Editor's Note: We like to regularly highlight our talented faculty members. This month, we want to celebrate Allison Giordano! We asked Allison, who teaches in the Young Writers Program, a few questions to get to know her a little better.
When did you first realize you wanted to be an author? What inspired you?
I was a freshman in high school fielding questions about what I wanted to be when I grew up and I finished an amazing YA book series by the author who ended up mentoring me through publishing my first novel. It was the first time that my brain shifted from "this is a thing people can do" to "this is a thing I can do." I harbored the dream in secret for years after.
If you could have tea with one character from a book, who would you choose?
I would want to have tea with Percy Jackson because you can bet three minutes in we'll have to be fighting mythical monsters and running for our life while exchanging snarky banter.
Who is your favorite author?
My favorite author is hands-down Marissa Meyer. I appreciate that she writes across age ranges and genres and makes each book so special and unique.
What advice would you give our young writers?
Best advice is to just write. Write often, write widely, write badly, and write proudly!
Do you have any upcoming projects or events?
Next up for me is diving back into the query trenches with a "witchy and a little b*tchy" urban fantasy manuscript set in a pocket dimension Princeton University. If anyone knows an agent looking to represent something like that for YA, please let a girl know! I have several events this year but most looking forward to Enchanticon in St. Louis. I'm also narrating the audiobook for my debut A Trace of Something Stranger, which is coming in the next few months!
Allison's debut novel A Trace of Something Stranger is a YA Supernatural Adventure and debuted in September 2024. A Jersey girl born and raised, Allison has a degree in Television and Digital Media from Montclair State University and a career in creating content for CNBC, the FAA, and monday.com. She now lives in Littleton with her partner and puppy, Percy (like Jackson, not Weasley.)
