Reading Rural YAL

Rachel Bird by Becky Citra | Author Talk

[https://literacyinplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/img_1502.jpg?w=1024] TODAY’S EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY…THE SNOW DAY! It’s been another long while since I posted an episode of my podcast. Being back in the secondary classroom has left me still trying to find my groove. But! Today’s snow day seemed like the perfect opportunity to edit and post another episode. Thanks, Snow! It was such a joy revisiting this conversation with Becky Citra [https://beckycitra.com/]. In this episode, Whippoorwill Award winning author, Becky Citra and I talk about what it means to live rural and write a rural book, our favorite modes of reading, and her upcoming projects. The sequel she talks about finishing in this episode is out now! Like a Bird [https://bookshop.org/a/86567/9781772604177] is going straight to the top of my TBR! Learn more about Becky Citra and her work: https://beckycitra.com/ [https://beckycitra.com/] Learn more about the Whippoorwill Award for excellence in rural young adult and middle grade fiction: https://whippoorwillaward.weebly.com/ [https://whippoorwillaward.weebly.com/] Learn more about rural titles for young people at: https://literacyinplace.com/rural-book-list/ [https://literacyinplace.com/rural-book-list/]

Golden Boys by Phil Stamper | Author Talk

Celebrating PRIDE in rural places with Phil Stamper with my first episode in a while. Hope you'll join us.

Vicious Is My Middle Name by Kevin Dunn | Author Talk

In this episode, Whippoorwill Award winner Kevin Dunn and I talk about the importance of rural voices in publishing, the impact that transactions of place have on identity, and the connection between DIY punk and rural culture. To learn more about Kevin Dunn: https://www.kcdunn.com/ [https://www.kcdunn.com/] For more info on the Whippoorwill Award for Rural YA and MG Literature: https://whippoorwillaward.weebly.com/ [https://whippoorwillaward.weebly.com/]

Vicious Is My Middle Name by Kevin Dunn | Book Talk

In this episode, I sit down with my buddy, Brian Brady, to talk about the Whippoorwill Award winning Vicious Is My Middle Name by Kevin Dunn which is about Sydney Vicious Talcott and her efforts to derail the construction of an asphalt plant in her new home in Appalachia. Here’s the jacket copy summary: With a partially-shaved head, purple Doc Marten boots, and the sinking realization that no one in a fifty-mile radius has ever heard of her favorite all-female punk band Lite Brite, thirteen-year-old Sydney Vicious Talcott wants to be anywhere but her new home of Beaver Dam, NC, especially when mean girl Bethany Winters treats her like the punchline to every joke. But just as life begins to seem more tolerable with her two new book-nerd friends and a growing appreciation for the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains, Sydney discovers that a shady corporation is planning to build an environmentally damaging asphalt plant right next to the school. Her attempts to work through the system to stop the plant’s construction fail, so it’s up to Sydney to fight the corporation and their political lackeys the only way she can, using the do-it-yourself tools she has learned from punk rock. But before she can triumph, Sydney, her family, and friends must endure bullying, harassment, immigration raids, and more. Learn more about Kevin Dunn: https://www.kcdunn.com [https://www.kcdunn.com] Buy the book: https://bookshop.org/a/86567/9781646032808 [https://bookshop.org/a/86567/9781646032808]

Author Talk | Laurel Aronian

– RURAL TEEN WRITING CONTEST RUNNER-UP – In this episode, high school junior, Laurel Aronian reads her award-winning poem, “So Long, Schoolhouse” and chats with me about her inspiration for the poem, her writing process, and gives some great advice to fellow young writers and teachers of writing alike. Check out her poem: https://literacyinplace.com/2024/02/15/so-long-schoolhouse-by-laurel-aronian-runner-up-2023-rural-teen-writing-contest/ [https://literacyinplace.com/2024/02/15/so-long-schoolhouse-by-laurel-aronian-runner-up-2023-rural-teen-writing-contest/] Learn more about the Rural Teen Writing Contest: https://literacyinplace.com/inaugural-literacy-in-place-writing-contest/ [https://literacyinplace.com/inaugural-literacy-in-place-writing-contest/ ] [https://literacyinplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2023-runner-up-laurel-aronian-2.png?w=1024]