Shout Mouse Press Blog
It’s hard to keep up with all that our authors do (for us too)! We’ll be sharing updates from our programs, news about book releases, and pieces from our authors here. For media about our authors’ accomplishments, check out our press room.
Throughout July, 13 Reach Incorporated tutors participated in virtual workshops with Shout Mouse Team Story to write four new children's picture books! We're delighted to welcome back returning authors Japan, Jocktavious, and Riley and to work with writers Anthony, Damarco, Danya, Daveena, Diarou, Emilie, Geralyn, Joseph, Samaria, and Shatiya for the first time.
Read MoreOn August 20th, Shout Mouse Press authors met to celebrate their contributions to #ShoutInPlace and hear work from featured poet Pages Matam and fellow authors. Our team is constantly humbled and honored to work with powerful young writers who share their stories with vulnerability, eloquence, and intentionality. We loved seeing and hearing from authors about their #ShoutInPlace work and how it feels to be accomplished writers!
Read MoreThanks to a partnership with An Open Book Foundation, the wonderful poet Mahogany Browne joined 17 young SMP writers for a workshop on August 5th. As part of our #ShoutInPlace storytelling project, we organized this event to provide an opportunity for authors to connect with an award-winning writer whose work engages with topics that arose in their submissions, such as social justice, racism, discrimination, and resilience-- to and ask any questions about writing or process and celebrate their many contributions to #ShoutInPlace.
Read MoreOur authors’ stories are needed now more than ever. Every book in our catalog is written by authors from communities who are under threat by current political conditions and rhetoric. We are currently hearing the calls for #OwnVoices literature louder than ever -- as well as calls for tools to help spark important conversations. With this in mind, we’re releasing new book sets!
Read MoreShout Mouse Press condemns the ongoing state-sanctioned violence towards Black people across the nation. We stand in solidarity with Black communities, racial justice advocates, and all of you who are outraged by repeated acts of racism, violence, and abuse of public trust. We support the Black Lives Matter movement and share in their mission of combating white supremacy and "creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy."
Read MoreThrough a one-day campaign, enough gifts were given to donate 375 books to local readers in need! We started the day with the goal of giving 100 books -- but surpassed this initial goal by noon. As always, we are grateful to our community for your bold and wonderful support!
Read MoreOn February 8, 2020, a group of 20+ Shout Mouse Press authors and staff gathered in Studio J at The Kennedy Center’s REACH for our first-ever Author Talks Training. Our books are written in #OwnVoices by young authors and advocates who are Latino immigrants, formerly incarcerated, Black, Muslim, and of many other identities. This was a wonderful opportunity to bring a collective of SMP authors, many of whom had never met, together.
Read MoreWe are THRILLED to announce the addition of four new children’s books, authored by the amazing tutors of Reach Incorporated, to the Shout Mouse Press catalog. This stunning set of books covers important themes for people of all ages.
Read MoreWe’ve finished our seventh summer of writing workshops with the teen tutors of Reach to create four new children's books. These students were excited to create stories that will inspire and educate the young people they tutor and throughout their community. They spent four weeks writing with the help of our story coaches, brought their characters to life with up and coming illustrators, and learned what it takes to create a children's book. Now that the authors have finished writing, our illustrators are working on bringing their stories to life! Books launch in November and we can't wait. We couldn’t keep these exciting new stories to ourselves, so here’s a sneak peek at this exciting new batch of books:
Read More…and other exciting updates….
This book, the fifth volume of The Ballou Story Project, was initiated by the students of Ballou High School in response to a challenging year for the community. They wanted to illuminate the Ballou not often represented in the media--one full of love, hard work, and transformation. Most importantly, these young people wanted to speak for themselves, not to be spoken about. They remind us that there are many sides to every story, and that all voices should be valued and heard. “This is our last line of defense,” they write. “These are our stories. This is the Ballou We Know.”
The Ballou We Know will be released May 9th.
Dartavius, who goes by Doc, is a three-time author with Reach, having written Drip, Drip: The Story of the Angry Sherbet, Madison, Sit Down, and this summer his third picture book, Tiffany and the Two Missing Teeth. Doc talked through the process of writing children’s books and gave a sneak peak into what he’s writing this year.
Read MoreRecently, 1st grade students from H.D. Cooke Elementary School in D.C. wrote letters to the teen authors of Drip, Drip: The Story of the Angry Sherbet, a product of our collaboration with Reach Incorporated.
Read MoreHelp us celebrate the new year by donating to our cause and helping meet our year-end fundraising goal.
Read MoreThis summer we also held writing workshops with 16 ambitious teens from the Latin American Youth Center’s Latino Youth Leadership Council. They wrote and illustrated true life stories of immigration, education, family, and community. For the past few months, a team of comic book professionals have been working hard to bring these powerful stories together into a bilingual graphic memoir collection not to be missed.
Read MoreIt was our busiest summer yet here at Shout Mouse Press! Help us celebrate these summer highlights and look forward to all to come this fall.
Read MoreThe 2017 Reach Incorporated and Shout Mouse Press children’s book writing workshops have drawn to a close. Now that the authors have finished writing, our illustrators are working on bringing their stories to life! Books launch in November and we can't wait. We couldn’t keep these exciting new stories to ourselves, so here’s a sneak peek at this exciting new batch of books.
Read MoreBecause the mission of Shout Mouse is to amplify marginalized voices, seeing Madison drawn on screen is more than just seeing a character come to life, it was a realization of this mission. Our picture books with Reach intend to expand diverse voices within children’s literature, both in their characters and their authors.
Read MoreNoam Paris is a returning to the Shout Mouse team to illustrate their second Reach Incorporated children’s book. Noam graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art in May and is now working as an illustrator in Baltimore. Noam previously illustrated The Blue Spark in 2015, Shout Mouse’s first comic book. We asked them to talk a little about illustration, the process of working on Reach books, and the importance of picture books.
Read MoreHere at Shout Mouse, we are knee deep in our summer writing workshops. Teen writers at Reach Incorporated and the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) Latino Youth Leadership Council are engaged in unique and equally exciting projects, both designed to further our mission of amplifying marginalized voices.
Read MoreWe’re turning three this summer! We’ve published 25 books and worked with over 200 young writers from 5 different non-profit partners. To celebrate, we are participating in 2017 United Way Do More 24 Campaign, the area's biggest 24-hour online fundraiser, on June 8 from 12:00 AM – 11:59 PM. You can make an advance donation starting May 25. All you have to do is log on at www.domore24.org/npos/shout-mouse-press and donate!
Read More
