We interrupt your penultimate day of July to bring you this special interview with Jory John in which he reveals whether or not he has a new book coming out. Spoiler alert — he does. If you scroll to the bottom of this post, all will be revealed. Go ahead, we’ll be here when you get back.
Without further ado, here’s Jory.
How much of your day do you spend writing?
I carve out a portion of every morning to write and then I keep sneaking back to my desk throughout the day, whether it’s to revise something, or jot down an idea, or start something new, or read something I wrote with fresh eyes, or answer questions like these. So there’s no set amount of time that I label Writing Time, necessarily, but I do make sure to write something, every single day. Otherwise, I really do start to feel rusty, pretty quickly. And I’m a morning person so I primarily write in the mornings, with a good cup of coffee and maybe a waffle, and then a second cup of coffee, and then a second waffle, and then a third cup of coffee. (No comment on a potential third waffle.)
Speaking of food, are there any snacks that you turn to during a particularly gnarly revision?
This is a very good question and something I think about a lot. Lately, it’s been animal crackers. Somehow, I’ve convinced myself that they’re healthy, because they’re called “crackers,” not “cookies.” I also think they’re delicious. And, of course, it’s a fun surprise to see which animal your cracker is ultimately shaped like. But generally, any snack where there’s a lot of something is effective, so I can mindlessly munch while I meander in my mind.
Do you prefer writing on a computer, or on paper?
It fluctuates. Lately, I’ve been writing longhand, so I can slow things down a bit and sit outside during these lovely summer months. I used to always write longhand, back in the good ol’ days, and then I got used to my computer, and the thrill of typing loud and fast, but now I’m back to wanting to simplify things and write with a good pen on good paper, which is good stuff. And this way, I don’t always have to worry about carrying my computer with me and trying not to lose it and then having to recreate my life’s work.
Maybe it takes a little bit more to rev up, the old-fashioned way, writing on a pad of paper, but when you really get going and your pen is skating its way across the page and your hand is kind of aching and you’re scratching things out and adding asterisks and arrows and brackets and such, it’s a good feeling. Later, you type it all in and see if anything makes sense, which it sometimes does.
I will also mention that, if anybody finds my handwritten first draft in a storm drain or a gutter somewhere, there’s literally no way that they’ll ever be able to decode it, due to the fact that my handwriting is impossible to read and all the letters look like emojis and upside-down emojis.
Where do you like to write? At home? In an office? At a cafe? At the library?
All of the above, really. At home, at cafes, at the library, or just outside somewhere. I’m at the library right now, in fact, lounging in a comfy chair by a floor-to-ceiling window with a view of some swaying trees, while a soft summer breeze blows through them. Oh, how I love the library! They just let me come here every day, for free, and ask very little of me in return, and everybody’s nice, and there’s plenty of space, and there are endless books, and plenty of events, and little conference rooms that you can reserve. What a magical place!
How long does it take you to finish a picture book, from idea to manuscript ready for submission?
I think I mentioned this approach the last time we spoke, but one of my favorite parts of the writing process is what I call Idea Time, which is just me, sitting at my desk with a big stack of index cards, writing one idea per card, trying to come up with new titles, characters, concepts, word combinations, anything really that could lead to a book. Some ideas feel like they need to be expanded immediately, some ideas end up on my bulletin board where I stare at them for a while, and some end up in a box under my desk.
It’s a little bit of a mystery why some ideas resonate with you right away and need to be explored and expanded, where others seem like good ideas that you might want to revisit again, sometime in the future. I think it has something to do with where you are in life and what you’re thinking about and if you have anything new or funny or relevant to say about a particular subject. And sometimes you feel like it’s not the exact right moment for a particular idea, even if you think it’s a solid concept that you’ll be able to use, so you save it and then revisit it in a month, or six months, or a year, or two years, and see if it hits you in a different way.
So yeah, that’s the first part, just getting some ideas on paper and figuring out which idea you want to explore. I happen to have a poster hanging near my desk that just says, “Write it down.” That’s a really good motto for generating ideas. Just start writing things down and you’ll eventually come up with something good.
Then there’s the actual manuscript part. Some picture-book drafts come pretty fast for me, at least the first draft, but then I go back and edit and swap stuff in and out, and polish the writing for quite a while, for weeks, or months, or longer. Some drafts are much slower, and it’s like you’re slowly chiseling away at them and figuring out where you want to go. It’s nice having a deadline, actually, because I feel like I can do that part pretty endlessly. At least with a deadline you think, “Welp. Time to hand this over.”
Then there’s the collaboration part, working with an illustrator and with your editor and a designer and the rest of the team, which takes quite a while, achieving a collective vision that you’re all happy with. I’m in the middle of this part right now, actually, and I’ve just reviewed the second round of illustrations on a new picture book. I sent in a couple pages of notes and suggestions and such, ideas for making everything just right, trying to make it all really sing.
In terms of the actual timing, some of my ideas have been made into books the same year that I submitted the manuscript, but that’s somewhat rare, I think. Other ideas have taken many years for everything to align.
July seems like a great time to talk about Christmas! Also, because you have a new Christmas picture book coming out in a couple of months. Tell us about it.
I actually decided that there were enough great Christmas books out there that I didn’t need to write another one. So I wrote a book about rocks, instead. Hence the title: “This is Not a Christmas Book, This is a Book About Rocks.” That pretty much says it all, doesn’t it?
Granted, I’m not going to lie: some Christmas stuff did seep in there. Stuff like Santa and elves and reindeer and presents and cheer and such. That’s bound to happen, especially if you’re actively trying to not write a Christmas book, but you keep thinking about Christmas the whole time. But still, it’s mostly about rocks. In conclusion, if you are into various rocks—not necessarily exciting rocks—then this is the book for you! And I’ll mention that Pierre Collet-Derby, a fantastically talented illustrator, did an excellent job really bringing those rocks (and a few Christmas things) to life.
Do you consider yourself a rock aficionado?
Only in the sense that I’ve spent a lifetime around them, living on this planet, Earth. It’s a very rocky planet. It’s hard to walk five feet without kicking a rock, or at least spotting one. Sometimes I’ll say something like “Whoa, look at that rock!” or “What’s with all the rocks at this beach?” or “Be careful on that rock!” or “Is that a rock or a seal?” or “I stepped on a rock and it hurt and I might’ve broken the little toe on my right foot.”
Any particularly memorable Christmases growing up?
My mom always did such a nice job with our Christmas celebrations when I was a kid. She took it all very seriously. She would have gifts wrapped and labeled and hidden in July. In fact, since it’s currently July, she’s probably working on the 2026 John Family Christmas Jamboree as I write this sentence. So thanks for everything, Mom! (I’ve thanked her outside of print interviews, too.)
Gingerbread or peppermint?
Gingerbread all the way!
Anything else of yours coming out this year?
In November, there will be a new Food Group book coming out that I wrote called, “The Toast of the Town.”
It’s really neat to think that it’s the fifteenth Food Group book, overall. When I wrote “The Bad Seed” in 2015, I never expected to be writing these books 10+ years later. But it seems like these books have resonated with readers and, for that, I’m incredibly grateful.
Thanks for stopping by, Jory!
This Is Not a Christmas Book* (*This Is a Book About Rocks), written by Jory John and illustrated by Pierre Collet-Derby, publishes on September 1, 2026. It’s available for preorder now.
