The Porchlight: Episode Eleven with Katie Bayerl

Episode 11 features Katie Bayerl, author of A Psalm For Lost Girls, Putnam, March 2017. Katie's debut novel is a contemporary YA in mystery clothing, about an abduction that changes the lives of three girls. Katie holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and directs the VCFA Young Writers Network. The Network connects VCFA alums to underserved young readers through writing workshops at no cost for attendees. She has taught creative writing in schools and a variety of community settings and currently teaches classes for teens at GrubStreet.

 

Our Porchlight conversation with Katie explores her love of writing, "there's always more to learn." She discusses her publishing journey and the challenges of revision - "the messy part of being a novelist." Katie estimates it took her eight years to complete A Psalm for Lost Girls, but has since developed tools to make sure each chapter is moving the story forward. She'll be sharing these tools with attendees of The Literary Page Turner: Advanced Writer Weekend at The Writing Barn in November. Katie and Bethany also discuss the value of writing retreats and how being in a new place can give a writer new perspective on their work.

 

 

Links

Katie Bayerl

VCFA Young Writers Network

Interview with School Library Journal 

School Library Journal starred review

Publishers Weekly starred review

First chapter of A Psalm for Lost Girls