by Bethany | Aug 30, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
Ann Braden writes books about kids struggling to find their voice amidst the realities of life. Her debut middle grade novel THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS was listed as one of NPR’s Best Books of 2018, received a starred review from School Library Journal, and was described by Newbery award-winner Karen Hesse as “a compassionate look at poverty, hard choices, and defending one’s right to be treated humanely.”
Ann founded GunSenseVT, a grassroots group focused on championing the common ground on the issue of guns in Vermont, and she also founded the Local Love Brigade, which now has chapters all over the country sending love postcards to those who are facing hate. Ann is a former middle school teacher, the co-host of the children’s book podcast, “Lifelines: Books that Bridge the Divide,” along with Pakistani American author Saadia Faruqi, and recently one of the co-organizers of #KidsNeedMentors. For more about Ann, go to her website at http://annbradenbooks.com/
In this episode, Bethany chats with debut middle grade author Ann Braden who had quite the journey to get her book published after her editor and everyone in the children’s division was fired from the publishing house! Because of that, Ann had to do almost all of the marketing for the book herself and make use of the power of word-of-mouth to get the books into readers’ hands. But the book has taken off and is earning awards and accolades, and now Ann has two more middle grade novels coming out, both with Nancy Paulsen Books.
The idea for the character of Zoey in THE BENEFITS OF BEING AN OCTOPUS came from Ann’s students, 80% of whom qualified for free lunches. Ann realized these kids needed to see themselves in books, and Zoey and her story were born. Ann talks also about the ripple effect with doing good and being courageous and how her own anger has spurred her into action both as a writer and as an activist. Ann and Bethany also discuss courage and how it can be contagious in the best possible ways.
Are you following us social media? Check out Courage to Create on Twitter and Instagram.
by Bethany | Jun 5, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
This Courage to Create episode is all about learning to be resilient and work with the negative aspects of ourselves and others while also learning to set boundaries. Bethany Hegedus discusses the fine art of critiquing your own work and the work of others and learning to accept what resonates with you and leave the rest.
As writers, we must also guard who we let into our creative lives and set ourselves up to win as we come to understand our own limits along with who and what feeds us and who and what drains us. Bethany quotes from Robert Sutton on creativity and Brene Brown on resilience and courage. Lean how to protect yourself, your energy, and your writing time in this latest episode of Courage to Create.
by Bethany | May 29, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
Writing Barn friend and master storyteller Kathi Appelt returns to The Porchlight after having joined Bethany previously in episode 5. In this latest episode, they discuss Kathi’s first young adult novel, ANGEL THIEVES, as well as her picture book MAX ATTACKS, which will be released this summer.
Kathi’s books have won numerous national and state awards, including the Irma and Simon Black Award, Children’s Choice Award, Teacher’s Choice Award, the Oppenheimer Gold Award, Parent’s Choice Award, Storytelling World Award, Growing Good Kids Award, Texas Writer’s League Award for Children’s Literature, the Texas Institute of Letters Award, Best Books for Young Adults, VOYA Top of the Shelf Award, and a host of others. Kathi’s first novel, THE UNDERNEATH, was a National Book Award Finalist and a Newbery Honor Book. It also received the Pen USA Award, and was a finalist for the Heart of Hawick Children’s Book Award.
Her novel, THE TRUE BLUE SCOUTS OF SUGAR MAN SWAMP, was a National Book Award Finalist in 2013. In 2016, MAYBE A FOX, co-written with Alison McGhee, won the Texas Institute of Letters Award for Middle Grade Literature and was named to the Texas Library Association’s “Texas Bluebonnet Master List.” In 2009, Kathi was named “Texas Distinguished Writer” by the Friends of the Abilene Public Library.
ANGEL THIEVES took three years and countless hours of research to write even though Kathi grew up on the Houston bayou. Getting the history of the city and the people right and telling the truth as deeply as possible were vital to Kathi as she crafted this complex story. She and Bethany discuss the misrepresentation in history that has shaped us and continues to do so and why Kathi used sensitivity readers to help her represent the characters and world in this novel as honestly as possible.
They also discuss the importance of place in fiction and how setting can be the backbone of a story. Both writers share their delight in seeing how children’s literature, especially picture books, has expanded to include difficult subjects that, when handled well, can impact children’s worldview and teach them empathy. They give a shout-out to friend and fellow author, Kekla Magoon, and her beautiful books and they discuss how the children they write for give them courage to tackle tough topics with honesty as Kekla and many authors do so skillfully in their work. Also, Bethany and Kathi talk about how long stories and ideas can live with us and reassure writers that not every idea has to be written right now.
In fact, ANGEL THIEVES was really 25 years in the making rather than just three. Listen today to this inspiring episode with the talented and insightful Kathi Appelt and find out more about Kathi and her work at https://www.kathiappelt.com/
by Bethany | May 22, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
That’s right! You heard us correctly, the Porchlight Podcast will now be fully folded under author Bethany Hegedus’ Courage to Create Series. Listen to this quick episode to find out exactly what that means! Don’t worry listeners, we still full intend to provide you with author interviews, literary life talks, and more.
Next week we will be back with our regular programming which includes and in-depth interview with award winning author Kathi Appelt.
You can also read more about the change on The Writing Barn Blog.
by Bethany | May 15, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
Do you have great expectations about writing and publishing and how much time your literary life should take? Are you constantly disappointed because your literary life isn’t meeting those high standards?
In the tenth episode of Bethany Hegedus’ Courage to Create series, she discusses how we can free ourselves from unrealistic expectations and focus on small steps rather than huge milestones. She reminds us that there are no shortcuts in having a writing career nor is there one specific path to follow. We each create that path for ourselves.
Bethany advises us to stop letting time matter and instead to embrace where we are now in our literary lives and look at where we want to go because that’s all we can control. She even walks listeners through the three act plot structure of the literary life: apprentice years, early career, and mastery. Listen today for insights and inspiration to let yourself realize that the time it takes is the time it takes.
by Bethany | May 8, 2019 | Courage to Create, Podcast
In this episode of The Porchlight Podcast, Bethany interviews Charlotte Sullivan Wild whose debut picture book is THE AMAZING IDEA OF YOU, illustrated by Mary Lundquist (Bloomsbury, 2019).
Charlotte has served as the Regional Advisor for the Southwest Texas chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators; founding host of the Picture Book Salon of San Antonio, Texas; and bookseller at The Twig Book Shop. She previously taught children’s literature for nearly two decades, volunteered in public and school libraries, and interviewed children’s authors for Write On! Radio (KFAI).
In this episode of The Porchlight, Bethany extends a welcome to author-hood to Charlotte who says one of her greatest joys is reading to kids, and now she gets to read them her own words! For eleven years, Charlotte worked to master writing, and seven of those years she spent working extensively on picture books. She and Bethany discuss the speed of the writing process and how greatly it can vary from project to project plus how important it is that the publishing market be ready for certain subjects. They seek to define author voice and how publishing is more and more often blurring the lines among genres, usually to the delight of readers. Charlotte gives a shout out to three of her favorite picture books: ALL AROUND US, THE SOUND OF SILENCE, and THIS IS MY EYE. The interview concludes with Charlotte explaining how both the magic and the math of story and structure enchant her and inform her work. For more about Charlotte, visit https://charlotteswild.com/
Recent Comments