We hope you all are staying warm and welcome to a new instalment of BALLER Profiles!

Every Wednesday you can look forward to reading interviews with authors, publishing professionals, library people, readers, and more. This week we meet multi-talented and prolific author Joan Marie Galat!

Stacey: Could you please introduce yourself to our readers with a bit about you and what you do?

Joan: My writing career began at age 12 when I became a paid newspaper columnist. I’ve been writing ever since and now have more than 25 professionally published books, and translations in seven languages. My publishers include Aladdin/Beyond Words, National Geographic Kids, Scholastic, and others. My first title – Dot to Dot in the Sky: Stories in the Stars from Whitecap Books – became a Canadian national bestseller and grew into a six book series that partners sky science and mythology.

I write for children and adults, and my titles encompass both nonfiction and fiction. My novel – Mortimer: Rat Race to Space – is about a journal keeping lab rat on the International Space Station who sets out to use YouTube videos to prove his species should be the one to colonize Mars. My nonfiction topics explore activism, astronomy, space, light pollution, ecology, volcanoes, nature, wildlife, history, travel, self-help, and other areas. You can see I’m drawn to creating STEM content – science, technology, engineering, and math – which perhaps “stems” from my educational background in biological sciences. I often visit schools and libraries to promote literacy and science, and invitations have taken me across Canada and internationally.

My work includes operating a communications business, MoonDot Media. I provide freelance writing and editing, as well as custom workshops on topics such as writing, public speaking, media training, and creativity. This works well for me because when I’m not writing, I’m talking about writing!

Stacey: You have written a LOT of books for children with a heavy focus on nonfiction. Why did you decide to primarily focus on writing nonfiction for children?

Joan: I did not set out to focus on nonfiction but after getting published in this genre, was happy to keep going! Fact based writing is an apt fit for me because it lines up with the sound advice – write what you love to read. While I also consume plenty of fiction, nonfiction is hard for me to resist. I’ve never actually resisted any book.

It’s rewarding to develop content that helps young readers understand our world, and exciting to think how this information might empower them to tackle issues I raise from habitat loss and plastics in the ocean to those described in Make Your Mark, Make a Difference including climate change, armed conflict, Black Lives Matter, access to clean water, animal welfare, and even outer spaces issues. Writing information books allows me to share the great facts I discover. It’s all part of my not-so-secret plot to encourage others to share my interests and concerns.

Stacey: Is there a nonfiction topic you haven’t written about yet that you would love to explore and why does it interest you?

Joan: I keep thinking about writing a book on chocolate. I imagine the research that would be required and how I could write off certain purchases. Aside from that, I see myself working on more content designed to inspire readers to experience, enjoy, and protect nature. This interests me because the process allows me to learn more about subjects I’m passionate about. If I’m going to spend a great amount of time on a project and bring it to life for my audiences, it needs to be one that genuinely fascinates me.

Stacey: What does your research process look like for an average middle grade nonfiction book?

Joan: The research process starts with extensive reading. I read books, visit trusted websites, and seek out experts, such as scientists, who are willing to respond to questions. I may travel to places, such as NASA, which I visited to learn about living in space, or attend a conference relating to my topic, as I did when researching Dark Matters: Nature’s Reaction to Light Pollution. In some cases, I ask an expert or two to review a book before submission. New discoveries are always on the horizon, and I am committed to ensuring my works contain the most up to date information.

Stacey: Can you tell us about your book Make Your Mark, Make a Difference that releases on February 13th?

Joan: Children care about the state of our world, and they want to make it better. Make Your Mark, Make a Difference: A Kid's Guide to Standing Up for People, Animals, and the Planet, being published by Aladdin/Beyond Words, shows readers how to step into activism. I wrote it to empower kids and teens to create meaningful change on issues they care about and show them how to move beyond feeling helpless.

The book incorporates sidebars and fun elements that keep the tone upbeat, and it delivers the important message that every contribution matters. As well as an overview of issues and essential human rights background, it contains stories of how kids, teens, and organizations are already going about tackling challenging problems.

Stacey: Do you have any other books releasing in the near future?

Joan: Wildlife Crossings: Giving Animals the Right of Way from Orca Book Publishers will be released October 15, 2024. It’s about how roads impact wildlife and habitat. Roads make human lives easier, but they isolate wildlife populations, impede migration, and allow invasive species to spread. Wildlife Crossings offers a look at innovative solutions from landscaped overpasses and underpasses to smart roads. Readers will also discover how they can play a part, from the passenger seat, in helping to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.

Stacey: What do you hope kids will take away from reading nonfiction that they don’t get from fiction reading?

Joan: I hope children will gain lifelong interests that influence the activities they pursue in their spare time, and their future career choices. My wish is that learning about the issues in our world, as described in Make Your Mark, Make a Difference, will broaden their understanding of concerns in their communities and the larger world. My recent title Too Much Trash: How Litter is Hurting Animals from Orca Book Publishers delivers the takeaway that litter is a problem everyone can tackle. I hope my nonfiction helps readers understand their choices and actions matter.

Stacey: Thank you so much for taking part in our BALLER Profile series, Joan! 

And, dear, readers, we hope you enjoyed reading about Joan and her upcoming books.

Please join us again next Wednesday for the next interview, this time hosted by our Head Alien Winston Pei, and don’t hesitate to stop by on Monday to check out a new Book of the Week <3

Happy Reading!

– Stacey