Inside Shout Mouse Press’s 2025 Author Talk Training

In July 2025, Shout Mouse Press youth authors gathered for our annual Author Talk Training at Planet Word in downtown D.C. This day is always joyful – and offers a chance for authors to prepare to step into the spotlight by practicing public speaking, workshopping with peers, and gaining inspiration from an established guest author. 

This year’s guest was the brilliant Roseanne A. Brown (one of our beloved Megaphone Board Members!), who shared her wisdom and wit and spoke of representing creative work in public and her own journey to becoming a bestselling author. After Brown’s talk, she signed copies of her book, A Song of Wraiths and Ruin – generously provided to each youth author by our partner, an Open Book Foundation.

The training also gave authors time to reflect on what it means to be a part of the Shout Mouse community. When our authors stand before an audience, they not only represent themselves, and the book they wrote – they proudly carry the voices and stories of every Shout Mouse author. Together, we explored questions like: 

What does it mean to be an SMP author?

How would you like the world to see SMP authors? 

What do you hope to gain from this time together today?

Authors then practiced introducing themselves, reading excerpts aloud, and fielding questions in small groups. The day closed with a group-wide intensive, where several brave volunteers delivered full practice author talks — reading from their books and engaging in lively discussion with their peers (who did a great job pretending to be a wide range of audiences!).

Our Author Talk Training is not just about practicing public speaking – it is also about recognizing youth authors as strong voices in our communities. At Shout Mouse, we believe that when youth authors gain confidence in their voices, they also strengthen their will to use those voices to advocate for equity – for themselves, their peers, and others. And each practice talk, reflection, and moment at the microphone builds toward that larger goal.

We are immensely grateful to our partners in this training: Planet Word and An Open Book Foundation. And we can’t wait to see these youth authors bring their stories to schools and communities this year. With the new school year underway, this is a great time for educators to request an author talk!