We recently connected with Kate Allen Fox and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kate, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

In my work as a children’s author, the most important decision I make is which projects to pursue. While my books fill a specific niche—lyrically written picture books about science and nature—there seems to be no end of ideas and stories to be told. While I have four books either published or scheduled to be published in the coming years, I have written over fifty different manuscripts on a variety of topics. As a homeschooling mom of two young boys, time constraints dictate that I can’t pursue every idea that flits across my brain—or that a well-meaning acquaintance suggests I pursue. So I how do I prioritize ideas and allocate research and writing time to the best ones? It all comes down to meaning.
Ah, meaning, that ill-defined intangible, which we often seek and rarely find. In my work as a writer for children, meaning is two-fold: a project must hold meaning for (1) me as the adult author and (2) the child reader. Sometimes, the overlap of that Venn diagram sometimes feels expansive and sometimes vanishingly thin.
My latest book, A Few Beautiful Minutes: Experiencing a Solar Eclipse (illustrated by Khoa Le, published by Little, Brown Young Readers), is a project that held deep meaning for me. When I saw the 2017 total solar eclipse, I was deeply moved. I felt simultaneously tiny and part of a universal whole. The experience passed like a brief and vivid dream and left me changed.
With another total solar eclipse coming to the United States on April 8, 2024, I was anxious to translate my experience into a picture book, which would also be meaningful to children. The task proved harder than expected. But over the course of dozens of drafts and feedback from my writing partners, agent, and editors, I found that meaningful sweet spot. Or least I hope I did.
The result is a book that emphasizes wonderment, the feeling of being small, and the importance of community in our ever-evolving world.
As I move forward with new projects, I always look for the meaning—for me and the reader. Or else, what’s the point?

Kate, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m the author of lyrical picture books about science and nature, though I didn’t train as a writer. After college, I went straight to get a Master of Public Policy and worked for eight years at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on policy issues. At heart, though, I always dreamed of being a writer, and when my younger child was born in 2018, I decided to try writing professionally.

My debut picture book, Pando, A Living Wonder of Trees (illustrated by Turine Tran, published by Capstone), was named one of the best books of 2021 by School Library Journal, Pittsburgh Public Schools, and Chicago Public Library and a finalist for the SCBWI Crystal Kite Award. My second picture book, A Few Beautiful Minutes: Experiencing a Solar Eclipse (illustrated by Khoa Le, published by Little, Brown Young Readers), was published in 2023 and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, among other praise. Beaming Books will publish my third book, Winter Solstice Wish (illustrated by Elisa Paganelli), in late 2024. My writing has appeared in numerous outlets including The New York Times and McSweeney’s.

I’m homeschooler and an avid hiker and often finds inspiration with my kids and on the trails. I’m proud of my work to create children’s books that inspire and inform, while creating rich emotional experiences for young readers.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In 2018, my younger child was born, and I made a choice I never thought I would. I quit my job. My career.

I had gone from college to grad school, from grad school to a great career that I was lucky to have. I had built a community within my work, had gotten more responsibilities (along with raises), and had built a fantastic life. But, other things had changed as well, and I was left conflicted. I had picked up a husband and two young sons and felt increasingly pulled between the sectors of my life.

Quitting was both the hardest and best decision of my life. Hardest because my identity was so tied up in my work . Best because in the space I created, so many beautiful things grew. Our family life blossomed as I fell in love with a slower, calmer life. And, to my eternal surprise, my writing life grew.

I had always wanted to be a writer, but was always afraid I wasn’t good enough, so I never really tried. In the quiet of my post-work years, I knew it was time. Early in my journey, I got a dream acceptance–a personal essay in The New York Times. It seemed like a sign to the universe to keep going, even if it got hard. And it did get hard. Publishing is notoriously tough and slow. But I eventually found my groove as a children’s author, and I am eternally grateful I took the leap in 2018.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I once told someone that all I wanted to do was “make beautiful things and put them into the world.” I am so grateful that my writing life allows me to make beautiful little books; to see amazing illustrators create mindblowing art to accompany my text; that I get to connect with students who are unabashedly enthusiastic about writing, art, and books. Talking with kids, I am always amazed at their innate goodness–their curiosity, their drive, how much more they understand than adults.

My writing life, in short, creates joy in my life. When I am writing and translating feelings of wonder onto the page. When I see the art created for the books. When I connect with kids and hear their writing ideas. I’m in awe everyday that I get to do this.

Contact Info:

• Website: kateallenfox.com
• Instagram: @kateallenfox
• Twitter: @kateallenfox

Image Credits
Olga Kubrak Photography; Gennie Gorback; Leah Burns