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 Ana Garriga and Carmen Urbita 

Convent Wisdom: How Sixteenth-Century Nuns Could Save Your Twenty-First-Century Life

(Nonfiction, November, Avid Reader Press)

“ An infectiously edifying, not-so-saintly self-help book that dives into the wild, wise, and unconventional lives of 16th- and 17th-century nuns, offering advice for our modern age and proving one thing: no matter the century, nuns know best.”

Writes from: Halfway between Madrid (Spain) and New York.

Pre-Convent: We like to think that the seed of Convent Wisdom was planted the night we first met in August 2016. We weren’t the only prospective graduate students visiting Brown University that summer, but we were the only two ones matching our very specific freak: a passion for the lives and texts of 16^th– and 17^th-century nuns. That night, we knew that we would spend years of sleepless nights trying to reduce our fascination for nuns to the rigid formulas of academic writing.

What we didn’t know was that, four years later, in 2020, we’d decide to take our nuns out of dusty archives and aseptic academic journals and bring them to more playful realms. “Las hijas de Felipe,” our podcast devoted to unearthing hidden stories from the 16^th– and 17^th-century stories, confirmed what we already suspected: 16^th– and 17^th-century nuns were refreshingly relatable today. By the time we embarked on Convent Wisdom, we were used to spending most of our days writing—whether our PhD dissertations, academic papers, or podcast scripts—but this book demanded something new. It required us to craft a new voice—the two of us merged in one—and a new genre—rigorous academic research turned into a playful self-help guide.

Time frame: Once we started writing, we finished Convent Wisdom in about a year. But we had been researching, first separately and then together, for more than a decade.

Enter the agent: Our agent found us! She had been listening to our podcast for a while, and she had the feeling that we might have an idea for a book. In fact, when she approached us, we were already conceiving the general idea for the book with our Spanish editor.

Biggest surprise: When we received all the offers at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2023—nine countries plus an auction between seven U.S. publishing houses—we were shocked. It was both a huge surprise and a well-deserved confirmation that our intuition was right: in the crumbling 21^st century we live in, we all need a portable convent to find solace. It was comforting to see that, after all the years spent in libraries and archives, we had found a way to share the stories of those nuns who had captivated us and helped us survive throughout the most challenging moments of our lives.

What I did right: We were not in a hurry to publish, and that helped. Well before the 2023 Frankfurt Book Fair, we were approached by a couple of publishers, but we decided not to go ahead with them. We felt it was hasty at that point, and that their aim was to make a hurried and shallow translation of our podcast into a book. Instead, we decided to wait until we had reached a more elaborate and nuanced idea of the book.

What I would have done differently: We had no idea how to navigate those situations, but somehow our intuition was right. However, we would happily erase all the anxiety and the self-doubt that we went through.

Platform: Our podcast and our social media are great platforms, but only for Spanish-speaking audiences. We’ll have to work on English content to try and gain new international readership

Advice for writers: You don’t have to write on your own. Sometimes, it can be so much better with friends. It worked for us, and it worked for many of our nuns.

Next up: We’re working on a historical audio fiction. We’d also love to launch some episodes of our podcast in English.

Website: LasHijasDeFelipe.com

Mia Jay Boulton and Laurel Boulton 

Of Swamp & Sea 

(Romantasy graphic novel, November, 23^rd Street)

“A woman possessed by a monster must embark on a dangerous and magical journey, accompanied by a monster hunter who could be friend, foe, or lover.”

Writes from: Gulf Shores, Ala.

Pre-Swamp: We’ve really been building the bones of this story since 2014 (the year we got married), and back then, it was almost unrecognizable aside from the characters’ names. It really evolved and transmuted throughout the decade as we worked on the story back and forth alongside our other projects. Of Swamp & Sea began in prose form, as all our work does, before making the leap to an illustrated comic in 2019. We finally wrapped up the art for it earlier this year, meaning it took us around six years to write, illustrate, and color close to 5,000 individual panels. But it only took us less than a year to format them into a five-novel series, the first of which is coming out this November.

Time frame: When we first went searching for an agent, there were still very few Webtoon properties that had made the leap to print—we think the industry was still really figuring out how that could work. We searched high and low through online databases like Manuscript Wish List, looking for someone with a mind for art, romance, and the supernatural. We were so happy when our agent, Lane Clarke, decided to hear us out.

Enter the agent: We were surprised by just how difficult it could be to take a vertical-scrolling comic and reimagine it for print format. Every new page felt like a puzzle to solve and an exercise in problem-solving. The goal was always to have the art look as natural as possible, like it was born for the printed page. We really do think we accomplished that goal, and we’re looking forward to current and new readers discovering the story of Mercy and Jonah in a whole new format.

Biggest surprise: Measured persistence has really been one of the keys to getting this far. Every step of the way from creating to publishing has felt like a new obstacle course to learn to navigate and overcome, but we never let a failure steep for too long before trying again. However, we also didn’t let an output goal control our lives, and we still made time for the things we love, for our hobbies, and for each other. It’s important to never give up, while never letting it burn your candle down entirely.

What I did right: I joined a writers’ group. I’ve been in my writers’ group now for over seven years, and I’ve learned so much and grown so much from being in that group. When we started, none of us had books published, and most of us didn’t have agents yet. Now, everyone has at least one book published. Seeing my friends in the group go through that process taught me a lot about what publishing is like and what to expect. So actually, not a lot of things were a surprise to me about the publishing process because I’d already seen how everything plays out through my writers’ group.

What I would have done differently: We do plan on doing it all again, because we want to keep creating forever. Next time, we’ll put more of a focus on future-proofing our projects, mainly through the way we’ll keep our files organized and prepared for both digital and print outcomes.

Platform: Our platform of readers on WEBTOON has followed us through the whole Of Swamp & Sea saga, and we’re endlessly grateful for their loyalty. We hope that many of them will pick up its first print installment for their shelves when it hits storefronts, as a print edition has been much requested since the very earliest days. Of course, we also want to bring the story to the eyes of a new audience, which we’re working on building via social media with the help of our publisher, 23^rd Street.

Advice for writers: Never stop loving what you do: people change, and it’s okay for their stories to change with them. You can’t let the fear of losing what you already have in a project stop you from exploring what it could be. In the end, your finished work is always going to look different than how it started, and that’s a good thing. You just have to see it through to find out what your story becomes.

Next up: After book one, we’ve got four more Of Swamp & Sea volumes on the way. After that? We want to write more adventures about love and magic, and continue telling stories through art. 

Website: Linktr.ee/ofswampandsea

Marco Anderson

This Book Is About Nothing

(Children’s picture book, November, Moon + Bird)

“A hilarious and colourful picture book about a child’s unique journey to making new friends.”

Writes from: London.

Pre-Book: I wrote this book coming out of COVID lockdown. I had not written a book before, so when I had the idea, I definitely did not think that it would get published. But, as the idea kept growing, I became more and more confident in this idea and the reality of it actually being published. 

Time frame: I originally wrote this in a PowerPoint, and we developed the story into what it is now over the next couple of years. I had this idea back in spring of 2021, and we just got the ideas out into a basic PowerPoint presentation. About a month or two later, I first met with the publishing team and showed them my concept. We continued working together over the next four years and turned the idea into a real book.

Enter the agent: I do not have an agent. After coming up with the concept, I was introduced to Etan and the team at Moon + Bird. They helped me do this, and I worked with my dad on this book as well.

Biggest surprise: One of the things that surprised me most was simply how long it takes to get a book published. I originally had the idea in 2021, and now four years later, it’s about to get published.

What I did right: I was really lucky because I didn’t know what I was doing and the team at Moon + Bird was really amazing at guiding me through the process.

What I would have done differently: I really don’t think that there’s anything that I would have done differently with this book, but there are a lot of skills that I learned over the process of creating this book, which I would apply to future books.

Platform: No, I don’t currently have a platform because I’m too busy with my middle school studies.

Advice for writers: The best piece of advice that I can give you is to just keep on going and trying to make what you want a reality.

Next up: Honestly, I have too much homework right now to think that far into the future.

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We first connected with Rachel Runya Katz for her debut novel’s publication and featured her in our September/October 2023‘s Breaking In column. Now that her next publication has been released, we’re reconnecting with her for a quick Q&A.

What was the time frame for writing this latest book?

I wrote the very first scene in late summer of 2022 because it popped into my head and I didn’t want to forget it. I then didn’t touch it again until early fall of 2023, when I was selling my option to my publisher and needed to transform that one scene into a full pitch. I took a long writing break after my debut, and then even longer after a loss in my personal life, so I was only drafting it in earnest from around April 2024 to August 2024.

Has your perspective on the publication process changed since your debut was published?

Very much so! I think I’ve gotten a clearer understanding of how I draft best (from a pitch, but with no rigid outline). I also think I have a better idea of which parts of the process are in my control – that doesn’t mean I feel better about letting go of control, though! I do my best to focus only on making the book what I want it to be.

What was the biggest surprise while getting this book ready for publication?

The biggest surprise for everyone else was that I’d never seen You’ve Got Mail when I wrote it. The biggest surprise for me was how much more quickly the waiting time seemed to pass between the end of edits and publication. I think that knowing the steps better made me feel like I was twiddling my fingers less.

What do you feel you did really well with this novel?

I loved writing the epistolary relationship between Yael and Ravi, and their emails were always a bright spot to read back in edits.

Anything you would have done differently?

When I wrote this book, Donald Trump wasn’t president again. I think I would’ve been less hopeful writing about a queer high school librarian and the issues she faces in trying to make a safe space for her students. In that way, maybe it’s good that I wrote it when I did.

Would you like to share some advice for our readers?

I don’t know, man. Take care of yourselves. Try to make good art. Leave the rest to the professionals.

What’s next for you?

I took a long break this year from writing, but I’m working on another romance! If/when I have more details to share, I’ll put them on my Instagram and my website.

Where can our audience find you online?

Insatagram: @rachelrunyakatz

Website: RachelRunyaKatz.com

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Samantha Browning Shea

Marrow

(Adult literary fiction, September, G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

“A searing take on femininity and power, Marrow transports readers to a small island off the coast of Maine, where a coven has done the seemingly impossible: given childless women the chance to become mothers.”

Writes from: Fairfield, CT.

Pre-Marrow: My husband and I had just made the difficult decision to begin fertility treatment after trying, unsuccessfully, to conceive for over a year.

Time frame: It took me a little less than two years to research and write the first draft (roughly a year of fertility testing, failed IUIs, and two rounds of IVF; and then another nine months while I was pregnant with my first daughter). I spent my maternity leave with my first daughter, diving into edits given to me by my agent! Then we sold the book when my oldest was about 18 months and I was pregnant with my second. During my second maternity leave, I completed edits given to me by my editor!

Enter the agent: My agent is Marya Spence at Janklow & Nesbit. I’m also a literary agent (I’ve been at Georges Borchardt, Inc. for 15 years now), so when it came time to find an agent for my own work, I was pretty nervous. I felt like I was risking not just rejection, but professional humiliation if it turned out no one liked my work! But happily, Marya and I clicked right away, and she’s been an incredible champion for my writing ever since!

Biggest surprise: Having worked in publishing for fifteen years, there hasn’t been too much that’s surprised me, necessarily, but I feel like I’ve gained a real appreciation for how it feels when things don’t go quite how you’re hoping they will as a writer. About a week after my book sold at auction to an editor I was SO excited to work with, that editor ended up taking a new job and leaving Putnam. As an agent, I completely understood. Editors often have to move houses in order to get promoted. And I was thrilled for the editor and their career. But as a writer, I was devastated. Not long after, the Publisher also left for a new job. Again, I was thrilled for her, but sad for me. I’d had similar scenarios happen with clients’ books throughout the years, but this was the first time I felt that particular brand of disappointment as a writer. I got really lucky, though, and ended up with an editorial team I love: Kate Dresser, Tarini Sipahimalani, and Lindsay Sagnette. It’s been such a pleasure and an honor working with them!

What I did right: When I first started working in publishing, I was afraid to tell anyone that I also wanted to be a writer, but it’s been really affirming, over the years, to see how others have navigated balancing careers as both writers and publishing professionals: writers like Megha Majmudar and Danny Loedel (who were both editors when their first novels were published), Jenny Jackson (editor at Knopf), Betsy Lerner (literary agent), and Danya Kukafka (literary agent).

What I would have done differently: Honestly, nothing. I’m just so grateful to be where I’m at right now: working my dream job, publishing my first novel, and mother to two brilliant (and mischievous) little girls.

Advice for writers: Just keep writing! As a young agent, Georges told me stories all the time about writers he’s represented whose careers didn’t “take off” until book number four, or five, or six. He’s always said it’s not talent that makes a writer, it’s tenacity. And I believe that. In fact, Marrow isn’t even my first novel. I actually wrote a novel before Marrow that didn’t sell.

Next up: I’m at work on what I hope will be my second book, inspired by a true crime story.

Website: SamanthaShea.com

Deena ElGenaidi

Dust Settles North

(Literary fiction, September, Bindery Books)

“Dust Settles North is the story of two siblings navigating their second-generation Egyptian American identity, family trauma, and grief in the wake of their mother’s sudden death—and father’s shocking betrayal.”

Writes from: Brooklyn, N.Y.

Pre-Dust: This book started out as a short story that I wrote for a fiction workshop in my MFA program. I had previously only written short stories, and then while I was in the MFA, I started to expand this into a novel. So, very early drafts of some of these chapters were actually workshopped by my classmates, and it ended up becoming my thesis project in grad school. I think I had almost 200 pages written by the time I graduated.

Time frame: I spent nine years working on this book—counting my time in grad school, all the way up to when the book was sold. I finished the first full draft almost a year after grad school, and then I spent a lot of time editing. Then I started querying agents, many of whom requested the full manuscript, which was great, but I only got rejections at that time. So I went back and started editing some more, maybe for another year before querying again.

Enter the agent: I did a lot of research. I had a spreadsheet with a list of agents that I just started cold querying, and then I finally got an offer. But while my book was out on its first round of submission, my agent actually quit agenting altogether, which put me into a state of panic. Luckily, though, she gave my manuscript to one of her colleagues, Monica Rodriguez, who loved my book and wanted to represent me. And I couldn’t be happier working with Monica. She’s been amazing through all of this. We then worked on some more edits together for a while before Monica sent my book out to a new list of editors.

Biggest surprise: Publishing moves so slowly. I had to really learn to be patient and accept that some things were out of my control. My book was out on submission for a long time, and sometimes editors would receive the manuscript and take months just to start reading. During that time, there was nothing I could do, which was really difficult for me. It was completely out of my hands, and all I could do was wait.

What I did right: I joined a writers’ group. I’ve been in my writers’ group now for over seven years, and I’ve learned so much and grown so much from being in that group. When we started, none of us had books published, and most of us didn’t have agents yet. Now, everyone has at least one book published. Seeing my friends in the group go through that process taught me a lot about what publishing is like and what to expect. So actually, not a lot of things were a surprise to me about the publishing process because I’d already seen how everything plays out through my writers’ group.

What I would have done differently: I want to say I would have stressed out less, or not given myself so much anxiety about the publishing process, but I think in some ways, that was out of my control. So I don’t know that I would do anything differently. I think I learned a lot through this journey.

Platform: I’ve been doing arts and culture journalism on and off for about seven years now, so I’ve built somewhat of a platform through that work. It’s a little bit harder now because so many publications have shuttered, and others are just not accepting freelance work like they used to, unfortunately. My publisher, Bindery, though, is really focused on building a platform for their writers. They work with book influencers who are constantly posting about Bindery books and are invested in our success. I’ve been really impressed and happy with how much marketing and publicity they’re putting into their books, and hopefully that will help me grow my platform.

Advice for writers: I would say just don’t give up. I worked on this book for a really long time, and I got plenty of rejections along the way. I could have just stopped trying, but instead I took the rejections, took the feedback, and kept improving my work, and I’m glad I did because my writing is better for it.

Next up: I’m working on a second book right now—another novel—but it’s still very early stages. 

Website: DeenaElGenaidi.com

Hannah Rosenberg

Same

(Poetry, October, St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan in the U.S./Canada; HarperCollins in the U.K.)

“A collection of poems about finding magic in the ordinary and celebrating the relationships that make our lives beautiful.”

Writes from: Philadelphia, Pa.

Pre-Same: I have been sharing poetry on what I was calling (whenever anyone asked!) my poetry blog since 2020. I always loved writing poetry and prose and used it as a way to help me process and make sense of life, so I started sharing poems weekly (and sometimes even more than weekly) that really were just about what was on my mind at the time. I thought of them all as drafts, so I wouldn’t be afraid to hit the “share” button (many times, I would go back and edit old poems). 

I had my first child in Spring 2023 and was sharing a lot of poetry on new motherhood. Both of the editors that I have now at St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan in U.S./Canada and HarperCollins in U.K. reached out to me when they, too, were experiencing first-time motherhood, so it was a kind of life meets art meets work meets life type thing.

Time frame: I was so excited to get the book deal, but then terrified about the prospect of writing a collection of poems instead of what I had been doing before (writing then sharing then writing then sharing). I had no idea how it would go, but it ended up being a really fun and fulfilling experience. I’ve always been someone who likes to set goals and meet them, so I kind of set it up like a project plan and found that as I wrote, the book started to come together all on its own. Not to say there weren’t hard days where I felt like I had no more interesting ideas—I definitely did have those—but I realized if I had a structure for working on it, then I didn’t have to have it all figured out before I began writing.

I wrote a small excerpt for the book for the proposal between February–April 2024, and then the majority of the book between June and October 2024.

Enter the agent: Sarah Cantin, my editor at St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan, was the first to reach out to me. We had a brief conversation about pursuing a book, and she connected me to a few agents that she thought might be a good fit. I instantly felt so comfortable with Sarah (and my instinct was right, she has been the most incredible editor!), so I trusted she would connect me to great people. I was able to talk on the phone with them and really felt a strong connection to Ariele Fredman, whom I signed on with. Ariele is amazing and helps me to dream big while also navigating the basic things about the publishing world, which is totally new to me.

Biggest surprise: I was surprised how scary finishing the book would feel- a book (unlike my poetry blog) feels so final. I’m in the last stages of editing, and I keep procrastinating on all of my final edits because it feels so scary to hit “done.”

I was also surprised by the importance of pre-orders. It didn’t occur to me that it would be important to “sell” your book before it was out, and how that would influence so much ahead of time.

What I did right: Definitely creating my own writing account and building my own audience was the best thing I did. Writing every week helped me practice the craft of writing and build a readership along the way, which, ultimately, led me to my publishers.

What I would have done differently: I think I would have tried to create a peer writing community earlier on—I had (and still have!) imposter syndrome and felt like other writers wouldn’t want to talk to me, so I held off on reaching out to chat. I’m working on that now, but I feel like I would have been more prepared and understood more going into the book-writing/publishing world if I had reached out to writers and tried to set up coffee chats earlier on.

Platform: I share my writing on Instagram (@hannahrowrites). I post poems weekly and engage with readers—I try to respond to messages and comments people leave, so it’s more like a community (which is what I hope people will feel it is!)

Advice for writers: For me, creating project plans and timelines helps with creativity instead of hindering it. I used to write “when I felt creative” and found (especially early on when I was just beginning the process of regularly writing) that if I didn’t set aside time specifically for writing and I didn’t have a goal I was working on, I would make up excuses for not doing it. Once I got serious about goals, it helped me prioritize my writing.

Next up: I love writing poetry and prose—it never feels like work to me. I hope others love reading it enough that I can publish future books.

Website: HannahRoWrites.com

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Rhonda Dechambeau

Top Heavy

(YA verse novel, June, Holiday House)

“After landing a spot on a competitive dance team, a top-heavy dancer dreams of breast reduction surgery amidst her family’s growing financial problems, a deteriorating friendship, and a first love romance.”

Writes from: Southeastern Massachusetts.

Pre-Heavy: After many years of writing on my own and taking classes here and there, I earned my MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2019. I applied and was selected as the 2022-2023 Associates of the Boston Public Library Writer-in-Residence with the first twenty pages of Top Heavy. This amazing program provides a generous stipend and an office at the Boston Public Library for an unpublished writer for children or young adults. This was actually my sixth time applying for this amazing opportunity. I’d been named a finalist twice before, and I really felt like I had something special with this story.

Time frame: When I was selected for the Writer-in-Residence program, I had about twenty-five pages of Top Heavy drafted. I also had a sense of where the story was headed. I threw myself into the writing, determined to make my year-long residency count. After about three months, I had a completed draft.

Enter the agent: My agent, Elizabeth Bennett from Transatlantic Literary Agency, reached out to me after I’d won the Writer-in-Residence fellowship. She’d read the description of Top Heavy and was interested from the start. I sent her my beginning pages, as well as some pages from other projects. Because she’s based in the Boston area, we met in the Boston Public Library over coffee. We seemed to be a good match, so I was thrilled when she offered to represent me! Having been in the querying trenches with other projects, I knew what a gift this was.

Biggest surprise: How long everything takes! From the submission process to the editorial process to the production and actual printing of the book! I’m still amazed at what a tremendous amount of work goes into the final product and how many people are involved in making it become a reality!

What I did right: I kept going! And I never stopped writing new things. Top Heavy is the fifth novel I’ve written, including some really early, really awful novels. Some of the more recent projects have potential, and there’s a chance I’ll go back to them. But I believe that you have to keep writing new projects, pursuing new ideas, and trying new things. Top Heavy was the first verse novel I’d written, and I’m so glad I tried my hand at that format.

What I would have done differently: There is no substitute for putting the time into your writing practice and for getting feedback on your writing. If I could do it over, I’d try to be more consistent in the time I put into my writing. (Although, between raising a family and working full-time, this didn’t always seem possible!) I’d also start getting feedback on my work (through classes, workshops, or critique groups) much earlier than I did.

Platform: I think being a good literary citizen and building community is key to gaining readership. I’ve offered free poetry workshops for teens at my local library and make a point to attend book festivals, conferences, and other writers’ book events. I recently launched a new website and offered a free newsletter for subscribers. It’s all about building meaningful connections with those who love to read and write!

Advice for writers: One of my favorite quotes comes, not from a writer, but from basketball legend Julius Erving: “Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don’t feel like doing them.”

Next up: I signed a two-book deal with Holiday House. My second book, Stained, a middle-grade verse novel, will be released in Fall 2026! And of course, I’m on to the next new project, a YA novel with multiple points of view.

Website: RhondaDeChambeau.com

Hazell Ward

The Game Is Murder

(Crime fiction, July, Penguin Berkley)

“A whodunit based on an infamous unsolved case, where the reader gets to examine the evidence, interview the witnesses and solve the case.”

Writes from: Wrexham, North Wales. Home to the third oldest (and best) football club in the world.

Pre-Murder: I wrote this novel as part of a PhD in Creative Writing, which meant that, rather than starting with a plot idea,

a character, or even a snatch of dialogue, I began with a research question about the contract between a writer and their reader. Which, admittedly, doesn’t make for a great elevator pitch.

Because I have always loved crime fiction, particularly whodunits, I thought it would be fun to use the game element of the whodunit to explore my research question and write a novel that involved the reader in that game at the same time.

It also meant I could read a lot of crime novels and call it work!

Time frame: I have a very inefficient way of working. I start writing at page one, I keep on writing linearly until I reach the last page, and I constantly rewrite as I go. I have read dozens of How to Write books over the years, and nearly all of them tell you not to do this, because when the novel takes an unexpected turn, you have go back to page one and start again. Which can be very frustrating. On the upside, however, when I get to the last page, the novel really is finished.

It took three years, and dozens of restarts, for me to write the novel, and what I ended up with is very different to the book I planned to write when I began. But it is a better book because I allowed myself time to figure it out as I went, I think.

I am hoping that the next novel won’t take quite so long to write!

Enter the agent: While I was writing The Game is Murder, I decided I needed to have a strategy to attract an agent. My writing CV up to that point consisted mainly of non-fiction magazine articles and a couple of minor fiction pieces in small circulation magazines. I decided to write some short crime fiction and submit to competitions. One of those short pieces was shortlisted for a Crime Writer’s Association dagger, which is a prestigious UK crime writing award. I went to the awards ceremony knowing I wouldn’t win, because all the shortlist-ees, except me, were published, even award-winning, crime writers, but I was determined to network with agents and editors if I got the chance and try to interest them in my novel. In the end, I didn’t need to, because Sarah Such, of the Sarah Such Literary Agency, was seated at my table.

Much to my surprise, I won the dagger, and Sarah bought me champagne to celebrate. We drank the champagne. We chatted about my novel, and she asked me to send it to her. Sarah has been my brilliant agent ever since.

Biggest surprise: I was surprised at just how long everything takes, and how very complicated publishing contracts can be. I thought I had a fair idea of how it all worked, but I really underestimated what a huge operation it is, and how many people are involved in publishing a single book. I have been very lucky in having great editors who not only loved the book but also wanted to make the process easy, or as easy as such a complex process can be, for new writers like me.

What I did right: I just kept trying to improve. The Game is Murder is not the first book I wrote. It isn’t even the second or the third. And some of those early novels were truly awful. You have to be able to look honestly at what you have written and admit it (to yourself) when you haven’t pulled it off. I never sent those early novels to anyone, because I knew in my heart that, although they were the best I could make them, they weren’t good enough.

But I got better with each failure. I took courses. I joined writing groups. And, of course, I read a lot. The thing that really helped, though, was entering competitions. Being listed in a writing competition, even if you don’t win, is great for your writing CV. It can help to bring you to the notice of agents and publishers. Most importantly, it demonstrates to you, as a writer, that your writing is good enough and that the effort is worth it. Writing is so hard. You can spend years writing a novel that no one wants to read, and you need enormous self-belief to keep going in the face of rejection. So every win, no matter how small, should be celebrated. Preferably with champagne.

What I would have done differently: I would have kept better track of my sources! Because my novel was based on a real case, I needed to do a lot of research. And my referencing systems just weren’t good enough, which meant I spent far too much time rifling through books and articles to double-check the distance between the crime scene and the front door, or what the blood group of that stain next to sink was.

If you record it properly the first time, it saves you so much trouble!

Platform: The subject of platforms did not come up during our initial negotiations. As we made a deal very quickly, as a result of a pre-emptive bid, there was no time for them to check on this. Which was lucky for me, because, until recently, I had virtually no social media presence at all. I am still very much a novice when it comes to socials, but I do know that, increasingly, publicity departments expect authors to have some kind of presence. And, though there are always some downsides to being online, it’s been nice to see such a flourishing book community on these platforms, so I am converted. I don’t think that a small platform would necessarily prevent a publisher from making an offer if they liked the book (unless the premise of the book expected it). In any case, the period between agreeing an offer and publication date can be anything from twelve to twenty-four months, plenty of time to build up a following if you need to.

Advice for writers: 

Next up: I am hard at work on the second book, though it is not a sequel to this novel. While it might be tempting to write a series of novels in the same way, or with the same detective, I’m glad that I have left myself room to experiment. Second novels come with their own problems, I’m discovering, so I am just trying to keep on learning, and write the best book I can.

Website: HazellWard.com

Tre Johnson

Black Genius: Essays on an American Legacy

(Nonfiction, July, Dutton Books)

“Black Genius is a cultural exploration of the ingenious ways that Black Americans use our collective wit, relationships, art, and sense of community to navigate the sometimes unforgiving terrain of American society.”

Writes from: I’ve written and write all over—Montreal, New Orleans, NYC, LA, DC, Martha’s Vineyard, and the Bay—and whenever it’s been possible and necessary, my home of Philadelphia.

Pre-Genius: Around 2017, I started getting my writing published in Philly Mag, Rolling Stone, The Grio, and other outlets. In the beginning, I spent a lot of time covering everything from tribute performances to Prince, how we were all trying to unpack the spate of Black American deaths that spurred so much of the BLM movement. Eventually, though, I also started segueing into more cultural analyses—examining thematic trends in Black films, asserting the cultural importance of Black Panther, and just developing a deeper critical eye about everything ranging from social topics in graphic novels to bringing a sense of contextualization to understanding artifacts and moments like This is America.

But on top of that, I was still often struggling to find spaces to write about so much of the everyday culture that I was experiencing, seeing, and grappling with—especially within and how it pertains to Black life in the country. As a longtime educator who most often worked in urban communities across DC, Philadelphia, and Camden, that work brought me into people’s most precious spaces—their homes, schools, churches, community centers and neighborhoods—and there were so many things about just spending time with everyday people, Black people in particular, talking and figuring out everyday things that I wanted to talk about too. I didn’t find a lot of places that wanted stories and experiences around Black jobs, ingenuity, and nimbleness, and more and more I found that those stories and perspectives could be joined with my published writing in Big Media, which could all together make a book of reflections.

Time frame: Lord, what a journey. I started Black Genius back in Spring 2021, and after about three significant rounds of editing with the amazing Lashanda Anakwah, I submitted the final, pre-copy-edited version of the book in August 2024. It’s hard to know if that pace is fast, slow, typical, or atypical, but it was, at the end of the day, my pace, especially against the backdrop of life in general. One of the things that I think really helped me finish the book was just owning my desire for movement and following the muse of place and space—some of my biggest book epiphanies tended to come walking at night, sometimes related to the book, sometimes not.

Two moments come to mind as a result:

–One summer night, I was horrendously stuck trying to figure out how to address some edits, so I walked over to the Philadelphia Art Museum steps (most non-Philly people know them as the ‘Rocky Steps’) and came across a group of amateur motorcycle and motorbike enthusiasts that had gathered there in front of the steps. There’s a traffic circle in front of there—the Oval—and I sat on the museum steps for like 30 minutes watching bikers take off and weave themselves in and out of traffic, yanking their bikes up and doing wheelies, sometimes standing up and doing small tricks. There was an ice cream truck, and families, couples, and solo watchers like me were milling about the truck, getting a cold treat and watching the racers. Now, of course, something like this is considered illegal and dangerous, but it was amazing how much the scene felt like this night show, night festival, of sorts. I sat there feeling really in awe and inspired by a combination of community, daring, spectacle, and just enjoyment.

-In Montreal, 2023, I was staying in a friend of a friend’s apartment that I’d rented for the month. One night, there was a massive blackout in the Plateau Mont Royal area. The blackout took up several blocks—just entire grids of the area wiped out and blanketed in darkness—so I had to stop writing and just took a series of circular walks all through there and nearby Mile Ex. It was still dinner and drinks time for a lot of people, so I walked by a lot of bars and restaurants where people refused to leave, sitting at their tables lit with their cellphone lights, or waitstaff had trotted out candles and flashlights. Everywhere had this dreamy, intimate, tender feel to it—every window stop looked like peering into a silent film—and ultimately, seeing people continue on with the time with each other, still eating, not letting this bigger inconvenience disrupt the small things—got me to head back to the apartment and get back to writing in the dark.

Enter the agent: Sabrina Taitz, aka AgentBae, and I met through Suzanne Gluck, who plucked me out of a freelance writers’ webinar I was attending where she was the main speaker that session. That space was curated by the amazing David Hochman, who reached out to me after that seminar and said, “Suzanne Gluck wants to talk with you. Can I share your contact information with her? By the way, the answer is ‘yes.’” Ha! And so, after chatting with Suzanne, she introduced me to Sabrina—a junior agent at the time—and we joined forces to start the book journey of Black Genius. That all happened in late Summer 2020.

Biggest surprise: How much a book can and will truly change over the course of writing it. What I set out to write through my book proposal process way back in November 2020, when we took it out for consideration, is significantly different than what the end result ultimately was. It changed, I changed, we changed together.

I think another learning experience or surprise is how much tension there is at times with the fact that what you write is a distillation of what you think or thought about a given topic when you were engaging with it. There’s some nuanced thinking and feelings that I have about aspects of things that I bring up in Black Genius, and those nuances and changes make you wish that books could be living, iterative things. Instead, I thought that there was also a journey of accepting the idea that you will continue to live and evolve while your book or aspects of your book, will remain in a certain time and place of who you were at various moments.

What I did right: I always think that writers write. And because of that, one of the biggest things that has always helped me was the willingness to focus on writing for and in the places that allowed me to write what I wanted to write about. I mean, I’ve written for obscure blogs, started and ended my own obscure blogs, and written for ‘big’ outlets and ‘small’ outlets. I’ve never really cared about the ‘prestige’ of my placements, and if you look at the body of my work, you’ll see that. I think that’s helped because there are amazing editors, conversations, and opportunities in all sorts of places.

The other thing I think that helped is just plain developing real relationships with the people who are your peers and your editors. And I mean real in the sense of checking in with people, paying attention to people’s lives during big, small, happy, and sad moments. I think you can figure out how to work on things with people by understanding each other and nurturing connections instead of being transactional with people. Writing in places, writing in writing groups, writing every day—and reading, loads and loads of reading across all topics and people—are big helps for me.

What I would have done differently:  God, sometimes I really flagellate myself for not having pursued writing in a public, published way sooner. I love writing so much; it’s the most enriching, liberating, intimate, cerebral, and honest thing I get to do. It’s a balance at the same time; the (discouraging) professional experiences in particular that I’ve had before really investing myself in writing and being a writer have still ultimately informed things like my maturity, temperament, patience, and work ethic as a writer. But especially gratitude; there are a great many experiences and situations that I’d never want to go back to ever again.

So, knowing what I know now, I might’ve tried being less scared and bolder. An editor, Myles Johnson, spent a good year egging me on to leave what he called my ‘corporate life’ and embrace being a writer. I was too scared and insecure to believe it or listen until lots in life made me realize that I not only needed to, I wanted to step away from it all and into myself more.

Platform: I’m a longtime Instagram person, though lots about social media and their owners are making me reconsider my engagement and presence. So in that sense, yes, a platform (IG: @tre_john_son), but I’ve also started a Substack (TreJohnson.substack.com)  now and have a website (TreJohnsonWriter.com) that captures a lot of my work and another way to reach out to me.

I really don’t focus much on building a platform and gaining a readership via social media—it always feels like a fool’s errand to me to overly produce original writing in those places, not only for free but also as it is susceptible to algorithm suppression. I think you build readership by continuing to write and share your writing—through published pieces, through relationship building with peers, through email essays and blogs—my IG has the occasional essay in a post, but I’ve really stopped indulging that space that way so much.

Advice for writers: Write every day. Read every
day. Read inside and outside of your comfort zone. Share your writing, especially when you’re worried it
’s shitty. You can’t be your own writer, critic, editor, and promoter—let others engage with any or even all parts of that process whenever possible.

Next up: Like a lot of writers, I’m ready to explore other genres too and just continue to challenge myself and readers on engaging with cultural stories, but also the types of conversations and dynamics that we need to spend more time on. So, to that end, I’m hoping to segue into more creative writing— screenplays, graphic novels, and the like—but I’m also becoming more and more curious about collaborative writing with others.

Website: TreJohnsonWriter.com

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We first connected with Mazey Eddings for her debut novel’s publication and featured her in our March/April 2022 Issue‘s Breaking In column. Now that her next publication hit shelves yesterday, we’re reconnecting with her for a quick Q&A.

What was the time frame for writing this latest book?

Time is such a blur, and publishing time is a different beast entirely, so I’m not 100 percent sure! I know the first hints of Well, Actually came to me in September 2022 as I was heading on tour for my sophomore novel Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake. I jotted down a bunch of ideas about this second chance romance that starts with a viral callout, and then didn’t touch it again for quite some time until it was sold on proposal in August 2023. Because publishing contracts are weird, and my situation was somewhat unique in having multi-book contracts I was navigating plus severe writer’s block on one that was due, Well, Actually was supposed to be my eighth published book and come out in 2026/27. But my main characters, Eva and Rylie, were so loud and rompy and irreverent, and I wouldn’t let me work on anything else, and I got the greenlight to bump their story up in the cue, and I turned in the initial draft in April 2024, and it is my sixth published book.

Has your perspective on the publication process changed since your debut was published?

So much. I think I’ve come more to terms with how little is in my control when it comes to publishing. I’ve spent the last five years since my debut got picked up by my publisher, pushing and grinding and saying yes to anything and everything that came my way and spending so much time strategizing and agonizing on what I could do to make a book “successful” or a “break-out.” The reality is there is nothing I alone can do to really change the trajectory of one of my books. All I can focus on is creating a story that I genuinely love and hoping that it finds the readers that will love it too. Being hungry and pushing and asking for things in publishing is good and important, but I’ve learned not to feel so much despair when that pushing doesn’t yield the results I would hope for.

What was the biggest surprise while getting this book ready for publication?

How much more excited readers seem for it! As I’ve mentioned, this is my sixth book, so none of this process is new to me, but early readers seem to be responding differently to Well, Actually compared to my past books. I have no idea why things seem to be different this time around, though!

What do you feel you did really well with this novel?

I honored my characters’ voices, particularly my heroine. Eva is an extremely prickly and irreverent female main character, and her sass and crass are a protection mechanism, but I knew while drafting that she would be deemed “unlikeable” by many readers. I decided early on that if Eva didn’t care how she was perceived, then I wouldn’t be the one to water her down! My characters feel very real to me—and Eva is a particularly precious one—and I had so much fun discovering what she would do next, and I like to think that by being true to her character, she’ll feel real to readers as well.

Anything you would have done differently?

With this book? Not at the moment. The more time and space I get from each novel, the more I realize what I could have changed or tried, but I also am a firm believer that once a book is done, it’s important to allow it to just be. I think of my books as little time capsules for where I was as an author at different stages. There are things I would change and edit down or fine-tune if I were writing past stories now with more words under my belt (fingers?), but who am I to edit the purple prose of 25-year-old me? She needed to be gratuitous and sweeping and play with words as she did. 

Would you like to share some advice for our readers?

I think this is advice I shared with WD readers in the past, but protect your joy of writing at all costs. This job is brutal, creating art is brutal, so it is imperative that you fiercely defend and safeguard the joy it brings you.

What’s next for you?

I’m not sure how much I can say at this point, so I’ll leave it at an angsty, sapphic romance dedicated to Stevie Knicks and inspired by her singing “Silver Springs” at Lindsey Buckingham live in 1997. It releases August 2026.

Where can our audience find you online?

Newsletter: Mazey.substack.com
Instagram: Instagram.com/mazeyeddings
Threads: Threads.com/@mazeyeddings

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Tamla T. Young

Ready, Set, Mango!

(Picture book, April, OwlKids)

“Two competitive cousins are in for a surprise as they fight to find the perfect fruit.”

Writes from: Toronto, Canada.

Pre-Mango: My family and I had taken a trip to Portugal for Christmas and New Year’s in 2016. At the stroke of midnight, while floating along the Tagus River (keeping with Portuguese tradition) I ate 12 raisins, drank 12 sips (maybe more) of champagne, and made 12 wishes. One was to have a baby and another was to become an author of books for children.

When my son was born on the last day of 2017, I took it as a sign. I started a blog, 12 Raisins, to document my writing journey while juggling life as a teacher and a new mom. Determined to make my dream a reality, I enrolled in my first picture book writing course at the University of Toronto’s (UofT) School of Continuing Studies in the summer of 2018.

Time frame: Ready, Set, Mango!, (formerly Beautiful Pebbles) was written during a one-week intensive course at UofT’s Summer Writing School. My cousin—whom I hadn’t seen in decades—visited from Florida. Unfortunately, because of the course, our schedules didn’t align very well, and I didn’t get to spend as much time with her as I’d hoped. Fortunately, however, her visit sparked a flood of memories from our childhood. One, in particular, stood out, and by the end of the course, it had transformed into the story that would become my debut picture book.

Enter the agent: I am currently unagented but hope to be agented soon. I came about this deal because I attended a virtual CANSCAIP PYI (Packaging Your Imagination) conference for children’s authors, illustrators, and performers in October 2021. I booked a 1:1 manuscript critique with Owlkids editorial director, Jennifer Stokes. She liked the story and asked if I’d be interested in continuing to work on it with her. I said, “Yes, of course!” With her feedback, I revised a few drafts, and in February 2022, she let me know that she saw something in the story and that she wanted to see it published. I revised one or two more drafts, and in May 2022, without making any promises, she let me know that she was going to pitch it to the Editorial Board. In June 2022, I was informed that Ready, Set, Mango! had been acquired and was greenlit for publication for Spring 2025.

Biggest surprise: I knew the publishing process took a long—but I didn’t realize just how long. What amazed me even more was the number of people involved in bringing a book to its highest potential. From editors to designers to marketing teams, each person played a crucial role. Many of whom I will likely never meet. I found comfort in knowing that so many skilled professionals were focused on aspects of my book that I knew little about, all working together to ensure its success.

What I did right: Looking back, I didn’t just make a wish—I took action. I wrote. I kept writing, and I intentionally placed myself in environments that would challenge and nurture my craft. Early on, I recognized the importance of seeking out and inserting myself into writer spaces such as classes, workshops, conferences, etc. Spaces that encouraged growth, learning, and most importantly, belief in myself as a writer.

What I would have done differently: I truly believe that everything happens in its own time. But if I could change one thing, I would have seen myself as a writer starting earlier. I would have kept writing creatively beyond elementary school. Back then, I published my first books at my school’s Whiska’s Publishing House and even won creative writing awards—yet, for some reason, never fully embraced the idea that I was a writer.

Platform: Along with my blog, 12 Raisins, I started an Instagram page in 2018 and have maintained a small but steadily growing following. Social media has never been my forte, and my presence has ebbed and flowed over the years. Now, I’ve added a Bluesky page to the mix and am still figuring out how it works.

Advice for writers: Don’t stress about other writers’ processes—your process is your process. Some wake up at 4 am and write for hours, while others aim for 1000 words a day. Some have dedicated offices; others write in cafés, libraries, or on park benches. Some draft quickly while others stew (I’m a stewer). Some writers write in their heads for weeks, months, or maybe even years. Some begin the writing process with their characters while others plot and plan. As long as you are engaged in creating your story, however that process might look, it’s all good. Take classes, share your work, and find what works for you—then roll with it.

Next up: I have four manuscripts looking for the right home—and many more ideas waiting to be fleshed out. My goal is to become the prolific children’s book writer I aspire to be.

Website: tamlatyoung.com

Jemimah Wei

The Original Daughter

(Literary fiction, May, Doubleday Books) 

“The Original Daughter is about two sisters, one adopted, growing up in the rapidly modernizing Singapore, inseparable until they become violently estranged on their journey to achieve fame and fortune.”

Writes from: Between Singapore and the United States.

Pre-Daughter:  I’d been living in Singapore and working insane hours as a freelancer, which made writing very difficult, psychologically, despite doing it constantly. Eventually, I hit a pretty desperate wall, and in 2019 put my entire life on hold to relocate to the States for my MFA at Columbia—only to get bumped back to Singapore by the pandemic. I started publishing pissed off pandemic fiction in 2020 because I was losing my mind. I had a few flash pieces picked up, had my first full-length story published with a prize, and started a pandemic column for the magazine No Contact, which ran for about two years. When I finally got back to the States in August 2021, I was ravenous for a fully committed writing life, in all senses of the word. I kept strict writing hours while completing my MFA, was publishing quite frequently, and developed a strong community of writers and friends. Then I got the Stegner, moved to California, and did the same till the book was ready to go.

Time frame: I started this book in 2014, and it took nine years to finish it—and by finish, I mean get it to a place I felt happy with, enough to start letting other people in. And then I did another year of edits with my agent, then editor, and it’ll be out in 2025, a full 11 years after I wrote the first word!

I finished my first actual draft in April 2021, but the Stegners were the first people who read a draft in full, in March 2023. That was maybe the most terrifying moment of the journey for me—the exposure to air after years of a book being completely insulated and labored on in private. We sat together and workshopped it, and it went really well, but by the end of two hours I was shaking so hard from nerves and adrenaline that my friend Ashley Hand (Land of Enchantment, forthcoming with Scribner) had to cram pizza in my mouth to get sugar in my system! Then I cried from relief and we all flew to AWP that very night.

Enter the agent: After the Stegners read the book, I spent another six weeks doing revisions. I was preparing to query and had a list of agents who had either solicited me based on my published stories, or who I admired and wanted to shoot my shot with, but as far as I knew the Wylie Agency didn’t take unsolicited submissions, so I didn’t think it was an option to query them. But right before I queried, a mentor, the author Tash Aw, reached out to ask if he could introduce me to his agent. I’ll always be grateful for the connection, because I loved getting coffee with Jackie, and subsequently queried her along with the larger list. I spent a couple of weeks having conversations with different agents after going out, but was so struck by the way Jackie met the book on a deeply existential level, that at some point I just knew. It’s been a wonderful, wonderful journey thus far, and I’m so happy to be working with her—Jacqueline Ko at the Wylie Agency.

Biggest surprise: I’m surprised by how publishing a book changes your fundamental relationship to time. I knew the statistical fact of most books taking two years from sale to publication, but the time truly vanished so quickly. I’m also surprised by the peace this process has brought me—the writing process was full of anxiety, so I’d assumed I would be all nerves with publication too, but somehow I feel like completing the book has gifted me a new stage of my relationship to writing, where I’m able to respect the book as a subject with its own integrity separate from my overall body of work as an artist. It’s a truly incredible thing to experience, especially when you’ve been laboring on one book for so long that your artistic identity can start to feel codependent with that work.

What I did right: I wore my heart on my sleeve. I moved across continents to New York knowing nobody, but I was obsessed with writing and reading, and loved, like really, really loved getting into rabbit hole conversations about books. In hindsight, maybe it was a bit intense, but it made it easy to find people who were attracted to the same things. We use words like community a lot, but to me, it really just meant having friends and mentors to live through this journey with, and relying on one another through excitement and hardship, which has been invaluable.

What I would have done differently: Gotten a therapist earlier.

Platform: In my previous career, I did a lot of screenwork, and social media feels very companiable to me. I remember quite viscerally the early days of the social Internet, the strange dance with familiarity and anonymity, parceled vulnerability that often came with genuine connections—and the turn to identity commodification and commercialization. It’s something the characters navigate in The Original Daughter too—what it means to form and perform a self in an evolving, modernizing digital age. Personally, since I’ve been pretty open with my writing journey over the last decade, I’m very lucky to already have long-term readers back home who I chat with online about books, writing, and eggs. Part of publishing internationally feels to me like I’m just expanding that existing conversation on my digital platforms.

Advice for writers: So much of writing is navigating that relationship to yourself as an artist. I was unnecessarily stressing myself out about the book taking so long, when the Singaporean novelist Rachel Heng (The Great Reclamation, Riverhead) passed on advice she got from her mentor—that nobody ever read a book they loved and thought, wow, I wish this came out last year. That really clicked for me, psychologically. The book takes the time it takes, and we can choose to treat ourselves with kindness or beat ourselves up over it. In the long run, one is definitely more sustainable.

Next up: I’m working on my next novel, about parallel worlds and lives and skincare. Ish.

Website: JemmaWei.com

Kimm Topping

Generation Queer: Stories of Youth Organizers, Artists, and Educators 

(Young adult nonfiction, May, Lee & Low Books)

“The first collection of illustrated biographies featuring LGBTQ+ youth activists who are leaders in social change.”

Writes from: Boston, MA.

Pre-Generation:  My background is as a youth worker, community organizer, and educator. I met so many students and educators who needed a resource like this, and it’s the book I wish I had as a queer, trans young person. I’ve always loved writing, and the ways I’ve mainly channeled that in my career are by writing about history. Before this, I wrote a series of historical tours (Mapping Feminist Cambridge) that tell the stories of feminist activists from the 1970s–1990s in Cambridge, MA. I’m deeply passionate about opportunities to record and share people’s stories—and help others see themselves in those stories.

Time frame:  I started writing this book in the summer of 2019, so it’s a long time in the making. Some of the first people that I interviewed are now well into their adulthood! Of course, COVID interrupted the timeline—and in many ways, I’m grateful that it did. By the time I got to the final draft, I was organizing nationwide protests with a group called Queer Youth Assemble. We marched in D.C., and they coordinated protests in every state across the country, led by youth. The original proposal for Generation Queer had the three core biography chapters, but because this organizing was happening during its writing, I decided to add an entirely new chapter. I think this really helped to shape a central message of the book—that organizing is collective, not individualistic or about one person. The chapter also features examples of other major protests and organizing strategies, so I’m really happy with how it rounds out the book.

Enter the agent: Lauren Scovel of Laura Gross Literary Agency. I was introduced to Lauren by my writing coach at the time, E.B. Bartels, an instructor at GrubStreet in Boston. Lauren has been an incredible advocate for this book and for my work. Especially as a debut author, it has been so meaningful to have Lauren’s advice and encouragement along the way.

Biggest surprise: Learning the lingo! Like I said, I come from an organizing/education background, so I didn’t have much information on the process of publishing or editing. I had to google a lot of editing language, publishing industry terms, etc. I learned a lot from my editor, Stacy Whitman, which ultimately shaped the book in a new direction with added sidebars, educational tools, etc. She helped me transform my vision of this being not only a book for young adults, but for educators and youth workers, too.

What I did right:  Ask for help. I had this idea for years, and I wasn’t sure where to start. When I finally signed up for a GrubStreet class, that made everything possible. I also received a GrubStreet scholarship, which was phenomenal, because as someone who is a first-generation college student and has been juggling multiple jobs as both a teenager and adult, accessing professional development like that has always been a challenge. That course helped me write the first proposal, and the instructor’s feedback brought it to the next level, so it was agent-ready. I also didn’t steer away from my roots as a youth worker/organizer in the writing of this. I’m so happy that I ended up working with Lee & Low Books—that was my dream publisher from the start because their stories center and prioritize BIPOC youth. Having a publisher that understood the importance of this book, at this time, was so crucial. They also understood my voice and perspective, and helped me get this book to exactly where I hoped it would be and beyond.

What I would have done differently:  Connect with other authors. Early on, I felt really shy to reach out to authors that I admired who were writing about similar topics. I wish I had reached out sooner to see that they’d gone through similar things. Now, as I’m getting ready for the promotion of my book, I have meetings set up with other authors or people in the field as a way of supporting each other. Especially with the current political attacks on trans people, remaining connected to community and resources is so needed.

Platform:  A little bit, but this was definitely something I was worried about when we first pitched the book. I had a small following on social media, but in the proposal, I focused more on my work and how it related to my desire to write this book. I had been working for 8 years in non-profits and community organizing in the Boston area.

Now that I understand the publishing industry more, I’m taking a lot of steps to be proactive in building relationships with bookstores and national organizations. My main goal in this work is to reach LGBTQ+ youth with stories and resources that help them survive, thrive, and feel connected. So, I’m really looking forward to visiting more GSAs, youth organizations, schools, and queer bookstores with the promotion of this book and future projects.

Advice for writers:  Read, read, read!! I’ve been obsessed with all things gender/sexuality nonfiction for many years. As a young adult, I’d run to the gender section in Barnes and Noble. Back then, it was tiny, and now it’s growing so quickly. I love going to the local bookstore and seeing what new books are out, and reaching out to those authors to learn more about their work. Understanding who the other authors are in your genre/topic is so beneficial, because they will soon be your colleagues!

Next up: I’m currently working on a few projects that also highlight LGBTQ+ history and hope to break into memoir/creative nonfiction in the near future!

Website: KimmTopping.com

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We first connected with Adam Oyebanji during his debut novel’s publication and featured him in our March/April 2024′s Breaking In column. Now that his next publication is hitting the shelves today, we’re reconnecting with him.

What was the time frame for writing this latest book?

Although this is my fourth book to be published since I “broke in” (Braking Day was followed by A Quiet Teacher and Two Times Murder, both mysteries), Esperance was actually written third. I’m trying to alternate between SF and Crime, although Esperance mixes both! To get back to your question, though, it was written in 2022-23 and has been waiting to be born ever since.

Has your perspective on the publication process changed since your debut was published?

I still feel very grateful to be here, and I think it’s important not to lose sight of that. I’m lucky to be able to write, luckier to have an agent and publishers, and luckiest of all to have readers who seem to like my books. These are things to remember whenever the enthusiasm levels drop.

In terms of what’s changed, I think the process as a whole is simply less mysterious, so I’m less hesitant about speaking up if I feel something isn’t quite right. Plus, I sometimes get invited to parties and book festivals!

What was the biggest surprise while getting this book ready for publication?

Editors. The publishing houses, like many businesses, have been going through a lot of changes recently, mostly driven by a desire to keep costs down and profits up, which is what businesses do, after all. In consequence, a lot of editors have been laid off and/or moved on, which meant that Esperance has had more editors than I would have expected. On the plus side, though, they’ve all been great to work with. I love working with people who love books!

What do you feel you did really well with this novel?

Everything, of course! More seriously, I’m proud of being able to talk about a dark subject through the light and pacy lens of a speculative crime thriller. Library Journal describes Esperance as “recommended for readers who love intricately blended genre stories that ask big questions,” and I couldn’t ask for better than that. I hope people will see Esperance as a fun read that sometimes makes you think. Then, on a more granular level, I feel I’ve done a pretty good job with the dialog. I like to think I’m good at the back-and-forth that keeps people engaged with the characters while the story rattles along underneath.

Anything you would have done differently?

Absolutely! Every time I write a novel, I learn something along the way about how to write a novel. Reading Esperance now, I keep thinking why did I use that word and not this, this motivation and not that. I suspect a lot of writers feel this way. Left to ourselves, we’d tweak forever and nothing would ever get published!

Would you like to share some advice for our readers?

Persevere. All you can do is write. You have no control over anything else, so concentrate on that. Write because it gives you joy or because you find it meaningful in some other sense. If the “other” stuff happens, great! But you can’t really write for that, and I would suggest you don’t try. It either happens, or it doesn’t. No good can come from worrying about it.

What’s next for you?

I’m returning to the universe of Braking Day: a murder mystery (sort of) in space! There’s a supporting character in Braking Day that I really enjoyed writing. This new novel is set twenty years earlier than Braking Day and is told from that character’s point of view. After that, I’d quite like to write the follow-up to Two Times Murder, but one thing at a time!

Where can our audience find you online?

Website: AdamOyebanji.com

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We first connected with Neely Tubati Alexander during her debut novel’s publication and featured her in our May/June 2023 Issue‘s Breaking In column. Now that her next publication is hitting the shelves today, we’re reconnecting with her for a quick Q&A.

What was the time frame for writing this latest book?

I’ve kept a book a year pace since my debut Love Buzz came out in 2023, which means a lot of writing in the “in between.” This pace means I’ve had my hand in three books at once in some capacity—final touches on covers and formatting while planning marketing on one, going through developmental edits and/or attempting to sell the next, while drafting yet another! It can be exhausting, but this promise of something new perpetually on the horizon keeps me from getting too wrapped up in the things I can’t control surrounding publishing a book, of which there are many.

Has your perspective on the publication process changed since your debut was published?

Yes! So much. I think when I debuted, I had this “I’m just happy to be here” mentality, and I still very much do. But as I’ve progressed, I’ve learned more about the industry and business. Sticking creatives into a business model like traditional publishing can very much be a square peg, round hole situation at times. I’ve come to rely heavily on author friends to share intel and knowledge. This transparency helps us authors advocate effectively for ourselves. I also appreciate how much of a collaboration it truly is.

What was the biggest surprise while getting this book ready for publication?

How each process can feel unique and new. Granted, this is only my third book so perhaps this outlook will change, but each book has the opportunity to bring something new, whether it be introduction to a new subset of readers, a fun or unexpected blurb, an exciting partnership…the opportunities are truly endless and each new book feels like an exciting fresh start with a world of possibilities.

What do you feel you did really well with this novel?

This being my third book, I feel like I am really coming into my specific style and voice, and I think this book highlights my genre-blending style. Every book I write, I feel like I get better as a writer and am more capable than with the last. Perhaps it’s confidence, perhaps it’s intuition, perhaps it’s skill building … I tend to think it’s a combination of all three.

Anything you would have done differently?

There are always things after a book comes out that I wonder about. Every once in a while, a reader will say, “I thought such and such was going to happen,” and I’ll think, well that would have been a better ending! Authors love to tinker, and I think that process would be never-ending if we allowed it to be. I try to block out the noise and just go where the story takes me. Trust the process, as they say, which really just means to trust yourself.

Would you like to share some advice for our readers?

Comparison is indeed the thief of not only joy, but motivation and creativity. I’ve seen so many debut authors get bogged down by comparing themselves to more seasoned authors or even other debuts, being so focused on what someone else is getting and thus losing much of the joy of that special time. And it’s definitely not just debuts. We all do it. But if your goal is to make a career out of writing, put your head down for the marathon instead of trying to keep up with the mass sprint. My goals used to be centered around accolades. Now, they are built around longevity.

What’s next for you?

I am shifting to women’s fiction! While my next book has some romantic elements, it shifts out of romance and solidly into the women’s fiction space. I am excited to take this new leap and potentially connect with new readers while also (hopefully) keeping my current ones. I hope to see this book on shelves in 2026!

Where can our audience find you online?

Instagram: @neelyalexanderwrites
Website: NeelyTubatiAlexander.com

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I was embarrassed by the attention he was giving me, perhaps because I felt I didn’t deserve it: I was another MFA graduate with no book out yet, and whose manuscript, a short story collection, had failed to sell after my agent shopped it around. The feedback I had received from Big 5 editors in New York only served to deepen the self-doubt that had always hidden itself within the recesses of my heart.

(Why Do Some Authors Cross Out Their Name When Signing Books?)

My writing was weak, almost all of them had said. One of them complained that my writing, despite its being set in the Philippines, did not transport her to a different place “with different tastes and scents,” as if my job as a writer were to take her on a vacation to an exotic land that even I would have trouble recognizing. Perhaps the stories I wanted to write, about ordinary Filipinos who existed in their own worlds without performing their culture for the western gaze, simply weren’t meant to be published widely, if nobody cared for these lives that didn’t offer themselves up as tourist attractions to be consumed, then forgotten.

“I’ve finished a short story collection, and that didn’t sell, so I don’t know,” I said, stammering out my response to the author who had my copy of his book opened to the title page. He continued to look up at me, his eyes softening.

Despite feeling dejected over my failure to land a publishing contract, I had still come to the Auckland Writer’s Festival in New Zealand, a country where I was pursuing a PhD in Creative Writing, because my love for the written word was too difficult to extinguish. I loved writing, and I loved listening to authors talk about their interests and obsessions. Despite what editors had said about my work, the urge I felt to tell my stories was impossible for me to suppress, and it was by surrounding myself with books and authors that I felt this urge validated, despite my own doubts about my literary career.

Perhaps there were other reasons why the Booker Prize-winner had taken interest in my work: He had learned during the course of our conversation that I had worked with one of his author friends at the MFA program I had graduated from, which was one of the most prestigious MFA programs in the United States, and that a doctoral scholarship had lured me to New Zealand, where I was working on a novel while hoping that my story collection would catapult me out of the small indignities of obscurity.

At dinner the previous evening, my poet friend’s husband had called me “one of the wannabes” when I admitted that I had yet to put out a book, and I carried this insult with me like a sliver that had embedded itself deep into my skin. But I was beginning to realize how silly I was, now that the Booker Prize-winner was looking me in the eye, as though to ask me, why are you taking other people’s opinions so seriously? I had made some unconventional, perhaps even difficult decisions to support my own writing, and yet I remained uncertain about my claim to the writing life, just because certain people had made me think that I had no real claim to it.  

“But do you still write?” he then asked me, before letting his book rest on the signing table. The people in line behind me were beginning to fidget: or perhaps I was simply imagining their impatience, ashamed of the way I was taking space in this line, taking up people’s time just because I didn’t know if I had the right to call myself a writer.

“I’m working on a novel right now,” I said, wanting to cry the more I spoke. “But it’s so hard.”

“And that’s what makes you a writer,” the author said, with a kind smile. “So why do you say, you don’t know?”

The author I was talking to was of course, Paul Beatty: and to me he was the Booker Prize-winning author of The Sellout, not the writer whom, as I was to discover later, had received nearly 20 rejections for the same novel before a publisher had taken it on.

“Okay, I guess I am,” I said, before he gave me another smile. He turned to the first page of his book, where he wrote something that seemed emphatic and meant for me.

“It’s tough out there, I know,” he said, before signing off his book with a flourish. “But is there a way for me to find your work?”

When I mentioned the names of the literary journals that had published my stories, his eyes widened with recognition before he said, “Just keep going, keep publishing. You’re in a good place.”

Before I knew it, he was offering to connect me with his friend who edited a prestigious literary journal, and I gave my email to his representative before leaving the signing table, not knowing that Paul Beatty would indeed reach out a day later to connect me with his friend, who would then ask me for new work.

Click to continue.

On the plane back to Wellington, I opened my copy of The Sellout and saw what he had written on the title page. “‘I don’t know’” Don’t stop! Keep the faith,” he had written, in large, powerful strokes. Why did this Booker Prize winner care so much about me, “one of the wannabes” as my friend’s husband put it, and my desire to keep going? As I read the opening chapter of The Sellout on the plane, I began to understand why he had taken the time to talk me into keeping the faith. To tell the story he had wanted to tell about America’s hypocrisy over its racist legacy, he had to have faith in his words, even when editors perhaps couldn’t understand his jokes, and couldn’t see the racism and hypocrisy unveiled by his biting sense of humor. If he had simply cut his losses when rejections came rolling in, perhaps this would have given the publishing industry license, as always, to play it safe, instead of being forced to accommodate this uncomfortable yet vital novel in a larger conversation that is oftentimes theirs to dictate.  

His editor friend didn’t publish my story, but my conversation with Paul Beatty stayed with me for years. When the story was picked up by another prestigious literary journal, I felt that I was being rewarded for an inner strength that had enabled me to fight for my work long enough for it to receive the recognition it deserved.

Years later, the book I had told him about, which failed to secure a publishing deal after one round of submissions with the Big 5, was published by a small press in Australia. Little did I know that this book would help me win a year-long writing fellowship with the Black Mountain Institute in Las Vegas, where I have been given the time, space, and support to produce new work while deepening my engagement with the literary community.

My second book, a collection of essays I wrote in the aftermath of my father’s sudden passing (an event that could have paralyzed me creatively, but didn’t), will be released in May from Northwestern University Press, and my fellowship’s hosts have organized a launch for me. These opportunities would not have come my way if I hadn’t had the tenacity to hold onto my place in the literary community, even when others questioned my right to take up the space that I do.  

When I think about my conversation with Paul Beatty all those years ago, I can see how the faith he showed in me, a young writer he had just met, was also a faith he had in the power of his own words to help carve out space for my inconvenient and unwieldy stories. The generosity we share with our fellow writers as we make space for their uniqueness reflects the faith we have in our own stories as they find strength and enrichment from the unique perspectives of others. My hope is that I am also given the opportunity to pay Paul Beatty’s gift forward, by supporting other writers whose voices and perspectives contain enough risk to surprise us, to shock us into seeing the world in different ways.  

Check out Monica Macansantos’ Returning to My Father’s Kitchen here:

Bookshop | Amazon

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We first connected with Lauren J. A. Bear during her debut novel’s publication and featured her in our July/August 2023‘s Breaking In column. Now that her next publication has hit shelves, we’re reconnecting with her for a quick Q&A.

What was the time frame for writing this latest book?

Though it felt like ten minutes, it was actually two years. I began work on Mother of Rome in the fall of 2022, before Medusa’s Sisters was published, and finished the last round of edits in the summer of 2024. This was my first time working on an official timeline with official deadlines, and it was a completely different experience. I wasn’t writing on an island anymore! There’s a time crunch, of course, but also a greater fear of disappointment. Not only did I want to please my brilliant editor, but I also had access to reader reviews of Medusa’s Sisters. For better or worse, I read them, and I tried to address their opinions in real time as I composed my next book.

Has your perspective on the publication process changed since your debut was published?

It’s almost a cliché answer at this point, but the social media game is a tricky one. As a fairly private person, the pressure to “go viral” can feel daunting. Posting selfies or making videos isn’t natural for me. I’m trying, because I love connecting with readers and other authors, but I also need to protect my mental health and focus on my work. Phones are dangerous for writers. They are black holes for creativity!

What was the biggest surprise while getting this book ready for publication?

Mother of Rome was the first new book on Tuesday of 2025. It’s a quieter time of year, especially compared to the summer release of Medusa’s Sisters—and I have three young children, so my post-holiday/winter break fatigue was real! One great surprise that rekindled my energy and excitement was being selected for Book in a Box, which creates gorgeous special editions for English readers in Denmark. I still pinch myself that they chose Mother of Rome! Truly a dream.

What do you feel you did really well with this novel?

The relationship between/characterization of Rhea and Antho. It can be tricky to write an ancient character in a way that’s compelling to a modern reader and still feels authentic to the setting, but I think Rhea and Antho transcend. I have very little interest in stories where women are pitted against each other. In Mother of Rome, people try to manipulate Antho and Rhea into competition, but they resist; they continue to show up for each other. The strong, essential bonds of female friendship, of shared sisterhood, is a motif I will continue to happily scream from the mountaintops.

Anything you would have done differently?

I would have reminded myself earlier that I was writing a novel, not a thesis on ancient Latium! A project like this requires extensive research, and it can be exciting to share all you learn, but that’s not a story. Research is background. Mother of Rome wasn’t supposed to be a tale of Italian tribal politics, but one of a resilient, resourceful woman who loses control of her own body and fights back. I had to edit out a lot of my historical lecture tangents (particularly the ones about the ancient uses for cabbage).

Would you like to share some advice for our readers?

My reading advice is to be a promiscuous reader! Step outside your comfort zone, read it all. Don’t be intimidated by literary fiction or turned off by genre fiction. There’s something valuable in every art form. My writing advice is to study poetry. The way poets use language with such brevity and clarity, with such sensual resonance, is a masterclass in composition.

What’s next for you?

My third book returns to Greece! Expected publication is summer 2026. And it’s a romance. Prepare to swoon.

Where can our audience find you online?

Instagram: @laurenjabear

Twitter/X and BlueSky: @laurenjabear

You can sign up for my newsletter, These Golden Lines, at LaurenJABear.com.

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