The Storyteller's Shelf Podcast

This archived announcement introduced the January 12–17, 2026 Storyteller’s Shelf Summit: masterclasses on writing, illustrating, and publishing children’s books.

The live literary pitch event with Syrone Harvey of the Belcastro Agency and original ticket offers have ended. Current on-demand workshop access is available through our Educational Library; live pitch opportunities are not included.

EDUCATIONAL LIBRARY
Explore on-demand writing, publishing, and book marketing workshops, including past summit sessions: The Storytellers Educational Library.

WRITING WITH STORYRISE
Plan, draft, and revise your manuscript in Storyrise.

WORK WITH AUTHOR CLIENTS?
Editors, beta/ARC readers, illustrators, and author-service providers: explore Storyrise for Professionals.

GUESTS & PUBLICISTS
Our conversations are expanding across books, film, television, and games. Explore podcast, blog, and summit possibilities through our current booking policy and contact information.

Picture books or early readers: how do you write for the right audience? Children’s author Harshita Jerath explores age-appropriate storytelling, cultural authenticity, and connecting with young readers.

The author of The Leaping Laddoo, Cooler Than Lemonade, and A Sweet Diwali shares her path into publishing and practical lessons on structure, empathy, leaving space for illustrators, and representing culture with care.

For picture book writers, early reader authors, educators, and anyone interested in children’s storytelling.

Follow The Storyteller’s Shelf Podcast for more conversations about writing craft, publishing, and creative careers.

EDUCATIONAL LIBRARY
Explore on-demand writing, publishing, and book marketing workshops, including past summit sessions: The Storytellers Educational Library.

WRITING WITH STORYRISE
Plan, draft, and revise your manuscript in Storyrise.

WORK WITH AUTHOR CLIENTS?
Editors, beta/ARC readers, illustrators, and author-service providers: explore Storyrise for Professionals.

GUESTS & PUBLICISTS
Our conversations are expanding across books, film, television, and games. Explore podcast, blog, and summit possibilities through our current booking policy and contact information.

Advertising and sponsorship inquiries: [email protected]. Media kit and audience details available upon request.

In this episode of The Storyteller’s Shelf Podcast, we’re joined by Anne Broyles, award-winning author of children’s picture books and middle grade titles, including I’m Gonna Paint: Ralph Fasanella, Artist of the People, Priscilla and the Hollyhocks, Shy Mama’s Halloween, Arturo and the Bienvenido Feast, and Arturo and the Navidad Birds.

Anne Broyles is of the Cherokee Nation and brings decades of experience in children’s publishing.

Anne shares practical insight into writing children’s books, building a long-term author career, and staying motivated in traditional publishing. We discuss crafting picture books that connect with readers, working with editors, and approaching author marketing with clarity and intention.

This episode is ideal for children’s authors, picture book writers, educators, and aspiring storytellers looking for experience-based guidance from a seasoned professional.

EDUCATIONAL LIBRARY
Explore on-demand writing, publishing, and book marketing workshops, including past summit sessions: The Storytellers Educational Library.

WRITING WITH STORYRISE
Plan, draft, and revise your manuscript in Storyrise.

WORK WITH AUTHOR CLIENTS?
Editors, beta/ARC readers, illustrators, and author-service providers: explore Storyrise for Professionals.

GUESTS & PUBLICISTS
Our conversations are expanding across books, film, television, and games. Explore podcast, blog, and summit possibilities through our current booking policy and contact information.

Finish your children’s book and prepare to query literary agents with practical advice from author, book coach, and editor Ellen Potter.

We discuss accountability partners, building a daily writing habit—even ten focused minutes—character-driven stories, and the differences between picture books, chapter books, and middle grade.

Ellen also shares guidance on stronger queries, common agent-querying pitfalls, school visits, and pre-orders as ways to connect books with readers.

Follow The Storyteller’s Shelf Podcast for conversations about writing craft and publishing.

Support the podcast: Ko-fi | GoFundMe.

Explore Harney & Sons Fine Teas. We may earn a commission from purchases through this affiliate link, at no additional cost to you.

All podcast links

WRITING WITH STORYRISE
Plan, draft, and revise your manuscript in Storyrise.

WORK WITH AUTHOR CLIENTS?
Editors, beta/ARC readers, illustrators, and author-service providers: explore Storyrise for Professionals.

GUESTS & PUBLICISTS
Our conversations are expanding across books, film, television, and games. Explore podcast, blog, and summit possibilities through our current booking policy and contact information.

Middle grade fantasy worldbuilding, creative collaboration, and animal-centered storytelling: Karl Buechner, Jeremy Mueller, and Keith Ward discuss Unraveling and the Council of Crows.

The authors describe a fantasy world where animals inherit culture, magic, and history after humanity disappears. Drawing on music, education, parenting, and lived experience, they explore how stories can engage young readers with compassion, forgiveness, and responsibility.

We discuss writing as a team, building a coherent fantasy world, environmental themes, and the ways creative backgrounds shape narrative voice.

Follow The Storyteller’s Shelf Podcast for more author interviews and conversations about writing and publishing.

Support the show: Ko-fi. Explore all podcast links.

EDUCATIONAL LIBRARY
Explore on-demand writing, publishing, and book marketing workshops, including past summit sessions: The Storytellers Educational Library.

WRITING WITH STORYRISE
Plan, draft, and revise your manuscript in Storyrise.

WORK WITH AUTHOR CLIENTS?
Editors, beta/ARC readers, illustrators, and author-service providers: explore Storyrise for Professionals.

GUESTS & PUBLICISTS
Our conversations are expanding across books, film, television, and games. Explore podcast, blog, and summit possibilities through our current booking policy and contact information.

The Storytellers Summit is a week-long master class for children’s authors, illustrators, and educators, running January 12–17. Hosted by The Storyteller’s Shelf Podcast, this immersive event explores children’s literature, storytelling craft, and the business of publishing. The summit concludes with a literary pitch event featuring Syrone Harvey of The Belcastro Literary Agency.

Learn more and reserve your spot at

https://thestorytellersshelfpodcat.com

Children’s literacy and free book access: Griffin Granberry and Josh Bulavko share how Madison Reading Project connects young readers with books.

This week on THE STORYTELLER’S SHELF PODCAST, we talk with Griffin Granberry and Josh Bulavko of Madison Reading Project about how joyful, high-quality books reach children through book buses, free book fairs, early-literacy programs, and strong partnerships with schools and families. Their stories from the field reveal exactly how the right book at the right time can change a child’s life.

EDUCATIONAL LIBRARY
Explore on-demand writing, publishing, and book marketing workshops, including past summit sessions: The Storytellers Educational Library.

Enjoy a cup of Harney & Sons Fine Teas, blended with care by a family passionate about exceptional tea.
Learn more: https://Harney.com/discount/STORYTELLER

Support the Podcast:
Buy us a Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/storytellersshelfpodcast
GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/storytellersshelf

Affiliate disclosure: We may earn a commission from purchases through our Harney & Sons link, at no additional cost to you.

WRITING WITH STORYRISE
Plan, draft, and revise your manuscript in Storyrise.

WORK WITH AUTHOR CLIENTS?
Editors, beta/ARC readers, illustrators, and author-service providers: explore Storyrise for Professionals.

GUESTS & PUBLICISTS
Our conversations are expanding across books, film, television, and games. Explore podcast, blog, and summit possibilities through our current booking policy and contact information.

Publishing contracts, author rights, and royalties: literary lawyer and former literary agent Melissa Nasson explains the questions writers should ask when reviewing a book deal.

We discuss royalty terms and net receipts, rights reversion and out-of-print clauses, hybrid publishing red flags, and subsidiary rights including audio, translation, film, and television.

Melissa also explores contract negotiation, the roles of agents and literary lawyers, and illustrator agreements for self-published books.

A conversation for authors, illustrators, and independent publishers seeking a better understanding of the business behind their books.

Support the podcast: Ko-fi | GoFundMe.

EDUCATIONAL LIBRARY
Explore on-demand writing, publishing, and book marketing workshops, including past summit sessions: The Storytellers Educational Library.

WRITING WITH STORYRISE
Plan, draft, and revise your manuscript in Storyrise.

WORK WITH AUTHOR CLIENTS?
Editors, beta/ARC readers, illustrators, and author-service providers: explore Storyrise for Professionals.

GUESTS & PUBLICISTS
Our conversations are expanding across books, film, television, and games. Explore podcast, blog, and summit possibilities through our current booking policy and contact information.

Screenwriting meets middle grade fiction: Adam Rosenbaum discusses The Ghost Rules, writing humor and grief for young readers, and finding a literary agent.

If you’ve ever dreamed of writing middle grade stories but felt your background didn’t “fit,” this episode will inspire you to leap. On THE STORYTELLER’S SHELF PODCAST, we sit down with Nashville native Adam Rosenbaum, the screenwriter-turned-author behind the debut middle grade novel The Ghost Rules—a funny, heartfelt, and slightly spooky adventure that blends humor with healing, grief, and emotional depth.

Adam shares how his screenwriting experience sharpened his storytelling voice, the real journey to finding a literary agent, and why publishing needs more emotionally honest, diverse books for boys. He opens up about balancing writing with parenting four children, building character-driven stories, and how a lighthearted ghost idea became a meaningful exploration of loss for young readers.

This episode is packed with insights for teachers, librarians, and writers alike:
• Social-emotional learning (SEL)
• Grief support and emotional processing
• Classroom read-alouds or literature circles
• Reluctant readers seeking humor and heart
• Boys needing representation in emotionally honest stories
• School libraries looking to expand middle grade selections

🎧 Listen in to meet a Nashville storyteller whose work deserves a spot on every classroom and library shelf—and gain inspiration for your own creative journey.

EDUCATIONAL LIBRARY
Explore on-demand writing, publishing, and book marketing workshops, including past summit sessions: The Storytellers Educational Library.

If you enjoyed this episode, consider buying us a coffee on Ko-Fi to support the show and help us keep bringing you amazing guests.

https://ko-fi.com/storytellersshelfpodcast

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WRITING WITH STORYRISE
Plan, draft, and revise your manuscript in Storyrise.

WORK WITH AUTHOR CLIENTS?
Editors, beta/ARC readers, illustrators, and author-service providers: explore Storyrise for Professionals.

GUESTS & PUBLICISTS
Our conversations are expanding across books, film, television, and games. Explore podcast, blog, and summit possibilities through our current booking policy and contact information.

Music, rhythm, and early literacy: Eric Litwin, original author of Pete the Cat, explores how joyful, interactive storytelling helps children connect with reading.

We discuss rhyme, call-and-response, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and the challenge of competing for attention in a screen-filled world.

Eric shares how school performances shaped his storytelling before publication, how authors can build an audience, and how stories can serve both literacy goals and broad audiences.

His work includes the original Pete the Cat books, Groovy Joe, The Nuts, The Power of Joyful Reading, and The Poop Song.

For children’s authors, educators, librarians, and families encouraging young readers.

Podcast website | All links

Support the podcast: Ko-fi | GoFundMe.

EDUCATIONAL LIBRARY
Explore on-demand writing, publishing, and book marketing workshops, including past summit sessions: The Storytellers Educational Library.

WRITING WITH STORYRISE
Plan, draft, and revise your manuscript in Storyrise.

WORK WITH AUTHOR CLIENTS?
Editors, beta/ARC readers, illustrators, and author-service providers: explore Storyrise for Professionals.

GUESTS & PUBLICISTS
Our conversations are expanding across books, film, television, and games. Explore podcast, blog, and summit possibilities through our current booking policy and contact information.