Middle Grade Ninja

Susan Hawk and I talk about her career in publishing from her job at a children’s bookstore at age 13 to being an editor, a librarian, a marketer, a library marketer, up to her current position with UPSTART CROW LITERARY AGENCY. We talk about the sorts of projects she’s interested in, how she evaluates authors and helps them to plan their careers, how she prepares manuscripts for editorial teams at publishing houses, BARRY, THE HANDMAID’S TALE, flying saucers, and so much more.  

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Susan Hawk has worked in children’s books for over twenty-five years. Her clients include Rachael Allen, author of multiple YA novels, including A Taxonomy of Love and the forthcoming DC Icons title, Harley Quinn: Reckoning; J.M.M. Nuanez, author of the MG novel Birdie and Me; Paul Acampora, whose newest MG novel is the forthcoming In Honor of Broken Things; Sarah Lariviere, author of the YA novel Time Travel for Love and Profit; graphic novelist Rachel Elliott, author of the forthcoming The Real Riley Mayes; author-illustrator Denis Angelov, illustrator of The Big Scream; and Ruth Spiro, author of the Baby Loves Science board book series and the Made by Maxine series of picture books. Before agenting, Susan worked in the Children’s Marketing departments of Penguin Books for Young Readers, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers and North-South Books, where she managed campaigns for many books and authors including Eric Carle, Mary E Pearson, Richard Peck and Joan Bauer. She’s also been a children’s librarian and bookseller, and spent some time in Dutton Editorial, acquiring select picture book and YA projects for that list.  

http://www.middlegradeninja.com/ 

https://www.upstartcrowliterary.com/ 

Anthony McGowan and I discuss his writing process and how it was specifically employed in his newest, DOGS OF THE DEADLANDS, which he says is the hardest book he’s ever written. We also talk about his winding path from a once reluctant reader to a prolific writer, how he learned to write for younger readers, his time as a bouncer, a period when his spouse was a more successful author than he was, tips for characterization, the joy of writing as a hobby as opposed to a career, an author’s cricket club, and so much more.  

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Buy DOGS OF THE DEADLANDS by Anthony McGowan: https://amzn.to/3ixh16I 

Download BANNEKER BONES AND THE GIANT ROBOT BEES for free: https://amzn.to/2XyTyG2  

Anthony McGowan is one of the most widely acclaimed young-adult authors in the UK. His books have won several major awards, and been shortlisted for many more. He has also written highly regarded adult fiction, as well as books for younger readers. He has a PhD on the history of beauty, and has taught philosophy and creative writing. He lives in London with his wife and two children. 

http://www.middlegradeninja.com/  

http://anthonymcgowan.com/

Kereen Getten and I discuss her career in publishing and her new novel, IF YOU READ THIS. We talk about how she persevered despite the general discouragement of a lack of diversity in publishing as well as direct discouragement from a career counselor, how she met her agent online and then in person, how she deals with rejection and imposter syndrome, what it’s like to debut during a pandemic, how she plans and schedules her writing, why it’s important to sometimes take a day off, a disembodied voice that called to her, and so much more.  

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Kereen Getten grew up in Jamaica but now lives in Birmingham with her family. She has previously written short stories for multiple publications including Notts Review and Adhoc Fiction. She was nominated for Best Short Fiction 2018 and highly commended for the FAB prize.  When not writing you can find her out in nature, planning her next travel adventure, or watching Netflix.  

http://www.middlegradeninja.com/  

https://kereengetten.com/ 

One of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2017, Linda Sarsour, shares details about her life as featured in the middle grade edition of her autobiography, WE’RE IN THIS TOGETHER. We talk about her work organizing the Woman’s March in 2017, the radicalizing moment that happened to her after the 911 attacks, why it’s crucial to get to know the people in your life even when you don’t agree with them, what gives her hope, and what fuels her to get up and fight, and fight, and fight. And I try to convince her to organize for UFO disclosure, so look forward to that.  

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Buy WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER by Linda Sarsour: https://amzn.to/3gwIULH 

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Linda Sarsour is an author, award-winning racial justice and civil rights activist, seasoned community organizer and mother of three.  Ambitious, outspoken and independent, Linda shatters stereotypes of Muslim women while also treasuring her religious and ethnic heritage. She is a Palestinian Muslim American and a self-proclaimed “pure New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn!” She is the former Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York and co-founder of the first Muslim online organizing platform, MPOWER Change. Linda has been at the forefront of major civil rights campaigns including calling for an end to unwarranted surveillance of New York’s Muslim communities and ending police policies like stop and frisk. In wake of the police murder of Mike Brown, she co-founded Muslims for Ferguson to build solidarity amongst American Muslim communities and encourage work against police brutality. She is a member of the Justice League NYC, a leading NYC force of activists, formerly incarcerated individuals, and artists working to reform the New York Police Department and the criminal justice system. Linda was the National Co-Chair of the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, dubbed the largest single day protest in US history. She serves on the executive board of Women’s March, Inc. where she focuses on fundraising and direct action planning.

http://www.middlegradeninja.com/  

https://www.lindasarsour.com/

I tell Kelly McWilliams about a book I started to write before I discovered how very similar it is to her superior novel, AGNES AT THE END OF THE WORLD. We bond over our mutual fear of cults, including the cult of racism, and our love for Stephen King. We discuss her novel, MIRROR GIRLS, and our experiences in mixed-race families. We also talk about working with her mother, the novelist Jewell Parker Rhodes, publishing a debut novel at the age of 15, tips for structuring stories from dual perspectives, crafting empathetic villains, the dangers of religious thinking, how stories can be emotional mirrors, and so much more. 

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Buy AGNES AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Kelly McWilliams: https://amzn.to/3EjRpBm 

Download THE BOOK OF DAVID: CHAPTER ONE by Robert Kent for free: https://amzn.to/2X9LXOR 

Or let me read it to you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GOg7KXyJg8&t=5138s  

Kelly is a mixed-race writer. AGNES AT THE END OF THE WORLD (2022) was a finalist for the Golden Kite Award, and MIRROR GIRLS (2022) is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection. She’s written for TIME, Romper, and Bustle, among other outlets. Kelly lives in Seattle with her family. 

http://www.middlegradeninja.com/ 

https://www.kellymcwilliamsauthor.com/

Jessica Craig and I discuss her career in publishing from working as an international literary scout to becoming a literary agent to founding CRAIG LITERARY. We talk about the typical calendar in publishing and the best times to submit queries, addressing inequality and a lack of diversity, a paranormal experience, the importance of keeping your space, not getting tripped up by your doubts, and so much more.  

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Jessica began her career in publishing more than twenty years ago in New York soon after graduating from Columbia. In 2005 she moved to Edinburgh to work at world-renowned independent publisher, Canongate Books, and later was a founding agent of United Agents in London. In 2016 she struck out on her own and founded Craig Literary in Barcelona. Craig Literary, founded by Jessica Craig in 2016, is a full-service literary agency representing diverse writers of fiction, non-fiction, and children's books. The agency grows out of Jessica Craig's 20+ years of experience as a top foreign rights agent and on her record as an effective international champion of high quality authors, from established names to outstanding debuts, and across genres in fiction and non-fiction.  

http://www.middlegradeninja.com/  

https://www.craigliterary.com/

Neal Shusterman and I discuss eternal life, the singularity, and the meaning of death as portrayed in his series, THE ARC OF A SCYTHE, as well as the newest book, GLEANINGS. We talk about how Neal was first inspired by a teacher, why he studied theater and psychology rather than just focusing on writing, the significance of having an international experience early in life, his writing and plotting process, his work habits, how he employs sensitivity readers, the GAME CHANGER television series for Netflix, collaborating with his son, Jarrod Shusterman, the afterlife, and so much more.  

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Buy GLEANINGS STORIES FROM THE ARC OF A SCYTHE by Neal Shusterman: https://amzn.to/3UhORdm 

Download BANNEKER BONES AND THE GIANT ROBOT BEES for free: https://amzn.to/2XyTyG2  

Neal Shusterman is the New York Times best-selling author of over thirty novels for children, teens, and adults. He won the 2015 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature for Challenger Deep-and his novel, Scythe, was a 2017 Michael L. Printz Honor book-and is in development with Universal Studios as a feature film. His novel, Unwind, has become part of the literary canon in many school districts across the country-and has won more than thirty domestic and international awards. He co-wrote his most recent novel, Dry, with his son Jarrod, and in addition to being on numerous award lists, Dry is currently in development with Paramount Pictures. His upcoming novel, Game Changer, is in development with Netflix as a TV series, and he is co-writing the pilot episode. Shusterman has also received awards from organizations such as the International Reading Association, and the American Library Association, and has garnered a myriad of state and local awards across the country. His talents range from film directing, to writing music and stage plays, and has even tried his hand at creating games. Shusterman has earned a reputation as a storyteller and dynamic speaker. As a speaker, he is in constant demand at schools and conferences. Degrees in both psychology and drama give him a unique approach to writing, and his novels always deal with topics that appeal to adults as well as teens, weaving true-to-life characters into sensitive and riveting issues, and binding it all together with a unique and entertaining sense of humor. Neal lives in Jacksonville, Florida, but spends much of his time travelling the world speaking, and signing books for readers.  

http://www.middlegradeninja.com/  

http://www.storyman.com/

Happy Halloween, Esteemed Audience! Dan Poblocki and I discuss the importance of writing horror novels for children such as his newest, TALES TO KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT. We also talk about the craft of writing horror for younger readers and the fear some adults have of allowing children to think independently. Also, the subject of Dan having lived in multiple haunted houses while writing scary books comes up, so maybe listen to this conversation with the lights on.  

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Buy TALES TO KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT by Dan Poblocki: https://amzn.to/3WddF8q 

Buy ALL TOGETHER NOW: A ZOMBIE STORY by Robert Kent: https://amzn.to/2JjsnpH  

Dan Poblocki is an American author of mystery, horror, and adventure novels for young people. He is the co-author with Neil Patrick Harris of the #1 New York Times bestselling series The Magic Misfits (writing under the pen-name Alec Azam). He's also the author of The Stone Child, The Nightmarys, and the Mysterious Four series and many more. His books, The Ghost of Graylock and The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe, were Junior Library Guild selections and made the American Library Association’s Best Fiction for Young Adults list. His work has been translated into French, Greek, Russian, German, Polish, and Farsi. Dan was born in Providence, Rhode Island. During his pre-teen years, his family moved to Basking Ridge, New Jersey, where he often looked for adventure with his best friends. Later, he graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in theater. Subsequently, he toured the United States playing ultra-challenging roles such as Ichabod Crane in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the Shoemaker in The Shoemaker and the Elves to packed houses filled with literally thousands of screaming children. (He hopes they weren’t screaming in fear.)  After that, he spent many hours as a traveling bathing-suit salesperson, an audience wrangler for a popular TV game show, a temp secretary, a floral assistant, and finally, a clinical admin and systems analyst at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. (EXCITING.) All the while, he was writing stories in his spare time (MORE EXCITING), often late into the night, and then early in the mornings, before the sun came up.   Dan now writes full time in Saugerties, NY where he lives with two scaredy cats in a creaky old house. He's probably working on something new this very minute!  

http://www.middlegradeninja.com/  

http://www.danpoblocki.com/

Rose Brock and I discuss her anthologies HOPE NATION and HOPE WINS and all the work and care that went into creating them. We talk about her own journey from a reluctant reader to a librarian to an educator and editor who works with some of the biggest names in publishing and is the cofounder of the North Texas Teen Book Festival.  

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Buy HOPE WINS: https://amzn.to/3Sj22cL 

Download BANNEKER BONES AND THE GIANT ROBOT BEES for free: https://amzn.to/2XyTyG2  

Rose Brock, Ph.D, is a veteran educator and specialist in literature for young people who spent twenty years as a public school educator working as a language arts teacher and a school librarian. She now works as an associate professor in the Department of Library Science and Technology at Sam Houston State University.   As a classroom teacher, Rose was selected by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a Mandel fellow, and as a school librarian, she was awarded the Siddie Joe Johnson Award for Outstanding Service to Youth by the Texas Library Association.   She is the author of the textbook, Young Adult Literature in Action: A Librarian's Guide and editor of the middle grade anthology, Hope Wins: Inspiring Stories for Young Readers (available May 2022) and the young adult anthology, Hope Nation: Young Adult Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration. Hope Nation was selected for the Texas Library Association’s 2019 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List, as well as received the following nods designations: a New York Times New and Noteworthy, 2018 Best YA Audiobook of the Year (Audiofile Magazine), the Earphones Award by the Audio Publisher’s Association, a Junior Library Guild Selection, and starred reviews from Booklist and VOYA magazine.   Rose is also the cofounder of the ALA award winning North Texas Teen Book Festival, described by the Dallas Morning News as “the region's largest book-related event”. In addition to her work on NTTBF, Rose has been a tireless and advocate for using audiobooks as tools for literacy and is cofounder of the national literacy initiative Guys Listen, a part of the Guys Read literacy national program. Rose’s next professional publication, Sound Advice: An Audiobook Selection Handbook for Library Collections will be available in 2023.  

http://www.middlegradeninja.com/  

https://www.drrosebrock.com/  

Fleur Bradley and I chat about writing mysteries for younger readers, like her newest novels DAYBREAK ON RAVEN ISLAND and MIDNIGHT AT THE BARCLAY HOTEL. We have a frank discussion about burnout and bitterness for authors in traditional publishing. We also discuss specific strategies for reaching reluctant readers, marketing yourself as an author over time, marketing your books for people who won’t read them, Alfred Hitchcock, Agatha Christie, writing for children in the information age, and so much more.  

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Buy DAYBREAK ON RAVEN ISLAND by Fleur Bradley: https://amzn.to/3EKoQPE 

Download BANNEKER BONES AND THE GIANT ROBOT BEES for free: https://amzn.to/2XyTyG2  

Fleur Bradley is the author of the forthcoming middle-grade mystery DAYBREAK ON RAVEN ISLAND (Viking Children’s Books, Summer 2022), MIDNIGHT AT THE BARCLAY HOTEL, the middle-grade trilogy Double Vision (as F.T. Bradley), as well as the story “The Perfect Alibi” in the Mystery Writers of America’s middle-grade anthology SUPER MYSTERIOUS PUZZLERS, edited by Chris Grabenstein. She regularly does school and Skype visits, as well as librarian and educator conference talks on reaching reluctant readers and is an active member of SCBWI and MWA where she has judged for the Edgars. Originally from the Netherlands, she now lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and two daughters, and entirely too many cats.  

http://www.middlegradeninja.com/  

http://www.ftbradley.com/