Hello readers! I am delighted to bring you today's interview with author Kathy MacMillan. Kathy and I have several interests in common including kidlit, libraries and American Sign Language. I first interviewed Kathy in 2014 and again in 2020, and she has featured my work on her information-rich blog multiple times (Lucy's Blooms here, my potty-humor books, here, and my Story Time with Signs and Rhymes series, here ). Fun Fact: Kathy and I will be publishing house siblings when my next book, MAMA'S HOME, comes out with Familius in 2026!
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| by Kathy MacMillan and Ekaterina Ladatko |
Kathy's latest book, NITA'S FOOD SIGNS, (the third title in her Little Hands Signing series), came out on February 4, 2025 (illustrated by Ekaterina Ladatko, Familius), but she has MANY books to her credit. I've long said that one of my favorite parts of being an author is connecting with young readers at school, library, and bookstore visits, and in my Birth Stories for Books series, I often ask authors for one piece of advice related to planning successful book-related events. Since Kathy and I already took a deep dive into her path to publication for NITA'S DAY, Kathy's first book in the Little Hands Signing series, we decided to use today's conversation to take a deeper dive into planning book-related events and promotions. So let's get to it!
Dawn Prochovnic: Welcome back to the blog, Kathy! I'm so happy for you to be here. And congrats on your latest book!
Kathy MacMillan: Hi Dawn! Thanks for having me!
DP: You offer a wide variety of innovative, collaborative virtual and in-person events. You present regularly at public libraries, you offer a variety of webinars and eCourses, and I even recall a fun and informative Instagram Live event with fellow author, Tracy Gold, when your book SHE SPOKE first came out. I’d love to learn more about your experience planning/implementing one or more of these events. Let's start with libraries:
Reflecting on the (many!) library programs you have facilitated, both traditional, and virtual, are there any elements/activities that stand out that the young readers (and/or their parents/caregivers) seemed to enjoy the most?
KM: Anything interactive! So many authors (and people in the general public) think that storytime is just holding up a book and reading it, but there is so, so much more to it! An effective storytime includes lots of opportunities to connect and interact with your audience. That can mean pausing to ask questions, singing songs together, using props, or inviting volunteers up to help act out a story – or all of the above! If there is nothing for the kids and families to do but sit there, I consider that a failed program.
I have been presenting storytime programs that teach American Sign Language at libraries and schools since the early 2000s, so all of my programs (even my workshops for adults and writing programs for teens) include some American Sign Language. It’s a great way to get kids moving while still being engaged with the content.
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| © Maryland State Arts Council 2023, MSAC.org |
When it comes to programming and presentations, my motto is “Connection over perfection.” It’s much more important to be engaged with your audience than it is to get through everything on your plan. You have to be tuned in to the group, and if they need a wiggle song where I planned a story, then they get a wiggle song!
DP: Such great advice. And I LOVE that motto!
Do you have any fun anecdotes and/or pictures to share from your past events?
KM: Here are some pictures of various programs and storytimes I have done. The problem with being very animated, and with using a lot of ASL in my programs, is that inevitably there are a lot of pictures of me making weird faces!
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| © Maryland State Arts Council 2023, MSAC.org |
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| Image provided by Kathy MacMillan |
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| Image provided by Kathy MacMillan |
DP: Love it!
Do you have any event mishaps or cautionary tales that other storytime/book event planners might benefit from knowing about (or simply get a kick out of)?
KM: This story comes from a writing workshop for middle schoolers, but it’s a great example of leaning into participation and of being resourceful. In a writing workshop about plotting, I had planned to show a clip of the movie Cars to illustrate effective finales. We set everything up ahead of time and worked around the school’s firewall, and everything was working fine. But in the workshop itself, the video wouldn’t play. So I got a couple of volunteers to come up and act out the scene instead. It was hilarious and so much fun that I ended up doing that for all my future presentations, instead of playing the clip at all! Sometimes last-minute inspiration to get around an obstacle can yield the best activities.
DP: What a great story! I can just imagine how much fun that part of the program is for the participants!
I noticed on a recent promotional piece for a library story time that "all attendees will receive a free book," funded by the Friends of the Library. How did that fantastic arrangement come to be?
KM: This was a very cool initiative by the Friends of the Newark Free Library (DE). They had several authors presenting over the course of the year, and the Friends provided money to purchase copies of each author’s books to be distributed at the programs!
I have also been able to do book giveaways at some of my programs which were funded through the Maryland State Arts Council’s Arts in Education program. This is a fabulous program, and many other states have something similar. Basically, the way it works is that the teaching artist has to apply to be a part of the roster (and it’s a pretty intense process, so if you are brand new to doing arts or literary programs in schools and libraries, you might want to wait to get some experience before you apply.) Once you are on the roster, schools, libraries, and nonprofits can access grant funding to cover teaching artist fees and program materials (including books to distribute.) The best part about the Maryland program is that the application process for the teachers and librarians is super easy, with the teaching artist handling most of it.
DP: Those are great tips! Thanks for sharing your approach here.
You also offer a variety of webinars and eCourses. Are there any particular resources you rely on and/or recommend for others who might want to offer remote programming?
KM: I have taught online courses through the American Library Association for many years, and I vastly expanded my webinar offerings during the pandemic, when library staff needed online professional development. I have had great success with offering online library and educator workshops, and far less success with offering online workshops for writers. I think the difference is that my offerings for library staff and educators are fairly niche; I focus on serving Deaf patrons in libraries, and on strategies for incorporating ASL into storytimes in an effective and respectful way. There are simply very few people offering these kind of trainings, while there are a LOT of people offering online writing workshops.
So my advice is to figure out what you can offer that very few others can, and then market directly to your audience. I post about my webinars on my website and social media, of course, but most of my registrations come from my direct contacts with library staff and state library organizations.
DP: Super advice, Kathy!
You write in a wide variety of genres, from board books and picture books, to YA and instructional books for librarians and educators. What specific event planning advice do you have for folks like yourself with a wide range of work that is intended for vastly different audiences?
KM: When I first started offering specialty programs for libraries (long before I had books to promote!), I built my storytime programs around public library summer reading programs. That’s because many libraries only have money to pay for outside presenters during the summer. And summer programs are typically all-ages programs. (Even if they are advertised as for a particular age group, you never know who is going to show up!) So for every program I do, I think in options: What if only babies show up? What if it’s all older kids? What if it’s a mix?
Speaking of summer reading: Many public libraries across the country now use the Collaborative Summer Library Program, which means that many libraries nationwide are now using the same theme. This is great for authors and teaching artists, as it means we can develop one program related to the theme, and market it everywhere! (Even better, the themes are announced several years in advance, giving us plenty of time to plan.) I have had great success sending out a postcard mailing to public libraries in my area and surrounding states with information about my programs in January, and offering a 15% off discount for anyone who books by February 1. Check out my 2025 offering here.
DP: Looks like your summer is going to be loads of fun!
You also have an ABUNDANCE of book-related EXTRAS (learning extensions, activity ideas, and other educational resources, etc) for young readers and their grown-ups on your Storytime Stuff website. Since Women's History Month is observed in March, (and two of your books, SHE SPOKE and SHE SPOKE TOO are particularly relevant to this topic), can you point us in the direction of some helpful extras on your website that you've developed in support of this observance?
KM: You can find all the goodies for SHE SPOKE and SHE SPOKE TOO at https://tinyurl.com/shespoke (We snagged that url when the first book was published, so we had something easy to put in the book itself. I just have to make sure to keep the link up to date!). Our latest additions are SHE SPOKE and SHE SPOKE TOO word searches, made with the free worksheet generator at Education.com.
She Spoke Word Search (printable .pdf)
She Spoke Word Search answer key (printable .pdf)
She Spoke Too Word Search (printable .pdf)
She Spoke Too Word Search answer key (printable .pdf)
DP: Wow! That tinyurl is jam-packed with great resources and learning extensions!
Do you have any new projects and/or special events coming up that you’d like to put on our radar?
KM: I’m so excited to be celebrating Women’s History Month with SHE SPOKE TOO: 14 MORE WOMEN WHO RAISED THEIR VOICES AND CHANGED THE WORLD. You can find an interview with me and my co-author, Manuela Bernardi, where you can learn more about the book here.
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I also want to share my most recent book, NITA’S FOOD SIGNS, which came out in February. This is the third book in the Little Hands Signing board book series, which combines family stories with instruction in basic ASL vocabulary. Check out NITA’S FOOD SIGNS storytimes in ASL and English and learn more about the series here.
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| © Maryland State Arts Council 2023, MSAC.org |
DP: I just received an early copy of NITA'S FOOD SIGNS and I love it! (The book design in that series is absolutely marvelous!)
Is there something you wished I would have asked you that you haven’t had the opportunity to share?
KM: As someone who spent years on the other side of the library desk booking programmers, my best advice for anyone who wants to perform in libraries is: make it easy on the people who are hiring you! Make sure your program titles and descriptions, rates and policies, and promotional materials are easy to find on your website. One of the best things I ever did was add an availability calendar to my website—I can update it from my phone and it shows my availability in real-time.
And here are a couple of other resources that authors and illustrators who want to connect with public libraries might find helpful:
Working with Public Libraries: A Guide for Authors, Part 1 by Kathy MacMillan (at PubCrawl)
Working with Public Libraries: A Guide for Authors, Part 2 by Kathy MacMillan (at PubCrawl)
Storytime Magic for Picture Book School and Library Visits (Webinar recording; 90 minutes)
DP: Wowza, Kathy. I cannot thank you enough for your willingness to share so many of your event and book promotion experiences and ideas with us.
Dear readers, you've heard me say it before: the best way to thank an author whose insights have been helpful and/or inspiring to you is to support their work. Follow them on social media. Subscribe to their newsletter. Buy their books. Request them from your library. Read and share them with others. Let's give Kathy's books some love:
She Spoke Too purchase links:
Deaf Camps, Inc. Online Bookstore (autographed copies that support a great cause!)
Nita’s Food Signs purchase links:
Autographed copies from the Deaf Camps, Inc. Online Bookstore
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| Image provided by Kathy MacMillan |
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Have Swag Will Travel is an occasional feature of Dawn Babb Prochovnic's blog. Dawn is the author of multiple picture books including, Lucy's Blooms, Where Does a Cowgirl Go Potty?, Where Does a Pirate Go Potty?, and 16 books in the Story Time With Signs & Rhymes series. Dawn is a contributing author to the award-winning book, Oregon Reads Aloud, and a frequent presenter at schools, libraries, and educational conferences. Contact Dawn using the form at the left, or learn more at www.dawnprochovnic.com.
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