Michelle McCann is even more optimistic about publishing than she was 20 years ago. And we’ve gotta say, her energy is pretty infectious! Since starting as an intern at Beyond Words Publishing in 1991, Michelle’s done pretty much every publishing job. From reading the slush pile she moved up to running a children’s book department and now writes books of her own. With multiple award-winning titles under her belt, she’s done right by the little girl she once was—who used to hide in closets reading books at slumber parties.

We’re rooting for Michelle’s More Girls Who Rocked the World in the Children’s Nonfiction category at this year’s Oregon Book Awards! (And don’t forget Shelley Pearson for YA Lit—listen to her interview here!)

If you don’t like kid’s books, then you’re just wrong.

In this episode…

• Michelle’s Website
• Another look at the Oregon Book Award finalists
• Enough is Enough — Michelle’s upcoming book about teen activism against gun violence
• Fire Sermon by Jamie Quatro
• The 5 Second Rule—inspired by a drunken evening watching rocket ship videos
• The Jewel song that made Emily realize that maybe ballet wasn’t her life path

The post Episode 20: Children’s Book Author and Editor Michelle McCann first appeared on Hybrid Pub Scout.

The post Episode 20: Children’s Book Author and Editor Michelle McCann appeared first on Hybrid Pub Scout.

Does self-published YA literary fiction have a place?

Can a self-published book be nominated for a book award usually reserved for traditional authors?

Yes AND yes! Today’s guest Shelley Pearson proves it.

Shelley Pearson self-published her first zine when she was sixteen. She grew up making art and crafts and, despite being an adult, has always gravitated toward young adult books. She leads a book club for adults to discuss young adult books through a queer and feminist lens, and self-published her first young adult novel in July of 2018. The novel, Book Smarts and Tender Hearts, was recently named a finalist for the Oregon Book Award in Young Adult Fiction. She lives in Portland with her girlfriend and two cats. Check out her website shelleypearsonwrites.com and find her on Instagram @shelleypearsonwrites.

Shelley came to chat with Emily and Corinne about making friends with strangers the old fashioned way—through placing an ad in a magazine! Other topics include: writing with a mentor, staying vulnerable while weathering promotions and the sudden attention that comes with being nominated for an award, and of course influential YA books.

Links from this episode:

• Sweet Candy Press
• Book Smarts and Tender Hearts (Shelley’s Oregon Book Award nominated YA novel!)
• Info about the 2019 Oregon Book Awards Ceremony
• Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite
• Juliet Blackwell cozy mysteries
• Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
• Everything’s Trash but It’s Okay by Phoebe Robinson

The post Episode 18: Oregon Book Award Nominee Shelley Pearson first appeared on Hybrid Pub Scout.

The post Episode 18: Oregon Book Award Nominee Shelley Pearson appeared first on Hybrid Pub Scout.