Shows
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Mahtab Narsimhan with @MaryLanniReadsWant an e-book copy of one of Mahtab's books? Fill out this Google Form! The first five responses will receive an e-book for free, curtesy of Mahtab Narsimhan: https://forms.gle/HRny4JvCbLMoZPrh9Mahtab Narsimhan is an award-winning author with numerous critically acclaimed books. She is inspired by life, love, and the desire to make sense of the world through stories.Learn more at: https://www.mahtabnarsimhan.com/
2026-01-2731 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Traci Sorell with @MaryLanniReadsTraci Sorell is a best-selling author of inclusive, award-winning historical and contemporary fiction and nonfiction in a variety of formats for young people. She is a two-time Sibert Medal and Orbis Pictus honoree and award-winning audiobook narrator and producer. Eight of her books have received awards from the American Indian Library Association. Other accolades include Charlotte Huck Honor Award, Septima Clark Women in Literature Honor Award, Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, International Literacy Association’s Social Justice Literature Award Winner, Reading The West’s Picture Book Winner, and many Best-of and Notables lists.A former...
2026-01-2040 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Rebecca E. F. Barone with @MaryLanniReadsRebecca E. F. Barone is an engineer who has worked on a diverse array of projects: injury analysis for the National Football League, knee mechanics during car crashes, development of gait biometrics, and engine calibration of hybrid cars. Realizing her love for books in addition to numbers, she now describes the world with words rather than equations. Her first book, Race to the Bottom of the Earth: Surviving Antarctica, is now available and has received four starred reviews. Her second book, Unbreakable: The Spies Who Cracked the Nazis’ Secret Code, about the Enigma cipher of WWII, launched Octob...
2026-01-2024 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Lance Rubin with @MaryLanniReadsLance Rubin is the NY Times best-selling author of young adult and middle grade novels, including Denton Little’s Deathdate, Crying Laughing, and The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek (co-written with Rhett and Link of Good Mythical Morning). He was an ABA Indies Introduce pick for Denton Little’s Deathdate, which was the ILA YA book of the year in 2016. His books have also been Junior Library Guild selections, Amazon Books of the Month, and made many state reading lists.Find out more at https://www.lancerubin.com/
2026-01-1339 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Jed Alexander with @MaryLanniReadsJed Alexander is the author and illustrator of The Fairy-Tale Color Collection, a series of wordless retellings of classic fairytales for children—including Red and Gold, which have garnered starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly and praise from the New York Times. He has also written and illustrated for SpongeBob Comics and Cricket magazine. Jed lives in California with his wife, best friend, and favorite person in the world, Regina. Visit him at jedalexander.com.
2026-01-1324 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Fran Wilde with @MaryLanniReadsTwo-time Nebula Award-winner Fran Wilde has (so far) published nine novels, a poetry collection, and over 70 short stories for adults, teens, and kids. Her stories have been finalists for six Nebula Awards, a World Fantasy Award, four Hugo Awards, four Locus Awards, and a Lodestar. They include her Nebula- and Compton Crook-winning debut novel Updraft, and her Nebula-winning, Best of NPR 2019, debut Middle Grade novel Riverland. Her short stories appear in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Tor.com, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Shimmer, Nature, Uncanny Magazine, and multiple years' best anthologies.The Managing Editor for The Sunday Mor...
2026-01-0633 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Jeff Gottesfeld with @MaryLanniReadsJeff Gottesfeld is an acclaimed writer for page, stage, and screen. His work has won awards from the American Library Association, the Writers Guild of America, and the National Council for the Social Studies. He is based in Los Angeles, California. Visit him at jeffgottesfeldwrites.com.
2026-01-0626 min
Sunshine & Stories from the Colorado State LibraryEp. 209 Nursery Rhymes and ReasonsYou can now use the survey link below AND text us your feedback via Buzzsprout with this link right here!!Sunshine and Stories Episode 209 Nursery Rhymes and Reason with Mary Lanni Episode Summary: Kate Compton chats with Mary Lanni, the Youth Literacy and Outreach Specialist from Douglas County Libraries. Mary shares insights from her upcoming book on nursery rhymes in storytime, exploring their historical roots, cultural implications, and why they matter for early literacy. They dive into questions about inclusivity, evolving trends, and practical tips for creating welcoming storytimes in to...
2026-01-0522 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Nate Moeller with @MaryLanniReadsNate Moeller lives in Freeland, Michigan, with his amazing wife, Jennifer, and their two beautiful children, Sadie and Sam. The inspiration for his book Twinkling Wings and Toothy Things came from his daughter Sadie losing one of her teeth. When he isn’t working, Nate enjoys spending time with his family and enjoying the outdoors.
2025-12-3015 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Chris Baron with @MaryLanniReadsChris Baron is the award winning author of novels for young (and young at heart) readers including: All Of Me, an NCTE Notable Book The Magical Imperfect, a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book/SLJ Best Book of 2021 The Gray (23) a ProjectLIT 23-24 Selection Spark (25) from Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan The Secret of the Dragon Gems, a Middle Grade novel co-authored with Rajani LaRocca from Little Bee Books (23)He is also the editor of On All Other Nights: A Middle Grade Passover Anthology from Abrams (24). He is a Prof...
2025-12-3030 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Tomeko Brown with @MaryLanniReadsTomeko Brown is the author of AN INSTRUMENT FOR FLORENDA.Tomeko is a North Carolina native with a lifelong passion for writing, music, and education. She began her creative journey by playing the clarinet as a child, which sparked her love for the arts. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Education from East Carolina University. She also earned a Master of Education in Instructional Design and Technology from West Texas A&M University. Her graduate research focused on using technology to enhance and support student learning. Tomeko has worked in...
2025-12-2330 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Nathalie Laine with @MaryLanniReadsNathalie Laine lives a safe distance away from the ocean, in Paris, France.She enjoys: poking her finger into the mini whirlpools that form above bath drains, randomly understanding words in a language she doesn’t know, wrongly guessing the double-agent in cold war spy stories, sharing a Turkish meal of “Lion’s milk”, fish and turnip juice with friends, and getting spurned by grumpy cats. She may have snuck some of the above into Alessia in Atlantis.
2025-12-2331 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Tiffany Moore with @MaryLanniReadsTiffany Moore was born and raised in a small town in Wyoming and is the proud owner of Emmylou and Oliver. During the summer months, she and her spouse RV around the country with these wonderful felines. They have such grand adventures exploring that Tiffany wanted you to join in the fun through The Magical Tales of Emmylou and Oliver series! Find out more: https://www.emmylouandoliver.net/
2025-12-1611 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Diane Namm with @MaryLanniReadsDiane Namm has been a storyteller her whole life. She's authored over 65 children's books, YA teen romance novels, adult non-fiction books, and feature-length screenplays. Diane has written & directed stage plays and short films. But, at this moment, being "Nana" is the thing she enjoys most! #authorinterviews #picturebooks #whathappensafterdeath #griefsupport
2025-12-1624 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Jamie Scheumann with @MaryLanniReadsTeachers always told Jamie Scheumann to keep writing because she was good at it, but it was only a hobby for most of her life. However, as the mother of two daughters, she now feels called to pursue her passion for writing in a way that will create a legacy for her girls and empower other young readers as well. Reflecting on the scars from going through the loss of a parent, she decided that if it was her time to go, she wanted to have something her daughters could look back at. This cultivated in her a g...
2025-12-1013 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Frank W. Baker with @MaryLanniReadsContent Warning: The topic of this interview is a difficult one. We will discuss the Holocaust, including events that are violent and disturbing. If you need to take a break at any time, please feel free to do so.Author Frank W. Baker is the lead writer on the acclaimed graphic novel We Survived the Holocaust: The Bluma and Felix Goldberg Story. Frank has worked in television news, public education, and public television. In 1998, he founded the Media Literacy Clearinghouse website and began work helping teachers and students better understand how to think critically about the media.Find out...
2025-12-0932 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: H.B. Reneau with @MaryLanniReadsFantasy author, ER doctor, and proud dog mom, H.B. Reneau is best known for her character-driven, genre-bending fiction that draws on her experiences in both medicine and the military. When not writing or at the hospital, she can be found hiking, drinking coffee to excess, and getting lost in new cities with her spaniel Rory. Look for H.B. at https://hbreneau.com/
2025-12-0921 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Caroline Adderson and @MaryLanniReadsCaroline Adderson grew up in Sherwood Park, Alberta, which at the time was surrounded by farms and acreages. The housing development she lived in was right on a golf course, buffered by woods where she and her friends ran wild and only came home to eat.When she finished high school, Caroline left home to spend a year traveling around Canada with the youth program Katimavik, doing all kinds of jobs like sheep farming and carpentry and working in a French-language community radio station. She came to Vancouver to attend university and, except for a year spent i...
2025-12-0219 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Jennifer Jones with @MaryLanniReadsJennifer Jones is an award winning author who lives in a small town in North Carolina, and Alex Flies is her first children’s book. She stays busy writing, writing, writing, and has several books currently in the publication process. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, the outdoors, spending time with her family, friends, and two dogs, and playing board games and VR. Learn more here: https://jenspen7.godaddysites.com/
2025-12-0217 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Sarah Allen with @MaryLanniReadsSarah Allen is the award-winning author of WHAT STARS ARE MADE OF, BREATHING UNDERWATER, THE NIGHTMARE HOUSE, and MONSTER TREE.Sarah's books are filled with quirky, neurodiverse characters, STEAM elements, and a sense of finding Joy in the weirdest and most unlikely of places. Her books have been Jr. Library Guild selections, Whitney Award winners, A Mighty Girl Best Of pick, and state award winners. Sarah received her MFA in creative writing from Brigham Young University and regularly teaches at writing conferences and presents at schools across the country. She lives in Orlando, and signed copies...
2025-11-2530 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Christine Liu-Perkins with @MaryLanniReadsChristine Liu-Perkins was born in Boston and grew up near Kansas City. Reading has always been one of Christine's favorite things to do, and after her daughters were born, she started writing fiction and nonfiction for children as well as magazine articles for grown-ups. A big influence for Christine is having visited many parts of the world, including more than 36 states and 39 countries on 6 contents. She now lives in Colorado and travels to new places as much as she can.Learn more at https://christineliuperkins.com/
2025-11-1821 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Jeremy Mueller, Karl Buechner, and Keith Ward with @MaryLanniReadsJeremy Mueller is an artisan, baker, entrepreneur, and father of four. His builds have been featured in international publications. Karl Buechner is a ground braking musician and earth/animal rights activist, known for his bands Earth Crisis and Freya. He has been writing touring his music for over 30 years. Keith Ward is a teacher, comic, writer, and board game designer/author.
2025-11-1128 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Donna Galanti with @MaryLanniReadsDonna Galanti wanted to be a writer ever since she attended an English school, housed in a magical castle, where her wild imagination was held back only by her itchy uniform (bowler hat and tie included!).She is the author of middle-grade books with the Unicorn Island series, Joshua and the Lightning Road series, and Loon Cove Summer. She’s also the author of the paranormal suspense Element Trilogy for adults. She has lived in fun locations including England, her family-owned campground in New Hampshire, and in Hawaii where she served as a U.S. Navy photographer fo...
2025-11-0416 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Brendan Corbett with @MaryLanniReadsBrendan Corbett grew up in a military family, always on the move, living in North Carolina, Virginia, Rhode Island, and Okinawa, Japan all before he was ten. Books were both the foundation of stability and the ultimate escape, companions to other worlds that could journey with him even when friends could not. Brendan has always been drawn to fiction and more particularly fantasy, offering the ability to travel in his mind when the traveling of his feet grew tiresome.As an adult, Brendan's career turned away from the arts. He has worked in places ranging from job s...
2025-10-2829 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Diana Schaffter with @MaryLanniReadsDiana Schaffter is a teacher, educator, international speaker, mother, and grandmother. Diana is no stranger to adventure. She is fluent in Thai, has traveled to over fifty countries, raised her two boys overseas, and lived in seven countries in Asia and Eastern Europe for forty-two years, including two years in Pyongyang, North Korea, where her husband worked for UNICEF. Wherever she has lived, Diana has witnessed the power of human resilience, cooperation, and caring, which inspires her writing. Diana and her co-adventurer husband now live in Sidney, BC, Canada, where she continues to write, give talks in schools and c...
2025-10-2126 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Fleur Bradley with @MaryLanniReadsFleur Bradley is the author of numerous short crime fiction as well as novel-length mysteries for kids, including award-winning Daybreak on Raven Island and Midnight at the Barclay Hotel (Viking/PRH), and the Double Vision trilogy (HarperCollins). She is also a literacy advocate and speaks at educator conventions on reaching reluctant readers. Fleur lives in a cottage in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies where she likes to foster rescue animals. You can find Fleur online at fleurbradley.com.
2025-10-1426 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Alda P. Dobbs with @MaryLanniReadsAlda P. Dobbs is the author of the historical novels Barefoot Dreams of Petra Luna and its followup, The Other Side of the River. Her debut novel received a Pura Belpre Honor and is a Texas Bluebonnet Master List selection. Alda was born in a small town in northern Mexico but moved to San Antonio, Texas as a child. She studied physics and worked as an engineer before pursuing her love of storytelling. She’s as passionate about connecting children to their past, their communities, different cultures and nature as she is about writing. Alda lives with her husband an...
2025-10-0726 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Kristin Nilsen with @MaryLanniReadsKristin Nilsen grew up in California and Minnesota, listening to the radio, watching Brady Bunch after school, and reading after bedtime. Vinyl records were still a thing and she had her very own collection of albums in her bedroom — like ABBA, The Bee Gees and the soundtracks to Grease and Star Wars. This is where she met all of her first crushes; they sang to her from the radio, her record player and the TV and eventually decorated the walls of her room with posters torn out of magazines.When the lights went out at bedtime, Kristin wou...
2025-09-3043 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: One Upon a Dance with @MaryLanniReadsAs a passionate dance teacher, Terrel witnessed the transformative power of movement, and she’s committed to nurturing young learners’ creativity and confidence. On this mission, Terrel has published 40 interactive books under the author name Once Upon a Dance. Each weaves whimsy, inspiration, and joyful movement, and most feature her daughter, a professional ballet dancer. Truly a passion project, they donate all royalties this decade to non-profit charity partners. Look for Once Upon a Dance at https://onceuponadance.com/
2025-09-2318 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Angela Hsieh with @MaryLanniReadsAngela Hsieh is a Taiwanese American illustrator and author whose life choices can mostly be explained by her love of goofy animals. Her life experiences include fireman-carrying a sedated bear cub and catching a belligerent wallaby.****She also wishes to include a disclaimer that this all occurred while working in zoos and wildlife centers so as not to encourage this kind of behavior in the wild.Angela is the writer and illustrator of the graphic novel, LU & REN’S GUIDE TO GEOZOOLOGY, as well as the illustrator of the critically acclaimed nonfiction STEM book, ANTARCTICA: THE...
2025-09-1629 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Phil Hall and @MaryLanniReadsPhil Hall is an elementary school principal who realized during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that young people needed more than anything to learn the value of prosocial behavior—acting in ways that benefit others. That is when he wrote the first draft of The Day the Children Saved the World, hoping he could spread his message to kids everywhere. Phil lives in Rutland, Vermont, with his fiancée, Alice. Between the two of them, they have four young boys—Jackson, Lincoln, Harrison, and LJ—and two dogs. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family, fishing...
2025-09-0930 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Tracy Badua and Alechia Dow with @MaryLanniReadsTracy Badua is an award-winning Filipino American author of books for young people. By day, she is an attorney, and by night, she squeezes in writing, family time, and bites of her secret candy stash. She lives in San Diego, California. Tracy’s work has garnered such accolades as the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Sid Fleischman Humor Award, the Children's Literature Council of Southern California Award, multiple selections as Junior Library Guild Gold Standards, and inclusion on state book lists across the United States.Learn more at: www.tracybadua.com
2025-09-0227 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Stan Yan with @MaryLanniReadsStan Yan is an award-winning, first generation American-born-Chinese, Denver-based writer, illustrator, caricature artist, and instructor.He's also currently Co-Regional Advisor of the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.For more information, visit: https://www.stanyan.me/.
2025-08-2638 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Antoine Bandele with @MaryLanniReadsAntoine Bandele is an Amazon bestselling author in Action Adventure Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, African American Fantasy, and African Literature. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, though he spent one year in Fort Lewis near Tacoma, Washington while his father served in the U.S. Army.Since 2017, Antoine has written fantasy and sci-fi stories for and about the African motherland and the diaspora, whether for children, teens, or adults.Find out more about Antoine at www.antoinebandele.com
2025-08-1921 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Liliana Tommasini with @MaryLanniReadsLiliana Tommasini writes stories encouraging children to explore and seek assistance when necessary. She also serves as an Author Coach, guiding aspiring children’s book authors in realizing their dreams of inspiring young readers.She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Canadian Society of Canadian Authors, Illustrators, and Performers, two communities that support literary creatives.She is happy spending quality time with her family, especially engaging in various activities with her grandchildren.Find Liliana at: https://lilianatommasini.com/
2025-08-1223 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Gianna Marino and @MaryLanniReadsGianna Marino was born in San Francisco and spent her early years galloping horses through Golden Gate Park. Gianna has written over a dozen award-winning books, including Meet Me at the Moon, Too Tall Houses, Following Papa's Song, Night Animals, Night Animals Need Sleep Too, If I Had a Horse, We Will Live in This Forest Again and she is the New York Times best-selling illustrator of Don’t Let Them Disappear, written by Chelsea Clinton.Though she still wanders the world, Gianna now lives in Southern Colorado on an elk reserve and works full-time wri...
2025-08-0532 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Taylor Lahey and @MaryLanniReadsTaylor Lahey grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. His childhood passion for drawing led him to a career in graphic design, animation, and art direction. Câmbio is his first children’s book and is a reflection of why he writes: to share his vision for a more beautiful world. Today, Taylor resides in Santa Cruz, California, where he works to impact his community. Learn more at: https://www.cambiostory.com/ and https://www.taylorlahey.com/
2025-07-2925 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Johan Ingler and @MaryLanniReadsJohan Ingler is a screenwriter and author based in Sweden. Check out more about him and his work in this author interview!Frankie & Chair is his first novel, independently published. Johan is not represented by any literary agency as a screenwriter or author.Find him on Imdb or LinkedIn, and he’d love to connect with readers and book lovers on Instagram. You can also learn more on his website at www.frankieandchair.com
2025-07-2224 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Kaz Windness and Heather Brockman Lee with @MaryLanniReadsKaz Windness is the Geisel award-winning, genre-crossing illustrator and author of funny and heart-warming books for young readers. Proudly neurodivergent (ASD/ADHD), Kaz specializes in character-driven books celebrating inclusivity, grit, and kindness. Her many books include "Swim, Jim!," “Worm and Caterpillar are Friends,” “When You Love a Book,” and “Bitsy Bat, School Star.” She is a professor of illustration at the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design and founder of The Cuddlefish Academy, where she inspires students to tell stories with pictures. Kaz lives in Colorado with her English teacher husband, two teen children, and a bunny-obsessed Boston Terrier named Remy...
2025-07-1539 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Dr. Lisa Crim Galioto and @MaryLanniReadsDr. Lisa Crim Galioto is a pediatrician who has been taking care of children and adolescents for over thirty-five years. She and her husband of thirty-one years split their time between Potomac, Maryland, and their creek house at Colton’s Point, Maryland (where Stella, Henry, and Owen live). Lisa enjoys spending time with family and friends as well as traveling, cooking, playing piano, and knitting. After publishing Stella the Mama Osprey in 2023, she decided to continue the series based on the animals in her own yard by sharing Owen the groundhog’s story with the world!
2025-07-0821 min
Interview TuesdaysInterview Tuesdays: Anna Kang with @MaryLanniReadsAnna Kang, prolific children's author, is preparing for the release of her newest children's book So-Hee and Lowy, a story about a girl and her unexpectedly perfect pet. Due out April 22, 2025!
2025-07-0119 min
Interview TuesdaysComing Soon: Interview Tuesdays!This is the announcement of the Interview Tuesdays podcast with @MaryLanniReads. The fun starts on July 1!*Music by Alex Guz from Pixabay
2025-06-0700 min