Read to Write Kidlit Podcast

Brandon Mull is the New York Times bestselling author of the Fablehaven series and several other series for kids. The first book was published in 2006 and the fifth, and final, book was published in 2010. Now 20 years later, Fablehaven is celebrating its anniversary with an illustrated special edition of Fablehaven. It will also be heading to theaters in 2027. We talked with Brandon about the over...

Rebecca Bendheim, a poet and author, released her debut middle grade novel, When You’re Brave Enough, on April 7, 2026. Rebecca is also a former middle school teacher and types her poetry with Austin’s Typewriter Rodeo poetry troupe. We talked with Rebecca about the overall journey of this book and her career as well as how she crafted the “little” things throughout the story that made it come tog...

Jen Calonita writes books that immediately take you away. If you are looking for a whimsical, yet tense at times mystery-fantasy, then you should listen to our latest episode! We read Isle of Ever, which is book one in the latest series by Jen Calonita. It’s short, packs a punch, and is full of a lively cast of characters. We talk about the “secret ingredient” to writing engaging fantasy as well a...

Sometimes you just have to cry. Sad books are therapeutic. It gives you a place to explore grief, whether you have personally experienced it or not. They help you identify and release emotions you may not understand at the moment. Nicole Miliner’s Trouble With Secrets is a “cozy” place to cry. Did we cry? Yes. Did we feel love and hope? Also, yes. Order your copy of The Trouble with Secrets and jo...

"What is hard for an adult to say is easy for a kid to hear." These were one of many words of wisdom we gained from our interview with James Bird. Our reading of No Place Like Home and the following interview with Bird gave us so much to think about and to practice with in our writing journey. This book is one of those that leave you speechless and wondering “how did he write this?” We hope you wi...

Have you ever been captivated by a book’s cover? The cover of Tara Dairman’s middle grade novel, The Girl From Earth’s End, is exactly one of those books. The cover is stunning and the more you look, the more you wonder. And then you open the book and the pages are decorated with cute flowers-not only on the chapters but on each page. The vibes are whimsical and we were ready for some whimsy! As w...

Kalyn Josephson is a NYT Bestselling author of both middle grade and young adult novels. Flashback a few years: Shortly after we started reading books together and discussing them as writing critique partners, we read Ravenfall. It’s a book right up both of our alleys and we both really enjoyed talking about the structure and setting of the book. Flash forward to now: This month we wanted to rerea...

Lindsay Currie is an award-winning middle grade author widely known for her spooky stories, but she is also making her way into the mystery realm! In Season 2, we spoke with Lindsay on her middle grade mystery, The Mystery of Locked Rooms. You can listen to it here . In that episode we learned that there would be a sequel (and potentially even more books) and we knew we had to have her back. Linds...

How much do you know about the Dust Bowl? Maybe you’ve seen some powerful photographs illustrating the struggles of the Great Depression or the power of Black Sunday? As we read Alyssa Colman’s Where Only Storms Grow we discovered that we really experienced and “felt” history more than we could in photographs from the time. We talked with Alyssa Colman and discussed writing historical fiction and...

Messages about caring for the world we live in cannot come at more important time in our lives-and this is book is a great way to discuss environmentalism. We met with Kali Wallace and discussed writing in the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and environmental fantasy, as well as pacing, plotting, and maybe…not plotting. (Really, finding what works for you!) Here are a few of our favorite lines...

Looking for an entertaining read full of awkward teen love and friendships? Gloria Buenrostro is Not My Girlfriend is that book. Join us as we talked with Brandon Hoàng about writing strong characters, choosing an audience for your story, and more on writing and creating. Here were a few of our favorite lines that stood out to us as we read: * Alexis: Her fingers touching mine. Her warmth cut thro...

Secret Garden + Divergent = Moongarden. Join us as we talked with Michelle A Barry about writing her science fiction series, Moongarden. We touched on plotting, planning, magic systems, and tying middle school life into it all in our latest podcast. Here were a few of our favorite lines that stood out to us as we read: * Brittany: “The public will never accept a garden.” * Alexis: “I turn in a cir...

Plotting, outlines, multiple points of view, and developing distinct characters are some of the things we talked with Allie Millington about today after reading her latest Middle Grade novel, Once for Yes. Here were a few of our favorite lines that stood out to us as we read: * Alexis: “Friendships are like water leaks. Who knows how they start.” * Brittany: “But sometimes it’s the things you lose...

Tackling tough topics, book banning, current events, prologues, and growth. These are some of the things we talked with Elly Swartz about today after reading her latest Middle Grade novel, Same Page. Here were a few of our favorite lines that stood out to us as we read: * Alexis: “Kids can handle more than we’re given credit for. Books are a good way to learn and talk about stuff that’s hard. They...

Writing characters with unique voices, staying in the middle grade voice with dialogue, and using a timeless character such as vampires, but putting your own spin on it, are some of the topics we discussed with Kalynn Bayron. As we read, there were two passages that stood out to us: * Brittany : I toss my phone onto my bed and go find my mom, who tells me she thinks folding laundry is kind of rela...

Dragon elements with history, character goals, and navigating multiple POVs in a story are some of the writing themes we talked about with Sam Subity. As we read, we noticed two passages that really stood out to us. * Brittany: “Maybe, even, they are miles and miles away beside the same river. I let my fingertips trail into the water and imagine they are doing the same and our fingers touch.” pg....

Playing with language, building a town of characters, and blending history and fiction are some of the topics we covered with Taryn Souders. You can listen to the podcast above or on Apple Podcasts. We also have transcripts available if listening is not for you. Note: Transcripts on Substack are only available in the web version, not the app. Further down in the description you can read more about...

Lindsay Currie discusses taking a chance when something captures your attention, being inspired by other writers, and how she wrote The Mystery of Locked Rooms! Twelve-year-old Sarah Greene wants nothing more from her seventh-grade year than to beat the hardest escape room left in her town with her best friends, West, and Hannah. But when a foreclosure notice shows up on Sarah's front door, everyt...

We are so excited to kick off Season 2 with you all. Our first guest this season is Wendy Parris-author of two spooky middle grade novels. Today we focused on her latest release, Stage Fright. Further down in the description you can read more about the book, where to buy your own copy, a writing challenge, and what we are doing next. You can listen to the podcast above or on Apple Podcasts. We als...

Today we welcome Joy McCullough. Joy debuted with a young adult novel in verse, Blood Water Paint, which went on to win numerous awards and honors. Since then, she has written picture books, middle grade, and more young adult. She’s also a playwright! Her latest novel is a middle grade novel, Basil and Dahlia: A Tragic Tale of Sinister Sweetness. We discuss how this was her first novel on submissi...

Our July read, Basil & Dahlia: A Tragical Tale of Sinister Sweetness has an eye catching cover and fun illustrations sprinkled throughout the novel. We decided we had to have Shane Cluskey, the illustrator, on our show. This episode will give you a glimpse into the process of book covers and artwork in books as well as a look at how Shane creates his art. You can listen to our talk with author, Jo...

 Jasmine Warga, author and winner of countless awards, including a John Newbery Honor, a Walter Honor for Young Readers, and a Charlotte Huck Honor joined to discuss the writing process behind her acclaimed middle grade novel, A Rover’s Story. You can listen to the podcast above or on Apple Podcasts. Discussion We would love to hear from our readers! What is your biggest takeaway from the podcast?...

Today we talked with middle grade author Dan Gemeinhart about writing, specifically with his novel, The Midnight Children. Dan Gemeinhart is an award winning and bestselling author known for his heartfelt stories including Some Kind of Courage, The Honest Truth, Scar Island, Good Dog, The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise and most recently, Coyote Lost and Found. Dan is here with us today to di...

Today we talked with two of the editors for the anthology On All Other Nights, Chris Baron and Naomi Milliner. Joshua S Levy is the third editor, but he was not able to join us. On All Other Nights is a joyful middle-grade anthology centered around Passover—from an exciting array of bestselling and award-winning Jewish creators. Welcome to Passover, a Jewish holiday that has been celebrated for th...

Today’s guest writes books that are best described with these words: Award Winning. Real Challenges. Resilience. Humor. Barbara Dee is the author of 14 middle grade novels and is the QUEEN (in our opinion) of capturing that middle grade voice as well as depicting tough topics in an accessible way for kids. Our talk with Barbara Dee was full of strategies on how to write authentic voices, chapter t...