A conversation between Sofie Dardzinski, 13, and Emma Hoff, 12, discussing Hoff’s poetry collection, An Archeology of the Future.
Search Results for: Stone Soup author interview
Stone Soup Author Interview Series: Enni Harlan Discusses Her Debut Collection, Remember the Flowers
A conversation between Enni Harlan, 16, winner of the 2021 Stone Soup Book Contest, and actor/educator Jozben Barrett, about Enni’s debut collection of poems, Remember the Flowers. 1:00 — How did you first get involved with Stone Soup, and how did Stone Soup help you as a writer? 3:03 — What inspired you to write Remember the Flowers? 5:58 — Why did you choose to title your book Remember the Flowers? 8:23 — What are some themes you wanted to convey in this collection, and why those specific themes? 13:42 — What do you hope readers will take away from Remember the Flowers?
Stone Soup Author Interview Series: Sarah Hunt Discusses Her Debut Novel, Foxtale
A conversation between Sarah Hunt, winner of the 2021 Stone Soup Book Contest, and Tristan Hui, former Stone Soup contributor and winner of the 2020 Stone Soup Book Contest, about Sarah Hunt’s debut novel, Foxtale. Foxtale was also a finalist in the youth author (under 25) category for the 2023 Indie Book Awards. 0:34 — What does Stone Soup mean for you? 1:31 — What was the hardest part of the publishing process? 2:32 — How did you come up with the idea for Foxtale? 4:13 — Was there anything you read during the writing process that inspired you? 5:07 — Do you have a favorite character from Foxtale? 5:41 — What impact do you hope Foxtale will have on your readers? 6:53 — During the editing process, how did you decide what to cut and what to keep? 8:42 — Can you talk about your writing process? 11:46 — What advice do you have for other young readers? 12:42 — Has your belief that you’re your own target audience helped to deal with outside criticism? 13:33 — What are your future writing goals?
Stone Soup Author Interview Series: Sabrina Guo Discusses Her Debut Chapbook Catalogue of Ripening
A conversation between Sabrina Guo—activist, former Stone Soup contributor and current Refugee Project Consultant, and nine-time national medalist from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards—and Shivanshi Dutt, poet and former Stone Soup contributor, about Sabrina Guo’s debut chapbook Catalogue of Ripening. 0:23 — What first sparked your interest in language and writing? 1:28 — Did certain pieces of literature or media act as inspiration for your chapbook? 3:05 — What is the message behind your poem “Altar for Daughterhood”? 4:29 — How did your voice develop as you wrote Catalogue of Ripening? 5:59 — What was the most memorable part of writing/publishing Catalogue of Ripening? 7:19 — Which poem from Catalogue of Ripening resonates with you the most? 9:28 — What message do you want to convey with Catalogue of Ripening? 10:19 — What advice would you give to aspiring writers? You can purchase Catalogue of Ripening via our Amazon storefront, here.
Stone Soup Author Interview: Anya Geist
Stone Soup contributor and winner of the Stone Soup Book Contest 2019 Abhi Sukhdial, 13, talks with former contributor and Stone Soup ’20—21 intern Anya Geist, 14, about her novel Born on the First of Two, which was selected as the Editor’s Choice for the Stone Soup Book Contest 2020 and published on December 1, 2021. The two talk about Anya’s valuable experience as a Stone Soup intern (including her year-long stint as the main interviewer for the Stone Soup Author Interview Series), her intention in making her setting—The Land of the Clouds—as normal as possible, and her unique implement of time travel by way of going underwater. If you’ prefer a more streamlined video, please visit Anya’s book page. 0:34 — Could you tell us more about yourself? 1:00 — What was your favorite part about being a Stone Soup intern? 1:23 — What are some of the things you’ve been working on/have worked on as an intern? 2:08 — How would you compare working for Stone Soup to contributing to Stone Soup? 2:54 — Is fantasy your favorite genre? And if so, why? 3:19 — Is Born on the First of Two your first Fantasy novel? 3:43 — What are some of your favorite fantasy novels? 4:28 — What inspired you to write this kind of fantasy/adventure story? 5:14 — How did you approach the process of world-building? 6:00 — How did you come up with the personality for your main character, Maya? 6:30 — How did you come up with the name “Maya” ? 6:49 — Over the course of the narrative, how does Maya change? 7:34 — How did you come up with personality traits of your secondary characters? 8:22 — How would you describe the relationship between your protagonist and secondary characters? 8:52 — Were any of your characters’ personalities based on people you know? 9:28 — How focused would you say you were on world-building vs. character development? 10:28 — Why did you choose to include the element of time travel in your novel? 11:17 — How did you create the mechanics of time travel within your novel? 12:21 — What is the central message you’d like your readers to take away from the novel? 13:05 — How would you describe your writing process? 14:42 — Is there anything else you’d like to say?
Stone Soup Author Interview: Tristan Hui
Stone Soup contributor Lena Aloise, 12, talks with Stone Soup contributor and winner of the Stone Soup Book Contest 2020 Tristan Hui, 14, about her novel The Other Realm, published on September 1st, 2021. The two also talk about the value of Stone Soup, the nature of inspiration, and the importance of writing as a means of exploring foreign concepts. If you’d prefer a more streamlined video, take a look at Tristan’s book page. 0:20 — How did you first get involved with Stone Soup 1:11 — When submitting to the magazine, would you say you prefer to submit writing, art, or both? 1:57 — What do you feel was the most important skill you learned from the Writing Workshop 2:40 — Where do you get your inspiration, more specifically for your novel The Other Realm? 4:22 — Is there a specific play or theater production from which you draw inspiration? 5:35 — Are characters such as Azalea Morroe inspired by people in your own life? 7:09 — Has writing always been a part of your life/how long have you been writing? 8:39 — Was The Other Realm the first novel/long form fiction piece you’d ever written? 9:28 — What was the biggest challenge you faced while writing The Other Realm? 11:31 — What advice would you give your past self in order to help yourself get through the hard parts? 12:41 — What was your favorite part about writing The Other Realm? 14:01 — Not including your revising processes, how long did it take you to write your novel from start to finish? 15:41 — What would you say is the primary thing you want readers to take away from The Other Realm? 16:48 — If you could tell somebody about Stone Soup, what would you say?
Highlights from the Stone Soup Author Interviews: What is your Favorite Thing About Writing?
Our authors tell Stone Soup contributor and 20-21 intern Anya Geist, 14, their favorite things about writing. 0:24 – Tatiana Schrayer, 12 1:07 – Liam Hancock, 12 1:24 – Georgia Marshall, 11 2:07 – Analise Braddock, 9 2:26 – Lucy Rados, 13 2:57 – Shelby Miller, 11 3:10 – Tilly Marlow, 11 3:40 – Katie Pausin, 11 4:03 – Enni Harlan, 13 4:19 – Sasha Miller, 8 4:26 – Lena Aloise, 11
Stone Soup Author Interview: Katie Pausin
Stone Soup contributor and 20-21 intern Anya Geist, 14, talks with Stone Soup newcomer Katie Pausin, 11, about her unfinished picture book about a traveling penguin, how Erin Hunter’s Warrior Cats series inspires her to write in different points of view, and the importance of quiet in breeding creativity. 0:19 – How were you introduced to Stone Soup? 0:47 – Do you subscribe to Stone Soup and if so for how long have you been a subscriber? 0:54 – Have you ever submitted anything to Stone Soup? 1:12 – Do you think you would want to submit anything in the future? 1:35 – What is your favorite part about the Writing Workshop? 1:55 – Which Writing Workshop was your favorite? 2:16 – What is your favorite part about Book Club? 2:44 – What was your favorite part about the Summer Camp? 3:10 – What was your picture book about? 3:36 – Are there any specific books, authors, or artists that inspire your writing/art? 4:30 – Are there any artists whose work you particularly like? 4:55 – Do you get artistic inspiration from your own life? 5:17 – Do you prefer to write in the genre of personal narrative? 5:45 – What kind of stuff do you like to draw? 6:10 – What is your favorite thing about writing? 6:37 – Do you like to include descriptive language in your writing? 6:45 – What is your favorite thing about art? 7:12 – How much time do you spend writing/making art? 8:18 – Is the art you do for fun different from the art you do for school? 9:23 – Do you think the writing you do for fun is different from the writing you do for school? 10:42 – Do you have a favorite place to write or draw? 11:25 – Is there anything else you want to say? 11:39 – Do you have any advice about art for your peers? 12:58 – Do you have any writing advice for your peers? 13:36 – If you could tell somebody about Stone Soup, what would you say?
Stone Soup Author Interview: Shelby Miller
Stone Soup contributor and 20-21 intern Anya Geist, 14, talks with Stone Soup newcomer Shelby Miller, 11, about the inspiration she gets from her author grandfather, writing scary stories, and the lovely privacy of writing in her own room. 0:16 – How were you introduced to Stone Soup? 0:32 – Do you subscribe to Stone Soup? 0:39 – What have you submitted to Stone Soup? 0:45 – How did it feel to submit something? 0:55 – What was the poem you submitted about and what inspired you to write it? 1:18 – What did you like about the Writing Workshop? 1:29 – What was it like to join the Writing Workshop partway through the summer? 1:52 – Do you have any favorite books or authors you get inspiration from? 2:14 – Do you like writing scary stories? 2:24 – Do you draw on your own life for your writing? 2:42 – What is your favorite thing to write about? 2:50 – How do you make your stories scary? 3:11 – What inspired you to write scary stories? 3:30 – Do you ever scare yourself when you’re writing a scary story? 3:44 – What is your favorite thing about writing? 4:06 – What kind of character do you tend to create when writing a scary story? 4:40 – Do you have a favorite place to write? 5:14 – Is there anything else you want to say? 5:27 – Do you have any writing advice for your peers? 6:06 – What do you like about reading Stone Soup? 6:26 – If you could tell somebody about Stone Soup, what would you say?
Stone Soup Author Interview: Nami Gajcowski
Stone Soup contributor and 20-21 intern Anya Geist, 14, talks with third place winner of the 2019 Book contest and winner of the Weekly Flash Contest Nami Gajcowski, 10, about how it felt to finish her novella, Elana, how she decided on its fantastical elements, and the innovative inclusion of emojis. 0:21 – How were you introduced to Stone Soup? 0:54 – What is your favorite part about the Writing Workshop? 1:28 – Did you like the Book Club? 1:49 – What inspired you to write and submit a novella to the Book Contest? 2:48 – How long did it take to write? 3:10 – How did it feel to submit the novella? Was it your first time submitting to a contest? 3:41 – Do you think that writing a novella has inspired you to write more long form fiction? 3:57 – Did writing and submitting your second novella feel different from the first time? 5:18 – What made you decide to write your novella within the fantasy genre? 5:52 – How did you decide to set your novella on Neptune? 6:49 – Can you explain your use of emojis? 7:24 – How did you decide to write your protagonist the way you did? 8:02 – How did you decide to name her “Elana”? 8:58 – How did you decide what the primary conflict would be and why did you name the villain “Casey”? 9:32 – What made you decide to add all the fantastical elements to your novella, like the sweets? 9:59 – How did it feel to win third place? 10:25 – Were you surprised? 10:38 – Do you have any writing advice for your peers? 11:35 – If you could tell somebody about Stone Soup, what would you say?
