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PODCAST

Middle Grade Ninja

Middle Grade Ninja

Rob Kent interviews fellow authors, editors, literary agents, and other publishing professionals to discuss the craft and business of producing middle grade and young adult novels. New episode every Saturday. MiddleGradeNinja.com.

arts

All Episodes

01:43:17

118 Editor Leila Sales

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/05/29

Leila Sales and I talk about her career in publishing as well as her newest middle grade novel, THE CAMPAIGN. We discuss in depth how she read submissions as an editor and made her decisions about rejecting and accepting them. She shares her habits for successfully writing while being extremely busy, the pros and cons of decentralizing publishing, composing chapters that flow well, revealing the psychology of characters, allowing readers to reach their own conclusions, rules for exposition, and tons

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01:01:54

117 Author Susan McCormick

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/05/22

Dr. Susan McCormick and I discuss writing about medical realities that are sometimes frightening for the middle grade audience in her new novel, THE ANTIDOTE. She shares her thoughts on how the pandemic has impacted young people and reasons for us to be optimistic about the future. We also chat about muses and the mysteries of writing, her secrets of success, a ballerina horror story, how to think about something later so you can focus, research methods, believing in ghosts, the importance of

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01:22:16

116 Author Alane Adams

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/05/15

Alane Adams shares the story of her transition from a successful accountant to a successful author and founder of the Rise Up Foundation. We talk about researching and writing mythology for her series, LEGENDS OF OLYMPUS, and her latest release, MEDUSA QUEST. We also discuss tips for productivity, the importance of not stopping writing for anything, author life during the pandemic, her Between the Pages virtual author talk, assembling the publicity team that makes her incredible marketing possible,

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01:31:18

115 Author David LaRochelle And Illustrator Mike...

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/05/08

David LaRochelle and Mike Wohnoutka join me to discuss their collaboration from its start to how it remains successful, and their newest picture book, SEE THE CAT. We discuss the very different paths they took to publication, the difference in a writer’s workday versus an illustrator’s workday, the difference winning an award makes, school visits, professional pumpkin carving, a contest-winning supermarket run, and so much more. David LaRochelle has been creating books for young people for over

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01:28:57

114 Literary Agent Holly McGhee

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/05/01

Holly McGhee and I talk about her childhood in the country and how she went from selling corn out of a pickup truck to founding Pippin Properties Inc, an agency that has profoundly shaped the face of modern children’s literature. We chat about her relationship with author Kate DiCamillo both as a client and as a friend, and how it led to the creation of Holly McGhee’s new picture book, WHAT THE WORLD COULD MAKE. We also discuss ghosts, discovering hints of the mystery of the universe, a bird’s eye

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01:36:22

113 Author Luke Cunningham

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/04/24

Luke Cunningham and I push the boundaries of what is an appropriate podcast conversation to promote a middle grade novel such as his debut, LEO, INVENTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE. We discuss his time writing for THE TONIGHT SHOW, Pomodoro sessions, our dream pedestal arcades, working with Harper Collins Christian, the problem with rich people, writing political jokes on the fly, Pica’s Restaurant of Upper Darby, the time I got fired from a Subway sandwich shop, the time I met Jared Fogel, Leonardo da Vinci,

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01:46:41

112 Literary Agent Saba Sulaiman And Author Kyle Lukoff

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/04/17

Author Kyle Lukoff tells the story of how he persisted in publishing and finally landed his dream agent, Saba Sulaiman, who joins him on the podcast. We discuss how they revised Kyle’s newest, TOO BRIGHT TO SEE, how they submitted it to editors, sold it at auction, and are now promoting it as well as selling Kyle’s future novels. We also chat about writing trans characters, the controversy surrounding Kyle’s books about them, being cautious when staying in haunted houses, the terrible truth about

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01:08:22

111 Author Carole Boston Weatherford

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/04/10

Carole Boston Weatherford and I discuss poetry, history, and race in her newest picture books BOX: HENRY BROWN MAILS HIMSELF TO FREEDOM and UNSPEAKABLE: THE TULSA RACE MASSACRE. We talk about discussing difficult history for children, how to tailor-make books for Critical Reading elementary school students, what it means to be called to poetry by The Creator, calling out Jinx the Pokémon, a spirit story, race memory, writing with agency, and so much more. Carole Boston Weatherford grew up in an

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01:27:28

110 Editor Sara - Jayne Slack And Author Dorothy A....

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/04/03

Six months after our first conversation in episode 78, editor Sara-Jayne Slack and author Dorothy A. Winsor discuss Inspired Quill’s 10th anniversary and their latest release in the Tales of Rinland series, THE TRICKSTER. We chat about life during the pandemic, the advantages of in-person events vs online book promotion, the dos and don’ts of talking about publishing in an open forum, choosing an ideal cover for a story, ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE (that one’s mostly just me), and so much

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01:40:54

109 Author Carrie Seim

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/03/27

Carrie Seim and I discuss her newest novel, HORSE GIRL, as well as her bestselling audiobook, THE FLYING FLAMINGO SISTERS, and her performance of both. We talk about her time as a writer for Nickelodeon and a performer on INSIDE AMY SCHUMER, her audition for Saturday Night Live, how she combined her training in improvisational comedy with The Groundlings and her freelance writing career to become an ardent plotter of stories for children, an amazing tale of Area 51, the importance of deadlines, a

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00:56:13

108 Author Esabella Strickland

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/03/20

Esabella Strickland is an award-winning actress, screenwriter, filmmaker, and social media influencer who’s just published her first novel, THEN AND THERE, HERE AND WHERE. And she’s 15 years old. We discuss her time as a Variety BC Youth Ambassador speaking about her anxiety, ADHD, and dyslexia, as well as her jeans pocket art. She explains how she charges toward her fears, strives to lift as she rises, and writes about young adult characters as a young adult. Described as a "Renaissance Girl" for

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01:23:03

107 Author Nick Goss

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/03/13

Nick Goss and I discuss self publishing, home schooling, his bought with Covid-19, writing secular stories as a Christian, the pros and cons of social media, the importance of organizing a writing schedule, producing output that meets your personal standard, stories that are premium Nintendo good, a tale of the supernatural, and so much more. And, bonus, if you stick around to the end, I reveal a few behind-the-scenes tidbits about the podcast. NICK GOSS has been a piano teacher, sailboat builder,

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01:42:06

106 Author Lisa Fipps

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/03/06

My friend Lisa Fipps and I discuss “fat girl rules,” intrinsic self worth, overcoming bullying, and writing a story in free-verse poetry. Her debut novel, STAR FISH, releases this week with starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, me, and many others. You don’t want to miss this book. Lisa and I also chat about her day job handling the marketing for a library and how that helps her market her book, her time as a reporter, her jar of positive

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01:00:02

105 Author Mike Johnston

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/02/27

Mike Johnston and I discuss his new middle grade series, CONFESSIONS OF A DORK LORD, and the stylistic differences between his fantasy writing for adults under the super-secret penname, Michael Johnston. Also, medieval toilets. We chat about working with his illustrator, how experience as a dungeon master in Dungeons and Dragons helps with world building in fantasy, how actual architecture is surprisingly not like plotting a novel at all, collaborating with his wife, author Melissa de la Cruz, and

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01:19:23

104 Author Donna Galanti

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/02/20

Donna Galanti and I discuss how she started her writing career at age 40 and exploded into it with discipline and passion. She shares what she’s learned about being productive and prolific while successfully managing social media. Also, a ghost story. We discuss her newest novel, UNICORN ISLAND, her time in the Navy, how she left her literary agent for a better fit, and a full 10-step course for writing scary stories for children. Donna Galanti decided she was a grown up for far too long. She

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01:16:13

103 Authors Rucker Moses And Theo Gangi

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/02/13

Theo Gangi and Rucker Moses, the pen name for authors Craig S. Phillips and Harold Hayes Jr., discuss their collaboration for their novel, KINGSTON AND THE MAGICIAN’S LOST AND FOUND. We talk about their writing for television, subverting the author ego, increasing suspense with a ticking clock, planning a series one book at a time, ghosts and flying saucers, why you should hold your baseball bat like an egg, how to distill one narrative voice from three authors, book marketing during a pandemic, and

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01:19:21

102 Author Caroline Gertler

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/02/06

Author and former children’s book editor Caroline Gertler and I discuss her debut novel, MANY POINTS OF ME. We also chat about her studies of art history, her time working for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, how she chose her literary agent, how she made the mental transition from editor to author, how she writes intuitively for children while gaining character insights from children, her distinct prose style, and so much more more. Caroline Gertler is the author of the middle grade novel MANY

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01:05:00

101 Author Christina Li

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2021/01/30

Christina Li and I discuss how she began writing seriously at age 12, secured a literary agent before graduating high school, and is celebrating the publication of her debut novel, CLUES TO THE UNIVERSE, before graduating college. We also talk about researching the eighties, an author’s responsibility when writing about grief for younger readers, how joy is an act of resistance, social economics as a way of understanding people and fictional characters, the importance of Asian stories not being a

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06:21:11

3rd MGN Clip Show 2020

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2020/12/26

It’s the third ever, ridiculously long mega-sized Middle Grade Ninja clips show, featuring snippets from episodes 60 through 100. New episodes are scheduled to return January 30th. Until then, enjoy this compilation of clips from conversations with AUTHORS Catherine Linka, Barbara Shoup, Kaela Noel, Sayantani DasGupta, Avi, Anna Meriano, Anne Bustard, Rob Harrell, Joy McCullough, Mitali Perkins, Carlie Sorosiak, Claire Swinarski, Josh Berk, Saundra Mitchell, Hugh Howey, Anne Nesbet, Tracy Wolff,

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01:47:16

100 Editor Cheryl Klein

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2020/12/12

Cheryl Klein and I talk about writing and publishing and everything good in this 100th episode extravaganza. She shares her journey from growing up in a small Missouri town to becoming the continuity editor for the last three HARRY POTTER novels and the enormity of that experience. We discuss her newest book, A YEAR OF EVERYDAY WONDERS, and her advice for structuring picture books and trusting your illustrator. We also chat about Lee and Low Books, maintaining a healthy level of writer ego, why most

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224 results

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