Ep. 55: Amar Shah on Writing a Middle Grade Sports Book

Amar Shah, a multiple Emmy-winning writer and producer, discusses his middle-grade debut novel, The Hoop Con: Play the Game. The book follows a sixth-grader with big basketball dreams who faces embarrassment when a viral video goes wrong. Shah shares his love for sports and how it influenced his writing, as well as the importance of incorporating his South Asian culture into the story. He also shares his journey from being a high school reporter for the NBA to becoming a middle-grade author. He talks about his experiences interviewing basketball players like Shaq and Michael Jordan and how it inspired him to write his first book.For bonus content and  info on upcoming episodes, subscribe to the Middle Grade Matters newsletter here: Newsletter, and follow us on Instagram, Threads, and Twitter.I love audiobooks! If you do, too, consider switching to Libro.fm, a platform that supports indy bookstores.If you're enjoying this podcast, please leave a rating and review (thank you!).