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It's Season's Readings with Kate Allen Fox & Editor Naomi Krueger!
- Lynne Marie
- 2 days ago
- 10 min read
Hi readers, writers, and lovers of all things winter! December 1st has arrived, and with it comes the start of our Season’s Readings celebration - a cozy week dedicated to winter holidays, crisp weather, and the stories that warm us. We’re kicking off our event in the best possible way - with the incredibly talented author Kate Allen Fox and editor Naomi Krueger with Beaming Books!
They’ve brought along the perfect book to share: Winter Solstice Wish, a luminous tribute to the shortest day of the year. This beautiful book captures the glow, wonder, and sense of togetherness found around a bonfire, blending scientific ideas with tradition to honor the longing for light, renewal, and connection.
Want to know more about Kate and Naomi and dive deeper into their stunning book PLUS want to hear an awesome writing tip from Naomi and enter for a chance to win a special treat - a manuscript critique from Kate? Read on…❄️☃️
Q: Hi, Kate and Naomi! Thanks so much for joining us. We're thrilled to have you here, kicking off the Season's Readings event. What better way to celebrate than with your beautiful book, Winter Solstice Wish?
Kate: Can you share more about your book and the inspiration behind it?
A: Winter Solstice Wish, written by me and illustrated by the wonderful Elisa Paganelli, is a seasonal book with a twist. Instead of focusing on a snowy location, it’s based in my home of southern California. While most people don’t think of the beach for a winter-themed book, I was drawn to the beauty of the area and the idea of beach bonfires to celebrate the solstice–literal lights to get us through the longest night of the year. I was also drawn to the community aspect of bonfire celebrations, where many families can come together to celebrate and support one another. When I first moved to the San Diego area, I participated in a hiking group that hosted solstice bonfires. That group was a wonderful community for my family, and it feels fitting that their tradition ended up inspiring this book which centers community and friendship.
Q: Naomi: Can you share what drew you to this book with us?
A: The manuscript has such a lovely storytelling voice and I loved how it wove in a story of community alongside information about what a winter solstice is. We also really loved the unique twist on a winter story set in California at the beach! The story is so cozy and warm and makes you want to have your own bonfire to celebrate the winter solstice. I also knew that it would make for gorgeous illustrations, so I was excited to find an illustrator to bring it to life. (And Elisa Paganelli did an incredible job!)
Q: Kate: The winter solstice is a magical time, and has roots in many other holidays, as you have noted in your book. Please tell us about your research and backmatter. Is this something you submitted with the manuscript, or something you were asked to come up with. Please share your process in choosing what to cover.
A: I’m a writer who loves backmatter. I think of it as a place where I get to geek out with any readers who want to meet me there. By the time I’ve finished writing my manuscripts, I always have a ton of extra information that didn’t make it into the main narrative, which I know can become backmatter. I personally always submit my manuscripts with backmatter because crafting it is part of my overall book-making process. For Winter Solstice Wish, I knew that the main text would focus on the experience of the solstice, so the backmatter needed to give readers more information about the science of the solstice. I also wanted to talk a bit about solstice traditions to give kids a sense of how the solstice has been (or could be!) celebrated.
Q: Naomi: What was your process like in taking this submission from concept to book? Beaming Books has another Winter Solstice story that just came out – how did this book factor into the acquisition of that one? How are they different from each other?
A: Our acquisitions process involves several rounds of review and consideration with different people, including editorial, sales, and marketing and publicity, as well as final approval with our publisher. We always look at comps in the market to see what else is out there and what else is already on our list, to see how a potential acquisition would compete. Holiday books do really well for us and we loved the idea of doing a winter solstice story, since this is a holiday that is not religion-specific and is enjoyed by people across cultures. Winter Solstice Wish published in October 2024 and even before it came out we knew it was going to be special. So when my colleague Liz Patterson received a submission for another story focused on the winter solstice, we were excited about that one too. The Littlest Solstice Tree by Lisa Varchol Perron, illustrated by Ahya Kim came out in September of this year. It’s a very different kind of solstice story–more of a folktale told from the perspective of two trees in the forest. The townspeople are coming to choose a tree for their solstice celebration and the two trees–Ancient and Sapling–find a way to bring both old and new together. This is a great example of books that complement each other rather than directly compete, and we used the early-buzz about Winter Solstice Wish to push the manuscript The Littlest Solstice Tree successfully through the acquisitions process.
Kate: What was this book’s journey from complete draft to publication?
A: Fair warning: this book’s process was really atypical (in a good way!). The concept came to me on a winter solstice while I was at the beach watching my kids play. I absent-mindedly picked up a handful of sand and let it slowly fall back to the ground. Then, a line of poetry popped into my head about the sands of time “slipping slyly” through my fingers. I had sudden inspiration about how sand, bonfires, and the solstice all worked together as metaphors and lines of the book kept coming to me. I wrote down as much as I could on a scrap of paper and hurried home to flesh out a good portion of the narrative. Later, I went back to research and revise, but much of my original concept and draft remained. It was definitely the fastest a manuscript has ever come together for me. That said, I had been wanting to write a book about the winter solstice for a few years, so I hypothesize that it came out more fully cooked because my brain had been simmering on it.
Within a few months, my agent Leslie Zampetti had submitted the manuscript to Naomi, who had tweeted about wanting to acquire a winter solstice book. She wrote back a few weeks later that she was interested in acquiring mine. The whole process was the smoothest of any book I’ve ever written. It felt somewhat magical, and I don’t expect it’ll ever happen again in my publishing life.
Q: Naomi: What was the timeframe of this book from acquisitions to publication? Were there any special considerations or efforts made? Is this typical for a book or holiday book?
A: We made our offer to acquire Winter Solstice Wish in June of 2022 and the book published in fall of 2024. This is a fairly typical schedule. We’re usually working two to three years out in our list planning. Right now we’re looking all the way out to Spring 2028! It takes a while to make a picture book, mainly because of the illustration and production process.
I also want to make sure you know that Kate has a SUMMER story coming out this spring! Summer Solstice Wish is a gorgeous celebration of the joy of summer and captures that feeling of how the long lazy days of summer slip by all too quickly.
We cannot WAIT for this book! Thanks for sharing it with us and congrats to you both.
Q: Kate, what’s your favorite spread and why?
A: I love the way Elisa has illustrated the community that has formed around the bonfire here. She also used the shape of a flame to depict the aura and warmth of the fire, which is such an inspired touch. I love how the shape seems to cradle the group and keep them happy and warm in the glow of their community.
Q: How about yours, Naomi?
A: I love this spread because it shows different solstice traditions around the globe. The solstice is a time to feel connected to people all over the world, not just the people in your own community. This spread captured it so well and brought even more depth and meaning to the story.
Q: Kate, What’s the most challenging part about being a #kidlit creator? How about the most rewarding part?
A: The most rewarding part of being a kidlit creator is hearing from readers! I’ve been lucky enough to get book mail from classes who have read my books, and one teacher even dressed up as the subject of one of my books (a grove of Aspen trees named Pando). The most challenging part is that sometimes it can feel like your books disappear after they’re published, but hearing from readers (especially kids and their teachers) is a wonderful reminder that our books are out there doing things in the world, even if we don’t know about them.
Q: What about for you, Naomi? What’s the most challenging part about being a #kidlit editor? How about the most rewarding part?
A: Editors juggle a lot of competing priorities every day, including reviewing submissions, bringing proposals through the acquisitions process, negotiating deals, responding to email, meetings, briefing art, and collaborating with marketing to develop metadata, among many other things on top of the actual work of shaping manuscripts into picture books. I would prefer to edit manuscripts or review art all day, but that’s only part of the job! I love that by the end of the process, we get a physical book to hold and share with others. It is so gratifying to see a story go from rough draft all the way through to published book! Having a tangible piece of art that is the result of a collaboration between the creators and the publishing team is a really special part about being a children’s book editor. (I also really love giving these books away as gifts!)
Thank you BOTH for sharing this book's journey with us. How exciting!
Q: Kate, what's your favorite way to celebrate the holidays?
A: Perhaps unsurprisingly, I love looking at holiday lights. There’s something so magical about lights in the darkness. In my area, many boats get decked out in lights for an annual boat parade, which is perfect for coastal California. I also love to bake and decorate cookies with my younger child who is a whiz in the kitchen.
Q: Naomi, what's your favorite way?
A: We spend a lot of time with our big extended family over the holiday season, but one of my favorite traditions in recent years is a smaller Christmas Eve night with just my family of four. We usually put out a nice charcuterie spread (which my kids call “snack supper”) and we eat that together before watching a Christmas movie. And then we open our “book gifts” that night, inspired by the Icelandic Jaloabkoaflod tradition. We don’t have any Icelandic heritage, but we love books! After the kids are in bed, my husband and I read our own books with Christmas music playing. It’s really cozy and a lovely break from the rest of the hustle and bustle of the season.
Q: Would you like to leave a tip or a treat for our readers?
A: We'd like to leave both!
Naomi: I'm passing out a tip! If you’re a children’s book writer interested in writing a holiday-themed story, look for opportunities to bring multiple layers into your storytelling and find unique angles on familiar holidays. Weaving in multiple layers or “hooks” is really important for a publisher to say yes to your manuscript. For Winter Solstice Wish, this was unique holiday + community + STEM + beautiful writing.
Writing a holiday story can be tough because there are so many to compete with in the market. That’s why looking for the unique or unusual angle is so important. In the case of Winter Solstice Wish, this was a holiday that didn’t have a ton of competition on the market and had the unique twist of being set in California which is not where we typically see winter books. A winter story without snow? That’s unique! That sets this apart from other winter solstice books.
Kate: And, I'm handing out a treat - a MS critique to one of your readers (non-rhyming)!
WOW! Thank you BOTH for such an amazing interview, tips, and treats! We loved having you and hearing all about you and your work.
Giveaway Details: Readers, to enter Kate's giveaway, 1) leave a comment below to thank her for stopping by and 2) share her post on social media. Solstice-themed GIFs are also encouraged, too. The winner of this giveaway will be drawn and announced on or about 12/17.
Giveaways will be shipped within the U.S. only.
Note: Heather and Lynne Marie are also giving away three holiday gifts! Those who comment on and share each post on social media will be eligible to win their choice of one of three Rate Your Story SpeedPasses or one of three ten-minute AMA sessions with Editor Lynne Marie.
About Kate Allen Fox:
Kate Allen Fox is an award-winning author of inspiring picture books about science and nature. Her works include: Pando, A Living Wonder of Trees (Capstone, 2021), A Few Beautiful Minutes: Experiencing a Solar Eclipse (Little, Brown Young Readers, 2023), Winter Solstice Wish (Beaming Books, 2024), and Scratching the Surface: Exploring Earth's Layers (Capstone, 2025). Her upcoming releases include Summer Solstice Wish (Beaming Books, 2026) and her first book for adults, Go Play: How Parents Can Empower Kids to Build Their Own Worlds (Broadleaf Books, 2026). Her writing has appeared in The New York Times and McSweeney’s. She lives in California with her husband and two sons. Find her online at kateallenfox.com or on Instagram @kateallenfox.
For more about Kate and her books, check out the below links:
Links
Social Media
IG/Threads: @kateallenfox
About Naomi Krueger:
Naomi Krueger is the editorial director at Beaming Books, a nonprofit publisher dedicated to publishing picture books that help kids thrive in every part of who they are--socially, emotionally, and spiritually. Naomi lives in Minnesota with her husband and two kids, where winters are usually snowy and cold.
For more about Naomi, check out the below links:
Website: www.beamingbooks.com
Socials: (please tag Beaming Books)
Instagram: @beamingbooksmn
Bluesky: @naomijkrueger.bsky.social
Instagram: @naomi.j.krueger
