Meg Medina on Graciela in the Abyss: A 15-Year Journey from Graveyard to Glory

In this episode of The Growing Readers Podcast, host Bianca
Schulze interviews award-winning author Meg Medina about her
latest fantasy novel, Graciela in the Abyss. They discuss
Medina's fifteen-year journey developing this underwater
adventure, her transition from contemporary fiction to fantasy,
her experience as the eighth National Ambassador for Young
People's Literature, and how she transformed personal grief and
world events into a story about friendship, bioluminescence, and
making your own light in the darkest places.





Transcription: You can read the transcription on The Children's
Book Review





Highlights:



Creative Persistence: How Medina kept
"Graciela in the Abyss" in her "graveyard file" for 15 years,
returning to it annually with new versions until the world
tilted and she found her way


Fantasy World-Building: Her extensive research
into oceanography, deep-sea caves, and bioluminescence to
create a believable underwater realm of sea spirits with jobs
like being glaciers who turn trash into sea glass


The Graveyard Philosophy: Medina's approach to
unfinished projects - honoring failed attempts while remaining
open to returning when you have what you need emotionally and
creatively


Ambassador Insights: Her two-year role as
National Ambassador for Young People's Literature and how
office hours at the Library of Congress showed her reading as a
family activity that knits people together


From Grief to Light: How personal losses (her
mother in 2013, aunt in 2020) and the pandemic helped her
understand the story's central metaphor of bioluminescence as
making your own light to survive


Unlikely Friendship: Creating the bond between
Graciela (a dead sea spirit) and Jorge (a mortal boy who fears
water) as allies who help each other find their way back to
kindness


Visual Storytelling: Working with the Balbusso
twins on stunning artwork that captures the eeriness and beauty
of the abyss






Notable Quotes:





"It was a surprise to me... I didn't have to be some sort of
super exceptional person leading this incredible life to have
something to say." —Meg Medina on finding her voice as a writer





"Suffering was strange that way. It didn't have to be your own
for it to hurt." —Quote from Graciela in the Abyss





"Sometimes you can't finish it. You don't have what you need yet.
Sometimes that's maturity. Sometimes it's world events." —Meg
Medina on the writing process





Books Mentioned:


Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina: Amazon or Bookshop.org

Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina: Amazon or Bookshop.org

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina: Amazon or
Bookshop.org

Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away by Meg Medina: Amazon or
Bookshop.org

Tia Isa Wants a Car by Meg Medina: Amazon or Bookshop.org

No More Señora Mimí by Meg Medina: Amazon or Bookshop.org

Milagros: Girl From Away by Meg Medina: Amazon

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White: Amazon or Bookshop.org

Into the Planet by Jill Heinerth: Amazon or Bookshop.org






About Meg Medina: Meg Medina is the 2024 Newbery
Medal winner for Merci Suárez Changes Gears and author of many
acclaimed novels and picture books, including Burn Baby Burn,
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, and the Merci Suárez
series. She served as the eighth National Ambassador for Young
People's Literature (2022-2024) with the platform "CuÉntame:
Let's Talk Books." As a first-generation Cuban American, she
draws on her heritage and experiences to create authentic stories
that celebrate the strength and resilience of Latino families and
communities.





Connect and Follow: Learn more about Meg Medina:
https://www.megmedina.com/Meg Medina's Bookshop shelf with books
she book talks and kids recommended:
https://bookshop.org/shop/MegMedinaVisit The Children's Book
Review at https://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/





Credits: Host: Bianca SchulzeGuest: Meg
MedinaProducer: Bianca Schulze





Sponsor: Bajette's Balloon: The Magic of Smiles:
https://www.bajette.com/