We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Debbie Reed Fischer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Debbie below.
Debbie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
The most meaningful book I’ve worked on has been the last two of my works. THIS IS NOT THE ABBY SHOW because I have a soft spot for kids who are misunderstood, as well as kids who are funny. Abby is both, so she is one of my favorite characters. ABBY SHOW is probably the only novel I didn’t struggle to finish, because I enjoyed her company so much. That may sound strange to people who don’t write, but to a writer, it makes perfect sense. COMING OF AGE: 13 B’nai Mitzvah Stories is very important to me because there is a lack of Jewish representation in the diverse books movement, which is sorely needed now while antisemitism is on the rise. Over half of all religious hate crimes in the United States are antisemitic attacks. Ten percent of the COMING OF AGE’S proceeds will be donated to organizations that fight antisemitism. This anthology is a very personal, meaningful project, and I’m honored to be included among such talented authors.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
After graduating from the University of Miami, I worked for many years as an agent for film and TV. It was a glamorous but hectic life, so when it came to settle down with my husband and children, my second career was as a middle and high school teacher. I loved teaching, however, I had secretly dreamed of becoming an author of novels for teens ever since I could remember. In college, I had worked on a non-fiction book about the history of Jews in Cuba (titled: A Tropical Diaspora) with a team of other students along with our professor, and I was hooked from then on. So, after my sons were both in school, I decided it was now or never. I started writing my first novel and began attending book signings, writing workshops, and critique groups, Eventually, I met a literary agent at a literary conference. I was the only writer at that conference to get an agent, so I’m very fortunate. Since then, my motto has been, ‘Just show up because you never know who you’ll meet!’ After my agent signed me, my first young adult novel took eighteen months to sell. Titled Braless in Wonderland, it was based on my years as a model and talent agent in South Beach, and it was published by Penguin Dutton. A month after making that sale, my second young adult novel, Swimming with the Sharks, sold to a different publisher. I found myself in the unusual position of having two novels out at the same time, with two different publishers. It was a wonderful but hectic time after the books launched, and although I loved every minute, I decided to take several years off to focus on my family after that. Now I’m back in the business of “kid lit” books with my latest middle grade novel. This is not the Abby Show, published by Random House/Delacorte. It’s about a funny, Jewish girl with ADHD who learns that standing out is way more fun than blending in. My books have won awards and are sold all over the world. but I’m most proud of the response that This is not the Abby Show has received from reluctant readers and educators. I get mail from kids telling me that they used to hate reading, and now they love reading because my book made them laugh. That means the world to me. If I can make reading a joyful, entertaining experience, then I’ve done my job. Last year, it won the Royal Palm Literary Award for Best Children’s Book of 2017, was a PJ Library selection in 2018 and 2020, and best of all, schools are using it in their curricula. I have received mail from educators as far away as New Zealand and Mexico telling me how much my book has helped with promoting empathy in the classroom for learning differences, inclusion, and diversity. COMING OF AGE: 13 B’nai Mitzvah Stories will be coming out in April.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect is getting emails and messages from readers, thanking me while stating how much my books have changed their lives. Making a difference to readers and having an impact is what it’s all about. I answer every email and message. Sometimes I’ll get a note from a book that was out a long time ago, but it was discovered in a library or bookshop in some faraway place, and that never fails to delight me. I receive letters from kids, parents, grandparents, educators, writers and readers. Whenever I have wanted to quit, it’s reader mail that pulls me back in. I used to joke when I started out that I had enough rejection letters to wallpaper a small bathroom. Now I have enough fan letters to wallpaper my living room. So that’s pretty cool. The other rewarding aspect of being a Kidlit author is having so many friends who write. We inspire each other, motivate each other and support each other. I’ve met some of my idols. I had the opportunity to interview Judy Blume a few year ago, and that was truly a dream come true.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Years ago, before I got a book deal, an editor from a top publishing house embarrassed me at a literary conference by reading a page of my work in front of an auditorium full of people. He mocked every line in my first paragraphs, and he cracked jokes at my expense. He didn’t say my name, but I knew it was the first page of my novel, and so did some of my writer friends. I was so mortified, I thought I would never go back to another conference or write again. But I went to more conferences, learned craft and soon found my agent as well as my publisher there (also a top publishing house).. He may have been right about his critiques because I was new at craft and didn’t have the skills I have now, but it took resilience and courage for me to show up again after that. That cruel editor, by the way, disappeared from publishing and no one remembers him.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.debbiereedfischer.com
- Instagram: @debbierfischer
- Facebook: Debbie Reed Fischer
- Twitter: @debbierfischer