Creator Interview: Kimberly Horch on Finding Joy in Children’s Book Writing

Welcome to the #GrowYourWriting 2026 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 March featured creator, Kimberly Horch. Kimberly is is truly an inspiration. I’ve had the honor of sharing a debut group with her and she is not only a talented creator but an amazing cheerleader as well! I’m so thrilled to share her story with you today!

Kimberly Horch is an author and a self-proclaimed agent of joy. She runs the kindness-focused instagram @thedaybrighteningcommittee. She started writing for her 5 kids, and finds inspiration in their antics daily. Every wall in her house doesn’t have mural on it yet, but it’s getting there! She always has a dozen projects up in the air, and twice that many on the floor. You can find more about her, and her work at kimberlyhorch.com

Let’s get started, shall we?

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

I started writing books for my kids, printing a handful of copies for family at shutterfly.com. When my mom showed one of them to a friend, and he asked where he could get a copy, it was the first time I ever considered that people outside my family might be interested in what I wrote. 

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

I started taking some writing classes and learning about how to get published in 2019. From there it was several years of learning, submitting, and continuing to write stories that got better as I went along. 

In 2023 I had a book that was picked up by a small publisher, but had to be canceled a year later because they were having distribution challenges—it was a critical moment for me to decide if I still really wanted to keep going. I’m glad I chose yes, because it was just a couple months later that I signed my contract with Magination Press for SAWYER’S BIG IDEA. Sawyer came out fall 2025, almost 6 years after my journey started. 

3 – What part of the process, from the first draft to submissions, do you find the most challenging, and how do you overcome that?

I’m very much a go-getter, so the hardest part for me was waiting for responses and feeling like there was nothing I could do. My biggest help there was having great critique partners and a neighbor-author-friend who reminded me I wasn’t doing this alone.

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

My favorite author is Julie Fogliano (IF YOU WANT TO SEE A WHALE, IF I WAS THE SUNSHINE). I have her WHEN GREEN BECOMES TOMATOES  hanging in a shadowbox on my wall and I turn the page every so often—when I’m feeling really in a word rut I pull it out and read the whole book to myself aloud. 

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

I think as authors we can pigeonhole ourselves into a type of work, whether that be a genre or a method. Take your skills, what makes you special as a creator and try a new type of story—it doesn’t have to look like how everyone else does that genre. Trying new things will help keep you out of a rut, and help you find a space where you uniquely stand out.

6 – What’s next for you as a creator?

Middle grade! I have a middle grade novel-in-verse on submission right now, and (because I really do believe in trying new styles) I’m editing a middle grade nonfiction. 

7 – Are there any particular resources you’ve used or nurtured often that helped you grow as a creator?

So I just talked about new writing (writing in a new genre), and the importance of finding supportive people (cultivating connections in the kid lit community), and how I use a mentor text to get my mind going. 

Guess what? It’s giveaway time!

Kimberly has graciously offered to give one lucky winner a free picture book critique.

How to enter

To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this blog post below.

You can tell us:

• What part of Kimberly’s interview resonated with you, or
• What new type of story you’d like to try writing.

Giveaway Details

• Entry period: Now through March 19, 2026 at 11:59 PM PST
• Winner announced: March 20th on this blog post and on Instagram
• Prize: One picture book critique from Kimberly Horch

The winner will be selected randomly from the comments and contacted via the email used when commenting.

Good luck, and happy writing! 🌱

Shine On,

Christine