Over the past seven years I've had the great privilege of working with HarperCollins editor Kristin Daly Rens. She's incredibly patient, fantastically insightful, and funny to boot. If you ever have the opportunity to collaborate with her I highly recommend taking it. You don't have to take my word for it, though, all you have to do is read this interview to know what a gem she is.
PJ: What does an average day look like for you?
KDR: Every day is a little different, but for the most part, my work days begins at around 7:30, with reading submissions. If I’m working from home, I’ll curl up on the couch to read; if I’m heading into the office, I read on the bus and subway. Once we hit 9:00 I shift gears to email, responding to a submission or two and then answering any emails that came overnight or that I didn’t have a chance to respond to the day before.
After that most days are a mix of reviewing various materials, more email, and meetings—each week, we have a roster of regular meetings, including production meetings to go over book schedules and when materials are due, our weekly cover discussion meetings with design, acquisitions meeting, our team meeting, my weekly one-on-one meeting with my manager, and a pub planning/operations meeting. We also have biweekly marketing update meetings and jacket meeting where sales/marketing reviews the latest covers. In between, I try to get some work done! Depending on where we are in our seasonal schedules, that could take the form of drafting catalog or flap copy, writing launch presentations, reviewing sketches or in-progress jacket layouts, reviewing copy edits or proofread passes of novels, reviewing marketing materials, and generally facilitating the flow of information between the team here and our authors/agents. If I have a whole hour free I might even try to squeeze in a couple chapters of editing. I’m sure there’s also a ton I’m not thinking of!
Around 4:30 I stop to answer emails for an hour or so, and then I’ll usually close email so I can spend an hour or two focusing on editing before I shut down for the night.
PJ: What would you say are the biggest changes to publishing post pandemic?
KDR: In terms of the day-to-day job, two of the more significant changes have been publishers being more open to remote work, and also that we’ve gone from reviewing materials on paper to reviewing everything electronically. This includes the actual editing of texts—which my brain and eyes are still adjusting to, honestly!
In terms of the actual publishing landscape, there are so many ways in which things have changed—in some cases as a result of the pandemic and in others just due to the ways in which people’s reading and purchasing habits change over time. The call for shorter books is one change that came out of the pandemic—even though kids were reading more during the pandemic, they were also spending more time on screens, which has diminished attention spans. There’s also the changing middle-grade market, and the shift in Barnes & Noble’s middle-grade strategy. On the YA and adult side, there’s also been the rise of romance and romantasy—first due to the pandemic, and then to the stress of everything going on in the world, readers have been gravitating toward escapist fiction, particularly if it comes with a happily-ever-after.
PJ: Are publishers looking for shorter kidlit books? If so, are there certain aspects of the story that tend to be trimmed or cut out entirely?
KDR: We definitely seem to be hearing more often that kids are looking for shorter books—as are the teachers and librarians who put books into kids’ hands. Part of editing and revising has always been to look for ways to tell each story in the paciest andmost satisfying way possible, without too many empty calories. And, honestly, I—like most editors I know—am a firm believer that every book should be just as long or short as that particular story calls for. So I don’t necessarily think publishers are looking to trim or cut specific parts of stories wholesale just to make them shorter. Rather, the call for shorter stories is something editors—and I’m sure agents too—are keeping in mind as they’re reviewing new projects, looking for manuscripts that fit that need.
PJ: If you could give one piece of advice to authors in the submission trenches what would it be?
KDR: Can I offer two? Most importantly, I think I’d say: Do your research! There are a lot of agents—and publishers/imprints—out there, so you want to make sure you’re targeting the ones that are the right fit for you and your book.
And I know this second bit of advice is easier said than done, but—try to be patient! Like editors, most agents are reading queries/submissions outside actual work hours—they’re trying to move as quickly as they can, but their reading time for queries/submissions is at a premium. So don’t despair if you don’t hear feedback right away! Just because an agent doesn’t offer lightning-quick doesn’t mean that your book won’t find its perfect home!
PJ: What draws you to a book?
KDR: I’m a sucker for voice! So a really bold, memorable voice will almost always draw me in.
PJ: What is your story catnip? Like if a book has this you are all in?
KDR: Dogs. Baked goods. Friendship breakups. Really snarky, banter-y enemies or rivals to lovers romances. A well-plotted mystery that keeps me guessing. Just to name a few things!
PJ: What drew you to being an editor for kidlit?
KDR: Like so many of us who grow up to work in books, I was a reader from a very young age—and it was the books I read and loved as a child that made me a reader for life. But it wasn’t until I was working in my local public library—shout out to the John C. Hart Memorial Library in Shrub Oak, NY!—in high school that I realized I wanted to work in children’s books. My first job was as a page, shelving books. None of the other pages wanted to shelve in the children’s room because the books were thinner, so there were more on each cart—and thus more work. So I volunteered, and soon found myself gravitating there every day—I would take a cart of picture books and shelve a few, then read one, shelve a few more, then read another. Which eventually led to me rereading some of the books I loved as a middle-grade reader as well. I can pretty much trace my career in children’s books directly back to those days at the library.
PJ: We worked on animal POV books together, what is it about animal POV that appeals to you?
KDR: As someone who spends a significant amount of time every day trying to figure out what my dog, Shirley, is trying to say to me (or, really, what she’s trying to order me to do!), there’s something really appealing about a world in which we’re privy to our furry loved ones’ thoughts and feelings. Animal POV can also be an effective lens through which to explore some big subjects in a way that’s accessible for younger readers—filtering a hard topic through an animal character’s POV can create a little bit of distance from the reader, making the subject a little easier to wrap one’s head around or even making it a little less scary.
PJ: What book(s) did you love as a child?
KDR: Oh gosh, so many! I’ve always been an avid reader, and growing up I devoured every book I could get my hands on. Unsurprisingly, I especially loved genre fiction—including the Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew mysteries, as well as fantasies like the Chronicles of Narnia, the Chronicles of Prydain, and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. I also adored classics like Little Women and Anne of Green Gables. I remember getting a Penguin Junior Classics edition of Jane Eyre in something like 4th grade and loving it, though when I read it again in high school I realized a good chunk of it had definitely gone over my head, haha.
ABOUT KRISTIN
Kristin Daly Rens is an executive editor with the Storytide imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books. Kristin first became interested in children’s publishing in high school, when she worked in her local library shelving—and often covertly reading!—books in the children’s room. Her first job in publishing was as an Editorial Assistant at Golden Books. In 2002 she joined HarperCollins, and for fifteen years was an editor with the Balzer + Bray imprint. Since 2024 she has been part of Harper’s newest imprint, Storytide, where she edits middle grade and teen fiction, as well as select picture books and nonfiction titles.
ABOUT PJ
PJ Gardner has never met a talking animal, but that hasn’t stopped her from writing about them. She’s the author of the middle grade Horace & Bunwinkleseries, Book 1 of which made the Hawaii State List two years in a row, as well asThe Great Zoodini, which was a finalist for the SCBWI Golden Kite Sid Fleischman Humor Award. Her next book,Worst in Show, comes out in March 2026.
She lives in Southern California with her husband and sons, a mischievous cat named Kaiju, and a rambunctious Boston Terriers named Rocky.
So my roommate and I consider the Met Gala our Super Bowl. The way we rate and critique the outfits of the attendees would make you think that we were the head designers of the House of Dior and Givenchy, respectively...plot twist, we're not. But we made it our mission to go to the Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum.
Superfine: Tailoring Black Style 2025
Though we couldn't make it there together because of our busy schedules, we went individuality to see before it left. As I entered the exhibit, my body relaxed into the routine of standing still, reading and observing, and as I creep slowly through the displays, it dawned on me.
I haven't been "filling up my cup".
I have been so busy from survival jobs to personal projects to commissioned work, that I haven't made time to be still, be inspired and create space for new thoughts, ideas and emotions to come through. Being able to be in one place for almost two and a half hours, consuming beautiful and powerful art was a gift that I needed and forget is at my fingertips.
Make time to recuperate, rejuvenate and "fill up your cup." Do something that sparks joy, play and creativity in you.
There, I struck up a conversation with a mother and her children, two bright-eyed pre-teens, who I could hear asking questions of their mother when I was close enough to hear them. I asked what they thought of the exhibit, and though they were new to the concepts and history of it, they were excited to share what they learned.
They didn't know much of the history but to witness it, engage and understand it helped them draw connections and I found myself sharing my thoughts and knowledge of the exhibit. One wanted to go thrifting immediately after, being so inspired by some of the clothes she saw.
We make and curate art and art spaces like these for children to be curious, to ask questions and to discover.
The serendipity of a conversation with these young people in a place full of legacy after reconnecting with my personal feelings of play, joy and being in the present moment was pretty profound at 1:42 pm on a Monday.
Continue to create art with the children you wish to reach in mind. Give them something to be curious about, to ask questions about, to be engaged with. Make their eyes light up.
Then down the hall, I stumbled upon another gallery, which at the Met, I'm always stumbling on something new. Witnessing Humanity, the Art of the John Wilsonwas a wonderful surprise and I plan on revisiting the space to read every plaque, but John Wilson's work was a perfect way to cap off the visit.
Prolific and profound, Wilson's work captured his life as a Black American as well as others around him, exploring "racial, social, and economic justice." The use and mastery of all the different mediums blew my mind and the dedication to document and preserve his humanity and the humanity of others struck me deep. It reflected my "Why" and reminded me of the multitudes of stories and experiences I hold within me that I feel draw to preserve. Even the swift browsing of his work was enough of a balm for the over thinker, and tortured artist. I felt closer to my own work and voice by taking in his.
Reconnecting to your Why will help you find your way back to your purpose. In understanding the larger picture, you can guide your efforts, voice and vision with much more ease.
John Wilson's Roz No 9, study for Eternal Presence, 1972
Being at the museum brought me back to my center, and back to Earth just a little more than I've been recently. So don't forget to fill up your cup, engage with the youth you write for, and find those things that help you reconnect to your why.
"Because studies have been showing that for students, even . . . reluctant readers, who have a personal type interaction with an author, they are 90% more likely to read the book."
Have you ever wanted to feel like a rock star? Does the thought of sharing your kidlit books with their intended readership pump you up? Are you interested in asking thought provoking questions only to have an eager student tell you about their dog?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions then school visits may be for you. And you will definitely want to watch (or read) this interview with Celesta Rimington and PJ Gardner to find out more.
By PJ Gardner
PART 1
PJ
Hi, I am PJ Gardner, author of the Horse and Bunwinkle series, The Great Zoodini, and the upcoming Worst in Show, all from HarperCollins. And I am chatting today with Celesta Rimington, who is also a friend of mine, who is the author of The Elephant Girl, Tips for Magicians, and the upcoming Reach, which I have read and is fantastic.
And then we also co-wrote the book Tools Not Rules, a writing guide.Oh, shoot, I can't remember. Tools Not Rules: a Writing Guide for Young Creatives.
So today we're going to chat, though, not about what we've written together, but about school visits.Celesta has done quite a number of them. And she does not feel like an expert, but compared to me, I feel like she's very much an expert. So we're going to chat about those today.
Celesta, let's start with, how did you get your first school visit?
CELESTA
My first school visit happened right in the middle of the pandemic. My first book, The Elephant's Girl, debuted in May of 2020. So everyone watching this will understand schools were closed, and bookstores were closed, and libraries were closed, which is a really hard time to launch a book as a debut author, especially when no one knows who you are yet.
So we pivoted a lot and started doing things online and over Zoom. And I reached out to a couple of friends of mine that lived in my neighborhood that are elementary school teachers. One in particular was teaching fifth grade, which is right smack in the middle of my target audience, and was preparing for the upcoming school year in fall of 2020 of things that she wanted to plan for her students.
And so I reached out to her and I said, what do you think about having me Zoom in and do an author visit with your class that way? And at that time, that was, I think, kind of a novel idea. We do that all the time now and do virtual author visits, but it felt kind of novel at the time. We're all learning Zoom, at least I was.
So I reached out to her and she said, that would be a wonderful idea. And I said, I would love to offer a school visit to your classroom for free because this is my first one. And I would love the opportunity to learn.
And would you give me feedback on what your students thought about it and if it was engaging or what I could maybe do better next time? And I brainstormed with her a little bit about some ideas of what I could talk about that would resonate with her students, that would help them get excited about reading and get excited about writing their own stories. So we chose the topic of creating a hero. And so I did some slides and I got online with her and practiced a little bit because I hadn't done this before, sharing my screen and all that.
So that's the way I first got a visit. And I think for me, it was a great entrance into it. It was less stressful because this was a friend of mine.
I wasn't getting paid for it. I was offering it for free and she was going to give me honest feedback on it. And then it ended up being great.
She shared it. We talked about this and she asked if she could, and she shared it with her cohort of teachers. And she shared about the visit with, I think, a Facebook group of teachers that all taught the same grades in the district.
And that kind of helped spread the word, not just about my author visits, but also about my book.
PJ
That's fantastic. So the technical part, I have never done a virtual visit where something technically didn't get weird or go wrong.And I'm sure that's the same virtually and in person, right?
CELESTA
The technical always is the thing you have to be willing to think on your feet and pivot and have a couple of backup ways you're going to share things. If you have a video with sound that you need to share, whether it's virtual or in person, you need to have a backup of what you're going to do if the sound doesn't work or the video doesn't work, what are you going to do instead? Because a lot of times they'll work, but sometimes you'll have to do... I've done crazy things like brought my own Bluetooth speaker and use that or put the microphone they gave me, and this is for live visits, put the microphone they gave me next to my laptop to get the sound from that because the sound was not connecting to their system. And we even had their school specialist there working on it.
So you just have to have a couple of different ways to solve the problem and think, I know my presentation well enough that I can pivot if this doesn't work.
PJ
Okay. So what are the best parts of doing a school visit?
CELESTA
The best parts to me are that face-to-face personal interaction that you get to have with your readers. As a middle grade author, that's just ideal to me to be able to interface directly with these third through sixth graders, answer their questions, be authentic and available to them.
Because studies have been showing that for students, even those who are reluctant readers who have a personal type interaction with an author, they are 90% more likely to read the book. And we need them to read. There's a country and with children today.
And for me, that is so rewarding to see the light that comes into their face when they realize they're talking to a published author. I get funny questions all the time where they ask if I'm famous and they ask if I'm rich and I am neither of those things, but they just assume that we are. They think that they're meeting a movie star of sorts because they saw your name on the book and they saw your picture on the book jacket and here you are for real.
But that is nothing to do with me. What I'm saying is the excitement is seeing how excited they are, which you can then turn into an excitement for reading and excitement for writing their own stories and an acknowledgement that they are unique and that their voices are unique and that they have something that they can share that comes directly from them in their own written words and seeing that light come into their eyes and then even getting like feedback from either students through emails later or teachers later saying, thank you so much. My students came back to the classroom and they don't want to stop writing.
And I do think it is a talent that you can cultivate if it's something you really want to do. But you have a question about that a little bit later.
PJ
I do.I do. And I was just sort of thinking like the interactions. I've done one school visit and one of the little girls, I think she was third grade, came up afterwards after her class was leaving.
She's like, I think, yeah, I think you're my favorite author. And it was so sweet. And especially because I was like, before yesterday, you had never heard of me.
I was like, oh, that's so sweet. You do create connection. And in fact, so that's really, that's really important.
PART 2
"And so I think for authors, you just need to look at, am I a person who loves to travel? Am I a person who needs a lot of recovery time after being out of my house and away from home to get back into my creative life?"
PJ
Okay. So talked about the best. And we talked about this a little bit earlier before we started recording. What are some of the hardest things about school visits?
CELESTA
So I thought about this question and I would say my answer for that is there's two sides to it. One thing that is, I would say the hardest on the business side is it can be very time consuming to set up the visits, arrange the details. If you're going to get paid for it, there are a lot of forms to send and fill out.
And depending on where you're doing the school visit, some districts have a lot more paperwork intensive processes that they require of you to register with their district or their state as an independent contractor, go through possibly some background checks. There's a lot of things like that that can happen depending on where you are and what district you're working with. And that's just part of it.
And, and I just recognized this is, this is all, it may feel excessive, but it's all set up with the intent of protecting children. And that matters. That absolutely matters.
So to me, it's usually worth it. I mean, obviously it's always worth it to protect the children, but I mean, as far as like the time it takes away from your writing time and your creative life to do all this business-y stuff, if you aren't a wealthy author and you don't have an assistant that you can pay to do all of this stuff, it can take a lot of time away from your creative time. And I have clocked some school visits that I was preparing for and in communication with schools about that I easily spent, I don't know, maybe 10 hours of my time over a period of several months emailing back and forth and, and doing their application process and going on their contractor website with the district, things like that.
So that's hard, but the actual visit itself, I would say...
PJ
I want to add something though, really quick. It's 10 hours over that time, which doesn't seem like a lot, but it is a lot. Can you talk a little bit about why, because it would seem to me like it's not just the time you spend actually doing it.
It's the amount of time you're, you're having to think about it and make plans and all of that, right?
CELESTA
Right. It's the preparation. What are, ironing out the details, if they're going to pay you, how much that W-9 or, you know, sending, sending all of the tax paperwork.
Yeah. It's, and a lot of times there's not really a boiler plate that I've been able to find that fits for every situation. You can prepare some emails that you've already written that answer certain questions, but every district and every visit is going to be nuanced and there will be different questions.
So responding to those emails can take some time.
PJ
Okay. So, okay. You were going to say something else and I interrupted.
CELESTA
And the other thing I was going to say, maybe the hardest part of doing the visit itself when you're actually, and I would say this is maybe a little bit more regarding the in-person visits than the online ones. We talked about technical issues, but I wouldn't say that's the hardest part.
I think for me, because I do these school visits because I genuinely care about kids this age. The reason I write middle grade is because I relate to that age. I remember it so strongly in my own life.
It was such a formative time for me. And it's when I developed my love for reading and stories and my desire to be a writer. And so that matters to me, that emotional lives of the children matters to me.
So it's difficult to be there in person and recognize that you can't answer every question. You can't talk to every single one of them. If it's a big assembly of 500 kids, even if you're doing a signing, your chances are, you're not going to talk to every single one of them.
You also can't bring up everybody who raises their hand to volunteer for something. If it's like audience participation and involvement and you ask for some volunteers, you can't select everyone. And that to me is an emotional hardship in the sense that I don't want to leave that visit having any child feel bad that they didn't get chosen.
So I was going to say one of the things that I do to combat that, that I hope helps, and I hope it helps any authors watching this is when I go into the visit early and I'm preparing and I meet my contact person, the librarian or whoever set up the visit with the school, I will ask them to help me identify whether it's the teachers or the librarian themselves, who are those individuals, those educators are going to call on students instead of me. Oh, and that makes it so there's a buffer so that I, as the author, am not the one who didn't choose them. And that can be super important too, because the teachers also know what students are going to be engaging and which ones are going to be a bit difficult and derail your presentation and kind of make it difficult to bring everybody back.
And so I ask the teachers, I'll say, okay, from the third grade row, this teacher here, will you choose someone from your class to ask a question? That way I'm not the one who didn't choose somebody.
PJ
Right. I had a thought and I lost it.School visit, I can't remember. All right. It'll either come to me or won't.
Oh, I wanted to ask you, is not travel a part, like a little bit of the hardship?
CELESTA
It can be.
PJ
Now you're in a new town and now you're renting a car and now you're driving to places you don't know. So there's just a certain stress level to that, right?
CELESTA
It can be, especially if you're somebody who thrives on being at home.
And that doesn't necessarily mean that's not a bad thing. Introverts can go do school visits, but you got to go back to your hotel room and kind of recharge your energy somehow. And so I think for authors, you just need to look at, am I a person who loves to travel? Am I a person who needs a lot of recovery time after being out of my house and away from home to get back into my creative life? Then you want to sort of build your pricing into that.
And that can be tricky, but some schools have grants and different ways that they, and fundraisers and ways that they set up to have the money to pay for an author visit. And just consider, are you somebody that you want to build a little bit into your pricing because of the time it takes away from your home and your family and your creative life and writing your next book?
PJ
Oh, so I do know what I was going to, that when you were talking about picking on the, choosing the kids, not picking on them. I remember on Twitter one time, and I cannot remember who said it, but she had done school visits and she said, she said she had to remind herself that, that, you know, like when you're, the kids sit, you know, they raise their hand and they have a question and they repeat a question that has literally just been answered.
Right. She said, I have to remind myself, it's not the question and it's not the answer that they will, they will walk away with. It's the fact that they got to interact with an author.
That's really all they'll remember. So she, she's like, she said I could be, and then I can be more patient. And that definitely has helped me with virtual visits when, you know, like six kids in a row are kind of like, well, what did you do this? And I'm like, I know I've answered that, but it's really, they just got a chance to talk to a real author.
Okay.
CELESTA
That's true. I recognize that as well.
A lot of times I'll have kids raise their hand and they, they for sure had a question, but it goes out of their head as soon as they get called on. And, and then they tell me the name of their dog or something, but they just wanted to talk to me.
And I think that is very important to remember.If you want to do school visits, think about your audience, what matters to them? And why are you doing this? How can you have a positive effect on them so that they go home at the end of the day? And they're so excited about life books, talking to their parents or their guardians about that they got to meet this author, um, and something you inspired them, something that you inspired in them.
PJ
All right. So our last question is what advice would you give to authors looking to do school visits?
CELESTA
My first advice is, um, think about why you want to do them and what does success with that look like to you? Does it look like I'm going to make all this money? That may not be the best approach because it can be really frustrating.
And a lot of schools don't have the money, um, that you might want to get paid to do, um, a visit. Um, does it look like interacting with your readers and that that's rewarding? You can still ask to be paid, but think about why you want to do it and how you can make a positive effect, a positive impact and influence on the kids that see you. And I, when I said, it's not about me earlier, I appreciate what you said that it, it, it requires, uh, a bit of honing a skill, you know, to go in and inspire kids.
Um, if you don't think that's you, if you're not naturally exciting and bubbly and, and, and it's difficult for you to build up that level of energy, think about a big gymnasium full of 500 kids and the amount of energy that you have to project in order for them to feel it. And then what if they don't send that energy back to you, you have to keep putting it out there. So think about that.
If that's not for you, then I would say, try out some online visits, see if you like those. Um, but not everybody is going to feel suited to do school visits. If you really want to do them, you need to be persistent.
You need to be patient and you need to think outside the box because sometimes it takes different ways to make a school visit work for both you and the students and the school.
PJ
That's fantastic. Now I'm wondering if people might be asking, are there some very practical, uh, things like, are there any places I could go, uh, to find school visits or like, are there websites that would help with it? Yeah. That's sort of like, like more of a technical way of finding a school visit. Um, I don't know if you could speak to that.
CELESTA
Um, there are some things that may be available that I'm not aware of, or I'm not a part of.
I know that there are speakers bureaus and some publishers have a speakers bureau that you can contact and apply to where the idea is that they, they put you in their system and may help you get speaking engagements. I'm not sure how much they do for schools. So I'm not involved in anything like that.
So I can't really speak to that. Um, but what I've done that other people could easily duplicate is if you know, any educators, either in your area or in places where you have friends or family that you could go visit friends and family and stay with them to save on cost. Um, and that may be those friends and family in another state have, um, friends whose kids are in a particular school district, or they might have a friend who's a teacher at a particular school, kind of go through your network that way and see if you can get some contacts by reaching out to people that, you know, who know people.
I think that can be like a really good place to start.
Another way you can go is to look on the district website for a district in your area or a place you're going to be and reach out to the literacy specialist or this, the district, um, media specialist and just inquire about, um, you know, can I bring, can I'll be in town? Can I bring an author visit to your schools?
PJ
That's fantastic. Thank you.
Those are, this has all been wonderful. I'm grateful that you joined me. I think we've shared some really wonderful things and from both Celesta and I, we wish you good luck, uh, getting school visits and on your writing journey.
So thank you. And I guess that's it.
CELESTA
Thanks for having me.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
About Celesta Rimington
Celesta Rimington is the award-winning author of magical middle grade books including the upcoming Reach (releasing January 27, 2026 from Nancy Paulson Books.) She has presented to thousands of students throughout the country about resilience and writing their own stories. Her highly-praised first novel,The Elephant’s Girl,won the Reading the West Book Award for Young Readers and was named on eight state lists. Celesta holds a degree in social psychology and resides in Utah where she can often be found in the boxing gym or exploring mountain forests with her family and her Yorkie, Winston.
Learn more about Celesta’s author visits and the inspiration behind her booksat
PJ Gardner has never met a talking animal, but that hasn’t stopped her from writing about them. She’s the author of the middle grade Horace & Bunwinkleseries, Book 1 of which made the Hawaii State List two years in a row, as well asThe Great Zoodini, which was a finalist for the SCBWI Golden Kite Sid Fleischman Humor Award. Her next book,Worst in Show, comes out in March 2026.
She lives in Southern California with her husband and sons, a mischievous cat named Kaiju, and a rambunctious Boston Terriers named Rocky.
Tis the season to be FRIGHTENED— Ah ah ah ah ah! ah ah! ah! AH!!!
I've always been a fan of scary movies and stories though I'd consider myself a huge—in my own words—punk. I love the adrenaline rush and the deep history of ghouls, spirits, and monsters. I'm known for squinting my eyes and hovering my fingers over my ears when a movie scene gets quiet. So not dramatic, at all...whatsoever... WHAT WAS THAT?!
One of my favorite YouTube channels is Monstrum, a channel on PBS Storied, that explores the origins of monsters, legends and folklore from all over the world, from countless cultures. Imagine having that as your sleep show...I can't believe I don't have NIGHTMARES!
As we gather our pumpkins, and ghosts and skeletons and all things ghoulish, I wanted to shout out The Haunted States of America anthology! If you're like me, and love monsters and spirits and specters and more, check out this collaborative work by SCBWI members!
Full of fifty-two stories by fifty two different authors, The Haunted States of America is an excellent addition to your creepy collection! Written by debut to seasoned authors, this anthology chronologizes and explores urban legends and horrors throughout the fifty states, from the Jersey Devil to La Llorona (she is terrifying btw and kind of...fierce? slay), delving into the monsters and poltergeists we all know, and introducing some new chilling ghouls to frighten us! I lived in New Jersey for a while, and the Jersey Devil legend is alive and well. As a country full of such diverse communities, it is a perfect storm of culture blending where new, and rich folklore and urban legend have evolved into the unique tales we hold til this day.
Featured Authors: Daniel Barlekamp, TeMika Grooms, Tanya Konerman, Jolie Stekly, Constance Van Hoven. Silvia Acevedo, Wendy BooydeGraaff , Ellen Hopkins, Rae Rose, Aixa Perez- Prado, Paul Lubaczewski, Jan Eldredge, Janet S. Fox, Kathy Sattem Rygg, Billie Holladay Skelley, & many, many more!
Join in the spooky fun and pick up your copy today!
