus, research methods, believing in ghosts, the importance of perseverance, and so much more. Susan McCormick is an award-winning author and doctor who lives in Seattle. She graduated from Smith College and George Washington University Medical School, with additional medical training in San Francisco and Washington, DC. She served as a doctor for nine years in the US Army before moving to the Pacific Northwest and civilian practice. She is married and has two boys. She loves giant dogs and has loved Earl, an English Mastiff, and two Newfoundlands, Edward and Albert.

Alane Adams shares the story of her transition from a successful accountant to a successful author and founder of the Rise Up Foundation. We talk about researching and writing mythology for her series, LEGENDS OF OLYMPUS, and her latest release, MEDUSA QUEST. We also discuss tips for productivity, the importance of not stopping writing for anything, author life during the pandemic, her Between the Pages virtual author talk, assembling the publicity team that makes her incredible marketing possible, the ways in which reading is a superpower, Christian Slater, the mysteries of the universe, and so much more. Alane Adams is a children’s author, literacy advocate, and founder of the Rise Up Foundation. She is a former university professor and retired entrepreneur with a Master’s Degree in Diplomacy. As a children’s literacy advocate, Alane travels the country visiting schools to talk to kids about Reading is a Superpower. Alane is also a speaker and presenter, and has delivered keynote speeches on the writing process. Alane’s award-winning titles include the Legends of Orkney TM Norse mythology middle grade series, the Witches of Orkney prequel series, The Legends of Olympus Greek mythology middle grade series, and a series of historical fiction picture books that include The Coal Thief, The Egg Thief, The Santa Thief, and The Circus Thief. Alane’s books have won multiple awards, including SCBWI’s Spark Award for Best Picture book; Moonbeam Children Awards Gold Medal Best Juvenile Series; Benjamin Franklin Gold Winner Young Children’s Fiction; IPPY Gold Medal Winner Holiday Book; USA Best Book Awards Best Children’s Books. Her forthcoming April 2021 release is The Medusa Quest, Book 2 of the Legends of Olympus series. Alane is a proud member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the International Reading Association, The Literacy Research Association, and the California Reading Association. When she’s not writing or traveling to schools, Alane can be found hiking somewhere in the world or hanging out with her three boys.

David LaRochelle and Mike Wohnoutka join me to discuss their collaboration from its start to how it remains successful, and their newest picture book, SEE THE CAT. We discuss the very different paths they took to publication, the difference in a writer’s workday versus an illustrator’s workday, the difference winning an award makes, school visits, professional pumpkin carving, a contest-winning supermarket run, and so much more. David LaRochelle has been creating books for young people for over twenty-five years. His many picture book titles include The Best Pet of All, How Martha Saved Her Parents from Green Beans, and Moo! He is the recipient of the Sid Fleischman Humor Award, multiple children’s choice awards, and a three-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award. A former elementary school teacher, David still visits many classrooms around the Midwest (and world!) each year, talking with students about books, writing, and illustrating. When he is not creating new books, he loves to read, play board games, and carve unique jack-o’-lanterns, which you can view at his website davidlarochelle.com. Ever since Mike can remember he knew he wanted to be an artist. His dad, who worked at the Highway Department, would bring home reams of paper that had highway plans on one side and were blank on the other. He would be so excited to have all that paper to draw on and would fill each sheet with snowmobiles, baseball players, superheroes—everything he was interested in. His high school art teacher, Mr. Chase encouraged Mike to pursue art as a career. This, along with a scholarship, led him to the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. Since graduating with a B.F.A. in Illustration, Mike has illustrated over 30 books for children. He has worked with various clients including Bloomsbury Publishing, Candlewick Press, Henry Holt, Clarion Books, Disney-Hyperion Books, Holiday House, Scholastic Books, Penguin-Random House, Cricket Magazine Group, General Mills, 3M, Medtronic, and Peaceable Kingdom Press. A native of Spicer, Minnesota, Mike currently lives with his family in Minneapolis.

Holly McGhee and I talk about her childhood in the country and how she went from selling corn out of a pickup truck to founding Pippin Properties Inc, an agency that has profoundly shaped the face of modern children’s literature. We chat about her relationship with author Kate DiCamillo both as a client and as a friend, and how it led to the creation of Holly McGhee’s new picture book, WHAT THE WORLD COULD MAKE. We also discuss ghosts, discovering hints of the mystery of the universe, a bird’s eye view of a literary agency, writing for art rather than money, the importance of focusing on your next book, the qualities of a successful author, and so much more. Holly McGhee still carried MADELINE around in 3rd grade — until Mrs. Carrier, her school librarian, tricked her into reading longer books by giving her one with her name on it, HOLLY IN THE SNOW. After college, Holly headed straight into the book world of New York City, where she has enjoyed being a secretary, an advertising manager, a sales rep (for one month), and in the six years prior to opening the doors at Pippin, an executive editor at HarperCollins. Now, as the President and Creative Director of Pippin she is dedicated to shepherding books that make a difference into the world. Someone once told her, “If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life,” and that has proven true for her.

Luke Cunningham and I push the boundaries of what is an appropriate podcast conversation to promote a middle grade novel such as his debut, LEO, INVENTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE. We discuss his time writing for THE TONIGHT SHOW, Pomodoro sessions, our dream pedestal arcades, working with Harper Collins Christian, the problem with rich people, writing political jokes on the fly, Pica’s Restaurant of Upper Darby, the time I got fired from a Subway sandwich shop, the time I met Jared Fogel, Leonardo da Vinci, Assassin’s Creed II, Bob Lazar, simulation theory, and so much more. Luke X. Cunningham is an Emmy-nominated writer from Philadelphia. Previously, he spent three years as a writer for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. He developed a passion for the Renaissance while earning a history degree from Brown University. He currently lives in Los Angeles, CA, with his wife and their son, Finn. LEO: Inventor Extraordinaire is his first novel. Luke’s list of games for a 4 person pedestal that I fully endorse: WWF Wrestlefest, NFL Blitz ‘99, Tecmo Bowl, Street Fighter series, Mortal Kombat 1-5, Golden Axe series, Marvel Vs Capcom series, NBA Jam series, Kung Fu, Punch Out, X-Men: Children Of The Atom, X-Men, beat em up, Final Fight, Gauntlet series, Tekken series, Soul Edge, Soul Calibur, TMNT, The Simpsons, Double Dragon series, Contra, Dig Dug, Commando, Choplifter, Spy Hunter , Rampage, Donkey Kong series, Pac Man series, Paperboy

Author Kyle Lukoff tells the story of how he persisted in publishing and finally landed his dream agent, Saba Sulaiman, who joins him on the podcast. We discuss how they revised Kyle’s newest, TOO BRIGHT TO SEE, how they submitted it to editors, sold it at auction, and are now promoting it as well as selling Kyle’s future novels. We also chat about writing trans characters, the controversy surrounding Kyle’s books about them, being cautious when staying in haunted houses, the terrible truth about Roald Dahl’s THE WITCHES, and so much more. Saba Sulaiman is an agent at Talcott Notch Literary Services, a boutique agency located in Milford, CT. She holds a BA from Wellesley College and an MA from the University of Chicago, where she studied modern Persian literature. In children’s fiction, she is building her Picture Book, Middle Grade and Young Adult lists, and is particularly (although not exclusively) interested in contemporary realistic stories. Being an immigrant who is constantly negotiating her own identity and sense of belonging in a place she now calls “home,” she is committed to highlighting more diverse voices with compelling stories to tell; stories that demonstrate the true range of perspectives that exist in this world, and address urgent and often underexplored issues in both fiction and non-fiction with veracity and heart. Follow her on Twitter @agentsaba and learn more about her at sabasulaiman.com Kyle Lukoff writes books for kids and other people. Right now you can pre-order his debut middle grade novel TOO BRIGHT TO SEE, due out 4/20/2021! Books you can read today include A STORYTELLING OF RAVENS, WHEN AIDAN BECAME A BROTHER (which won the 2020 Stonewall Award!), the MAX AND FRIENDS series, and EXPLOSION AT THE POEM FACTORY. Kyle spent eight years as an elementary school librarian, but now he writes full time, assists in sensitivity readings and consultations, and presents on children’s and youth literature all across the country. He got hired at a bookstore when he was sixteen, which means he’s been working at the intersection of books and people for well over half his life. Kyle is represented by Saba Sulaiman at Talcott Notch. Find him on Twitter at @Shekels_Library and Facebook at fb.me/kylelukoffwrites.