#GrowYourWriting Creator Interview: Alison McGauley

Welcome to the #GrowYourWriting 2025 Creator Interviews blog series. I’m thrilled to feature talented kidlit creators this year and spotlight their beautiful work and inspiring journeys. 

I’m so excited to introduce our May featured creator, Alison McGauley. Alison is is truly an inspiration. I’m so grateful ro have her as a friend and critique partner as we navigate this giant KidLit jigsaw puzzle together.

Alison is a special education teacher and the author of Kenzie’s Little Tree (Orca Book Publishers), illustrated by Emilie Leduc. As a chronic illness warrior, Alison is passionate about writing stories that speak to children and caregivers who are impacted by illness or disability. She also loves creating books that feature humor, SEL, and the natural world. Alison resides in Ontario, Canada with her husband, two daughters, and Ragdoll cat.

Let’s get started, shall we?

1 – What inspired you to pursue a career in children’s literature, and when did you start creating?

Thank you so much for your friendship, all that you do for the kidlit community,
and for having me on your blog, Christine! I’m excited to be here.

I have loved reading and writing books since I was a small child. Picture books
have always captivated me, and as an elementary teacher of 20 years, I have
enjoyed thousands. Growing up, I wrote stories, articles, and poems, but I didn’t
pursue the goal of publication until 2020. At that point, I longed for a creative
pursuit to fill my bucket, and I decided to commit to studying the craft of picture
book writing. I quickly fell in love with the genre and the kidlit community and
have never looked back!

2 – Can you tell us more about your journey from ideas to publication?

Definitely! As I mentioned, I’ve always adored books, but I never knew how to go
about the publication process. When I decided to get serious about this journey
about five years ago, I looked online and found the amazing picture book writing
course with the Children’s Book Academy. That course taught me so much and
was where I first met many amazing folks in the kidlit community. From there, I
was hooked on writing picture books and kept learning, growing and connecting
with other creators. I wrote and polished numerous drafts and eventually queried
agents. I signed with Westwood creative artists in 2021 and sold my first picture
book, Kenzie’s Little Tree, illustrated by Emilie Leduc and published by Orca
Book Publishers, about a year later.

3 – What part of the process, from the first draft to submissions, do you find the most challenging, and how do you overcome that?
Though actually penning a first draft is tough, I think I’d have to say that the
hardest part for me is finalizing the beginning and ending of a story. With picture
books, both sections need to be strong and satisfying without coming across as
didactic, and this can be tricky!

How I work though this challenge is by playing around with different versions,
communicating with critique partners or my agent, and turning to mentor texts or
information learned from courses for inspiration.

4 – Who are your favorite children’s authors and illustrators that have inspired your work?

This is a difficult question as I’ve been inspired by many amazing creators! My
goal as an author is to create big-hearted stories for little readers and I also tend to
be drawn to stories that contain a lot of big emotions. Some books that come to
mind are Watercress by Andrea Wang and Jason Chin, Ida Always by Caron Levis
and Charles Santoso, A Stopwatch from Grampa by Loretta Garbutt and Carmen
Mok, and The Scarecrow by Beth Ferry and The Fan Brothers.

I recently wrote an article for 49th Shelf titled “Big-Hearted Stories for Little
Readers” that features powerful picture books that evoke strong emotions, feature
important themes, inspire readers, and elicit thoughts and discussions. You can
check that out here:
https://kids.49thshelf.com/Blog/2025/03/10/Big-Hearted-Stories-for-Little-Readers

5 – What advice would you like to give aspiring kidlit creators looking to grow their writing?

As an elementary teacher, I’m a huge fan of learning opportunities! My advice is to
gather as much information as you can through courses, webinars, conferences,
critiques, conversations with authors and publishing folks, mentor texts, etc.
Throughout the years I’ve learned from a variety of sources such as critique
partners, SCBWI, CANSCAIP, The Children’s Book Academy, The Writing Barn,
12X12, Rate Your Story, Storystorm, and author webinars, to name a few. Collect
as much information as you can and never stop learning and growing!

6 – What’s next for you as a creator?

I am currently enjoying time spent sharing Kenzie’s Little Tree at book events,
schools, and libraries! I am always puttering away on a variety of manuscripts and
hope to make another book soon!

Huge thanks to Christine for hosting, and to you, the readers, for tuning in!

Are you participating in the #GrowYourWriting Challenge this year? Alison recommends pursuing the mentor text, podcast, webinar, and cultivate connection badges to help you on your KidLit writing path!

This question ties in with my previous comment in that the most helpful resources for me are those that teach and allow me to practice my craft such as webinars, courses, mentor texts, podcasts, and cultivating connections through critique partners and author discussions.

Guess What? It’s giveaway time! Alison has graciously offered to host a giveaway for one lucky winner for a free copy of Kenzie’s Little Tree (US and Canadian Residents only please.)

To enter, leave a comment on this blog post below. The entry period closes on April 29, 2025, at 12am PST. One Winner will be announced on May 30, 2025.