YA author Kelly McWilliams: "I write about the oppression of women because it makes me so angry."

04/07/21 • 52 min

Kelly McWilliams was a teenager when she published her first novel. These days, Kelly's working on her third novel, while promoting Agnes at the End of the World; a dystopian YA book published in 2020. Agnes at the End of the World received starred reviews in School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Publisher’s Weekly. It was also featured, funnily enough, in People magazine’s “20 Best Books to Read This Summer”, in the summer of 2020. Kelly spoke with me from her home in Colorado, where she told me about an entirely coincidental connection between her and my very first guest on this podcast, Caron Levis. Caron (who once interned at Teen People) teaches in the Creative Writing MFA program at The New School in New York. Guess who took one of her courses? That’s right, it’s my guest, Kelly McWilliams. Podcast Notes: Take a look at Kelly's website: www.kellymcwilliamsauthor.com, and find her on Instagram at kellymmcwilliams. Kelly (an author) and I (a librarian) referenced a whole bunch of books and writers in our chat! They are: Natalie Babbitt: Tuck Everlasting (1975, Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Octavia Butler: Parable of the Sower (1993, Four Walls) Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games (2008, Scholastic) Christopher Paul Curtis: The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 (1995, Delacorte Press) Nalo Hopkinson N. K. Jemisin: How Long 'til Black Future Month? (2018, Orbit Books) Carolyn Jessop and Laura Palmer: Escape (2007, Broadway Books) Leah Johnson: You Should See Me In a Crown (2020, Scholastic) Caron Levis Robin McKinley: The Hero and the Crown (1984, Greenwillow Books) Kelly McWilliams: Doormat (2004, Random House Children's Books) Agnes at the End of the World (2020, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) Mirror Girls (2022, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) Bethany C. Morrow: A Song Below Water (2020, Tor Teen) Sarah Moss: Ghost Wall (2018, Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Jewell Parker Rhodes: Ninth Ward (2010, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) Black Brother, Black Brother (2020, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers) Matt Ruff: Lovecraft Country (2016, HarperCollins) Colson Whitehead: The Underground Railroad (2016, Doubleday) The Nickel Boys (2019, Doubleday) Author photo: © Black Forest Photography Music: © Anna Soper Find me on Twitter and Instagram at TeenPeoplePod, and take a look at my website, www.annasoper.ca. For more information on my research, check out Sarah Wilson's award-winning podcast, Roots and All. I spoke with Sarah about Kate Crooks, a long-forgotten Canadian botanist: https://rootsandall.co.uk/portfolio-item/episode-91-the-work-of-kate-crooks-with-anna-soper/. Teen People is recorded in Kingston/Katarokwi, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat.

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Lindsay Soll Kirkman: "I don't know what you wear to meet a boy band."

Welcome to Teen People; the podcast where I dig into my collection of Teen People magazines, and interview some of the real people who were featured in Teen People! I'm Anna Soper. This episode is a chat with Lindsay Soll Kirkman. As a teenager, Lindsay was invited to apply to Teen People’s News Team by the magazine’s cofounder, Lori Majewski. Lindsay later worked for the magazine in New York. Lindsay went to Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Florida. In a story for Teen People, she wrote about the school’s athletics and performing arts scenes, as well as its notable alumni—including a few boybanders and pro sports stars. The school’s mascot is the Florida Panther. Its team name is the Panthers. The school newspaper is The Panther Post, and its yearbook is called, simply, Panther. As an aspiring journalist, Lindsay wrote for The Panther Post, including a story on 98 Degrees, who she met (along with Jessica Simpson) at a publishers' conference in Boca Raton. Our conversation touched on the teen magazine market of the early '00s, press intrusion, and unpaid internships as an unfortunate rite of passage. Stick around for Lindsay’s best celebrity encounters, featuring Nick and Jessica, Tom Cruise, and more! Find the images referenced in this episode on my Instagram account, TeenPeoplePod. Teen People is recorded in Kingston/Katarokwi, the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat.

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Coming up on season two!

The next season of Teen People podcast is coming soon! I interview real people who were in Teen People magazine as young adults. This season, I speak with: Jaya Saxena, Senior Writer, Eater Alex Hill, GIS Director and Adjunct Professor, Wayne State University Gennie Gorback, Early Childhood Educator and President of the California Kindergarten Association Kerisha Harris, corporate communications professional Frankie Thomas, Columnist, The Paris Review They share their memories of Teen People magazine, the advice they'd give their teenage selves, and how they're changing the world! Where are they now? Find Teen People wherever you get your podcasts!