Meet Jeanne Walker Harvey

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeanne Walker Harvey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeanne Walker below.

Hi Jeanne Walker, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience comes from rejections – a whole lot of them! Over many years, I’ve gathered scores of rejections from publishers for my children’s book submissions. Enough rejections to wallpaper a room! But writing is my passion and I continued because … that’s what I do. I believe I would’ve kept writing even if I’d never been published. I’ve worn a variety of job hats, including as a software licensing attorney, a middle school Language Arts teacher, and a long-time school group docent at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. But I’ve always found time to write.

I’ll admit that the rejections stung, no question about it! But eventually I was able to look at them as “Good No’s” and savor any positive and encouraging phrases. I appreciated any editor who took the time to give me feedback to help me improve my writing.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m living my dream come true! Ever since I was a little girl bringing home stacks of books from the library every week, I dreamed of having my name on the cover of a children’s book.

And now I’m thrilled to say I’m an author of a good number of award – winning books for young readers, including these picture book biographies: Else B. in the Sea: The Woman Who Painted the Wonders of the Deep (Cameron/Abrams); Ablaze with Color: A Story of Painter Alma Thomas (Harper Collins); Dressing Up the Stars: The Story of Movie Costume Designer Edith Head (Beach Lane Books/Simon & Schuster); and Maya Lin: Artist – Architect of Light and Lines (Macmillan Publishers).

And on May 27, 2025, my next picture book biography will be published – The Glass Pyramid: A Story of the Louvre Museum and Architect I.M. Pei (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster), beautifully illustrated by Khoa Le. I.M. Pei’s inspiring story is one of persistence and patience so I’m very excited to share it with children.

I studied English literature and psychology at Stanford University, and I feel I put both of those studies to work when I write my books. I am particularly drawn to writing about trailblazing creative people who have transcended boundaries and challenges and inspire awe.

I’ve also enjoyed writing books tied to my love of the ocean and the San Francisco Bay Area where I’ve lived for many years: Boats on the Bay, and two true marine mammal rescue stories: Honey Girl The Hawaiian Monk Seal and Astro the Steller Sea Lion.

And I’ve reviewed well over 200 picture book biographies on my blog. I like to promote my cohorts, and I also learn from studying other authors’ approaches and styles of writing.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I’d say the three qualities that have guided me on my writing journey are perseverance, pivoting, and patience.

When I talk to large groups of students, I always show them a photo of an actual “slush pile. I explain that back in the days before manuscripts were submitted online, hardcopies of stories were mailed to publishers. And these large envelopes gathered in mountains of submissions to be reviewed before only a very few can be accepted. It takes a lot of perseverance to keep going in any creative endeavor, including writing children’s books. And that’s why whenever I’ve received an acceptance of a manuscript, I always feel like I’ve won the literary lottery.

There have been plenty of times after I’ve worked for a considerable time on a manuscript, when I realize I need to pivot to another project. It’s never easy to let go. But perhaps my amazing agent can’t find a home for it. Perhaps the way I’m writing the story is just not working. Perhaps someone else published a book on the same topic and the market won’t support another one. Sometimes I‘ve revisited the manuscripts I’ve filed away and tried another approach, but often I need to view them as steps in the process of becoming a better writer.

And even after I receive an acceptance of a manuscript and then work with one of my amazing editors on the final version (I’ll never stop singing the praises of these editors), I know the book will not be published for another two years, at the minimum. An illustrator, chosen by the editor and art director (not by the author which often surprises people), needs to be engaged to complete the illustrations.

So I need to have patience while I wait for the incredible moment of holding the actual book in my hands. But it’s always worth it because that’s when the magic happens – when the illustrations are woven with the words and the art director and book designer have put their touches on the book. I’ve felt so incredibly fortunate that such amazing illustrators have worked on our books.

And then, with book in hand during my frequent school, museum and bookstore visits, I get to experience reading and sharing the stories with children which is always special and such an honor. It’s all worth the long wait!

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

My mother, a scientist and artist, was one of the most creative people I’ve ever known, and she always encouraged my creativity. I remember her saying, “Don’t let your possessions possess you.” She was always stressing that our time is so valuable, and we need to cherish it and prioritize time for our creative endeavors.

Recently, I’ve been working on using my time on social media productively to share and learn about other creative people. I’ve enjoyed talking with my son about an app he began developing during the pandemic, ScreenZen, which is a free app with multiple strategies to reduce screentime use. The many phone conversations with my son have reminded me of the myriad calls with my mother when I’ve worked on book ideas. I feel lucky my creativity was encouraged as a child, and I hope I’ve encouraged the same with my two sons.

I always end my presentations at schools by emphasizing that each student in the audience is creative – perhaps as a writer, illustrator, artist, mathematician, scientist, musician, inventor, dancer, actor or other endeavors. As the dancer/choreographer Alvin Ailey said, “The creative process is not controlled by a switch you can simply turn on or off; it’s with you all the time.” We just need to honor our creativity to let it flourish!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jeanneharvey.com
• Instagram: @jeannewharvey
• Twitter: @JeanneWHarvey
• Other: Pinterest: @JeanneWalkerHarvey

Image Credits

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