Meet Our Mentors: Shelley Tanaka
Hi, Shelley!
Shelley Tanaka is the longtime fiction editor at Groundwood Books, where she has edited more than a dozen Governor General’s Award-winning titles. She is the author of thirty books for young readers and is faculty emerita of Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults.
Your favorite children's book?
A picture book, of course. All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee. I’ve been reading it to my grandson since he was just a few months old, and it stands up to the test of a thousand reads. Read it with a child or to yourself — it’s a meditation, a lullaby, a warm cup full of wonder.
The book by your bed right now?
The Teddy Bear Habit by James Lincoln Collier, because author Deb Ellis says it was one of her favorite books when she was a kid. Also What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama (translated by Alison Watts), because writers for young readers should also be reading books for adults, and this one is beautiful and quirky and short — things I admire in books for readers of any age.
What is your go-to writing/editing snack?
Since COVID I’ve developed a real taste for sugar snacks. A cafe down the street sells refurbished cinnamon buns — they cut day-old buns into cubes and drizzle on lots of extra icing. Too sticky to eat at the computer, but I do anyway.
Best movie you've watched in the past few months?
Perfect Days. This movie will make you take deep breaths and remind you to look up. It will make you feel happy and grateful. It will also make you wonder why we don’t have better public toilets in North America.
You're the go-to mentor for…
If you want to be treated like a professional and have someone look at the big picture of your work. If you want help identifying not just your writerly “tendencies,” but also your strengths — what you do best, and how to do more of it. If you want help closing that gap between writer intention and reader reception.
Coffee or tea?
Coffee, though I’m trying to drink more water. Maybe I’ll just add more water to coffee.
Secret talent?
Sitting down on the floor and getting up without using my arms. (Actually, just tried it. No longer true.)
What would you say to a writer considering our mentorship program?
It gives you the best of the MFA experience, because it is not about getting a degree or even finishing a project but centers you as the writer (so the experience is different for everyone). Mentors will give you what you need for your writing right now and leave you with skills that you can apply to all your projects. The program also reminds you to read the work of writers you admire — something many professionals neglect to do when time is scarce, and it is essential to being a writer. And Whale Rock gives you access to a small (select!) community of fellow writers and mentors — for support, inspiration, and company.