You May Contribute A Verse

A Picture Book Sandwich with Carter Higgins!

Carter Higgins, author, illustrator, motion designer, librarian, great thinker, is here! You have probably read her books already because they're great, but one of Josh's favorites is discussed within!
And hey, not that you weren't going to anyway, but stay til the very end for an introspective discussion about Carter's next book, Round and Round the Year We Go, which is delightful and contains human children!
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Our sponsor is Tielmour Press! Check out Fungi Are More than Mushrooms, out March 2025!
Our reviews this week:
TUMBLEBABY by Adam Rex and Audrey Helen Weber
MUNCHPIE MORGAN by Merry Lorenz and Kenneth Anderson
EVERY SECOND by Bruno Gibert
 
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The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot Versey, and was generously created for us by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com 
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com  
Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!! 
Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

Erika Cohen Lyons Knows Who She Is

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 Erika Cohen Lyons. You can find Erika here. 
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This episode’s book reviews:
MILLIE FLEUR’S POISON GARDEN by Christy Mandin
PARROTFISH HAS A SUPERPOWER by Jill Esbaum and Bob Shea
THE ISLAND BEFORE NO by Christina Uss and illustrated by Hudson Christie
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com 
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com  
Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!! 
Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time. 
You May Contribute a Verse is a homespun production, produced, edited, recorded, conceptualized, and marketed by Josh Monken, Brenna Jeanneret, and Jon Seymour.

Adria Goetz's Treasure Hunt

If any editors are listening, Adria Goetz loves you!
Adria stays open. She reads your queries. She tracks editor interest (even poop jokes). She's thoughtful and nice and get ready for an educational chat.
This conversation was recorded so long ago (April 2024!) that we still called Twitter Twitter (and we still enjoyed a community there). I think the state of the industry is just as glacial and frustrating as it was way back then, but either way this is a valuable inside look into the mind and ways of working of an inspirational and considerate agent.
The two client books Adria mentions at the back of the episode are linked here too!
MILLIE FLEUR'S POISON GARDEN by Christy Mandin
IN THE GROVES by Andrea Cruz Floren
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Our sponsor is Tielmour Press! Check out Fungi Are More than Mushrooms, out March 2025!
Our reviews this week:
GRAVITY IS BRINGING ME DOWN by Wendelin Van Draanen, illustrated by Cornelia Li
SOME DADDIES by Carol Gordon Ekster, Illustrated by Javiera Mac-Lean Alvarez
MOST PEOPLE by Michael Leannah, illustrated by J.E. Morris
 
DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot Versey, and was generously created for us by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com 
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com  
Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!! 
Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

Chiara Colombi Can’t Stop Herself

Today’s guest is Chiara Colombi, author of Rocket Ship, Solo Trip and the follow-up Rocket Beams, Lunar Dreams both illustrated by Scott Magoon. We chat about marketing your debut, being your own advocate, and asking yourself why you write. But you’ll have to listen all the way to the end to hear our ideas on revolutionizing the query process and to hear Chiara’s Dead Manuscript!
But, really, agents, if you’re listening, please chime in, we’d love to hear your thoughts on querying.
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 Chiara Colombi. You can find Chiara here. 
DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!
This episode’s book reviews:
SCHOOL’S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL written by Adam Rex illustrated by Christian Robinson
JONTY GENTOO: THE ADVENTURES OF A PENGUIN written by Julia Donaldson illustrated by Axel Scheffler
PROPER BADER written by Lauren Glattly illustrated by Rob Sayegh Jr.
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com 
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com  
Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!! 
Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time. 
You May Contribute a Verse is a homespun production, produced, edited, recorded, conceptualized, and marketed by Josh Monken, Brenna Jeanneret, and Jon Seymour.

Kirk Reedstrom, the King of Second-Guessing

Zany hijinks ensue with Kirk Reedstrom! News flash, we had this conversation six months before publishing it, and wouldn't you know it, it's dated because there's now a FOURTH book in Kirk's Duck and Moose series out next year! The man is hustling!
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Our sponsor is Tielmour Press and our reviews happen to be coincidentally for Neigh Kid, by Alan Mayfair and Gabi Moraes, just out as of December 7, 2024 <3
DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot Versey, and was generously created for us by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com 
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com  
Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!! 
Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

Beep, Bop, Boop It’s Phaea Crede

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.
DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!
This episode’s book reviews:
THE PIRATE’S BED, written by Nicola Winstanley and illustrated by Matt James
DAVID GOES TO SCHOOL, by David Shannon
SHARING IS UNBEARABLE, by J. E. Morris
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com 
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com  
Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!! 
Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time. 
You May Contribute a Verse is a homespun production, produced, edited, recorded, conceptualized, and marketed by Josh Monken, Brenna Jeanneret, and Jon Seymour.

Everything but the Kat Chen Sink!

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 two-moon special, check out and order Sue Lancaster's Supermoon and/or (preferably and) Neigh Kid by Alan Mayfair!
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DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!
This episode’s book reviews:
I HATE EVERYONE by Naomi Danis
NUTSHIMIT: IN THE WOODS by Melissa Mollen Dupuis and Elise Gravel
REAL TO ME by Minh Lê and Raissa Figueroa
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot Versey, and was generously created for us by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com 
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com  
Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!! 
Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

Showing up With Brian LaRossa

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.
DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!
This episode’s book reviews:
If you want to be a part of the #KidlitForKamala movement or want more information click here.
THE FIRST CAT IN SPACE ATE PIZZA by Mac Barnett and Shawn Harris
WHERE ARE YOU FROM? by Yamile Saied Mendez
THE AMAZING POWER OF GIRLS by Maria Marianayagam and Skyler White
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com 
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com  
Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!! 
Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time. 
You May Contribute a Verse is a homespun production, produced, edited, recorded, conceptualized, and marketed by Josh Monken, Brenna Jeanneret, and Jon Seymour.

Reading a Cartoon with Justin Colon and James Rey Sanchez

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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DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!
This episode’s book reviews:
ABZUGLUTELY! by Sarah Aronson, illustrated by Andrea d'Aquino
WHAT'S IN THE COOKIE TIN? by Yolanda T. Marshall, illustrated by Golnoush Moini
WHOLE WHALE by Karen Yin, illustrated by Nelleke Verhoeff
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our quokka mascot Versey, and was generously created for us by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com 
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com  
Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!! 
Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!

The Amazing Power of Girls with Maria Marianayagam

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.
DON’T MISS AN EPISODE! Sign up for our newsletter here!
This episode’s book reviews:
If you want to be a part of the #KidlitForKamala movement or want more information click here.
SPIDER IN A WELL by Jess Hannigan 
THE NOTEBOOK KEEPER by Stephen Briseño and Magdalena Mora
A SONG FOR NOLAN by Rushie Ellenwood and Sally Chen
The artwork for You May Contribute a Verse features our new quokka mascot, Versey, and was generously created by the great Maddie Frost! Find her on IG @hellomaddiefrost or on her website Maddie-Frost.com 
Our theme music is So Happy by Scott Holmes you can find more of his music at scottholmesmusic.com  
Love the podcast and wanna support more episodes like this? Find Community Shoutouts, Merch and our Patreon here!! 
Find us on Bluesky @joshmonkwords, @brennajeanneret, and @jonseym0ur as always, let us know what you think via a rating, review, or comment!
Thanks and see ya next time. 
You May Contribute a Verse is a homespun production, produced, edited, recorded, conceptualized, and marketed by Josh Monken, Brenna Jeanneret, and Jon Seymour.