Happy book birthday to KESTREL TAKES FLIGHT!!! Kestrel is my 7th MG novel but my 1st MG in verse! I hope you'll check it out! It's a JLG Gold Standard Selection w/a star from @thehornbook.bsky.social. And yes, I AM wearing both a sweater and dress I made to match the book!

Q&A with Joy McCullough about her new middle grade novel in verse, KESTREL TAKES FLIGHT. deborahkalbbooks.blogspot.com/2026/05/q-wi... @joymccullough.bsky.social

Do I know any Bard College grads? I've got a kid considering it for creative writing/studio art. It was pretty high on her list until she found out the college president has Epstein ties. (And I know Gaiman taught there too...) Trying to figure out if this trickles down into the school culture.

KESTREL TAKES FLIGHT (Atheneum/ @simonkids.bsky.social @ssedlib.bsky.social ) by @joymccullough.bsky.social will receive a starred review in the May/June 2026 #HornBookMagazine. Congratulations! #HBMag #HBStars www.hbook.com/story/may-ju...

I am so thrilled to share the cover of my upcoming memoir, SUFFER A WITCH! Designed by the brilliant Theresa Evangelista and (I love that I get to say this) art by Artemisia Gentileschi. Available for pre-order now! www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/746826...

Librarians: If someone was researching something in 1978 and they wanted to see newspaper articles from three months earlier, would those already be on microfiche? Or would they have to get back issues of the actual paper?

Seattle area friends, there are four more performances of Stage of Fools at Seattle Public Theater. The Stranger called it "hilariously cathartic" & The Sound On-Stage called it "brilliant" and "raucously hilarious"! Tickets start at $10 - don't miss it! www.seattlepublictheater.org/current-prod...

Oh hey, it's another cover reveal! This middle grade novel in verse comes out on 5-26, with gorgeous cover design by Greg Stadnyk and art by Suzie Mason! (Don’t miss Kestrel’s shadow!) Available for pre-order now!

COVER REVEAL!!! Team Awkward: Izzy vs. Cheerleading is coming on June 23rd! I'm so thrilled each girl is getting a book. I had a ball writing cheerleading & mascot shenanigans & Iove how designer Karin Paprocki & artist Laura Catrinella have maintained the format but made each cover so fresh & fun.

🌼 42 2025 Middle Grade and Young Adult Novels-In-Verse 🌼 popgoesthereader.com/42-2025-midd... #BookSky #KidLit #YALit #MGLit

Seattle area friends, my new play Stage of Fools opens at Seattle Public Theater on Friday and tickets are on a sliding scale, starting at $10. It's funny and also bad man faces consequences, what more could you want? www.seattlepublictheater.org/current-prod...

Pssst readers of audiobooks and middle grade! The audiobook of Jojo vs. Middle School is only $4.99 for a limited time. This is the first in the series, with the second out and two more on the way next year. www.audiobooks.com/promotions/p...

When a woman risks her place, her very life to speak a truth the world despises? Believe her. Always. Blood Water Paint

Bidding is open! The #KidLitforCeasefire We the People auction benefits families in Gaza, as well as immigrant & trans rights orgs. I have two items, including a custom order of one of my crocheted baskets based on book covers. Also a 30 minute video call AMA. www.32auctions.com/organization...

For everyone with a sudden interest in Ophelia, may I offer my book ENTER THE BODY, which tells--and retells--her story, along with Juliet, Cordelia, and Lavinia? www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/676666...

Hey #KidLit friends, the #KidLitforCeasefire auction items are live & will open for bidding on the 18th! I'm offering a 30 minute AMA, and a custom crocheted basket based on the book cover of your choice, a la the examples below. Peruse all the items at the link! www.32auctions.com/organization...

ARTISTS: I need to get my daughter a college laptop. She is an artist designing her own major that will likely include sequential art. She currently does digital art w/Procreate on an iPad. Is there a reason a MacBook would be better FOR ART STUFF than a PC?

Hey everyone, #KidLit4Ceasefire has now fundraised the evacuation of 10 people. I am focusing on the next two families. One family of 6 and another of just 3, with a 4-month-old baby. I need 500 items for this fundraiser. I only have 218 at the moment. Donate here: airtable.com/appJkEF7W6Sl...

Nando is a member of Seattle's theater community, a union member, father, and a public school employee, and none of that should have to be true for him to avoid being disappeared without due process because he showed up for a compulsory immigration check-in. www.gofundme.com/f/help-bring...

Sending so much love out to anyone who was abused as a teenager, who knows that none of the endless outrage about The List is about justice or healing for those girls, that no matter what proof is found, it will never matter because our country has already made clear we're cool w/sexual predators.

I just signed some books at an indie and the bookseller said, "Oh! You also wrote..." and I waited for her to say Blood Water Paint and instead she said, "...the periods one!" I love BWP but it's always to nice to know people have read some of my others.

@joymccullough.bsky.social & @veedabybee.bsky.social @simonkids.bsky.social LEAH VS. ART: TEAM AWKWARD #2 is a great choice for fans of THE CUPCAKE DIARIES or @bethcody.bsky.social FOREVER FOUR. msyinglingreads.blogspot.com/2025/07/leah...

New book announcement! I'm delighted to be working with Justin Krasner and @sourcebooks.bsky.social on this picture book. I was blown away when I saw @hellatoons.bsky.social's portfolio and his early sketches for HOW TO TRAIN YOUR EVIL ROBOT are utterly adorable!

I speak fluent Spanish and would like to use that for good in These Times - on an information hotline or something? I've reached out to the org that should be my local resource (a couple months ago) and not heard back. Is there something national? (I'm in the Seattle area.)

Happy book birthday to Team Awkward 2, the number 1 Amazon pick in the extremely niche category of Children's Babysitting Books, despite there being not a single instance of babysitting in the book. (Which is why one should rely on librarians & booksellers for recommendations, and not algorithms.)

Voice to text didn't know it should capitalize penguin, and I think I prefer this way. 🐧🧑‍⚖️

WE ARE THE ASHES, WE ARE THE FIRE by @joymccullough.bsky.social is such a powerful book. It's a thought-provoking, relatable, and timely piece of art that will stay with me. Impeccable illustrations by Maia Kobabe. #amreading #YA #kidlit 📚👍

My memoir has officially been launched (in the sense that my editor presented it to his colleagues, not that you can buy it yet) and I am feeling Feelings.

I spent my weekend watching callbacks for my new play, and the director had each group put the token dude in a wheelbarrow and navigate him through a maze of stuff, and I highly recommend this as an exercise, even if your play doesn't involve moving a dead guy's body, for some reason.

I fully support the need for publishing professionals to have a healthy work life balance but also when you live on the west coast, you really have to have any summer Friday business accomplished by 9 am and I am NOT that pulled together in the mornings.

⭐ #Fiction #HBReviewoftheWeek EVERYTHING IS POISON by @joymccullough.bsky.social (@penguinteen.bsky.social): "This is an unforgettable novel of courage, chemistry, + female solidarity in a casually violent, misogynistic world—in short, in many ways, a topical story" www.hbook.com/story/review...

My book We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire came out in 2021 w/four starred reviews, but otherwise crickets. Every week it sells a handful of copies. Usually single digits. But last week it sold 0 copies. I know social media doesn’t sell many books, but I just want more than 0 the next time I look.

I have a (not finalized) cover for my memoir coming next year. The process of writing & publishing memoir is fairly harrowing, but also incredibly affirming when your publishing team clearly gets what you're doing and levels up the work (thereby validating the story) with their own kickass skills.

Me when going through prose copyedits: You want me to add a comma? Remove a comma? Whatever gets me through this faster. Me when going through verse copyedits: DO NOT ALTER MY PUNCTUATION I WILL WRITE AN ESSAY LONGER THAN THIS BOOK ABOUT WHY EACH COMMA STAYS OR GOES CAN I GET A STET FROM THE BACK?

Editors, it is SUCH a gift when you go through copy-edits before the author and pre-stet things, say when things aren't relevant or don't need to be changed. It's so affirming and makes me feel like less of a diva. (Don't get me wrong - I don't hesitate to stet. But it's still nice.)

Just noticed that the titles of my current library books make it look like Joy and John are arguing, lol 💙📚 @joymccullough.bsky.social

All, most of you know by now what happened to me in February. I've written an essay about this for @harpersbazaar.uol.com.br.web.brid.gy, and I hope you'll give it a read:

If you're feeling like pre-ordering books for whatever reason, from whatever retailer, here's what I've got to offer!

Seattle Public Theater has announced their next season! After the election I wondered if this was the time for this particular play - a comedy - but then I decided that no, they don't get to take our laughter and joy too. So if you're in the area, I hope you'll come laugh with us!

I wrote an open letter to my fellow book ppl because no one is coming to save us. We have to save us. And I am weary of waiting for my colleagues to join the fight. Any fight. I chose book bans, but you don't have to www.prettyokmaggie.com/blog/2025/4/17/an-open-letter-to-my-fellow-book-creators

Texas librarians, I've just landed in Dallas! Here's where I'll be at #TLA!

So @andrewkarre.bsky.social told me, "Teenage readers of Blood Water Paint have kids now" and I AM FURIOUS.

"The world will tell you not to be outraged, love. They will tell you to sit quietly, be kind. Be a lady. And when they do? Be Judith instead." #EduSky #BookSky @joymccullough.bsky.social

Today a podcaster I usually adore said, in making the point that there's a place for "low-quality" books that are just for fun (which I agree with), "I love YA and they're all bad!"

I ADORE my Astrohaus Freewrite Traveler, but it's dying. I really like having a dedicated device that's just for writing and I prefer a flat, laptop-like keyboard. Freewrites are sooo spendy. Are there any alternatives anyone recommends? #kidlit #writers

Thank you to Horn Book for EVERYTHING IS POISON's fifth starred review!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Some nice publications gave me starred reviews, so I made a pretty graphic. Et voila. Please read and leave reviews and tell your friends, etc!

Ten years ago today, the world premiere production of my play Blood Water Paint opened in Seattle. As it did, I was thinking, "She's seventeen during most of the play. I think this could be a YA novel." So much love to the original cast, especially Alex Highsmith & Daniel Christensen, seen here.

Looking for a historical feminist vigilante story that blends both prose and verse? Don't miss @joymccullough.bsky.social's EVERYTHING IS POISON! Don't take our word for it, the FIVE STARS speak for themselves!

TEAM AWKWARD Book 1 is out today in paperback and hardcover! Publishers Weekly said in a starred review, "Cat-astrophically laugh out loud misadventures offer maturing readers and exceptional model for what fulfilling relationships can look like."