Beekeeper and kidlit author Shanna Upchurch got orphaned by her editor and dumped by her agent within a 48-hour period. But she kept things professional and a few weeks later landed a 6-figure deal at auction! 

Shanna has always taken her writing and publishing career seriously, even during her many (many!) years of rejection. Her debut picture book, The Honeybee Highway, was just released in April 2026, and she has two middle grade novels coming out in 2027 and 2028.

The Long Road to Publishing with Eva Langston:

• Follow me on Substack or subscribe to my Substack Newsletter for Writers.
• Find me on Instagram and Blue Sky.
• Send me an email at [email protected]
• To pitch to the podcast, go here
• Find books by guests and books mentioned on the podcast at the Long Road Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/evalangston

Shanna Upchurch:

• Website: https://www.shannaupchurch.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sdupchurch4/
• The Honeybee Highway: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-honeybee-highway-shanna-upchurch/7526ed79e126c673?ean=9781368116022&next=t

Show Notes:

• Highlights Foundation (now called Boyds Mills): https://boydsmills.org/
• SCBWI: https://www.scbwi.org/
• The Manuscript Academy: https://manuscriptacademy.com/

Credits:

The Long Road to Publishing is produced and edited by Eva Langston, and the intro/outro music comes from the artist Soundroll on #Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/lost-in-love

License code: EEKRDQPCTGSBM5LZ

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