Space City Scribes

  By Margaret Lea         Author/Illustrator Katie Mazeika will present The Power of Pivoting: When the Only Way Forward is to Change Direction at our online chapter meeting on Sept. 14, 2026. One career pivot for Katie was going from illustrator to author/illustrator. And in 2020, she pivoted her illustration style by creating a completely new portfolio featuring brighter, dynamic art with more movement.       Katie’s early life also took a scary pivot when, at age three, she was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer. Even rarer, the cancer was in her optic nerve and the doctors had to remove one eye to save her life. Thankfully, she is now cancer free.       Her picture book Maybe Just Ask Me, which came out in 2025, is based on the time when she started first grade after a six-month hospitalization. She wrote this story to show others that, “Disability is not a bad word.” Surprisin...

  By Margaret Lea    Cathy Berner, the event coordinator/kids' book specialist from Blue Willow Bookshop, will be speaking at our chapter meeting August 3, 2026 at 6:30 PM at the Tracy Gee Community Center, and also on Zoom. She will present "A Bookseller's Look at the Kids' Book World." Below is my email interview with Cathy.  Also, check out bluewillowbookshop.com, or stop by the shop at 14532 Memorial Dr., Houston, 77079.  1) What’s the best thing about working at a bookshop? The best things about working at Blue Willow are discovery and connection. Discovering new books and authors and connecting those books and authors with readers fills my cup. 2) What's the worst thing about working at a bookshop? All the unglamorous details of retail: fixing the toilet handle, vacuuming, dealing with technology and stressing about the temperature at an event when it's warm outside.  3) How do you decide which books to stock, and do you stock books by self-published...

By Margaret Lea    Agent Adria Goetz from KT Literary will be presenting “Navigating the Agent/Author Relationship at our virtual chapter meeting on July 6, 2026. Below is my email interview with Adria.  1) How and when did you get into agenting?  My first exposure to agenting was when I got an internship with a local literary agency when I was 19. At the time, I thought that I wanted to be an editor, but applied to the internship because I thought it would still be valuable to experience the industry from the agent’s side of things. It was supposed to be a quick little blip on my resume. But when I showed up to the office on the first day and there was an auction going, I was hooked. I knew right away that it was the path for me, and I’ve never looked back. I interned at that agency for the rest of my college years, and then began agenting in 2016.  2) What genres do you represent?   I represent picture books, middle grade, adult fiction, and graphi...

By Margaret Lea Tonya Ellis, one of our own Houston chapter members, is both self-published and traditionally published in many KidLit genres. Read all about her journey in the email interview below.  1) Tell us about your writing journey. For example: When did you start seriously pursuing writing? What most helped you develop your craft? What genres do you write? I've always loved reading books and writing, and I thought about pursuing writing as a career after I won a young author's competition in the fifth grade. Back then, I wasn't sure how I'd make a living writing books, so I decided to become a journalist. After college, I got a job as a business reporter at a newspaper. When my family moved to Houston, I wrote freelance articles about local celebrities for Sugar Land, Cy-Fair and Katy Magazines for ten years. I became interested in writing for children while sharing my childhood favorites with my own kids. My youngest son didn't relate to many of the ...

By Margaret Lea      Editor Bunmi Ishola will be the speaker at our online monthly meeting May 4, 2026. She will talk about “The Editor-Author Relationship.” My email interview with Bunmi is below.  1) What is your job title/publisher? Senior Editor, WaterBrook Children’s/Random House Children's Books   2) I read an online article that said you took a huge pay cut when you became an editor. What job were you doing before? Has your salary caught back up now?  I did—went from making between $55-60K as a middle school teacher to $35K as an editorial assistant in 2018. I’ve had a few job changes and promotions that have increased my salary to a more livable wage over the years; however, I think I’d be making more if I stayed in education. Proof of how much I love my work, I guess!   3) What’s your favorite part of being an editor? There is a lot to love about being an editor—the authors and teams I get to work with, the stories I get t...

By Margaret Lea Sydney Dunlap is speaking at our April 13th meeting (Tracy Gee Community Center and online both). She will talk about “Middle Grade Musts: Highlighting Elements That Will Make Your Story Shine.” Below is my email interview with Sydney. Also, check out her website at sydneydunlap.com .  1) Tell us about your writing journey.  My grandmother gave me a journal when I was eight, and it sat empty for a while. Then one day I wrote a poem in it, followed by a little story, and I gradually discovered that I loved writing. That eventually led to creative writing electives in high school and college and some writing courses at the grad level for continuing ed credits while I taught elementary school. I also joined SCBWI (all the way back in the early 2000s) and had a lot of fun getting involved with my local chapter, the Mid-Atlantic region, taking part in a writer’s group, attending craft-focused writing workshops/retreats, and serving as our conference co-chair for sev...