Gather, a Kidlit Podcast

Harold Underdown gives us a sneak peek on his upcoming online course, Everything You Need to Know About Children's Publishing.

Guest interviewer Merrill Rainey talks all things graphic novels with Colleen AF Venable, & Nidhi Chanani

You've written a manuscript now what? Harold Underdown & Eileen Robinson talk about the revision process and their workshop tailored to just that.

Legendary writer Jane Yolen talks picture books, process, and giving back. 

Authors Jess Rinker and Deb Gonzalez talk about how the lack of resources for debut authors helped in the creation of the online course and its different modules. They share what they've learned and wish they'd known in their own debut years.

Authors Lesléa Newman and Rob Sanders talk about their Writing the Rainbow LGBTQ+ themed workshop and their big upcoming projects.

Poets Rebecca Kai Dotlitch and Georgia Heard talk about their annual workshop/retreat, creative processes and their dear friend, the late Lee Bennett Hopkins.

Crystal Allen got her start at the Highlights Foundation as a scholarship recipient, now she's back to talk to us about her career and the workshop she's teaching.

Author/Illustrators Elizabeth Rose Stanton and Carolyn Dee Flores talk about the importance of women in kidlit and nurturing your creative voice.

Meg Medina talks about setting goals, believing in one's self and living a creative life.

Librarian, writer and podcaster Matthew Winner takes on kid lit through his passion for storytelling, readers, education and media.

Art Directors Mallory Grigg and Jen Keenan give us sneak peek into their world and how they're helping illustrators hone their skills in a meaningful way.

Author/Illustrators Kelly Light and Steve Light are not related but talk about their similar upbringings, their work processes and the camaraderie they share.

Author Kathy Erskine tells us all the different ways you can get to know your characters during your writing process and her history with The Highlights Foundation.

Author/Illustrators Kathyrn Othoshi and Mike Curato discuss their creative processes, their preferred illustration methods and fill us in on what's next.

Author Emma Otheguy updates us on her current projects in the works, her passion for children's storytelling and the value of expanding your horizons through diverse stories.

Author Heidi Stemple joins us from the porch of cabin 16, the Jane Yolen cabin, named after her mother, beloved author Jane Yolen. She explains how to find your creative voice, shares her writing process and current projects and shares how birds have played a significant role in her writing.

Christine Carron talks the highs and lows of critiquing/receiving feedback on a WIP and the vulnerability it really takes to do all that. She also chats about her new venture, "The Critique MD," a website built to help strengthen writers skills and confidence in the critique/feedback process.

Award-winning poet and children's book author, Carole Boston Weatherford talks about how viewpoint, voice, and verbs can affect the a manuscript.

Tara Lazar, children's book author, talks about humor in picture books, and about Storystorm--a picture book idea-generator project. The Storystorm challenge is to create 30 story ideas in 30 days.

Young Adult author Alex Villansante talks about the things she didn't know to expect as her first novel was getting ready for release.

Program Director, Alison Green Myers previews our upcoming Fall Workshops. Executive Director, George Brown provides information about attendance logistics, the history and context of what we're doing, and what makes a Highlights Foundation workshop different from other children's literature conferences.

Highlights Diversity Fellows, Jessica Galán, Trisha Tobias, and Daria Peoples-Riley discuss why they write for children and share their experience of the 2019 Summer Camp workshop at the Barn.

Paula and Jan discuss the difference between writing for trade versus writing for the educational market. In their workshop, students learn how to navigate this area of writing and market themselves to educational publishers. Paula and Jan also discuss the needs in this industry and how a writer can soar to success.

Julie and Patrice talk about their inspiration behind the creation of the Villains and Anti-Heroes workshop. Inspired from Julie's debut book, "Forest of a Thousand Lanterns", students could expect to learn what makes these types of characters take the path that they do and act out of the norm, and how world-building can influence the origin story of a villain. Patrice and Julie also discuss must-...