You May Contribute A Verse

Bedrooms, bathrooms, and bookshelves. All other people's places we should be staying out of unless invited. Especially if you're a fascist. Martha Brockenbrough is here! Talking Kidlit for Kamala, continuing children's lit education, and the frankly shocking number of books about bigfoot that one person can write. But mostly Kidlit for Kamala ! A reminder from Martha: everything is political. All...

Our guest for this conversation is Anita Yasuda. We chat about her start in the educational market, her journey to an agent and her new book UP, UP, EVER UP JUNKO TABEI: A Life In The Mountains illustrated by Yuko Shimizu.  You can find Anita here . DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! This episode’s book reviews: If you want to be a part of the #KidlitForKamala movement or want...

All it takes is one person to believe in your work for you to break through this crazy industry. And all it takes is several hundred persons to listen to this interview with kind soul and skilled author Dianna Wilson Sirkovsky !  Dianna's books, James's Reading Rescue and Just One Pebble , are kind acts of writing based on kind acts of goodness. Give them a read and get inspired! ------- DON’T MIS...

Our guest for this conversation is, the amazing and delightful Sylvie Frank, editorial director at Disney Hyperion. We chat behind-the-scenes at Disney, context switching, and trusting your critique groups. You can find Sylvie here . DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! This episode’s book reviews: If you want to be a part of the #KidlitForKamala movement or want more informatio...

Our guest today is Melody Plan, author of Inside the Compost Bin illustrated by Rong Pham and Vinh Nguyen. We talk birds and animal care, how Melody got her agent, and saying no to an opportunity when it doesn’t line up with your goals. You can find Melody here . DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! This episode’s book reviews: If you want to be a part of the #KidlitForKamala mo...

Our guest Steph Henson is great! As summer wanes and the school year waxes, we catch up with Steph on her recent release No School, My Rules with Tielmour Press!   -------   DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter  here! This episode’s book reviews: MONSTER HANDS by Karen Kane and Jonaz McMillan , illustrated by Dion MBD DEEP, DEEP DOWN: THE SECRET UNDERWATER POETRY OF THE MARIANA TRENCH...

Our guest for this conversation was Laura Gehl author of Robot Shabbat, Snow Is..., Saving Delicia and many more. We chat about being prolific, how she gets her good news, and using neuroscience in picture books! You can find Laura here . DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! This episode’s book reviews: DONUTS FOR EVERYBODY by Jerrold Connors   MY MAMA IS A WORK OF ART written b...

In which Josh says 'inspirational' a lot because he was excited about the conversation. Author T.F. Sabin is great and we can't wait for you to hear all about her journey, what drives her, and how she's driven to be the best she can be. Here is T.F. Sabin's picture book journal, by the way: GOALS -------   DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter  here! This episode’s book reviews: SCORCH...

Our guest for this conversation was Maddie Frost–friend of the pod, artist behind Versey the podcast mascot and author illustrator of Smug Seagull, Just Be Jelly and the GN series Wombats. We chat illustrating, switching agents, and working on multiple projects at once. You can find Maddie on Instagram . DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! This episode’s book reviews: VROOM by...

Life hacks and tangents and accidental nonfiction, oh my! Lots of potential episode titles in this one. Our conversation with Chloe Ito Ward is here! Grab her book Love Grows Here... here !  Our podcast service auto-transcribed my intro with the name You Make a Drip Be Diverse. Should we change it to this AI-generated alternative?? (I apologize for the noise on my solo recording that sounded like...

The vibes are strong with James McGowan ! Agent, author, YouTuber, and great guest!    -------   DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter  here! This episode’s book reviews: CAN I BE YOUR DOG by Troy Cummings BUILDING A BEAK: HOW A TOUCAN'S RESCUE INSPIRED THE WORLD , written by Becca McMurdie , illustrated by Diana Hernandez EMERGENCY QUARTERS , written by Carlos Matias , illustrated by...

Papa J Funk is here and he's taking no questions. Luckily for us, Josh Funk IS taking questions!   -------   DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter  here! This episode’s book reviews: TOUCH THE SKY by Stephanie Lucianovic , illustrated by Chris Park THE MESS THAT WE MADE by Michelle Lord , illustrated by Julia Blattman DUCK AND MOOSE: DUCK MOVES IN and MOOSE BLASTS OFF by Kirk Reedstrom...

Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man.  Our guest for this conversation was Jacob Sager Weinstein. You can find Jacob on Twitter and Bluesky . DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our news...

The world lost one of the brightest lights in the kidlit sky last week with the passing of author Katey Howes.  Today we're remembering Katey and honoring her memory with a reshare of a conversation Josh first had with her in July 2021.  If you have a memory of Katey you'd like to share, please consider doing so via this Google Form . A memory book will be created and gifted to each of her three c...

Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man.  Our guest for this conversation was Charles Santoso. You can find Charles on Twitter and Instagram . DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsle...

Pants vs Cake. Pantsing vs archaeology. The Mental Snack Drawer. Flax Eggs. Blogs on Saturday. The meh shelf. Betsy Bird pops into the co-host chair as we grill Brenna on her debut The Law of Birthdays in what turned out to be quite the conversation! Get The Law of Birthdays here! ------- DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter  here! This episode’s book reviews: I DO NOT EAT CHILDREN by...

A generous helping of Adam Rex awaits you. No cause for alarm, the episode title is merely a play on the title of one of Adam's three 2023 book releases! Catch these books in order of age group: Oh No, the Aunts are Here , The Story of Gumluck the Wizard , and A Little Like Waking ! Guess what? YOU MAY CONTRIBUTE A VERSE IS FIVE YEARS OLD.  Thank you for listening! I wish this milestone would have...

Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man.  Our guest for this conversation was Andrew Hacket. You can find Andrew on Twitter . Check out his blog The Backstory and make sure to pre-order or...

Well that aged poorly. We recorded this in October and were very sneaky about dancing around things that haven't been announced yet. But go and check our guest's social media or website and you'll find that Jessica Stremer has - within two calendar years - a full six books announced and in the pipeline. WHEW! Out now are the delightful Great Carrier Reef and Lights Out, and her middle grade Fire E...

Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man.  Our guest for this conversation was Jon Seymour. You can find Jon on Twitter along with Tielmour Press .  DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our n...

Our second-ever two-guest episode extravaganza happens now, featuring our buddies Gennie Gorback and Audrey Perrott ! These two powerhouse pals have produced a perfect loaf of kidlit goodness for your eyes, ears, and taste buds. I wouldn't spoil the reveal except that I desperately want you to have the link handy so you can bookmark it. VerseShow is proud to reveal Audrey and Gennie's The Joys of...

Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man.  Our guest for this conversation was Marisa Cleveland. You can find Marisa on Twitter . DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here! Thi...

I've never seen Perfect Man and Troy Wilson in the same room together. Have you? Could they be the same...? Troy's on the podcast this week, true believers! Excelsior! Between the 1st and 14th of February (of 2024, for those of you living in the future), share this episode on socials and tag us for a chance to win a copy of Perfect Man, in celebration of Perfect Man's 20th anniversary! This episod...

Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man.  Our guest for this conversation was Susan Johnston Taylor. You can find Susan on Twitter . DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!...

Steph Campisi sells caravans by the seashore. So you can camp easy. Enjoy this first chat of 2024 with Steph sounding erudite, Brenna sounding energetic and engaged, and Josh sounding like he had a spring 2023 cold. If you're not already a member of our shared Discord PB Workshop, managed by Nathan Christopher and mentioned herein, join here! DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!...