Six Questions with Patricia Newman

Patricia Newman writes award-winning nonfiction that is part biography, part science adventure. As a Robert F. Sibert Honor recipient, she empowers us to find our own connections to nature and use our imaginations to make the world a better place. Patricia’s love of nature and her own efforts to play the piano seemed the ideal background for Beatrice and the Nightingale, a story about the intersection between nature, music, and technology. Additional accolades include multiple starred reviews, two Orbis Pictus Recommended Awards (NCTE), and two Green Earth Book Awards. Learn more at patriciamnewman.com or connect with her on Bluesky (@patricianewman.bsky.social), Instagram (@patricianewmanbooks), and X (@PatriciaNewman). Check out the Beatrice and the Nightingale trailer.

1. What has helped you build resilience along the bumpier parts of your path to publication?

What a great question, Mary! Generally, I’m not a patient person so the endless waiting in the publishing world is excruciating. From the very beginning of my career, I made the decision to work on the next book. Because I mostly write nonfiction, the beginning of each book project requires a lot of reading, searching, and digging deeper. I love this process of discovery and time zips by, which keeps my mind off the bumps and delays on the path to publication.  

2. How do you stay connected to your creative self when navigating the business side of writing/illustrating?

In a word? Play! I walk my dog, travel, take piano lessons, bake, do the NYT Sunday crossword puzzle, and tackle Wordle and Connections. I paint rocks to resemble windows and doors so my granddaughter can build fairy houses. I’m working on turning one of my books into a stage play. My critique group and I decided that play helps us unearth new ideas, work over trouble spots in our manuscripts, or simply give our writing minds time to tap into our next great project.

3. What are some of the key ingredients that make a great book for kids?

All books need a hook that will interest kids. A concept that helps answer the question, “So what?” I also think a great book needs to share the author’s passion for the topic. When I select a topic for a nonfiction book, the concept must make me say, “I didn’t know that.” Before I published my first book, the most common advice I received was, “Write what you know.” I prefer to write what I don’t know. As I mentioned earlier, I thrive on the process of discovery.

4. Where did you get the idea for this new book? What was your inspiration?

Beatrice and the Nightingale introduces readers to cellist Beatrice Harrison and her ground-breaking duet with a nightingale in her garden in 1924. At the time, radio was a new invention, but she convinced the director of the BBC to set up a microphone in her garden and broadcast a nightingale singing with her. Never before had birdsong been broadcast over the airwaves. Millions of listeners tuned in and the King of England credited Beatrice with uniting her country.

During the pandemic, I saw Lily James in The Dig, a movie about an archaeologist who excavates Sutton Hoo in 1938. In one scene, Ms. James’ character, Peggy Piggott, speaks to an RAF pilot about nightingales. She says she’d “never heard a nightingale at all. Only over the wireless.” When the pilot asks what she means, she tells him about Beatrice.

That was all it took.

5. Was this the book that landed you your agent?

Beatrice wasn’t the book that landed me my agent, so you might be wondering why I chose to reply to this question. I first signed with my agent in 2005, after she critiqued my historical fiction middle-grade at an SCBWI conference. I was so new, I hadn’t even decided to write nonfiction yet! She closed her critique with, “If you’re ever looking for an agent, please consider me.” We’ve been together 20 years.

But ‘landing’ the agent is only the beginning. Every book strengthens our working relationship. I know what she needs from me, and she knows what I need from her. I solicit her advice about new projects and when I have an issue that needs to be addressed with a book under contract. We are a team and always present a united front. As you navigate your agent relationship, I wish you a fair, open, and honest exchange of ideas that grows with you as a creative.

6. How do you divide your time between research and writing?

I usually have three distinct research phases:

1)      Early research to determine if my idea is sound. At this point, I contact experts and conduct short interviews to be sure I have their buy-in if I am awarded a book contract. I almost always put together a proposal for my books because I don’t want to take advantage of my experts if the book doesn’t fly.

2)      A deep dive. Once I receive the okay and a deadline from my publisher, I begin researching in earnest. Frequently, I travel to the location to interview experts on-site. I dig into all areas of the topic, and even some tangential areas.

3)      Sporadic sips. I begin writing after I’ve reread all my research notes. Sometimes I realize that certain parts of the manuscript feel muddy, so I research until I can write my way out of the mud.