326: Painting, Math, and Tiny Houses: Writing the Picture Book Biography - Interview with Amy Alznauer

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Amy Alznauer.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amy lives in Chicago with her husband, two children, a dog and her four puppies, a parakeet, sometimes chicks and a part-time fish, but, as of today, no elephants or peacocks. Check back.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Her writing has won the Annie Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction, the Christopher Award, and the SCBWI-Illinois Laura Crawford Memorial Mentorship, and her essays and poetry have appeared in collections and literary journals including The Bellingham Review, Creative Nonfiction and River Teeth.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She has an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She teaches calculus and number theory classes at Northwestern University. She is the managing editor for the SCBWI-IL Prairie Wind. And she is the writer-in-residence at St. Gregory the Great, where she has a little office in a big building with a bad internet connection, where she tries to get work done (in theory).</span><span style= "font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></p> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode Amy and I discuss:</span></h3> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How the relationship between the Zhou brothers inspired her book.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What Amy had to do to find the perfect illustrator for her book.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why Amy believes it is important to get the blessing from the real-life figures that inspire your writing. </span></li> </ul> <h4><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Plus, her #1 tip for writers.</span></em></h4> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For more info and show notes <a href="https://diymfa.com/podcast/episode-326-Amy-Alznauer" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diymfa.com/326</a></span></p> <p> </p>