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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.

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All Episodes

01:09:56

176 Author Andrew Nehring

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/07/30

Andrew Nehring and I discuss how he learned to improve as a reader and a writer with the aid of an inspiring teacher who helped him manage his dyslexia. And we chat about the publication of his multiple novels, including his newest, DAVID MASSIE AND THE HIDDEN UNDERWORLD. We talk about Skyrim and Elden Ring and also books, as well as tips for plotting around your antagonist, planning and writing a long series, working with Books Forward for publicity, my George R.R. Martin conspiracy theory, ghost

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01:21:16

175 Literary Agent Lucienne Diver

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/07/23

Lucienne Diver and I talk about how she separates the writer part of herself from the part that’s a literary agent and why it’s important to do so. We discuss her novel, DISAPPEARED, the current state of publishing and how she’s sustained a successful career in it, what compels her to suspense fiction, ways of appreciating other writers without getting intimidated, the Knight literary agency, a haunted experience, the Salem witch trials, and so much more. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE for more great

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01:00:49

174 Author Mat Heagerty and Illustrator Sam Owen

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/07/16

Mat Heagerty, Sam Owen, and I discuss the process for their collaboration on their new graphic novel, LUMBERJACKULA. We talk about scripting and paneling, how they make creative suggestions for revision without overstepping, and how publishing with a larger traditional publisher differs from a small, independent press. We also discuss how they got their start in comics, how to encourage children without pressuring them, some favorite graphic novels, a haunted storeroom, Garfield as a Dune character,

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01:29:25

173 Author Lakita Wilson

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/07/09

Lakita Wilson and I discuss how winning the 2017 SCBWI Emerging Voices Award and running a popular Instagram page set her on a path for publishing success as well as the launch of her newest novel, BE REAL, MACY WEAVER. We mock James Patterson and talk about the current state of diversity in traditional publishing. She reveals her experiences with Root Literary, how teaching inspires her writing, how to write about racism in historical fiction for young readers that might just aid them in thinking

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01:34:36

172 Literary Agent Linda Epstein

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/07/02

Linda Epstein and I talk about her lifelong desire to be a writer and her journey from being a nurse to an unpaid intern for two years before becoming a literary agent and at long last arriving at the publication of her debut novel, REPAIRING THE WORLD. We also discuss the Emerald City Literary Agency, what a film and television rights agent does, how a literary agent seeks a literary agent, learning and teaching creative writing while being a literary agent, book promotion and launch strategies,

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01:26:42

171 Author Zetta Elliott

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/06/25

Zetta Ellicott and I chat about her bestselling middle grade series, DRAGONS IN A BAG, and lessons learned writing more than 40 books for children (so far). We talk about how she envisions her success with a vision board and how she trains in puppetry, film, and other art forms to ensure she’s using all the parts of her brain. We discuss the importance of mirror books, how she learned to decentralize whiteness and decolonize her imagination, how she uses rage as fuel while remaining hopeful, why

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01:15:46

170 Author Aisha Saeed

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/06/18

Aisha Saeed and I discuss her career and her newest middle grade novel OMAR RISING, a companion novel to AMAL UNBOUND. We chat about the difficulty she had submitting to traditional publishers and how that led her to seek out other diverse authors and the founding of WE NEED DIVERSE BOOKS, which is a movement that gives us hope even when the world seems disparaging at times. We also talk about the pressure of writing about Wonder Woman in DIANA AND THE ISLAND OF NO RETURN, advocating for children in

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01:00:51

169 Author Hilde Kate Lysiak

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/06/11

Hilde Lysiak and I chat about her new memoir, HILDE ON THE RECORD. As she’s just now 15 years old, presumably it’s the first of many, though she’s already led a very interesting life that’s the subject of the Apple TV series, HOME BEFORE DARK. We talk about how Hilde started her first newspaper at age 7, investigated a local murder at age 9, signed a deal for a 4-book series at age 10, won the Zenger Award for Press Freedom at age 12, and became the youngest person in U.S. history to deliver a

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01:19:31

168 Literary Agent Kristin Ostby

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/06/04

Kristin Ostby and I discuss how she grew up a reader and daughter of a librarian who went on to edit for Penguin Random House and rose to become a senior editor at Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers before becoming a literary agent with Greenhouse Literary. We talk about why she made that change, the types of projects she’s looking for, how writers and agents can make an editor’s job easier, how to grab an agent’s attention, how she evaluates authors on social media and over Zoom calls, her

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01:42:24

167 Author Lindsay Eager

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/05/28

Lindsay Eager and I have an in-depth discussion about writing and publishing and her newest middle grade novel, THE PATRON THIEF OF BREAD. We talk about her time working as an intern for a literary agent, leaving one literary agent for another, how she wrote about a protagonist of a different ethnicity than her own in HOUR OF THE BEES (and why she’s not interested in doing it again), how she committed to writing, getting away with a lengthier wordcount in middle grade, getting over a fear of ghosts,

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01:20:19

166 Author Xiran Jay Zhao

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/05/21

Xiran Jay Zhao and I discuss their new middle grade novel, ZACHARY YING AND THE DRAGON EMPEROR, and the phenomenon of their YouTube channel about Chinese history and media commentary which has more than 425,000 subscribers (as of this recording).We talk about their IRON WIDOW series and its movie possibilities, how they survived the midlist, how writing is suffering, the sometimes fickle nature of parental support, what to do when your agent leaves the industry, advanced AR videogames, graduating

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01:03:48

165 Author Jenna Yoon

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/05/14

Jenna Yoon and I discuss her journey to becoming an author and her debut middle grade novel, LIA PARK AND THE MISSING JEWEL. We talk about why representation matters, how the lack of it inspired her to create Lia Park for her daughters, a terrible experience with a teacher that stopped Jenna from writing a novel sooner, the importance of skin care, drafting a novel with a loose outline, writing while parenting during the pandemic, playing a trick on her sister that backfired, and so much

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01:17:14

164 Author Maurice Broaddus

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/05/07

My friend Maurice Broaddus and I discuss his newest novels UNFADEABLE and SWEEP OF STARS. We also chat about some of the older ones, Afrofuturism, using writing to procrastinate from writing, worldbuilding through short stories, grants for writers, writing for video games, Black Panther, British cozy mysteries, running your own writers conference, Arthurian urban fantasy, doing your job as an author for younger readers, vampire communes, and so much more. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE for more great

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01:21:46

163 Literary Agent Mark Gottlieb

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/04/30

Mark Gottlieb and I chat about how he was born into the business of books and how Maxwell Perkins’ love of editing convinced him to become an agent with TRIDENT MEDIA GROUP. We discuss his strategies for finding clients and submitting their work, his passion for making their dreams come true, why it’s important to demystify literary agencies, positioning a book for success, dealing with the frustrations of the publishing industry, hypotheticals involving Ralph Ellison, and so much more. PLEASE

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01:08:24

162 Author Jodi Lynn Anderson

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/04/23

Jodi Lynn Anderson and I talk about her career as an editor for Harper Collins before becoming a bestselling author as well as her new middle grade series, THIRTEEN WITCHES. We discuss writing in a diary to help make sense of the world, gaining the confidence to write fiction through working in publishing, her lifelong fascination with ghosts, living with sequel possibilities and thinking of characters as old friends, the importance of being yourself, the importance of imagining a finished novel,

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01:21:21

161 Author James Riley

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/04/16

James Riley and I have an in-depth discussion about his writing and plotting process for his new middle grade series, ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME. We talk about writing in fairy tale worlds and the way pop culture knowledge permeates our collective creativity. We also chat about Batman, Star Wars, Alan Moore, working for Disney, the darker side of capitalism, a letter from Piers Anthony, and so much more. Buy ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME by James Riley: https://amzn.to/37U0nZN Download BANNEKER BONES AND THE

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01:15:16

160 Public Relations Expert Ellen Whitfield

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/04/09

Ellen Whitfield and I discuss how she went from being a reader to a copyeditor to a book reviewer to a publicist with BOOKS FORWARD. We talk specifically about budget numbers for authors preparing to promote their newest launch, strategies for promoting backlists, entering awards contests, what every author should include in their email signature, working with a publisher’s in-house publicity team, and so much more. Ellen balances her understanding of “the other side of the desk” when it comes to

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01:09:14

159 Author Gregory Maguire

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/04/02

Gregory Maguire and I chat about his career and why he continues to write for children when WICKED is now the fifth longest-running Broadway musical. We discuss writing about depression in animal fables such as in his newest middle grade novel, CRESS WATERCRESS, how a lack of television and a lot of writing set him up for early success, the mystery of inspiration, and so much more. And he gives a very brief sneak preview of his next book, THE WITCH OF MARACOOR. Gregory Maguire received his Ph.D. in

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01:19:58

158 Author Elly Swartz

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/03/26

Elly Swartz and I discuss her career as an author and her newest novel, DEAR STUDENT. We talk about being an author during the pandemic, her average workday, the advantages of writing yourself letters from your characters, researching psychological issues for character creation, creating curriculum guides, learning from your rejections, a ghost story, the importance of being yourself, and so much more. If you’re watching the video version, look forward to seeing a lot of my cohost, Mabel the

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01:17:25

157 Authors Don Handfield And Joshua Malkin

Middle Grade Ninja ·

2022/03/19

Don Handfield, Joshua Malkin, and I talk about the differences between writing screenplays and collaborating to write a graphic novel, such as their newest, UNIKORN. We talk about acting with Robert Duvall, getting around lawsuits from McDonalds for THE FOUNDER, persevering to make KNIGHTFALL, being a videogame architect, guest staring on SAVED BY THE BELL: THE NEW CLASS, a potential rift in time/between universes, ghost hunting, and so much more. Don is the co-creator of History Channel's drama

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224 results

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