Joy McCullough
@joymccullough.bsky.social
Author @ PRH & S&S, resident playwright at Seattle Public Theater, mom. She/her
Up next: TEAM AWKWARD (S&S, 2/11)
Up next: TEAM AWKWARD (S&S, 2/11)
Seattle area friends, there are four more performances of Stage of Fools at Seattle Public Theater. The Stranger called it "hilariously cathartic" & The Sound On-Stage called it "brilliant" and "raucously hilarious"! Tickets start at $10 - don't miss it! www.seattlepublictheater.org/current-prod...
October 29, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Seattle area friends, there are four more performances of Stage of Fools at Seattle Public Theater. The Stranger called it "hilariously cathartic" & The Sound On-Stage called it "brilliant" and "raucously hilarious"! Tickets start at $10 - don't miss it! www.seattlepublictheater.org/current-prod...
Oh hey, it's another cover reveal! This middle grade novel in verse comes out on 5-26, with gorgeous cover design by Greg Stadnyk and art by Suzie Mason! (Don’t miss Kestrel’s shadow!) Available for pre-order now!
October 22, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Oh hey, it's another cover reveal! This middle grade novel in verse comes out on 5-26, with gorgeous cover design by Greg Stadnyk and art by Suzie Mason! (Don’t miss Kestrel’s shadow!) Available for pre-order now!
COVER REVEAL!!! Team Awkward: Izzy vs. Cheerleading is coming on June 23rd!
I'm so thrilled each girl is getting a book. I had a ball writing cheerleading & mascot shenanigans & Iove how designer Karin Paprocki & artist Laura Catrinella have maintained the format but made each cover so fresh & fun.
I'm so thrilled each girl is getting a book. I had a ball writing cheerleading & mascot shenanigans & Iove how designer Karin Paprocki & artist Laura Catrinella have maintained the format but made each cover so fresh & fun.
October 20, 2025 at 7:13 PM
COVER REVEAL!!! Team Awkward: Izzy vs. Cheerleading is coming on June 23rd!
I'm so thrilled each girl is getting a book. I had a ball writing cheerleading & mascot shenanigans & Iove how designer Karin Paprocki & artist Laura Catrinella have maintained the format but made each cover so fresh & fun.
I'm so thrilled each girl is getting a book. I had a ball writing cheerleading & mascot shenanigans & Iove how designer Karin Paprocki & artist Laura Catrinella have maintained the format but made each cover so fresh & fun.
This is my foster dog Mookie. He came to me extremely scared and shut down and it's been beautiful to watch him open up.
October 17, 2025 at 12:28 AM
This is my foster dog Mookie. He came to me extremely scared and shut down and it's been beautiful to watch him open up.
Seattle area friends, my new play Stage of Fools opens at Seattle Public Theater on Friday and tickets are on a sliding scale, starting at $10. It's funny and also bad man faces consequences, what more could you want? www.seattlepublictheater.org/current-prod...
September 30, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Seattle area friends, my new play Stage of Fools opens at Seattle Public Theater on Friday and tickets are on a sliding scale, starting at $10. It's funny and also bad man faces consequences, what more could you want? www.seattlepublictheater.org/current-prod...
Bidding is open! The #KidLitforCeasefire We the People auction benefits families in Gaza, as well as immigrant & trans rights orgs. I have two items, including a custom order of one of my crocheted baskets based on book covers. Also a 30 minute video call AMA. www.32auctions.com/organization...
August 18, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Bidding is open! The #KidLitforCeasefire We the People auction benefits families in Gaza, as well as immigrant & trans rights orgs. I have two items, including a custom order of one of my crocheted baskets based on book covers. Also a 30 minute video call AMA. www.32auctions.com/organization...
Hey #KidLit friends, the #KidLitforCeasefire auction items are live & will open for bidding on the 18th! I'm offering a 30 minute AMA, and a custom crocheted basket based on the book cover of your choice, a la the examples below. Peruse all the items at the link! www.32auctions.com/organization...
August 13, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Hey #KidLit friends, the #KidLitforCeasefire auction items are live & will open for bidding on the 18th! I'm offering a 30 minute AMA, and a custom crocheted basket based on the book cover of your choice, a la the examples below. Peruse all the items at the link! www.32auctions.com/organization...
Happy book birthday to Team Awkward 2, the number 1 Amazon pick in the extremely niche category of Children's Babysitting Books, despite there being not a single instance of babysitting in the book. (Which is why one should rely on librarians & booksellers for recommendations, and not algorithms.)
June 17, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Happy book birthday to Team Awkward 2, the number 1 Amazon pick in the extremely niche category of Children's Babysitting Books, despite there being not a single instance of babysitting in the book. (Which is why one should rely on librarians & booksellers for recommendations, and not algorithms.)
Voice to text didn't know it should capitalize penguin, and I think I prefer this way. 🐧🧑⚖️
June 12, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Voice to text didn't know it should capitalize penguin, and I think I prefer this way. 🐧🧑⚖️
We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire is part contemporary prose (a girl enraged when her sister’s rapist walks free) & part historical verse (about 14th century Frenchwoman Marguerite de Bressieux who became a knight to get vengeance on rapists.) It has interior art by Maia Kobabe!!!
May 26, 2025 at 6:40 PM
We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire is part contemporary prose (a girl enraged when her sister’s rapist walks free) & part historical verse (about 14th century Frenchwoman Marguerite de Bressieux who became a knight to get vengeance on rapists.) It has interior art by Maia Kobabe!!!
My book We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire came out in 2021 w/four starred reviews, but otherwise crickets. Every week it sells a handful of copies. Usually single digits. But last week it sold 0 copies. I know social media doesn’t sell many books, but I just want more than 0 the next time I look.
May 26, 2025 at 6:37 PM
My book We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire came out in 2021 w/four starred reviews, but otherwise crickets. Every week it sells a handful of copies. Usually single digits. But last week it sold 0 copies. I know social media doesn’t sell many books, but I just want more than 0 the next time I look.
That's fun! Here's one of mine.
April 23, 2025 at 8:08 PM
That's fun! Here's one of mine.
If you're feeling like pre-ordering books for whatever reason, from whatever retailer, here's what I've got to offer!
April 23, 2025 at 7:43 PM
If you're feeling like pre-ordering books for whatever reason, from whatever retailer, here's what I've got to offer!
Seattle Public Theater has announced their next season! After the election I wondered if this was the time for this particular play - a comedy - but then I decided that no, they don't get to take our laughter and joy too. So if you're in the area, I hope you'll come laugh with us!
April 21, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Seattle Public Theater has announced their next season! After the election I wondered if this was the time for this particular play - a comedy - but then I decided that no, they don't get to take our laughter and joy too. So if you're in the area, I hope you'll come laugh with us!
Thank you to Horn Book for EVERYTHING IS POISON's fifth starred review!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
March 3, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Thank you to Horn Book for EVERYTHING IS POISON's fifth starred review!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Some nice publications gave me starred reviews, so I made a pretty graphic. Et voila. Please read and leave reviews and tell your friends, etc!
February 24, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Some nice publications gave me starred reviews, so I made a pretty graphic. Et voila. Please read and leave reviews and tell your friends, etc!
Ten years ago today, the world premiere production of my play Blood Water Paint opened in Seattle. As it did, I was thinking, "She's seventeen during most of the play. I think this could be a YA novel."
So much love to the original cast, especially Alex Highsmith & Daniel Christensen, seen here.
So much love to the original cast, especially Alex Highsmith & Daniel Christensen, seen here.
February 20, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Ten years ago today, the world premiere production of my play Blood Water Paint opened in Seattle. As it did, I was thinking, "She's seventeen during most of the play. I think this could be a YA novel."
So much love to the original cast, especially Alex Highsmith & Daniel Christensen, seen here.
So much love to the original cast, especially Alex Highsmith & Daniel Christensen, seen here.
TEAM AWKWARD Book 1 is out today in paperback and hardcover! Publishers Weekly said in a starred review, "Cat-astrophically laugh out loud misadventures offer maturing readers and exceptional model for what fulfilling relationships can look like."
February 11, 2025 at 8:13 PM
TEAM AWKWARD Book 1 is out today in paperback and hardcover! Publishers Weekly said in a starred review, "Cat-astrophically laugh out loud misadventures offer maturing readers and exceptional model for what fulfilling relationships can look like."
This is my sweet angel, Athena, with the chew toy I made her out of all the socks that my previous dog stole and buried and I unearthed while gardening.
February 6, 2025 at 8:13 PM
This is my sweet angel, Athena, with the chew toy I made her out of all the socks that my previous dog stole and buried and I unearthed while gardening.
A bit of happy news: Team Awkward Book 1 comes out in a couple weeks, and Book 2 comes out in June. Now we've made the deal for books 3 & 4! This is a Babysitters Club-esque series, so this deal means all four of the core girls will each get their own book! Yay!!!
January 30, 2025 at 6:07 PM
A bit of happy news: Team Awkward Book 1 comes out in a couple weeks, and Book 2 comes out in June. Now we've made the deal for books 3 & 4! This is a Babysitters Club-esque series, so this deal means all four of the core girls will each get their own book! Yay!!!
LOOK WHAT ARRIVED!!! Team Awkward Book One is my first book to release simultaneously in hardcover and paperback, and they come out on 2/11. The hardcover has a GORGEOUS purple foil on the spine! I'm so excited for these awkward girls to be in the hands of readers!
January 23, 2025 at 6:08 PM
LOOK WHAT ARRIVED!!! Team Awkward Book One is my first book to release simultaneously in hardcover and paperback, and they come out on 2/11. The hardcover has a GORGEOUS purple foil on the spine! I'm so excited for these awkward girls to be in the hands of readers!
Big news, educator friends! My 2023 YA novel ENTER THE BODY is now available to license for production as a stage play! You can read the whole play - as well as the competition-length one-act version - on the Stage Partners website. English teachers, please tell your drama teacher colleagues! :-)
January 22, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Big news, educator friends! My 2023 YA novel ENTER THE BODY is now available to license for production as a stage play! You can read the whole play - as well as the competition-length one-act version - on the Stage Partners website. English teachers, please tell your drama teacher colleagues! :-)
I was so thrilled when my editor @andrewkarre.bsky.social agreed that EVERYTHING IS POISON could have my first map. Even more thrilling was when he agreed my daughter could do the map. We are so grateful to Andrew, and to art director Anna Booth for giving us this first foray into collaboration.
January 15, 2025 at 6:59 PM
I was so thrilled when my editor @andrewkarre.bsky.social agreed that EVERYTHING IS POISON could have my first map. Even more thrilling was when he agreed my daughter could do the map. We are so grateful to Andrew, and to art director Anna Booth for giving us this first foray into collaboration.
EVERYTHING IS POISON is out today!! If, for whatever reason, you're feeling enraged by systemic patriarchy's insistence on protecting and elevating the most insidious abusers, this is the book for you!
January 14, 2025 at 6:20 PM
EVERYTHING IS POISON is out today!! If, for whatever reason, you're feeling enraged by systemic patriarchy's insistence on protecting and elevating the most insidious abusers, this is the book for you!