Q&A: Author Jacob Sager Weinstein ’94 on Writing for Young Readers (May 2018)

It took Jacob Sager Weinstein ’94 about a decade to sell his first book for young readers, Hyacinth and the Secrets Beneath (Random House), a fantasy and adventure story about an American girl navigating the magical underground rivers of London. With the second book in the trilogy, Hyacinth and the Stone Thief, coming out this month, we spoke with Weinstein about his persistence in creating the Hyacinth series and the challenges and joys of writing for children — as it turns out, 10-year-olds might have been his natural audience all along. Sager Weinstein also explains how he handles writer’s block and the role that Triangle Club and Quipfire! played in teaching him how to write with a specific audience in mind.