You May Contribute A Verse
This is the podcast You May Contribute a Verse, where we talk to kidlit creators, share their stories, and learn from their journeys!
Episodes
Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man.
This episode was proudly sponsored by Tielmour Press
Our guest for this conversation was Phaea Crede. You can find Phaea here. And Phaea’s podcast Brodents can be found here.
A yoga instructor's guide to demon hunting? Not this time. It's Kat Chen and her Play with Me series! A hoot indeed. Thank you to Joyce Sweeney for hooking up this conversation and - in the intervening months - signing me (Josh) as a client! This conversation serves as a huge endorsement of working with The Seymour Agency through the lens of Kat's super charming experience.
Our little podcast is sponsored by Tielmour Press! For a t...
Our guest today is Brian LaRossa editor at Scholastic. We talk about lowering the barrier to entry, mentorships and imposter syndrome. At its core the conversation explores inclusivity at every level and having more voices at the table.
This episode was proudly sponsored by Tielmour Press
You can find Brian here.
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This episode’s book reviews:
Lucky you if you happen to listen to this episode the day it's released because it's also publication day for Justin Colon and James Rey Sanchez's Impossible Possums!
You're also lucky in the future because now you can go read Impossible Possums and then use this episode as a behind the scenes sneak peek into the possum sausage-making, which I guarantee is more fun than it might sound like.
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Our guest for this conversation was Maria Marianayagam, kidlit author, known for her STEM and girl power books. We talk preempts, option clauses and subbing on proposal.
You can find Maria here.
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This episode’s book reviews:
If you want to be a part of the #KidlitForKamala movement or want more information click here.
Bedrooms, bathrooms, and bookshelves. All other people's places we should be staying out of unless invited. Especially if you're a fascist.
Martha Brockenbrough is here! Talking Kidlit for Kamala, continuing children's lit education, and the frankly shocking number of books about bigfoot that one person can write.
But mostly Kidlit for Kamala!
A reminder from Martha: everything is political. All the things we take for granted, all ...
Our guest for this conversation is Anita Yasuda. We chat about her start in the educational market, her journey to an agent and her new book UP, UP, EVER UP JUNKO TABEI: A Life In The Mountains illustrated by Yuko Shimizu.
You can find Anita here.
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This episode’s book reviews:
If you want to be a part of the #KidlitForKamala movement or want more information click here.
All it takes is one person to believe in your work for you to break through this crazy industry.
And all it takes is several hundred persons to listen to this interview with kind soul and skilled author Dianna Wilson Sirkovsky!
Dianna's books, James's Reading Rescue and Just One Pebble, are kind acts of writing based on kind acts of goodness. Give them a read and get inspired!
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Our guest for this conversation is, the amazing and delightful Sylvie Frank, editorial director at Disney Hyperion. We chat behind-the-scenes at Disney, context switching, and trusting your critique groups.
You can find Sylvie here.
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This episode’s book reviews:
If you want to be a part of the #KidlitForKamala movement or want more information click here.
Our guest today is Melody Plan, author of Inside the Compost Bin illustrated by Rong Pham and Vinh Nguyen. We talk birds and animal care, how Melody got her agent, and saying no to an opportunity when it doesn’t line up with your goals.
You can find Melody here.
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This episode’s book reviews:
If you want to be a part of the #KidlitForKamala movement or want more information cli...
Our guest Steph Henson is great! As summer wanes and the school year waxes, we catch up with Steph on her recent release No School, My Rules with Tielmour Press!
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This episode’s book reviews:
MONSTER HANDS by Karen Kane and Jonaz McMillan, illustrated by Dion MBD
DEEP, DEEP DOWN: THE SECRET UNDERWATER POETRY OF THE MARIANA TRENCH by Lydia Lukidis, illustrated by Jua...
Our guest for this conversation was Laura Gehl author of Robot Shabbat, Snow Is..., Saving Delicia and many more. We chat about being prolific, how she gets her good news, and using neuroscience in picture books!
You can find Laura here.
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This episode’s book reviews:
DONUTS FOR EVERYBODY by Jerrold Connors
MY MAMA IS A WORK OF ART written by Hana Acabado
In which Josh says 'inspirational' a lot because he was excited about the conversation. Author T.F. Sabin is great and we can't wait for you to hear all about her journey, what drives her, and how she's driven to be the best she can be.
Here is T.F. Sabin's picture book journal, by the way: GOALS
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This episode’s book reviews:
SCORCH, HEDGEHOG OF DOOM by Cate Berry, il...
Our guest for this conversation was Maddie Frost–friend of the pod, artist behind Versey the podcast mascot and author illustrator of Smug Seagull, Just Be Jelly and the GN series Wombats. We chat illustrating, switching agents, and working on multiple projects at once. You can find Maddie on Instagram.
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This episode’s book reviews:
Life hacks and tangents and accidental nonfiction, oh my!
Lots of potential episode titles in this one. Our conversation with Chloe Ito Ward is here!
Grab her book Love Grows Here... here!
Our podcast service auto-transcribed my intro with the name You Make a Drip Be Diverse. Should we change it to this AI-generated alternative??
(I apologize for the noise on my solo recording that sounded like I was recording from inside an airpl...
The vibes are strong with James McGowan! Agent, author, YouTuber, and great guest!
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This episode’s book reviews:
CAN I BE YOUR DOG by Troy Cummings
BUILDING A BEAK: HOW A TOUCAN'S RESCUE INSPIRED THE WORLD, written by Becca McMurdie, illustrated by Diana Hernandez
EMERGENCY QUARTERS, written by Carlos Matias, illustrated by Gracey Zhang
Papa J Funk is here and he's taking no questions.
Luckily for us, Josh Funk IS taking questions!
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This episode’s book reviews:
TOUCH THE SKY by Stephanie Lucianovic, illustrated by Chris Park
THE MESS THAT WE MADE by Michelle Lord, illustrated by Julia Blattman
DUCK AND MOOSE: DUCK MOVES IN and MOOSE BLASTS OFF by Kirk Reedstrom
Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man.
Our guest for this conversation was Jacob Sager Weinstein. You can find Jacob on Twitter and Bluesky.
DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!
This episode’s book rev...
The world lost one of the brightest lights in the kidlit sky last week with the passing of author Katey Howes.
Today we're remembering Katey and honoring her memory with a reshare of a conversation Josh first had with her in July 2021.
If you have a memory of Katey you'd like to share, please consider doing so via this Google Form. A memory book will be created and gifted to each of her three children, containing photos and remem...
Team Versy is Brenna Jeanneret, children’s lit author, mother, rock climber, outdoors person, and podcaster, Josh Monken, children’s lit author, father, science communicator, and podcaster Jon Seymour, podcast wizard, author/illustrator and family man.
Our guest for this conversation was Charles Santoso. You can find Charles on Twitter and Instagram.
DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!
This episode’s book revie...
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