Happy Thursday Critters! Today we have an interview with author Sarah Bagley Steele, whose debut picture book, THE HAPPIEST KID, illustrated by Elsa Pui Si Lo and Clarice Yunyi Cai, releases with Yeehoo Press this month. I’m thrilled to have Sarah with us today to talk about her new book, writing process, and start in kidlit.
So without further ado, please welcome Sarah Bagley Steele!
Where do you live?
Brooklyn, NY.
How many years have you been in publishing?
I started writing picture books in 2017 and sent out my first query almost exactly four years ago.
How did you first get published?
The Happiest Kid is my debut book and I sold it directly to the publisher, Yeehoo Press. I submitted it in February 2020 after reading they had an interest in children’s books about emotions. In June 2020, I received a revise and resubmit request from my future editor, along with the most helpful, insightful feedback that led me to an “aha!” moment with the manuscript. I tore through a revision, sent it back, and received an offer the following month.
Do you write full-time?
I do. I produced theater for many years and pivoted to writing for children when my company shuttered. It was always a dream of mine, and I was fortunate to have a window of time where I could pursue it.
What inspires you to create picture books?
I love the shared experience of a picture book, both for the creators and the readers. Picture books are usually read together – parents reading to children in bed, teachers to classrooms. There’s a ritual to picture book reading that I find very moving. As a writer, I’m inspired by the way the illustrations and the text dance together to tell a complete story.
What surprised you the most working as an author?
The timeline surprised me. There was a busy period with a lot of activity and back and forth with my editor, then long stretches of quiet once the text was set. It made me appreciate even more just how much work and time goes into creating a picture book.
What is your favorite thing about being an author?
I love the moment when I first think of a new story idea and my mind starts racing with possibilities. It never gets old.
What do you find difficult working as an author?
Finishing a first draft. I enjoy rewriting, but the initial process of getting something new down on paper, however messy and imperfect – and with an ending – is always hard.
What do you do to shake the rust off or get new ideas?
I love a good, long walk in the park, quietly thinking and looking at the world. I like to work stories out in my head before I ever start typing. I walk, and I mutter to myself.
Anything you are habitual about when it comes to creativity?
I like to write in silence, which often means I work at late at night once everyone has gone to bed. My husband and children love to listen to music while they work, but I can’t do it. I have difficulty writing in cafés or crowded library reading rooms. I think I just get easily distracted!
Can you share a positive experience you’ve had in the Kid Lit community?
Being on Critter Lit is a positive experience! Thank you so much for having me. The willingness of Kid Lit creators to support and lift each other up has been so inspiring and I hope to carry that forward.
Recommended reading?
I love a good bedtime story, and Goodnight Ganesha by Nadia Salomon and illustrated by Poonam Mistry has such beautiful language and rich cultural details, and the artwork is stunning. My whole family was fascinated by the nonfiction picture book Battle of the Butts by Jocelyn Rish, illustrated by David Creighton-Pester, about how animals use their behinds for evolutionary advantages. And in middle grade, a recent favorite was The Wolf’s Curse by Jessica Vitalis, which was magical and mythic and dreamy and had me feeling all the feels.
What has been the highlight of your career thus far?
Last week the preorders of The Happiest Kid began arriving and my friends and family kept texting me photos – my father proudly holding the book, my best friends’ children sitting together on the floor reading it. My daughter asked me to sign her book. Sharing something from your heart with the people you love is hard to beat.
What is something you wish someone had told you when you first started writing?
Do your research. Join Julie Hedlund’s 12x12 Picture Book Challenge, join SCWBI, join the KidLit411 Facebook Group, follow writers you like on Twitter, read the deal announcements in Publishers Weekly. There are so many wise and generous creators out there willing to offer advice and answer your questions, but first you have to ask them.
Can you tell us about your newest book?
The Happiest Kid, illustrated by Elsa Pui Si Lo and Clarice Yunyi Cai, is about a happy kid who wakes up one morning not feeling happy. Where she normally sees a bright sun, there is now a cloud. She doesn’t know why it’s there, but she doesn’t want anyone to see it—not her parents, not her teacher, and not her friends—so she hides it away. She stuffs it in her pocket, and zips it in her backpack. But as the day goes on, the cloud grows too big and heavy for her to carry, and she must find the courage to let it out. It’s a reassuring book about big feelings and understanding that everyone feels sad sometimes, and that’s okay.
Interior art from THE HAPPIEST KID by Sarah Bagley Steele, illustrated by Elsa Pui Si Lo and Clarice Yunyi Cai
What’s up next for you?
I’m getting ready to submit a new picture book and am also determined to return to the unfinished middle grade manuscript that keeps haunting my dreams.
Anything else you’d like to share with aspiring authors and illustrators?
Something that I still struggle with is knowing when to keep working on a manuscript that isn’t getting any bites, and when to move on to something new. It’s important to believe in your work, but also to keep growing and moving forward.
And last, but not least, favorite 80s movie?
Adventures in Babysitting. Please tell me I’m not the only one who used to lip sync along to the opening scene with a hairbrush microphone!
Huge thank you to Sarah for stopping by Critter Lit today! Congrats on your debut!
Sarah Bagley Steele is a children’s author who loves stories of all kinds that not only make you feel, but help you see the world differently than when you began.
Before turning her attention to her own writing, Sarah worked in the theater industry, developing new plays and musicals off Broadway. She founded a summer theater company in Pennsylvania and produced ten seasons of free Shakespeare in the Park.
Sarah lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband, two children and rascal puppy. When not writing, she loves reading, cooking, and crafting of all sorts. On her Instagram feed @sarah.writes.for.kids she shares book recommendations, and activity and craft ideas. You can also find her at www.sarahbagleysteele.com.
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