Episode 8

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Published on:

21st Apr 2026

Meghan Browne

Episode 8 – Meghan Browne

How did signing up for the wrong class, and doing an interview in eighth-grade, lead Meghan Browne to her first published picture book?

Find out in this episode of My First Book Story, where Meredith Davis talks with award-winning Austin-based children’s book author Meghan P. Browne, who will soon add middle grade author to her resume with her debut novel The Edge of Forever. Meghan shares how nap time writing sessions as a stay-at-home mom, an accidental enrollment in a picture book intensive, and a long-ago eighth-grade interview with a Women Airforce Service Pilot collided to produce two book deals in 2018. She opens up about the four-year drought that followed her early success, the swimmer’s discipline that carried her through, and the tight-knit Austin kid lit community that kept her going. Meghan shares her story with warmth, candor, and deep gratitude.

Books mentioned

  • The Edge of Forever (Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Edge-Forever-Meghan-Browne/dp/1250410967)
  • Indelible Ann (Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Indelible-Ann-Larger-Than-Life-Governor-Richards/dp/0593173279)
  • Dorothy the Brave (Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Dorothy-Brave-Meghan-P-Browne/dp/0593116992)
  • The Bees of Notre-Dame (Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Bees-Notre-Dame-Meghan-P-Browne/dp/0593374568)
  • Captain Whiz-Bang by Diane Stanley (Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Captain-Whiz-Bang-Diane-Stanley/dp/0688062261)

Links

  • Meghan P. Browne (https://meghanpbrowne.com)
  • Meredith Davis (https://meredithldavis.com)
  • Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (https://www.scbwi.org)
  • The Writing Barn (https://www.writingbarn.com)
  • Writing Class Radio (https://writingclassradio.com)
  • Vermont College of Fine Arts (https://vcfa.edu)
  • BookPeople (https://www.bookpeople.com)
  • Austin Public Library (https://library.austintexas.gov)
  • Episode Webpage (https://open.substack.com/pub/meredithdavis/p/meghan-brownes-first-book-story)

Theme music by Nate Davis

Produced by Clay Davis

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About the Podcast

My First Book Story
Interviews with successful authors about their journeys to their first published book
Welcome to My First Book Story, where I interview successful authors about their journeys to their first published book. Whether you’re still chasing your first book contract, going after the next one, or pursuing some other dream, these short interviews will inspire you to keep going.

Have you ever wondered how to break through an editor’s slush pile and breach the publishing wall? There are many paths to success, and each one is different. Mine was more than a decade in the making, others happened almost overnight. But the one thing each of these stories has in common is that it ends with a published book in the hands of readers.

I’m Meredith Davis, a traditionally published children’s book author living in Austin, Texas, a hotbed of talented book writers and illustrators. I’ve been in this world for thirty years, I’ve heard some great stories, and I can’t wait to share them with you.

About your host

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Meredith Davis

Meredith Davis is the author of THE MINOR MIRACLE and THE MINOR RESCUE, books one and two in THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF NOAH MINOR series (Waterbrook, 2024/25) and co-author of HER OWN TWO FEET: A RWANDAN GIRL’S BRAVE FIGHT TO WALK (Scholastic, 2019). She once worked at an independent children’s bookstore, started the Austin Chapter of SCBWI, and earned her Masters of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults at VCFA. Her superpowers include reading, grandmothering, and finding ways to fit more books in her Austin, Texas home.