Today’s guest is Tara Gilboy who holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, where she specialized in writing for children and young adults. Her middle grade novel, Unwritten, was published by Jolly Fish Press just this month. She teaches creative writing in San Diego Community College’s Continuing Education Program and for the PEN Writers in Prisons Program.

 Tara joined me today to talk about selling her book without an agent, and how to process criticism from critique partners. Also Covered: exercises to help you capture middle grade voice, and how to find critique partners both online and in real life. And, can writing be taught or is it intuitive?  

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The Wood by Chelsea Bobulski 

Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby

Today’s guest is Abigail Johnson, author of the YA contemporary titles EVEN IF I FALL, THE FIRST TO KNOW and IF I FIX YOU. She became a tetraplegic after breaking her neck in a car accident when she was seventeen, but hasn’t let that stop her from bodysurfing in Mexico, and becoming a published author. Abigail speaks with host Mindy McGinnis about the process of getting an agent, how branding can limit your writing in some ways once you have a career,  the ease of world building when writing contemporary – not to be confused with the idea that writing YA is easy - and how Abigail’s accident shapes her unique perspective of life and people, and where to find her online.

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Your Destination Is On The Left by Lauren Spieller

Soulstruck by Natasha Sinel 

The December roundup episode with host Mindy McGinnis, as well as tips on how to round out a healthy reading list fro 2018.

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Air & Ash by Alex Lidell

Killer Potential by AftenBrook Szymanski

Host Mindy McGinnis is joined by Jeff Zentner, author of the William C. Morris Award winning and Carnegie Medal longlisted book The Serpent King (2016). Jeff shares about how his love of music led him into a career as a novelist, drawing inspiration from people in real life to populate the pages of your fiction, and how to effectively write the opposite gender. 

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Guest Madeleine Roux, New York Times Bestselling Author of the ASYLUM series, joins host Mindy McGinnis to talk about the neglect of genre fiction in the educational setting, her unique method of garnering an agent, the ever-present disdain of YA, the pressure of following up a New York Times Bestselling series, and the pain of having a project close to your heart not find its audience.

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Illustrator Iris Compiet Instagram 

Today’s guest is Jody Casella, author and a former high school English teacher. Her YA novel Thin Space received a starred review from Kirkus. She blogs, reviews books, speaks at libraries and schools, and teaches workshops at the Thurber House in Columbus, Ohio. She is the Regional Director of the Ohio Central/South region of SCBWI. Jody joined host Mindy McGinnis to talk about MFA’s, querying as an already published writer, the benefits of joining SCBWI - the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators - and how attending book festivals geared for readers can also be beneficial to writers. 

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Middle Grade author Janet Sumner Johnson talks about her debut novel, THE LAST GREAT ADVENTURE OF THE PB&J SOCIETY, as well as the challenge of writing for middle graders, the assumption that books for children are somehow lesser than books written for adults, as well as the question of what content to include for younger readers.

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