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	<title>Christine Alemshah, Children&#039;s Author</title>
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		<title>Creator Interview: Jenna Elysa Johnson on highlighting disability joy and breaking through acquisitions red tape.</title>
		<link>https://christinealemshah.com/creator-interview-jenna-elysa-johnson-on-highlighting-disability-joy-and-breaking-through-acquisitions-red-tape/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Christine Alemshah]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Apr 2026 21:01:01 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Author Interviews]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Creator Interview Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Grow Your Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kidlit Writing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[children's book author interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[children's book writing tips]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[children's books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[how to become a children's book author]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[kidlit creator interview]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[picture book writing advice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[picture books]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Storytelling journey]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[writing journey to publication]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[Welcome to the #GrowYourWriting 2026 Creator Interviews blog series. I’m thrilled to feature talented kidlit creators this year and spotlight their beautiful work and inspiring journeys.&#160; I&#8217;m so excited to introduce our April featured creator, Jenna Elyse Johnson. I have been following her journey for been years and it is truly inspiring! Read on to find out more her mission to publish titles highlighting disability joy, how she sees every one of her books as a miracle and how she navigated all the red tape during the acquisitions process. Jenna Elyse Johnson (she/her) is the author of EVERY BODY MOVE, I SPARK LIKE LIGHTNING, The MAE AND MALIBU Chapter Book Series, and PENNY’S PAGES. Growing up, Jenna’s favorite part of the school day was storytime, so she decided to make a career out of it! She now works as a bookseller, teacher, and her most fun job, children’s book author! As a disabled author, her passion is to highlight disability joy through her writing. She also tries to sneak a dog into every story she writes! Jenna lives in Northern California with her two labradors who love storytime just as much as she does.  Let&#8217;s get started, shall we? 1 &#8211; What inspired you to pursue a career in children&#8217;s literature, and when did you start creating? Storytime was always my favorite time of the day. It felt like a treat to gather at the rug and listen to my teacher read aloud a picture book. I especially loved when we would get an extra story or two throughout the day. When I became a teacher, it was still my favorite part of the day! I am excellent at read alouds and do all the voices. I attribute that to my background in theater, as well as to my parents and how they read to me growing up. I have been creating since childhood. I always loved creative writing and was fortunate to have teachers who encouraged me. Then, I took theater classes where we had to write scenes, and one acts. It felt natural to me. I also knew I wanted to become an elementary school teacher, so I was always immersed in picture books. I never outgrew them. I remember distinctively having the thought, one day during my junior year in high school when I was dressed up like the mouse from If You Take a Mouse to School, that I wanted to write a picture book “someday.” I never thought it would be my career. I had no idea how I would do it or what my picture book would be about. But I had just spent the day reading to a bunch of elementary school students and I LOVED it. And I imagined what it would be like to read them a book I had written. And I knew I wanted to try. But that was a “someday” dream that I placed in the back of my mind while I pursued my college degree and teaching credential. Years later, “someday” found me on medical leave from the classroom and that dream alive and well. With nothing but time, I had to try. I knew somebody that was published, and she pointed me toward SCBWI. Through SCBWI I found Susanna Leonard Hill’s “Making Picture Book Magic” Course which gave me the structure I needed to begin. After that course, I found 12&#215;12 and the greater kidlit community, and well, the rest is history! 2 &#8211; Can you tell us more about your journey from ideas to publication? I feel like every book that is published is a miracle. It is SO hard to break through all the “red tape” that is the acquisitions process at publishers. So, every book that you see on shelves is a miracle. Or at least, every one of my books feels like a miracle to me.&#160; Most of my books are inspired by elements of my own life! As a disabled author, it is my passion to highlight disability joy in my stories. EVERY BODY MOVE celebrates kids with mobility tools and I grew up using mobility tools because I have cerebral palsy.&#160; I SPARK LIKE LIGHTNING is a narrative nonfiction book about epilepsy, and I have epilepsy. It releases on April 7th! (Check out the whole Disability Books for Kids Series, it’s incredible.)&#160; MAE &#38; MALIBU is inspired by my relationship with my service dog, Hamilton. Also, the name of the series is fun because May is my favorite month and Malibu is one of my favorite places in the entire world, and where I went to college. I seriously can’t wait to share this series with you. Look for the cover reveals of the first two books coming on April 22nd!&#160; The first two books release on September 22nd!&#160; And PENNY’S PAGES is inspired by the indie bookstore where I work. That book is going to be such a FUN storytime book and I couldn’t be happier with how it’s turning out. I can’t wait for it to come out next spring, just in time for Independent Book Store Day!&#160; As far as other ideas, I am always working on something! I keep a running list of ideas on my notes app on my phone. I am always adding to it, always jotting down little phrases or concepts that I think would make a great picture book. Though, sometimes, when I go back through the list, I have no clue what some of those ideas mean. So, I am trying to be more specific and detailed about the ideas that I write down.&#160; I also feel like I don’t have a TON of ideas. I read interviews of authors who say that they have a million ideas and who say that they will never run out of ideas, and their problem is choosing which idea to work on. I don’t feel that way. (Does anyone else relate?) I mean, if I go through my notes app, I have a LOT written down, but I wouldn’t exactly call them great ideas. Or publishable ideas.&#160; Sometimes, it takes me a long time to get excited enough about an idea to start writing about it. I feel like I need to think about something for a long time before I start writing. It needs to marinate in my mind. But thinking is part of the writing process, too! Because once I finally DO start writing, I can get down a draft quickly. I am a plotter and not a panther.  3 &#8211; What part of the process, from the first draft to submissions, do you find the most challenging, and how do you overcome that? The beginning! Starting a story is always the most difficult and most intimidating part for me. I want it to be perfect and interesting from the start, but of course that’s difficult to do from scratch. Especially when you have a blank page just taunting you. And I must turn off my inner critic as I get the first draft down. First drafts don’t need to be perfect; they just need to exist. Revision comes later! This is where plotting helps me. I love to have an outline to work from. If I have thought through the story for long enough, the blank page feels less intimidating. I am flexible, though, and will break away from the outline if the story calls for it! I also go through and paginate the story BEFORE I start writing. That way I get a feel for pacing as I go. I know where my page turns will be. Plus, seeing numbers on the page takes away the blankness! And if I get stuck at any point, I can count how many spreads I have left and coach myself into thinking, “Okay, Jenna, you only have five spreads to go. You can write five more spreads!” 4 &#8211; Who are your favorite children’s authors and illustrators that have inspired your work? One of my favorite children’s authors is Amy Krouse Rosenthal. She was masterful in her use of language, and she just emulated joy in life and through her books. I also am in awe of Jessie Sima and everything they create. I mean there are SO many creators I could name here. One of the best parts about working at an indie bookstore is that I get to discover new picture books and new creators practically every day that I work! Every day is a masterclass in picture books.  5 &#8211; What advice would you like to give aspiring kidlit creators looking to grow their writing? Keep reading! Take the class. Apply for the mentorship. Listen to the podcast. Go for the grant. Do the thing! You are already in it to win it so believe in yourself. Sometimes the biggest battle is belief. You’ve got to root for yourself and be your own biggest fan. Because imposter syndrome comes for everyone. But if you keep at it and keep believing you WILL get better. You will grow. There are no guarantees in this industry. I can’t promise anyone a book deal. But I do know the only guaranteed way to lose is to quit.  6 &#8211; What&#8217;s next for you as a creator? Next, is TODAY, April 7th, my sophomore picture book, I SPARK LIKE LIGHTNING, illustrated by Sue Teodoro, releases into the world! This was my first book deal, but timing is strange in publishing, so this is now my sophomore picture book. It is part of a new Disability Books for Kids Series which explores visible and invisible disability in the first person, as seen through the eyes of children and written from lived experience. This series builds allyship, challenges ableism, and celebrates difference, empowering and educating all readers. Plus, my book features my service dog, Hamilton, so it is extra fun!&#160; The other books are truly remarkable and are also available for purchase as a set! This would make a great teacher gift.&#160; This summer I have the honor and privilege of being a PB Rising Stars Mentor. This feels so special to me because in 2022 I was a PBChat mentee and, though they are different programs, they feel very similar in that they are both 3-month long mentorship programs for up-and-coming picture book creators. I feel like the PBChat mentorship program really boosted my career and I am grateful for the opportunity to give back to the kidlit community in this way.&#160; This fall, I get to kick off my MAE &#38; MALIBU Chapter Book Series. This is really the project of my heart. I can’t wait for it to hit shelves. These books are perfect for readers aged 6-8 and have such a classic feel. Anuki López has done such a fantastic job with the illustrations, Malibu is so adorable. The official cover reveal is coming on April 22nd, so keep your eyes peeled for that. And the first two books come out on September 22nd.&#160; And then in about a year, next spring, comes PENNY’S PAGES, illustrated by Janna Mattia. This picture book, my goodness, this is the type of book I was dreaming of when I was in high school saying that I would “someday” write a picture book. This is the one. Janna’s sketches have blown me away. This will be the best storytime book. I can’t wait!&#160; 7 &#8211; Are there any particular resources you’ve used or nurtured often that helped you grow as a creator? 12&#215;12 has been a big part of my creative journey. I highly recommend joining. And I know it’s too late in the year for new members to join, but you can watch the monthly free book chats, so I highly recommend that. I also love listening to podcasts! You May Contribute A Verse is one of my favorites. I also just learned about The Storyteller’s Shelf Podcaast and it’s great! 6 &#8211; JENNA&#8217;S FIVE FAVORITES: Favorite flower: sunflower or any blue flower! Favorite season:...]]></description>
		
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