KT Literary podcast

On this episode, author Tonya Duncan Ellis talks with us about her winning social media strategies, speaking at conferences and schools, and about writing books kids really want to read. Tonya's Bio: TONYA DUNCAN ELLIS is author of They Built Me for Freedom: The Story of Juneteenth and Houston’s Emancipation Park (HarperCollins, 2024) and Cookout Chemistry (Charlesbridge, 2027). She successfully s...

Here at the beginning of 2025 there are a lot of things affecting the publishing industry. In this episode we have a conversation about generative AI and how it is changing the way publishers, authors, and agents have to think about "work". We discuss using books to train AI models (boo), we talk about the ways AI is making the industry more accessible for some people, and we talk about the ways w...

Adria Goetz is a Senior Agent at KT Literary and our Illustration Coordinator. She represents picture books, YA, MG, and womens fiction with a genre twist. If you want to follow her on social media, you can find her on Instagram and on her website . Here's her official bio: "Adria Goetz is based out of the beautifully gloomy Pacific Northwest. Adria got her start in publishing as an intern at Mart...

This week’s guest. Doan Phuong Nguyen is a middle grade author, photographer, daydreamer, and creative girlie girl. She was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States when she was in elementary school. She received her MFA in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.  Purchase a copy of Mèo and Bé . Follow Doan Phuong on Instagram . Or find more inf...

Rachel Werner joins us today to talk about the art (and grind) of becoming a full time writer. She gives us freelance tips, marketing ideas, and talks about the importance of an email newsletter! She’s an author, content creator and media consultant from Madison Wisconsin. She’s the founder of The Little Book Project WI as well as a teaching artist for Hugo House, The Loft Literary Center and Ligh...

In this episode, Parrish Turner joins Chelsea and Renee to talk about the HarperCollins union, the 2022 strike, and the passion for the job that keeps him going.  We talk about the state of publishing, the things we love about the job, and how people can get involved in the fight for living wages at HarperCollins and other publishers. Follow the Union on social media: https://www.instagram.com/hcp...

Katy James joins us today to talk about her book TOO MUCH MAN. It's a fun, flirty debut about a grumpy former hockey player and a bisexual coffee-shop owner refuse to commit—to themselves or each other. We talk about identity, hockey, and Katy's day job as an archivist and rare book librarian.  Buy TOO MUCH MAN. Preorder the next book TOO HOT TO TOUCH. Visit Katy's website or follow her on Twitter...

THE MANY HALF-LIVED LIVES OF SAM SYLVESTER is about an autistic trans kid navigating their new school while finding friends—and love, along the way. It’s written by Maya MacGregor, and though they are no stranger to publishing, it’s their debut YA novel! Maya and Allegra talk about the joys of bringing Sam to life on the page and in the audiobook, the exciting time we’re in for queer stories, and...

Meet our new agent, Kari Sutherland! We are so excited to have her on the team!   Find Kari on Twitter . Here is her Query Manager form if you're ready to submit!  And here is her MSWL.

Patty is an educator, an accomplished horse woman, and a fantasy super fan. She joined me to talk about her new novel FORGING A NIGHTMARE, her love of messing with established mythology, and how she brought her characters to life. We also talk about the racist and bigoted book banning that’s gone on in her district in Pennsylvania. If you’re in the book world, you’ve heard about this. This story h...

What the heck is going on with supply chain issues? Why aren't there more books? What can we do about it? What advice do we have for authors? This week, Sara Megibow joins the podcast to talk about all these issues and more! We get granular about how books are made, what the "pain points" are in the process, and what that means for books releasing now. And though it all sounds a little depressing,...

Mayonn Paassewe-Valchev has always been a storyteller. From her youth in Liberia, to her time living in the Netherlands, and now residing with her family in Georgia, stories have played an important part in her life. In this interview we talk about mythology, capturing oral storytelling on the page and how she did that in her new Middle Grade book THE LEOPARD BEHIND THE MOON.  Buy THE LEOPARD BEHI...

Considering a post-pandemic trip to a quaint English Village? Be sure to add this book to your packing list. Maureen Johnson, Jay Cooper, and Kate Testerman get together to discuss the new book YOUR GUIDE TO NOT GETTING MURDERED IN A QUAINT ENGLISH VILLAGE. We discuss the most dangerous element of a quaint English Village, the thing that would probably get us killed, the age-old place to dump a bo...

Maggie Wells is prolific in the romance genre and definitely knows her stuff. One of the most interesting things we talk about is her experience as a hybrid author. Hybrid authors’ books are usually a blend of traditionally published books and indie or self-published ones. Maggie takes the time to pull back the curtain on her experience in publishing .    Check out Maggie Wells on Twitter , Instag...

R.W.W. Greene is a SciFi author, an educator, and an all around great guy. He has such an interesting perspective on the SciFi genre and what makes for a great story. He talks about so many different books in our conversation and if you're a student of SciFi, I recommend you have a pen handy.   We talk about writing near SciFi, what he's reading right now (THE GALAXY, AND THE GROUND WITHIN by Beck...

Michelle Ruiz Kiel’s modern stories with mythic sensibilities are some of my favorites. She is someone I wanted to have on the podcast for a long time. I think it started when I heard her panel on modern fairy tales at the ALA Midwinter conference in Seattle a few years ago. I wanted to bring her on and ask her all about writing mythology, magical realism, and modern fairytales. Michelle join me t...

Buy River Magic and Nightingale! Today, I have the privilege of speaking with two of our Powerhouse Middle Grade authors, Ellen Booraem and Deva Fagan. These women are both from Maine and they both write beautiful, sharp, emotionally resonant Middle Grade fantasy. We talk about writing, magic, LARPing, and puppers. We also talk about promoting their books with a group of authors who all release in...

Today I have the privilege of speaking with New York Times Bestselling author, Jason Hough. Jason is the author of The Dire Earth series, ZERO WORLD, and video game tie in books for Gears of War and Mass Effect.  We talk about writing IP for video games, James Bond's pacing, and using movie soundtracks as writing music.  Preorder INSTINCT! Jason's website   Jason's Twitter You can find us at  ktli...

This week I have the privilege of interviewing novelist Jennifer Greunke. Jennifer’s debut novel, OF SILVER AND SHADOW just came out in February. Jennifer’s book was originally supposed to come out in May of 2020 and the release date was pushed back almost a year because of Covid-19. We have an interesting conversation about that process. We also discuss writing fantasy, and the best way for write...

Madeline L’Engle once said in an interview “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” I can’t think of a better way to describe Jen Petro-Roy’s books. She’s the author of the books PS I MISS YOU, GOOD ENOUGH, and her brand new release LIFE IN THE BALANCE. We actually talk a lot about balance in this ep...

Today, we talk about 2020. Yes, we voluntarily went back there! Though much was lost this year, and many things felt by turns unfamiliar and maddeningly repetitive, we had a good year. With 3 new members added to our team, many new books released, and new contracts signed! Together we clung to the successes and joy.    Kate Testerman, Sara Megibow, Kelly VanSant, Jas Perry, Aida Lilly, and Renee N...

Our client, Aliza Mann joined me for a conversation about the new book A MORE PERFECT UNION. This collaborative project is a romance anthology in which each story addresses voting and democracy. Preorder A MORE PERFECT UNION on Amazon and on Apple Books Aliza Mann’s  Website , Instagram , Twitter , and  The Book Harlots on YouTube . If you want more information about the powerful voter equality wo...

In an effort to make the end of 2020 as joyful as possible, I couldn't think of a better guest than Susan Adrian. She's one of the first kt literary clients I ever met, and she is always so kind, warm, and generous. Susan is the author of the Middle Grade books NUTCRACKED and FOREVER NEVERLAND, and the YA book TUNNEL VISION. She is a 4th-generation Californian who somehow stumbled into living in M...

Elysia Whisler joins us today to talk about her debut novel RESCUE YOU. It is a heartwarming love story about redemption, hope, and how everyone needs saving now and then. We discuss Elysia's road to publishing, PTSD, and, of course, dogs! You can find Elysia on Twitter and Instagram , and also on her website at   elysiawhisler.com . You can purchase RESCUE YOU here! And look for us at ktliterary....

Marisa Reichardt is the author of UNDERWATER, the upcoming spring 2021 release, A SHOT AT NORMAL and her newest book, AFTERSHOCKS. We talk about packing earthquake kits, the physical and mental strength of water polo players, and how releasing a disaster book in 2020 can actually be rather cathartic.  You can purchase a copy of AFTERSHOCKS here .  Find Marisa on her website , twitter , and instagr...