Joy McCullough and I talk about her transition from playwright to young adult author and how she kept focus on her long journey to publication, as well as her new middle grade novel, A FIELD GUIDE TO GETTING LOST. She shares the story of how she met her second literary agent, some advice on tending to your mental health, some tips for effectively using social media without over sharing, some tales from her time as a Pitch Wars mentor, and so much more.

Joy McCullough’s debut young adult novel Blood Water Paint (Penguin) won the Washington State and Pacific Northwest books awards, as well as honors such as the National Book Award longlist, finalist for the ALA Morris Award, a Publishers Weekly Flying Start and four starred reviews. Her debut middle grade novel, A Field Guide to Getting Lost (Simon & Schuster) releases on April 14, 2020, and is a Junior Library Guild Selection.

She writes books and plays from her home in the Seattle area, where she lives with her husband and two children. She studied theater at Northwestern University, fell in love with her husband atop a Guatemalan volcano, and now spends her days surrounded by books and kids and chocolate.