You May Contribute A Verse
Josh Monken and Brenna Jeanneret
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This is the podcast You May Contribute a Verse, where we talk to kidlit creators, share their stories, and learn from their journeys.
Available episodes
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Oldest first
May 23, 2023
Once Upon a Time, There Was a Tara Trudel
Once upon a time (whoa-oh), we had a chat with Tara Trudel (wait a minute, wait a minute, there must be more to the story).
Tara's take on music, entertainment, kidlit, marketing, and more is fresh and delightful. You know what else is fresh and delightful? Tara's album, FRACTURED: FAIRY TALES REMIXED, which debuted on May 5, just a few weeks ago!
Tara Trudel is here. Josh is here, Brenna is here, and Jon is here! And our Linktree is here (please subscribe!).
Go stream FRACTURED: FAIRY TALES REMIXED right after you listen to this ep!
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Our reviews this week:
FRIDAY NIGHT WRESTLEFEST by J.F. Fox, illustrated by Micah Player
BOB THE TURTLE by Nathaniel Pommalai
SPARKY! by Jenny Offill, illustrated by Chris Appelhans
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Check out our sponsor The Kidlit Hive!
Check out our awesome quokka artist Maddie Frost!
And finally, if you'd like to support the podcast and ALSO want to celebrate a friend, an achievement, or a friend's kidlit achievement, we'd love it if you'd purchase a Community Shout-Out to help keep the lights on!
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May 9, 2023
Ame Dyckman Writes the Wacky!
No written intro can do this week's conversation with Ame Dyckman justice!
If we style ourselves a celebratory and joyous (and educational) kidlit podcast (which we do), this episode maybe sets a new high-water mark for ear-to-ear energy and joy bubbles throughout (except for when I - Josh - have to interrupt with intros and book reviews in my NPR voice, of course), as well as actionable and inspirational insights!
Ame Dyckman is here. Josh is here, Brenna is here, and Jon is here! And our Linktree is here (please subscribe!).
And make sure to check out Ame's HOW DINOSAURS WENT EXTINCT: A SAFETY GUIDE, illustrated by Jenn Harney!
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Our reviews this week:
THE BIG RED ROCK by Jess Stockham
HOW TO EAT A BOOK by Mrs. and Mr. MacLeod
BATHE THE CAT by Alice B. McGinty, illustrated by David Roberts
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Check out our sponsor The Kidlit Hive!
Check out our awesome quokka artist Maddie Frost!
And finally, if you'd like to support the podcast and ALSO want to celebrate a friend, an achievement, or a friend's kidlit achievement, we'd love it if you'd purchase a Community Shout-Out to help keep the lights on!
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Apr 25, 2023
Nothing But Heart with Monica Acker
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast. But we couldn’t do it without the behind-the-scenes assistance from our editor Jon Seymour.
Our guest for this conversation was Monica Acker. You can find Monica on Twitter.
This episode’s book reviews:
FLUBBY WILL NOT GO TO SLEEP by J.E Morris
Dandelion Magic written by Darren Farrell, Illustrated by Maya Tatsukawa
ODDBIRD by Derek Desierto
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com
Don’t forget to get your Community Shout-Outs in for our next episode!
And special thanks to our sponsor Justin Colon and his new venture The Kidlit Hive.
Find us on Twitter @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time.
You May Contribute a Verse is a homespun production, produced, edited, recorded, conceptualized, and marketed by Josh Monken, Brenna Jeanneret, and Jon Seymour.
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Apr 11, 2023
I Think Jessica Whipple Is Enough
This week we talk to an author and poet whose two books releasing in 2023 cover subjects so incredibly worthy of investigation and exploration. As of the episode drop date, Jessica Whipple's Enough Is... is a week away from release, and deals with a concept we all could stand to grasp a bit better.
I Think I Think A Lot releases in August of this year and is similarly special and personal in its subject matter, drawing from Jessica's own personal journey through OCD. We'll cover with Jessica where these books come from and where she hopes they touch families' hearts, but first we'll talk about a cool vintage secretary's desk, and how Jessica misses querying?
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Mentioned in this episode is Bitsy Kemper's resource on publishers open to unagented submissions in her blog!
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Our reviews for the week:
LINUS THE LITTLE YELLOW PENCIL by Scott Magoon MASTERPIECE by Alexandra Hoffman, illustrated by Beatriz Mello ELBERT IN THE AIR by Monica Wesolowska, illustrated by Jerome Pumphrey
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Find more on our Linktree!
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Mar 28, 2023
Be Your Own Hero with Elisa Boxer
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Elisa Boxer. You can find Elisa on Twitter.
This episode’s book reviews:
PLOTTING THE STARS BOOK 1: MOONGARDEN by Michelle Barry
QUACKS LIKE A DUCK by StephCampisi illustrated by Maria Lebedeva
LYRIC MCKERRIGAN, SECRET LIBRARIAN by Jacob Sager Weinstein illustrated by Vera Brosgol
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com
Don’t forget to get your Community Shout-Outs in for our next episode!
And special thanks to our sponsor Justin Colon and his new venture The Kidlit Hive.
Find us on Twitter @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time.
You May Contribute a Verse is a homespun production, produced, edited, recorded, conceptualized, and marketed by Josh Monken, Brenna Jeanneret, and Jon Seymour.
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Mar 14, 2023
#ASKKIDLIT with Alison Weiss
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Pixel and Ink’s Acquisitions Editor Alison Weiss. You can find Alison on Twitter.
This episode’s book reviews:
THE CREATURE OF HABIT, by Jennifer E Smith, illustrated by Leo Espinosa.
THIS IS THE BOAT THAT BEN BUILT, by Jen Lynn Bailey Illustrated by Maggie Zeng.
WORM AND CATERPILLAR ARE FRIENDS, by Kaz Windness.
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com
Don’t forget to get your Community Shout-Outs in for our next episode!
And special thanks to our sponsor Justin Colon and his new venture The Kidlit Hive.
Find us on Twitter @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time.
You May Contribute a Verse is a homespun production, produced, edited, recorded, conceptualized, and marketed by Josh Monken, Brenna Jeanneret, and Jon Seymour.
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Feb 28, 2023
All Roads Lead Back to Cranberries with Lisl Detlefsen
We sit down this week for a fantastic chat with author Lisl Detlefsen, whose book Farm Boots releases from Feeding Minds Press in a scant couple of weeks as of our episode drop date! Lisl has a bunch of books out in the world, from jetpacks to kicking kittens, but this will be her third book specifically exploring the world of food. As I've covered in previous episodes, I work in agriculture science communications, so this material is really near and dear to my heart!
My food bona fides are nothing compared to Lisl's, though. She is our first - and perhaps last, or only? - guest who married into a cranberry farm, leading to her 2015 debut, Time for Cranberries. We had such a fun chat with Lisl.
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Lisl's upcoming book with Feeding Minds:
Farm Boots, illustrated by Renee Kurilla
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Our reviews for the week:
Lost & Found by Oliver Jeffers
ROAWR! by Barbara Joosse, illustrated by Jan Jutte
Do Not Lick This Book by Iden Ben-Barak and Julian Frost
(Special shout-out link to Kelly Swemba's Missing Violet!)
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And finally, check back to our original discussion with Justin Colon, for a really great conversation that apparently appeals to preteens!
Check out our sponsor The Kidlit Hive!
Find more on our Linktree!
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Feb 14, 2023
Find the Impostor! with Agent Dan Cramer
Not to play the "our next guest needs no introduction" card, but our next guest needs no introduction because he's been introduced on the podcast before! We talked to Special Agent Dan Cramer over a year ago, exploring his history and path to agenting. Since then I think we have also explored the majority of his client roster as the unofficial, unauthorized podcast of record for Page Turner Literary.
Now a year wiser, with some incredible books published and in the pipeline, we sat down with Dan for a level of focus Brenna and I don't usually bring to the podcast, covering a subject matter near and dear to our creative hearts: impostor syndrome.
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Books mentioned in this chat:
How To Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis Indistractable by Nir Eyal
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Our reviews for the week:
Small Saul by Ashley Spires The Wolf Suit by Sid Sharp Dozens of Doughnuts and Lulu and Zoey: A Sister Story by Carrie Finison
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Find more on our Linktree!
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Jan 31, 2023
Coming Out of the Broom Closet with Madeleine Gunhart
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but our combined powers can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Madeleine Gunahart. You can find Madelin on Twitter, or her linktree. Tarot readings are listed there!
This episode’s book reviews:
MIDNIGHT AT THE BARCLAY HOTEL by Fleur Bradley Illustrated by Xavier Bonet
THE SLIDY DINER By Laurel Snyder illustrated by Jamie Zollars
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com
Don’t forget to get your Community Shout-Outs in for our next episode!
And special thanks to our sponsor Justin Colon and his new venture The Kidlit Hive.
Find us on Twitter @joshmonkwords and @brennajeanneret and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time.
You May Contribute a Verse is a homespun production, produced, edited, recorded, conceptualized, and marketed by Josh Monken and Brenna Jeanneret.
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Jan 17, 2023
Jerrold Connors’s House of Donuts and Ideas
If you don't know today's guest, there's at least one easy way to remedy that. Go and listen to our conversation from one year ago, January 2022. Jerrold Connors is a delight and - you'll find - there's MORE than enough ground to cover in this follow up conversation. I daresay The Annual Jerrold is an achievable goal, should our commitment and creativity hold out.
Speaking of creativity, you're going to hear only about a million potential title ideas in this episode, but I think we had it in one. Jerrold's House is truly one built of both ideas and the execution thereupon.
If you're here for donuts, we get there eventually, and it's worth the wait. As of publication, I'm happy to report that Jerrold's #DonutsForEverybody Kickstarter has exceeded its fundraising goal. Listening to this lil' ol' conversation feels so quaint, even though we only had it a week and a half ago. We've come a long way since then, including through the beginning where I feel especially fortunate to have been both clued in AND available to be the first donor.
There's a lot more in store: from James Marshall to Invisible Things, Jerrold's got a lot of irons in the fire.
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We have a sponsor! This year we're partnering with Justin Colon of The Kidlit Hive as he steers our community toward affordable and inclusive educational opportunities across the board. Check out upcoming classes at kidlithive.com!
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Our reviews of the week are Dan Yaccarino's CITY UNDER THE CITY and Stephanie Campisi's QUACKS LIKE A DUCK. Check them out!
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Jan 3, 2023
Guinea Pig Moves with Jolene Gutierrez
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Jolene Gutierrez. You can find Jolene on Twitter, Instagram, or her linktree.
This episode’s book reviews:
THE CHRISTMAS GIANT by Steve Light
I HATE BORSCH! By Yevgenia Nayberg
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com
Find us on Twitter…
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Dec 20, 2022
Artichoke-y Karaoke with Samantha Gassman!
Today's guest is author Samantha Gassman, and we have the distinct privilege of discussing her apparently extreme versatility as an artist, encompassing not only her three VERY different published or acquired works, but additionally her military background, her motherhood, her singing ability, and her impeccable rhyme sense.
I'll leave her other two books to be discussed in our chat, but did want to introduce DEAR RAINBOW BABY, published as her commercial picture book debut this year. This book is deeply personal to Sam, as you might imagine given the subject matter of miscarriage, pregnancy loss, and the ways families rebound. It's a beautiful book and a touching way to introduce one of the most difficult topics imaginable to a child.
All this is to say that the conversation Brenna and I had with Sam is a real journey as we reconcile and connect the tissue between her nonfiction, her early 2022 debut on the educational market, her publication of DEAR RAINBOW BABY, and Artichoke-y Ka…
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Dec 6, 2022
Something, Something, Books an Interview with Charlene Chua
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Charlene Chua. You can find Charlene on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
This episode’s ChewyReviewy books:
KID SHERIFF AND THE TERRIBLE TOADS by Bob Shea illustrated by Lane Smith.
NORTON AND THE BEAR by Gabriel Evans
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of hi…
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Nov 22, 2022
Justin Colon’s Experience Points!
Today’s chat features none other than author-illustrator-actor-voice-over…er Justin Colon, creator of the esteemed PBChat on Twitter and overall kidlit powerhouse.
Chances are very good that you’re already familiar with Justin, his passion, and his work to foster community among other creatives. Equal parts craft, community, and consideration, this conversation is very much a worthy follow-on to last episode’s chat with – not at all coincidentally – Justin’s agent Jennifer March Soloway of Andrea Brown.
We get right into the real stuff this time, starting with some context around the two recent announcements of Justin’s fall 2024 debuts, IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS with Disney-Hyperion and THE QUACKEN with Simon & Schuster.
Redirection. Mentorship. Outreach. Education. Being ready. Having to wait. And chalking it all up to experience.
Justin Colon literally and figuratively spills the tea. This verse is one you don't want to miss.
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Our ChewyReviewy picks of the week are…
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Nov 8, 2022
Cliffhangers, Queries and Bad Guys with Jennifer March Soloway
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Jennifer March Soloway. You can find Jennifer on Twitter, or on the Andrea Brown website.
This episode’s ChewyReviewy books:
JILLIAN VS PARASITE PLANET by Nicole Kornher-Stace illustrated by Scott Brown
MCTOAD MOWS TINY ISLAND by Tom Angleberger illustrated by John Hendrix
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our theme music is S…
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Oct 25, 2022
Detours and Dosas with Pamela Ehrenberg
The end-of-year season that brings with it so many celebrations and togetherness across cultures, geographies, and faiths feels like the perfect time to share this conversation with author Pamela Ehrenberg!
A large part of our chat today centers around the joy of collaboration, finding and building strong relationships, acting in service, and coming together to build something more than the sum of individual parts could alone.
We talked today mostly about two of Pamela's books, in addition to her journey as a whole. Detour Ahead is her middle grade collaboration with author Tracy Lopez, centering on the intersection of two adolescents who met by happenstance, and the ways that meeting changed the courses of their lives. Pamela's 2017 debut is our other book subject this week: Queen of the Hannukah Dosas is a delightful book blending an intercultural family dynamic with a troublesome affinity for climbing.
Pamela's own journey through service-oriented work and into the publishing ind…
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Oct 11, 2022
The Plop Of Doom! With Lisa Rogers
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Lisa Rogers. You can find Lisa on Twitter, or on her website.
This episode’s ChewyReviewy books:
WHERE ARE YOU FROM? by Yamile Saied Mendez, illustrated by Jaime Kim.
LOOKING FOR A JUMBIE by Tracey Baptiste illustrated by Amber Ren.
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more…
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Sep 27, 2022
Potatoes and Process with Jennifer Concepcion!
Author Jennifer Concepcion’s debut picture book, Potatoes for Pirate Pearl, is slated for an alliterative publication of winter 2023, and you’re absolutely not going to want to miss this book’s – and Jennifer’s – journey to publication.
We caught up with Jennifer during her class plan time, which we very much appreciate, at her grade school in Costa Rica. This is such a charming and conversational chat, and fair warning, there’s a lot of agent-author sausage-making in here about Dan Cramer and Page Turner Literary, as Brenna and Jennifer are agency siblings! Lots of wisdom on offer here!
Jennifer's website: https://www.jenwritescr.com/
Our #ChewyReviewy picks of the week:
Bikes for Sale, by Carter Higgins and illustrated by Zachariah Ohora: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/39874653-bikes-for-sale
Maybe Tomorrow?, by Charlotte Agell and illustrated by Ana Ramirez Gonzalez: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/37828981-maybe-tomorrow
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Sep 13, 2022
Be Someone’s Opportunity with Valerie Bolling
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Valerie Bolling. You can find Valerie on Twitter, or by following her Linktr.ee links.
This episode’s ChewyReviewy books:
UNICORN’S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL by Jess Hernandez and illustrated by Mariano Epelbaum.
DOING BUSINESS by Shawn Harris
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can fi…
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Sep 6, 2022
Nothing BUTT Jocelyn Rish!
This is the podcast You May Contribute a Verse, where we talk to kidlit creators, share their stories, and learn from their journeys.
Is this a nonfiction podcast? I’ve never thought about it that way, but the more we talked to today’s guest Jocelyn Rish about her book Battle of the Butts – and her journey into nonfiction – the more we realized that we’re here just like Jocelyn, to inform and educate, but also to entertain and laugh!
Jocelyn’s been writing for a long time. Like many of us, she’s written a lot that she’s back-pocketed, and like many of us should strive to, she’s found some really fun success by staying open to inspiration, and affectionately pinching inspiration’s butt when it came a-calling.
Battle of the Butts is what’s resulted, followed at the end of this year by its semi-sequel, the nonfictional Battle of the Brains.
There’s so much to this chat that’s just pure delight. I’m really happy to share Jocelyn’s journey through self-disc…
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Aug 30, 2022
OMG! Aerospace And Birds With Joyce Sweeney!
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Joyce Sweeney. You can find Joyce on Twitter or on The Seymour Agency website.
This episode’s ChewyReviewy books:
Garbage Island by Fred Koehler
If Your Babysitter Is A Bruja by Ana Siqueira illustrated by Irena Freitas
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music…
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Aug 23, 2022
VerseShow Archive: Take Your Heart and Make It Art with Samantha Berger! Part 2!
It's Samantha Berger, Part 2! And the end of the #BeforeBrenna times!
One small rumination on genuineness: not only did I wring an hour and a half out of her (today's ep being the latter half of that interrupted conversation), but Samantha Berger followed up, unbidden, with me in one of the most encouraging emails I've ever received. Encouraging both in its content and in the "trails of glitter" consistency of character that Sam showed in bothering to write and send it.
I won't share it here, but I will summarize it because a lot of it was SO consistent with what we're trying for with this podcast.
YOU are uniquely YOU.
Your work is best when it builds on your passion.
Passion worked is passion honed.
Don't let that work become joyless or humorless - keep it light and fun.
No one but you can tell the stories inside you.
You may contribute a verse!
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Aug 16, 2022
VerseShow Archive: Trails of Glitter with Samantha Berger! Part 1!
The final two #BeforeBrenna episodes air this week and next! This week: Samantha Berger, Part 1.
My first question for this week's episode is this: why do I sound so much more like a Jim-Henson-does-semi-professional-adult-man Muppet voice this time than other interviews? I'm not complaining since part of what we discuss does include Muppets and Sesame Street, but it's striking.
I'm choosing to air this episode in its uncut original entirety, with original Robby Zar theme song and original intro. It was at this point in 2019 that I had begun to hit my stride with the weekly pace and production. I'm proud of the intro and of this early take on more professional production and writing.
This episode and next week's #BeforeBrenna summer finale got eaten up by my archives, so I'm happy to have a chance to rerelease and share again. Samantha Berger is a bright, shining star, and an inspiration for both hard work and making time to celebrate your community.
Enjoy Samantha Berger's Verse!
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Aug 2, 2022
VerseShow Archive: Pivot and Diversify with Joyce Wan
This week's episode is a re-air of my 2019 conversation with illustrator and author Joyce Wan!
If you’ve never listened to this episode, it’s a good one. In preparing to rerun it, I rediscovered it. A lot of things went through my head during this relisten. First, a rare glimpse at being completely happy with my creative work. This is a really good conversation and I’m glad of the chance to re-air it.
Two, Joyce has a holistic perspective that we don’t always get to experience. Partially informed by my ignorance into the kidlit world and what it means to be published, I think we manage to go broad and dig deep into aspects of doing
It bears ending on a recognition that we’ve touched on in other conversations, which underpins almost every aspect of this chat with Joyce: children’s books are creativity and a way to reach hearts and build up minds, but they’re also a commodity. Facing that aspect of the business of kidlit can help prepare us for the realities that we’re…
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Jul 19, 2022
VerseShow Archive: If You Please Everyone You’re Not Doing Something Real with Steve Light
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Steve Light. You can find Steve on Twitter and on his website.
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com
Find us on Twitter @joshmonkwords and @brennajeanneret and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Than…
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Jul 5, 2022
VerseShow Archive: Nothing Changes Unless You Change It with Kelly Light
It’s the flipside of the golden ticket this week with one from the archives: author-illustrator Kelly Light!
Way back in 2019 I started a podcast called What It Takes to Make. I thought at the time that my life wasn’t going to have space for the kind of creativity I wanted. I figured I’d use my journalism background to live vicariously through creators of different stripes, from filmmakers to dancers to kidlit authors.
Little did I know, a couple of things transpired as a result of those early efforts. The name changed pretty early, first of all, when I got a takedown notice from another podcast – that was wild.
Second, I couldn’t have anticipated what doing the podcast would do to me. As I was approaching 40 at the time, speaking to other creators around the same age, it lit a fire under me and helped define and focus what I wanted to do with myself. Three years later, here we are, a co-hosted, well-oiled machine, laser-focused on understanding and navigating the complica…
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Jun 21, 2022
Finding Your Community of Creative Weirdos with Julie Hedlund
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Julie Hedlund, founder of 12x12 and co-founder of Picture Book Summit. Find Julie on Twitter, Instagram, Tic Tok, and her website.
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com
Find us on Twitter @joshmonkwords and @brennajeanneret and as alway…
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Jun 7, 2022
A Podcast for CK with CK Malone
Some conversations show you what the world could be – how great we could all have it – if we just give a little more of ourselves or, put another way, place ourselves firmly outside the center of focus.
CK Malone is an educator, author, and giver. They aren’t perfect – we discuss this point in the episode – but what they are and strive to continually be is capital-G Good.
From shouting out those who inspired them to boosting the work of others to praise for those who have made them and their work what they are today, this chat takes a village.
A little context: we recorded this conversation in early April 2022, a few months after CK had hosted an event boosting (future podcast guest) Julie Hedlund’s Over Bear Under Where, and had just completed several hundred manuscript critiques. For free. Generous and gracious is the name of the game.
CK’s debut picture book, A Costume for Charly, comes out this September – make sure to preorder it if you’re able, or ensure you…
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May 24, 2022
Nick Cave is Gonna Be Fine–An Interview with Ally Malinenko
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Ally Malinenko, author of Ghost Girl and the upcoming This Appearing House. You can find Ally on Twitter, Instagram, and her website.
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com
Find us on Twitter @joshmonkwords and @brennajeanneret and as al…
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May 10, 2022
The Gertie Journey with Karen Nespoli
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Karen Nespoli, author of Gertie Saves the Day illustrated by Daniela Massironi. The best place to find Karen is on her website.
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com
Find us on Twitter @joshmonkwords and @brennajeanneret and as always, l…
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May 3, 2022
BONUS Betsy Bird, Low-Key Ostrich Gal!
Betsy Bird is back!
When we have folks on who are generous with their time and their expertise we like to take advantage of that, vampire-style, and wring them dry of every bit of their knowledge we can think to ask.
What we have this week is the result of a call to peers and fans, in a podcast-first crowdsourcing effort. You get to hear Brenna and me NOT meander organically through a conversation, but instead curate a much shorter chat sourced by friends.
If you haven’t already listened to our full conversation with Betsy Bird, please do so at your earliest convenience (it's the next one down from this one in the feed).
Here’s the connective tissue I see in this supplemental conversation that, by its nature, hops around a bit: Betsy Bird is clearly comfortable knowing and growing and moving within the publishing industry, whether it’s advocating for herself and her work, assembling lists, knowing she’s funny, or navigating industry trends.
It’s all of a piece with someo…
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Apr 26, 2022
It’s Gotta Be Funny with Betsy Bird!
I’m Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster, joined by Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, avid climber and outdoorsperson, and podcaster!
This is the podcast You May Contribute a Verse, where we talk to kidlit creators, share their stories, and learn from their journeys.
New blog banners. Kidlit drinks. Ostrich illustrations and fleshy agents. Hot men of children’s literature. Critical race theory! This conversation has it all!
As you may have surmised, we do indeed have children’s author, librarian, podcaster, storyteller, funnyperson, blogger, and reviewer Betsy Bird on the podcast this week, for a much-hyped conversation that delivers.
Betsy is an absolute wealth of knowledge, fitting for a librarian, speaking to people who want to learn more. She’s got stories galore from her years as a librarian, a blogger for the School Library Journal, and as author of several books, among them the recent middle grade Long R…
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Apr 12, 2022
Self-Publishing: An Act of Rebellion with Amanda Esch-Cormier
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Amanda Esch-Cormier, author of Wild and Beautiful illustrated by Naya Kirichenko. You can find Amanda on Twitter and Instagram.
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our new theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com
Find us on Twitter and the whole episode archive @verse.show and @b…
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Mar 29, 2022
Rejecting Rejection with Giuseppe Castellano
I’m Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster, joined by Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, avid climber and outdoorsperson, and podcaster!
This is the podcast You May Contribute a Verse, where we talk to kidlit creators, share their stories, and learn from their journey.
Some things are worth waiting for. Our conversation touches on that in more ways than one. Today’s guest is Giuseppe Castellano, founder of the Illustration Department, a multifaceted enterprise focusing on encouraging and developing illustrators around the world through online learning and mentorship in a variety of areas.
Giuseppe also hosts the Illustration Department podcast, so you know he’s bringing the professionalism goods to this conversation. And he’s got the bona fides, credentialed in illustration and working as an art director for Penguin and Simon and Schuster for close to fifteen years.
Giuseppe and I have been working toward this con…
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Mar 14, 2022
No Notes, Just Vibes With Kaitlyn Sanchez
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Kaitlyn Sanchez, a literary agent at Context Literary. You can find her on Twitter @KaitlynLeann17 and his website kaitlynleannsanchez.com
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our new theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com
Find us on Twitter and the whole episode archive @verse.…
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Mar 1, 2022
Chaos Ensues with Kaz Windness!
I’m Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster, joined by Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, avid climber and outdoorsperson, and podcaster!
This is the podcast You May Contribute a Verse, where we talk to kidlit creators, share their stories, and learn from their journey.
I think we’re starting to establish that there’s no such thing as a normal kidlit publishing journey. Our guest today is author-illustrator Kaz Windness, out with her debut picture book, Swim, Jim! this May. Among Kaz’s claims to fame prior to this year’s debut with Swim, Jim!’s, are a book of goth nursery rhymes called Mother Goth, a semi-graphic sort-of graphic novel about a murderous and moody unicorn called If UR Stabby, and a viral picture of a thrift store leotard. We’ll let that one speak for itself.
We caught up with Kaz late in 2021, just after Swim, Jim!’s cover reveal, about the time of Fred Koehler’s Quinn’s Monsters project,…
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Feb 15, 2022
Perspective, Kindness, and Flowers With Benson Shum
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Benson Shum. You can find him on Twitter @bshum79 and his website bensonshum.com
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versy, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on Twitter @_maddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com
Our new theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com
Find us on Twitter and the whole episode archive at verse.show and @brennajeanneret and as always, let us know what…
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Jan 31, 2022
Let It Go Like A Farting Pig with Maddie Frost
I’m Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster, joined by Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, avid climber and outdoorsperson, and podcaster!
This is the podcast You May Contribute a Verse, where we talk to kidlit creators, share their stories, and learn from their journey.
Our guest this week is picture book storyteller Maddie Frost, who is the new illustrator emeritus of this very podcast! To get a sample of her work and sensibilities, simply look at your phone or computer screen. It’s Versey the Quokka!
Do the work, put yourself out there, and good things will happen. That’s Brenna’s and my mindset and the mindset of our guest Maddie Frost, who has a bunch of work out in the world, namely for my household Wakey Birds, which is in regular bedtime rotation at the moment.
Combining Maddie’s openness to new opportunity with her hunger for the next big fun thing has led to a very productive career so far. Including a n…
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Jan 17, 2022
I Love A Good Exclamation Point! An Interview with Kailei Pew
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Kailei Pew. You can find her on Twitter @pewkailei and on her website kaileipewbooks.com where you will find all the information about the Kids' Choice Kidlit Writing Contest!
Find us on Twitter and the whole episode archive at verse.show and @brennajeanneret and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time.
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Jan 3, 2022
Manifesting with Jerrold Connors
I’m Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster, joined by Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, avid climber and outdoorsperson, and podcaster!
This is the podcast You May Contribute a Verse, where we talk to kidlit creators, share their stories, and learn from their journey.
Can we all just get a little break here? Can we switch gears, start fresh, get some wind in our sails, make a little headway? It ain’t easy out here in the trenches, surviving while creating.
Welcome to 2022. 2022 is about manifesting greatness in ourselves and in the world. When will it all end? When we will it to be so through our intentions and actions and good vibes.
We are the versions of ourselves who have done great things and will do them again in the future. Brenna’s and my conversation with author-illustrator Jerrold Connors was so fun to have, and such a positive way to open a new year in an uncertain time.
Jerrold Connors – a creator wh…
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Dec 13, 2021
Debuts and Layers with Moni Ritchie Hadley
Debuts and layers and parallels, oh my. Today’s conversation is with author Moni Ritchie Hadley, whose debut story (illustrated by Mizuho Fujisawa) is The Star Festival, published by Albert Whitman this year, 2021. The Star Festival is intergenerational, intercultural, loving, layered, and a little cheeky. A story of connection and caring.
Moni is an educator and writer, a self-described half-Japanese military brat who came up balancing Japanese and American cultures, and daydreaming – which I find to be one of the most useful skills for picture book writing.
The best of us comes from a place of personal connection and passion, even if we don’t recognize it at first. We’ll save the details to be revealed during our conversation, but Moni’s experiences with bringing The Star Festival to life remind us to keep our minds, eyes, ears, and heart open so that the world can sometimes steer us in the right direction.
Happenstance is a funny thing. Not only is The Star Festival Mon…
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Nov 29, 2021
Introverted Extrovert; An Interview with Matt Forrest Esenwine
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, and outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation was Matt Forrest Esenwine. You can find him on Twitter @mattforrestVW or his website mattforrest.com
If you’re interested in hearing more about how to handle rejection. Jia Jiang’s Ted Talk, What I Learned From 100 Days of Rejection was incredibly eye-opening.
Find us on Twitter and the whole episode archive at verse.show, and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time.
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Nov 15, 2021
Ohana with Margo Sorenson!
I’m Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster, joined by Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, avid climber and outdoorsperson, and podcaster!
This is the podcast You May Contribute a Verse, where we talk to kidlit creators, share their stories, and learn from their journey.
There are many times in the life of being a fan of things that you consume something, and then want nothing more than to pick the brain of the person who created it.
Hot off consuming the picture book Calvin Gets the Last Word, Brenna and I got one of the primary benefits of doing this podcast, which is to get to pick the brain of one of the persons who created it, author Margo Sorenson (in partnership with illustrator Mike Deas).
Margo is a prolific multi-genre author who has had a storied career thus far, and built her resilience and tenacity by choosing to have taught middle schoolers.
Margo’s work is largely tinged with ohana, the Hawai’ian conce…
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Nov 8, 2021
From Severed Fingers to Kidlit- AMA with Agent Dan Cramer
I’m Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, and outdoors person, and podcaster joined by Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster.
Josh and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
Our guest for this conversation is agent extraordinaire Dan Cramer of Page Turner Lit. You can find him on Twitter @pageturnerlit or his website pageturnerliteraryagency.com
Find us on Twitter and the whole episode archive at verse.show and as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time.
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Nov 1, 2021
Let‘s Be Weird Together with Brenna Jeanneret
I’m Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster, joined by Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, avid climber and outdoorsperson, and podcaster!
This is the podcast You May Contribute a Verse, where we talk to kidlit creators, share their stories, and learn from their journey.
Today is about being weird together. It’s the first recorded conversation between Brenna and me as we get to know each other better and embark on this quest to do a cool lil podcast about picture books.
Every path trodden in this industry is different, and they all represent stories worth telling. Today’s with Brenna not only represents the traditional ‘How I Got My Agent’ story, which is unique and very-2021, but how we got to where we are now.
It’s a story of partnership, putting yourself out there, embracing the weird, and finding ways that work for you. Brenna’s journey has been super productive, not only landing her an agent in Dan Cramer…
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Oct 18, 2021
A Light in the Darkness with Fred Koehler and Quinn‘s Monsters
I’m Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster, joined by Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, avid climber and outdoorsperson, and podcaster!
Brenna and I have embarked on this kidlit journey together this year, having become critique partners early in the year, only to find that our powers combined could make captain planet. Maybe not, but at least our powers combined can make a pretty good podcast.
OUR guest for this conversation is author-illustrator Fred Koehler, responsible for a whole bunch of books you can find on his Goodreads page, among them Super Jumbo, How to Cheer Up Dad, and Garbage Island – which is getting a sequel in short order! Fred is also the mastermind behind Ready Chapter 1, a resource hub to help creators next-level their work on the path to being professional storytellers. The thing that drew Brenna and I to Fred, however, is an initiative he’s managing through the end of this month called Quinn’s…
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Jul 1, 2021
Reaching Readers and Achieving Agency with Author Katey Howes
Katey Howes (@kateywrites), picture book – and maybe more? – author joins me for a chat today. Katey is author of the lately-published Rissy No Kissies, a picture book about a lovebird who doesn’t love kisses and the lessons her family learns about boundaries, consent, and bodily autonomy.
Katey and I do a lot of discussing in this conversation about how to reach readers, from adjusting language in early reader books to making time for virtual visits to weaving theme into your books.
Find Katey Howes' books on Goodreads!
I really hope you enjoy our chat!
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Jun 16, 2021
Critiques, Conflict, Change, and Complication with Ryan Van Loan
Today’s conversation launches year three of this podcast project, revisiting time spent last September with Ryan Van Loan, author of the Fall of the Gods series, including The Sin in the Steel, published in July 2020, and The Justice in Revenge, publishing July of this year.
So happy to have the chance to speak with Ryan again. If you haven’t yet listened to the conversation we had last year (it's the episode next to this one!), do so now and get to know his earnest goodwill, his fandom, his discipline, and his immense drive.
Ryan and I cover a lot of ground again, discussing contracts, critique groups, complications, characters, and changes. What happens when you begin to get the thing you seek? As it turns out, Ryan’s watching that play out along with his scrappy protagonists Buc and Eld, though they’re having super different experiences with that achievement.
* Read The Sin in the Steel, available everywhere in hardcover now, in paperback June 29!
* Get The Justice in…
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Sep 14, 2020
Ryan Van Loan, Author, The Sin in the Steel
There are creators, like my guest today, debut author Ryan Van Loan (@RyanVanLoan), whose fresh insight and earnest goodwill go beyond what’s on the page or in the work and build you into a fan.
These are the conversations I (@JoshMonkwords) strive to have, and consistently manage to find (which I hope comes out in our chats – check the archive).
Ryan Van Loan’s debut novel, The Sin in the Steel, was released on July 21st of this year. It buckles the swashes and takes us on a journey of magic, manipulation, mayhem, and monsters across a fantastical sea as a young, violently scrappy investigator gets to the bottom of a mercantile mystery alongside her stalwart solider compatriot.
It goes deeper than all that, though – the sort of thing that gets glossed over in a lot of books gets confronted head-on in Sin. The trauma and presence of violence even past its end is a major factor that the heroes Buc and Eld face, and despite how prevalent conflict is in his novel, we don’t re…
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Jul 27, 2020
Joanna Davidovich, Animator, Monkey Rag
I (@JoshMonkwords) got a chance to catch up this time around with animator, artist, and parent Joanna Davidovich (@JoTheZette). You can lately find Joanna livestreaming her animation commissions, personal projects, and requests on social channels when she’s not balancing client work and two small kids.
There’s a cloud over everything we do right now - 2020 is a doozy.
We couldn’t have had a better timed opportunity to talk about the realities we’re all facing as we navigate family and work dynamics, and how both the pandemic and the natural progression of years have changed things for us.
Joanna and I talk business too – she’s has been a working animator for well over a decade now, and uses her public persona as a live-streaming animator both to serve as inspiration, education, and entertainment to her audience, and to give herself company while she works.
Here’s a good entry point to look up on Youtube if you’re not familiar with her work: Joanna finished a classic…
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Jun 30, 2020
Claire Rudy Foster, Writer, Shine of the Ever
Our guest this episode is author, activist, and awesome advocate Claire Rudy Foster.
They have a short story collection that came out in November 2019, titled Shine of the Ever, based in grunge-era Portland, Oregon. It’s a radical, joy-filled book of linked vignettes, characters intertwining in intimate ways, hurtling toward evolution, with no sad endings. It was named by O: The Oprah Magazine as one of the best LGBTQ books of 2019.
Foster’s also a radically transparent and joy-filled freelance author, with pieces appearing all over the place: the Washington Post, New York Times, McSweeney’s – the list goes on.
I became aware of Foster’s very personal voice and encouraging perspective for the first time in late 2017 and early 2018, as emotions… began to run a bit higher for many folks. Foster’s quite active on social media, and I have been fortunate to witness their evolution as a writer and of their identity as a queer, nonbinary trans person.
Foster is on social med…
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May 23, 2020
Ausma Zehanat Khan, Author, Khorasan Archives
Ausma Zehanat Khan is the author of two series that we talk about in our conversation today. She’s got an incredibly storied and qualified history as a former professor and current Ph.D in International Human Rights. Her debut, the first in her mystery series starring Toronto detectives Rachel Getty and Esa Khattak, was released in 2015 and deals with the aftermath of the 1995 Bosnian Srebrenica massacre as the central investigation, with a lot more to it that we’ll get into during our chat.
Khan also has a fantasy series wrapping up this year. It’s a quartet of novels, originally planned at three but expanded in the style of George RR Martin, set in a fantastical version of the Muslim world. The Khorasan archives, incredibly, are an epic fantasy series that have come out one per year, starting with 2017’s Bloodprint and concluding with this year’s Bladebone. The books, starring Arian, Sinnia, and Daniyar, on a quest to right wrongs, depict an all too familiarly adjacent ant…
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May 4, 2020
Carlin Trammel, Podcaster, Nerd Lunch
Carlin Trammel and I have been planning on having a chat about his long running podcast, Nerd Lunch, put together by both carlin as well as his two buddies, Jeeg and Pax, for many moons now
Nine years this podcast has run, and the occasion of my conversation with Carlin – or CT as he’s known on the podcast – was the end of that podcast.
We talk a lot in our conversation about transition, finality, and the passion it takes to keep something going so consistently for so long. By comparison, I made the first season of verse show run from April to September, then took a break for as long as the show ran.
Much love and many props to Pax, Jeeg, and CT, who have weathered a lot of changes to their personal life, as well as to how the internet works, over those nine years.
#VerseShow comprises conversations that give voice to creators, their process, their struggles, and the celebrations of their work. It's an interview podcast with a bend toward curiosity about the creative process.
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Sep 12, 2019
Joyce Wan, Author-Illustrator, Dream Big
Children’s board books seem simple, right? In a sense they are. A handful of page turns to make sure you don’t lose the smallest of attention spans from the smallest among us. Simple illustrations and not a lot of words so kids can grasp broad concepts and explore pictures at a pace that suits them.
If you’re not in the children’s publishing (#kidlit) world, you might also think a discussion related to books aimed at an audience of babies might not interest you.
Joyce Wan is here to tell you that’s absolutely not the case. Our conversation today focuses on her path from architecture student through her entrepreneurship and ownership of her greeting card company and on to children’s book authorship and illustration.
Joyce has, at time of recording, two dozen children’s books to her name. Over the course of her ten-year career in publishing, she’s picked up a lot of universal advice to share not just within this industry, but in any industry whatsoever. She’s learned…
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Sep 6, 2019
Jeff Miller, Singer-Songwriter, Looping Guitarist
Jeff Miller and I go way back – back to the days before cell phones, when MTV played music videos, before the Matrix, before YouTube and the internet as we know them were invented. Back in OUR day, all we had were trumpets and trombones and marching band trips. And we liked them!
The best way I can introduce you to Jeff Miller and his work is, I think, through the lens of how I re-introduced myself to him over the years as lots of high school friends do, by liking precisely one facebook photo of the other person per year, just enough for it to not be creepy.
I’ve seen for the better part of the past two decades what Jeff is as a singer-songwriter – touring, putting in the work, playing for intimate crowds, releasing albums steadily. What I didn’t understand before our conversation I do now, or at least I think I do a bit better.
Jeff is a multi-instrumentalist primarily playing looping guitar, which will make more sense as a concept once you’ve listened to our chat. I am a…
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Aug 15, 2019
Paige Walden-Johnson, Dancer and Founder, CommUNITY Arts St. Louis
Paige Walden-Johnson is a dancer, an Ohio native who has made St. Louis her home. She’s the founder and director of the local St. Louis arts, education, violence remediation, and community unification nonprofit appropriately titled CommUNITY Arts St. Louis. The third annual CommUNITY Arts Festival and Concert are happening on September 7th and 8th, 2019!
As we enter a discussion of what CommUNITY is and what Paige and her team are hoping to do with the festival, some level-setting and history is necessary. We start our chat talking about a woman named Rain Stippec. Rain is a St. Louis dancer and was the victim of a random act of gun violence in February of 2017. She was shot eight times.
Rain has since made a great recovery and I don’t want to spoil any of the conversation, but I think I need to in order to give context to who and what Paige and I talk about. The CommUNITY Arts Festival was set up to support Rain in her recovery in the festival’s first year, occurring over two…
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Aug 9, 2019
MiniVerse 2: A Moment of Silence
Bear witness to the dead, to those who may no longer contribute a verse. Today's episode is an essay meditating on the mass shootings - the terrorist attacks - that occurred in El Paso and Dayton on August 3.
The victims of these attacks, and all like them whose lives are cut short, deserve for us to hear their names and pause to reflect how fortunate we are to have the chance to keep creating, keep changing the world.
Why write a novel or make a movie or make music? Why try to advance equality for all, or make some small change to what seems like a doomed environment? Why even try to keep one bullet from taking an innocent life? Surely we can’t change things.
Surely we can’t change things if we don’t try.
I do find it helpful to look for the good in the world. Small things. Look for the helpers, as Fred Rogers tells us. Not just the helpers, but any place where you can find light shining on the world or shine some light in your own way.
In trying, crying, stressful, messy t…
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Aug 1, 2019
Lindsay Amer, Creator, Speaker, Activist, 'Queer Kid Stuff'
Lindsay Amer is someone we all should be aware of. Their TED talk, launched in June 2019, surpassed one million views within just a few weeks. This seven-minute video, which you should watch or listen to as soon as you can, begins with Lindsay singing and playing the theme song to their four-season YouTube video series called Queer Kids Stuff and ends with a very real entreaty for better LGBTQ+ representation in media and better conversations with kids, to arm them with a better understanding of the world outside the mainly heterosexual-presenting and cis, or normal, gender environment that makes up most media consumed by both kids and adults.
The Queer Kid Stuff video series is very different from the Minecraft streams and political vitriol that makes up a lot of what uncurated YouTube has become. It’s fresh, bright, friendly, upbeat, welcoming, entertaining, and educational. All done with Lindsay, the engaging host, and their co-host, a voiced-over teddy bear, behind a desk covere…
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Jul 25, 2019
Samantha Berger Pt 2, Children's Book Author, TV Writer
My guest this week needs no introduction. That’s partly because she is a force of nature, a wonderful presence, an engaging encourager, and a real pleasure to talk to, but it’s also because I introduced her last week in part 1 of our conversation!
If you haven’t already, do go back to last week’s episode and listen to the beginnings of my conversation with Samantha Berger, where we cover a lot of her history in children’s media, from working at Nickelodeon to her years at Scholastic to zine publishing to independent picture book authorship.
We start this week by talking about more of her books – specifically in the follow up to talking about the sloth-love show Snoozefest at the end of last episode, we discuss the touching and therapeutic Rock What Ya Got, and go into why a book called Glam-Ma is so necessary for proper representation. Later in the conversation we talk about one of my favorites of hers, What If..., and why you should always create.
Finally, do stick arou…
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Jul 18, 2019
Samantha Berger Pt 1, Children's Book Author, TV Writer
For those who may not know Samantha Berger, you’re missing out on a real good and delightful person. It would be impossible for me to track down all EIGHTY-some of her children’s books to read, as some of them aren’t even published under her name proper, but the recent ones are really good and usually pretty close at hand at your local library or bookstore. It’s also impossible to track down all the rest of the TV, illustration, voiceover, and other miscellaneous – yet critical – writing threads that make up the Samantha Berger tapestry.
The more I read and learned about her as I prepared for our conversation, the more I felt intimidated by compressing all her writing experience – and otherwise! – into just one chat. We do manage to cover in this conversation the gamut from differences with your parents to zine publication to corporate culture to supporting peers to heavier backdrops informing more joyous works.
Samantha Berger’s words in an email she wrote to me, "…
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Jul 11, 2019
Jack Forman, Musician, Recess Monkey
My guest this week has been in my ears for almost the entirety of my time as a father, from the days of taking my older daughter for walks accompanied by the sub-genre he helped build, kindie music – that’s kid plus indie.
Jack Forman is an educator, hailing from Seattle, born and raised. His work as an educator and entertainer of kids quickly evolved from formal teaching to family-friendly music with pals Drew Holloway and, later, Korum Bischoff. Together, the three of them comprise Recess Monkey.
Recess Monkey has been around and hitting it hard for almost fifteen years. And when I say they hit it hard, I mean that in the band’s tenure thus far, they’ve released fourteen studio albums. Jack himself has released two in the last several years.
Recess Monkey’s ponderous music catalogue is joy-filled, catchy, and at the same time relatable to current as well as former kids. While Jack plays bass and does vocals in Recess Monkey, he’s a talented multi-instrumentalist and au…
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Jul 4, 2019
Kamal Bell, Farmer-Educator, Sankofa Farms
Kamal Bell is championing one of the most noble and traditionally patriotic American pursuits I could think of. It’s a fantastic conversation to have for the 4th of July.
Through his ownership of the Durham, North Carolina-based Sankofa Farms, he’s looking to do a lot. He has worked since 2016 to render a dozen wild acres arable, while also balancing being a middle school teacher, raising his two boys, and bringing direct benefit to his community through Sankofa’s Agriculture Academy program as well as directly addressing our American food desert problem.
#VerseShow comprises conversations that give voice to creators, their process, their struggles, and the celebrations of their work. It's an interview podcast with a bend toward curiosity about the creative process.
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Jun 27, 2019
Uzma Jalaluddin, Writer, Ayesha At Last
Uzma Jalaluddin is my guest for this episode! Uzma is an English teacher in Toronto, a parent of two boys, a columnist for the Toronto star with a regular parenting feature called Samosas and Maple Syrup, and a novelist with her debut work, Ayesha At Last, just having dropped in the US.
If there’s anything I’ve learned from the initial handful of conversations making up this show, it’s that you pursue creativity best when it’s something you believe in with your whole heart. Where your heart goes, so goes your interest, passion, and time.
Uzma first started work on Ayesha At Last in 2007. That’s a dozen years working on getting this story right, working around kids and a job about which she’s passionate, working through a dozen or so drafts, and a lot of patience. And editing.
The passion, care, attention, and heart comes through in the writing of Ayesha At Last. It’s a love story perfect for the summer, with pages that fly by as the novel’s characters work through th…
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Jun 20, 2019
Karie Fugett, Writer, Editor, Memoirist
Birds chirping in a blue sky, the wind whistling through the trees. The crunch of footsteps on freshly chewed Oregon grass. Somewhere, a dog barking.
This is the pastoral Oregonian backdrop for my conversation with Karie Fugett. I hesitate to announce her as 'writer' Karie Fugett since, as our conversation alludes, you don’t always define yourself as one thing. We contain multitudes.
Karie is a writer, though, among other things, and you can find her writing, including bits of her upcoming memoir, already available online.
If you haven’t met Karie, or don’t know her online, or haven’t read her work already… her story is amazing and deserves to be told.
At 17, Karie was a high school dropout. At 24, Karie became a widow. Her husband Cleve was injured by an IED in the Iraq war, later lost his leg, eventually to succumb to an overdose. Nine years after Cleve’s death, Karie works as a writer, editor, and memoirist, traveling to live in Oregon from her home in Alabama, telli…
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Jun 13, 2019
Rachel Bodi and Robert Poe, Ballet 314
If you’re curious about what a dance company is or what goes into the seamless, flowing performances by well-rehearsed professional dancers that we’ve all seen, this conversation is for you because there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes than you might think.
Thanks to Rachel Bodi and Robert Poe, artistic directors of nonprofit ballet company Ballet 314, I now understand a little bit better what it takes to make a dance company. Experience, passion, support, a collaborative spirit. The right opportunity and the right network. The right vision to recognize the right time to make something new happen. Their care and passion for creating opportunities for local dancers while also connecting as directly as possible with the community fuels everything about Ballet 314.
#VerseShow comprises conversations that give voice to creators, their process, their struggles, and the celebrations of their work. It's an interview podcast with a bend toward curiosity about the creative proce…
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Jun 6, 2019
Melanie Lee, Author, The Adventures of Squirky the Alien
Melanie Lee is a Singaporean freelance writer and author of the interview-based spiritual text Quiet Journeys as well as the six-book children's serial The Adventures of Squirky the Alien, helping children understand what it means to be adopted. Melanie works across genres, formats, lengths, and disciplines. She would probably be too humble to say this, but she’s serene, self-assured, and seems well aware of her place and position in the creative world.
As with many of the folks I’ve talked to for this show, I’ve known Melanie for a long time - almost two decades. That being said, aside from social media connections she and I legitimately haven’t spoken for 19 years. I’ve always been curious as to what’s been behind her creativity, and I’m glad to be able to record and represent Melanie Lee’s work.
#VerseShow comprises conversations that give voice to creators, their process, their struggles, and the celebrations of their work. It's an interview podcast with a bend to…
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May 30, 2019
Kelly Light, Children's Book Author, 'Louise Loves Art'
Kelly Light’s primary works, the ones for which she’s know the best, are two picture books for young kids called Louise Loves Art and Louise and Andie and the Art of Friendship, about an earnest girl named Louise who can’t put her pencil down for love of drawing. The art in these two books is expressive, animated, and dynamic. Like Kelly, Louise is at her best and happiest when she’s making art.
The story we tell through our conversation touches on Kelly’s quick ascent to something some might call fame and glory, but also what’s more important about that mountain peak: the work it took to get to the top, and also a realistic look at what it takes to stay there, as well as what happens when you stumble from your peak.
#VerseShow comprises conversations that give voice to creators, their process, their struggles, and the celebrations of their work. It's an interview podcast with a bend toward curiosity about the creative process.
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May 23, 2019
Rob Nunn, Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street
Rob nunn has written a Sherlockian pastiche – that is, a fictionalized reimagining of the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle – called The Criminal Mastermind of Baker Street.
After this conversation, I have a better appreciation for the ways in which being a fan of something can evolve into a more considered exercise in historical context, critical analysis, and debate. What Sherlockians do is what you might have observed in the Stranger’s Room of the Diogenes Club as part of the Sherlock canon. Considered discussion and intellectual exercise and creative expression with a shared experience.
Rob’s creative exercise would have come to nothing – and likely wouldn’t even have started - without his deep passion and analysis. The passion that fuels so many people in their creative pursuits, the pure fandom of whatever it is you’re doing, takes just a slightly different spin here with a Sherlockian context.
#VerseShow comprises conversations that give voice to cre…
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May 8, 2019
Robby Zar, Musician, Writer, Partist
By any objective measure, Robby Zar and I have wonderful lives with small gaps where the creativity goes. Though some of the artistic disciplines are different, our take on being creative is the same, whether it’s music or writing or picture taking or speaking. We find time for it when we can, but it’s not our whole selves, nor even among our highest priorities.
What comes first both in this conversation and in our lives is using our creative energies in support of helping our children grow into creative, self-actualized people in the same ways our own parents paved the way for us to be who we are today.
I’m very grateful to Robby for his encouragement as well as his willingness to have this conversation, and to provide its musical backing.
#VerseShow comprises conversations that give voice to creators, their process, their struggles, and the celebrations of their work. It's an interview podcast with a bend toward curiosity about the creative process.
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May 1, 2019
Steve Light, Children's Book Author
My guest for this week is Steve Light, a children's book author based in New York City. Steve has authored and illustrated at least as many children's books as years he's been working in the industry roughly twenty years ago.
#VerseShow comprises conversations that give voice to creators, their process, their struggles, and the celebrations of their work. It's an interview podcast with a bend toward curiosity about the creative process.
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Apr 24, 2019
Cody Meirick, "Scary Stories"
Cody Meirick is the guest for this week. Cody and I have known each other for two decades. He has directed a documentary, Scary Stories, which explores the legacy of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark book series through the stories themselves and the folklore discussed in them, the ghastly and very memorable illustrations, and some of the ways in which the book series has been challenged over the years. We cover a lot of ground about his process in this conversation.
#VerseShow comprises conversations that give voice to creators, their process, their struggles, and the celebrations of their work. It's an interview podcast with a bend toward curiosity about the creative process.
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Apr 16, 2019
Jamie Simo, Author
Jamie Simo is a friend of mine, but a twenty first century friend who I’ve played games with and met a couple of times. Since I’ve known her I’ve wanted a reason to interview her about what it took to make what she’s made, namely her novel The King of Futures Past, as well as her litany of short stories.
#VerseShow comprises conversations that give voice to creators, their process, their struggles, and the celebrations of their work. It's an interview podcast with a bend toward curiosity about the creative process.
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Apr 10, 2019
Jeremy Monken, Brother of All Trades
Jeremy is almost literally creative-of-all-trades, in addition to being my brother. The hook of this conversation is on his podcast endeavors, but we cover a lot more ground than that.
#VerseShow comprises conversations that give voice to creators, their process, their struggles, and the celebrations of their work. It's an interview podcast with a bend toward curiosity about the creative process.
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