Interview with Middle Grade Author Anna Staniszewski

Born in Poland and raised in the United States, Anna Staniszewski grew up loving stories in both Polish and English. She was named the 2006-2007 Writer-in-Residence at the Boston Public Library and a winner of the 2009 PEN New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award. Currently, Anna lives outside of Boston, Mass. with her husband and their adopted black Labrador, Emma. When she’s not writing, Anna spends her time teaching, reading, and challenging unicorns to games of hopscotch. You can visit her at www.annastan.com.

Hi Anna. Thanks so much for doing this interview on your release week for My Epic Fairy Tale Fail. Did you know that My Very UnFairy Tale Life would be a series when you wrote it?

I knew pretty early on that the idea had series potential, but I wanted to make the first book stand alone. Right around the time the first book came out, my agent and I sold two follow-ups. Luckily, I'd kept a larger thread in the story (Jenny's absent parents) open, so I was able to carry that through the rest of the series.

How did you come up with the idea for this twisted fairy tale series?

I was working on a dark YA and really needed a break. When I sat down to write something funny, out came a scene about a girl and a talking frog. The girl was so snarky and spunky that I knew I wanted to keep writing about her. I soon discovered she was an adventurer who solved magical problems--and she was sick of it! Once I knew that about her, it was way too much fun to throw fairy tale and fantasy themes at her and see what she would do.

Tell us about your journey. How did you get your first book published?

Like most publishing journeys, it was a long one. I'd been writing for years, but it wasn't until I finished grad. school that I decided to work toward getting published. A few years and maaaaaany rejections later, I finally got an agent. Another year and maaaaany more rejections later, I finally sold my first book. 

Was there ever a point that you felt like giving up?

Definitely. Every rejection--especially the kind that made me feel like I was SO close--was a struggle. There were days when I thought I would never get published, but at the same time, I knew I couldn't give up. I'd wanted to be an author since I was in elementary school, and I had to keep trying. Thank goodness I had family, friends, my unbelievably patient husband, and my awesome agent to cheer me on!

Is there anything about being a published author that has surprised you?

How amazingly generous people are! I've been blown away by how willing people have been to spread the word about my book, cheer me on, etc., even folks I haven't seen in years. I also could not believe it when I started getting emails from readers who had read my book and liked it--people I didn't know. The idea of strangers reading my book was (and still is) totally mind-boggling.

What advice would you give someone trying to get published?

Do not give up. I know you hear that advice all the time, but it's TRUE. The people I know who've gotten published are the ones who've kept going even when their dream seemed impossible.

Thanks again, Anna. Good luck with the book launch! Readers, if you want to get a peek at Epic Fail, here is the book trailer.

SCBWI NY 2013

It has been three weeks since I attended SCBWI NY 2013.The memories, inspiration, and experiences are still with me so I thought I'd share them with you, with some visuals to go with them.

As soon as my school day was over I hopped on the train to Grand Central Station, said hello to my wonderful agent, Linda Epstein, in the lobby, then headed to my room.

Here's the view from my window. Yes, that is the top of Grand Central Station. How cool is that?

After a wonderful evening with writer and agent friends, I went to sleep early to be ready for the full day of keynotes and workshops. As usual Lin Oliver was there to great us all and share some facts about the event. She was followed by Meg Rosoff and Shaun Tan.

The bookseller panel taught the writers in the room about the new truths of classroom books. In many districts (including mine!) each elementary teacher has a leveled library and teachers and librarians match books to readers instead of teaching with class sets. They talked about the importance of the new common core, a set of curriculum objects being adopted in 48 of the 50 states over the next two years. Writers should know about the common core and what it will mean to the school and library market. 

(There's actually a great app on the iPad/iTouch/iPhone called Common Core that anyone can download to see these new objectives.)

Lunch and the evenings were filling with conversations with writer friends. Some I met that weekend (such as all of the many New Englanders who I hope will contact me about critique groups), but many are friendships built over the years of in person conferences and online groups such as Verla Kay's Blue Boards, Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo Groups, and email. 

When you go to your first conference, you are told about the importance of networking, meeting agents and editors who will help you along the way. But what's even more important is finding those people who will be part of your journey. The ones that you will celebrate with when they get their publishing contracts and who will celebrate with you in return. And they will also be there when things seem impossible to share a helpful word or give you a hug and tell you that you need to keep going and that it will happen one day, they are sure of it. Here are some of my awesome writer friends. I am thankful for all of them.

On Sunday, after award announcements from Tommy dePaola and Jane Yolen, we heard from Margaret Peterson Haddix, Julie Andrews and her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton, and Mo Williems.

My weekend ended with the book signing where I had the honor of helping Margaret Peterson Haddix and Shaun Tan with their signings. Shaun Tan's line was by far the biggest at the conference and to work that line I had a detailed lesson on angles and post-it note placing from Arthur Levine himself.

A Novel Playlist

Many of my writer friends have talked about the songs they put together to listen to while working on their novel. Their novel playlist. I never understood that idea... until now.

Lately every time I listen to the radio in my car I find myself evaluating songs. This one reminds me of my story. This one doesn't. This song would play as she sits in her room crying. This one would play in the car. It's exciting and it has helped the story come alive in my mind.

If only I still had that boom box that I used to make tapes with. Not only would I listen to these songs, I would make them into a novel mixed tape. Instead I have to buy them from iTunes.

Do you have a novel playlist? Share a song or two in the comments.