The Guest Book

Author Josh Allen and Illustrator Sarah J. Coleman discuss their three horror books (for kids), OUT TO GET YOU, ONLY IF YOU DARE, and ONCE THEY SEE YOU. From collaborating with each other virtually to the inherent power of the spooky story, check out this fascinating and chilling collaboration between two powerhouses in publishing.  ONCE THEY SEE YOU is available everywhere books are sold. Yo...

Michelle A. Barry, author of the PLOTTING THE STARS series, the 3rd of which is ASHGARDEN, and Janet Sumner Johnson, author of the WINTERTON DECEPTION series, the 2nd of which is FAULT LINES, talk to Holiday House Trade Marketing Manager Alison Tarnofsky. From plotting mysteries for middle grade readers to expanding stories over multiple books, don’t miss this latest conversation from The Guest Bo...

Digital Marketing Coordinator Melissa See speaks with Marissa Eller and Natalie Leif about their respective titles JOINED AT THE JOINTS and TAKE ALL OF US. From chronic pain, fictional vs. real-life pandemic scenarios, to the decision to write for a Young Adult audience, check out this highly insightful conversation in the latest episode of The Guest Book. JOINED BY THE JOINTS and TAKE ALL OF US a...

Holiday House Editor Alex Aceves speaks with Authors Laekan Zea Kemp and Ana Crespo about their respective titles DESERT SONG (simultaneously published in Spanish as CANCION DEL DESERTIO), illustrated by Beatriz Gutiérrez Hernández and SAUDADE, illustrated by André Ceolin. From working with illustrators to visualize abstract components like sound and smells to the importance and power of language...

Holiday House Publishing Editor-in-Chief Mary Cash speaks with Author Lesa Cline-Ransome about her new verse novel ONE BIG OPEN SKY. From researching the history of Black Homesteaders of the 19th century to navigating the intricacies of familial relationships in a family of formerly enslaved people coming into their own power. Check out this episode for a look at the making of a powerful story tol...

Peachtree Publishing Editor Jonah Heller speaks with author Marc J. Gregson and Book One of the Above the Black trilogy audiobook narrator Vikas Adam about SKY’S END. From whether or not writing a NYTimes Bestseller gives you street cred in a classroom to the audiobook recording process (including which SKY’S END character was the most fun to voice), check out this conversation for behin...

Peachtree Teen Senior Editor Ashley Hearn speaks with authors Andrew Joseph White (HELL FOLLOWED WITH US/THE SPIRIT BARES ITS TEETH) and Autumn Krause (BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE HERE) about gothic horror, body horror, and the horror of societal expectations. From video games to Johnny Appleseed, catch up with these authors about the things that inspired their historical horrors! THE SPIRIT BAR...

Holiday House Trade Marketing Manager Alison Tarnofsky speaks with Creators Landis Blair (THE NIGHT TENT, Margaret Ferguson Books) and Tom Gauld (THE LITTLE WOODEN ROBOT AND THE LOG PRINCESS, Neal Porter Books). From their shared beginnings in illustrations for adult publications to the incorporation of dark themes in books for young readers, check out this episode for more information from these...

Just in time for Hispanic Heritage Month, Holiday House Associate Editor Alex Aceves speaks to Michael Genhart and Illustrator John Parra about their new book SPANISH IS THE LANGUAGE OF MY FAMILY, which was simultaneously published in Spanish as EL ESPAÑOL ES LA LENGUA DE MI FAMILIA. Centered around the National Spanish Spelling Bee, which was started in 2011, the story explores intergenerational...

Author Suzanne Slade and Illustrator Thomas Gonzalez talk to Peachtree Vice-President and Associate Publisher Kathy Landwehr about their book BEHOLD THE OCTOPUS. From how to choose which of the hundreds of octopuses to represent to their preferred methods of research on octopus trivia, check out this conversation about many folks’ favorite cephalopod and how to do it justice in both text and art....

Author Amy Hest and Illustrator Philip Stead speak to Vice President & Publisher Neal Porter about their new book, SOMETIMES IT’S NICE TO BE ALONE, which centers around a child’s imaginings and celebrates being alone (sometimes). Check out this episode of THE GUEST BOOK for a discussion about their collaborative creation process and the technical details on what made SOMETIMES IT’S NICE TO BE...

Jay Hosler, creator of SANTIAGO RAMÓN Y CAJAL! ARTIST, SCIENTIST, TROUBLEMAKER, talks with Holiday House Associate Marketing Manager Darby Guinn about the process of introducing Cajal’s life and legacy to kids. The Spanish Nobel Prize Winner, known as the “Father of Neuroscience,” whose illustrations of brain cells are still used today was indeed, as the subtitle indicates, an Artist, a Scientist,...

Jamie Pacton, author of THE VERMILION EMPORIUM, talks with Peachtree Teen Editor Ashley Hearn about her whimsically magical young adult romantic fantasy novel from pitch to finish. Through loss, hope, historical inspirations, fantastical world creation, and the need for happy endings, catch up on this conversation about the book and the unlikely sources of inspiration that brought it to life. &nbs...

Tom Phillips, author of THE CURIOUS LEAGUE OF DETECTIVES AND THIEVES series, and Taylor Tyng, author of the CLARA POOLE series, discuss their experiences with Dyslexia and how it shaped their paths to becoming debut authors. From text-to-speech and other modern tools to work around reading difficulties, to making the transition from working for the screen to crafting a series narrative for middle...

MURDER FOR THE MODERN GIRL Author Kendall Kulper and Holiday House Senior Editor Sally Morgridge talk about writing dual perspectives, 1920’s slang, the birth of forensic science, and why sometimes you just need to get your frustrations out with a story about a girl who kills those who hurt others.   MURDER FOR THE MODERN GIRL is available everywhere books are sold. You can find Kendall Kulpe...

LULI AND THE LANGUAGE OF TEA and THE LITTLE HOUSE OF HOPE/LA CASITA DE ESPERANZA both center around the immigrant experience—through shared experiences, shared spaces, and shared words. The authors discuss many aspects, from the research behind the 10 different languages featured in LULI and the personal family stories that helped inspire LA CASITA, to both illustrators’ contributions to the...

Author JaNay Brown-Wood discusses her “Where in the Garden” Series of books (Amara's Farm, Miguel's Community Garden) with Em Shipman, Executive Director of KidsGardening. From the importance of encouraging curiosity about the natural world to the importance of diverse representation, as well as the way in which education can encompass both hands-on work and more traditional media, this conversati...

Associate Marketing Manager Alison Tarnofsky talks with LITTLE MONARCHS Author/Illustrator Jonathan Case and SWALLOWTAIL LEGACY #1: WRECK AT ADA’S REEF Author Michael D. Beil. From first child worries and monarch butterfly migration patterns to new families, maps, and dealing with big changes in your life (and solving mysteries as you go).   LITTLE MONARCHS and SWALLOWTAIL LEGACY #1: WRECK AT...

Peachtree Publishing Vice President and Associate Publisher Kathy Landwehr talks with KING AND KAYLA Author Dori Hillestad Butler and Illustrator Nancy Myers. From the history of the Geisel Honor award-winning series, to investigating mysteries and the collaborative nature of creating early reader books, the King & Kayla series has a place in both Butler and Myers’ hearts only comparable to th...

Holiday House Executive Editor Grace Maccarone talks about the inspiration for STITCH BY STITCH: Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly Sews Her Way to Freedom, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, with author Connie Schofield-Morrison and Illustrator Elizabeth Zunon. From prophetic dreams to intriguing textiles, Elizabeth Keckley’s story proved to be inspiring for both author and illustrator. Born a slave in 1818, Elizabeth...

Holiday House Editor Mora Couch talks fantasy with Authors Jodi Meadows (NIGHTRENDER) and Cristin Bishara (VIAL OF TEARS). From childhood favorites to writing styles and the challenges of complex world-building, these YA authors cover the challenges and rewards of writing and publishing their latest novels.   VIAL OF TEARS is available wherever books are sold. NIGHTRENDER will become availabl...

Neal Porter Books / Holiday House Vice President & Publisher Neal Porter talks to SONG FOR JIMI’s author/illustrator duo Charles R. Smith Jr. and Edel Rodriguez about everything Jimi Hendrix. From their personal connections to the superstar guitarist, their discussions on how to decide where to finish Hendrix’s story, to the use of songwriting conventions when writing the story and how the col...

Holiday House Editor in Chief Mary Cash talks Sci-Fi with Authors Dianne K. Salerni (JADIE IN FIVE DIMENSIONS) and Mary Amato (STAR STRIKER: GAME ON!). From their Sci-Fi inspirations (both hard and soft), early starts in Sci-fi TV and fanfiction, and how all of the above influenced their Fall 2021 debut middle grade novels in the genre. JADIE IN FIVE DIMENSIONS and STAR STRIKER: GAME ON! are avail...

Author Jordan Scott and Illustrator Sydney Smith talk about their book I TALK LIKE A RIVER with Sylvia M. Vardell, Ph. D.Professor at Texas Woman's University School of Library & Information Studies, with a focus on Poetry for Young People. A year on from publication, what are the takeaways from the Author/Illustrator duo? The discussion covers a variety of topics, from how poetry allows for c...

Authors Janet Nolan, Carmen Agra Deedy, and Caroline Brooks DuBois join Associate Marketing Manager for Trade Elyse Vincenty to discuss their books SEVEN AND A HALF TONS OF STEEL, 14 COWS FOR AMERICA, and THE PLACES WE SLEEP. They discuss the inspiration for writing their stories, the importance of bringing stories about September 11th to children today, and more. SEVEN AND A HALF TONS OF STE...