Kalena Miller, author of Shannon in the Spotlight
Middle Grade Literature Category, sponsored by Education Minnesota
Each week leading up to the 36th annual Minnesota Book Awards, we are featuring exclusive interviews with our finalists. You can also watch the authors in conversation with their fellow category finalists here.
What is one detail you wanted to include in this book, but couldn’t find a place for?
In the earliest drafts of Shannon, there was a lot more detail about her mom’s backstory, relationship history, and professional life (which was all quite interesting to me), but it pulled focus away from Shannon’s POV and eventually got cut. There are still a few little tidbits there, though!
Tell us about someone who proved instrumental to the creation of this book.
I don’t remember her name, but the therapist at the Carleton College student health center who listened to me cry for an hour and then gave me a book about OCD and suggested I see if anything in those pages resonated. It was like a lightbulb moment when I realized (with her help) that I had Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and it allowed me to get help tailored to my own needs.
Tell us about a favorite read from the past year. Why did you find it enjoyable, insightful, or memorable?
I have been in a fantasy phase for the last six months or so, and there are so many books that I’ve loved! I think my favorite is probably Hell Bent, the sequel to Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. I’m a fan of everything Leigh Bardugo writes, but a heist set in literal hell has to be my favorite concept of hers. It was sharp and witty and gorgeously written.
Please tell us something about yourself that is not widely known.
Every single time I wake up my computer, I press the J key. Since I got my first laptop as a teenager. (I realize this has something to do with OCD which has something to do with Shannon in the Spotlight, but that’s what I’m going with.)
Share your thoughts about the role and value of libraries.
Libraries and librarians are essential. They are safe havens for learning, creativity, and respite. They are the cornerstone of community in a crumbling democracy. They are among the only places in this country where visitors are allowed to simply exist. They provide invaluable services to all parts of the populace. In the event of a zombie apocalypse, I’m saving the librarians first. Then some farmers and doctors, I suppose. But there’s no point in building a new world with nobody to preserve and disseminate knowledge.
Kalena Miller is also the author of The Night No One Had Sex, a Minnesota Book Award-winner. She received her Master of Fine Arts in creative writing at Hamline University.