Meg Eden

Kuyatt

Middle Grade Novelist

Award Winning Poet

Travels from: Baltimore, MD

“Heartfelt. Kuyatt uses candid lines to present Selah’s own experiences, self-knowledge, and eventual self-advocacy.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review

Meg Eden Kuyatt is an autistic novelist and poet based in the DC area. She is the author of five poetry chapbooks, the novel Post-High School Reality Quest (2017), the 2021 Towson Prize for Literature winning poetry collection Drowning in the Floating World and children’s novels including a 2024 ALA Schneider Family Book Award Honor Good Different, and the forthcoming The Girl in the Wall (Scholastic, 2025). Her work is published or forthcoming in magazines including Writer’s Digest, Prairie Schooner, The Rumpus, Poetry Northwest, Crab Orchard Review, RHINO and CV2.

She received her MFA in creative writing from the University of Maryland College Park. She teaches creative writing courses and has taught at a range of places, including Anne Arundel Community College, Southern New Hampshire University online, University of Maryland College Park, MTSU Write, Eckleburg Workshops, and The Writer’s Center in Bethesda since 2013.

Meg Eden's Featured Titles

My Journey as an Author

My traditional school visit presentation covers my writer journey from a young age, the inspiration behind the book Good Different, what it’s like to be autistic, reading 1-2 poems, and time for questions. Includes plenty of Pokemon and dragon references, as well as interactive prompts.

Good Different Poetry Workshop

Let’s play with poetry! Using examples from Good Different, we’ll talk about two critical writing tools in our toolbox: sensory details and repetition. There will be time for writing prompts and optional sharing. Particularly great for National Poetry Month!

How Video Games Taught Me How to Write Workshop

Through the power of images, we can convey a whole narrative in a short space. We’ll discuss examples of games that tell stories through objects, and go into our own writing exercises inspired by video games.
(Adaptable for kid and adult audiences)

Writing What You Love Interactive Writing Workshop

Our best writing comes from what interests and excites us. Using examples from my own books, I’ll talk about ways I’ve channeled my own and my characters’ interests into my stories, and give exercises on how you can explore your interests to make your writing not just strong but fun!

Professional Kid-ness: The Joy of Middle Grade Writing

Adaptable as a talk or an interactive workshop

Author Gennifer Choldenko describes being a middle grade writer as being “a professional twelve-year old.” To write middle grade, we can’t merely remember childhood, we have to re-learn how to be kids and write with a 12 year old’s worldview. But how do we do that? After all, middle grade is the great between: it’s not quite edgy enough to be young adult, but it’s got more heft than a chapter book. It’s right in the middle, just like the age of its readers: not quite a teen, but not exactly into the same kid things they were when they read Dr. Seuss. What exactly are the criteria for middle grade, and how do we write compellingly for this market? How do we get in a space to write the elusive but critical middle grade voice? Join us for this interactive discussion and workshop to ask all your middle grade questions, and take part in exercises to explore your own middle grade voice and find joy in the process.

Writing a Novel in Verse

Thinking about writing a novel in verse? The novel-in-verse is a unique form that merges elements of poetry and fiction, and is gaining popularity in the kidlit community as a powerful storytelling form. In this workshop, we’ll discuss the craft and thematic elements that make for a strong novel-in-verse, explore some examples of effective novels in verse, and engage in exercises to start investigating this form for our own narratives.

Writing as a Neurodivergent Person

What does it mean to be a neurodivergent writer? While publishers say they’re looking for work from lived neurodivergent experiences, do they really mean it? While I personally have received so much positive support already for my forthcoming novel in verse Good Different, and have found such joy in writing about my lived experience, I’ve also had some reactions to my neurodivergent protagonists along the way that have surprised me. Come for an honest conversation about the current state of neurodivergent representation particularly in kidlit, as well as the experiences of a neurodivergent writer in the publishing landscape. Bring questions and topics you’d like to talk about!

The Power of Specificity: Mining your Lived Experiences

Can be adapted as a talk or workshop

Sometimes our experience seems too “boring” to write about, or that we need to add fictional sparks to make it more “interesting”–but in fact, the little details of our lived experiences can be our most valuable assets as writers. We hear the truism “write what you know” because our expertise is our strength, and the difference between a compelling, believable story and pulling our readers out of the suspension of disbelief. But what do we know? In this workshop, we’ll take part in exercises that dig deep into the specific intersections of our identity, as well as the language of our unique experiences. The goal for this workshop is for everyone to walk away feeling empowered about the unique expertise they bring to their writing, and to be reminded that we all have a place at the table with stories that need to get out into the world!

Hooking Your Reader: Writing A Killer First Line

Can be adapted as a talk or workshop

Most editors of both magazines and presses will say that they read the first, last and middle page of a story before deciding if they want to read more. Potential readers are even less forgiving. When I pick up a new book, if the first line doesn’t hook me, I probably won’t continue reading. So how do we snag our readers and make them want to read more? In this workshop, we’ll look at examples of powerful first lines and discuss strategies for selecting a powerful first line. Feel free to bring the first line of your story or novel for a mini first-line “workshop.”

Getting Your Foot in the Door: Publishing in Literary Magazines

Want to submit your work to magazines but don’t know how? In this workshop, we’ll talk about what literary magazines are, what editors are looking for in submissions, have a “translation” exercise, tips on how to get the most out of a lit mag, tips for approaching writing a cover letter and contributor bio, as well as how to handle rejections. The skills you learn in this session can easily apply to other publication realms, including writing to agents and editors of small book presses. All participants will receive a complimentary magazine of their choice.

“Meg engaged our members from the outset when she described how the first sentence is like bait, by setting the tone, tension, and character of a story, that lures the reader into the first page and then hooks them into turning to page two. We thoroughly enjoyed her style and in dissecting and analyzing first lines. ” — Jim Brewster, Program Chair, MWA Charles County Chapter, 2024

“I have done workshops with Tom Lux, Marilyn Hacker and Marge Piercy. This is one of the best!” — Poetic Forms Course Student Marjorie, 2020

“This is like the next “Wonder.” — Good Morning America

“★ Kuyatt, who is autistic, uses candid lines to present Selah’s story, conveying her mother’s well-intentioned denial of Selah’s needs, and Selah’s own experiences, self-knowledge, and eventual self-advocacy.” — Publisher’s Weekly, starred review

“★ [A] beautifully written novel-in-verse…Ultimately, readers will empathize with Selah and rejoice with her as she learns to accept herself as she is.” — Booklist, starred review

Meg Eden’s Additional Resources Link

Classroom Resources for Good Different

Full Talk List Link

Honors, Awards & Recognition

A Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book
A School Library Journal Best Book
Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Older Readers
2024 ALSC Notable Children’s Books List
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
2021 Towson Prize for Literature Book

Media clips

Publishers Weekly | Good Different

Booklist | Good Different

Good Morning America | 13 books to spring into reading this March

School Library Journal | Best Middle Grade Books 2023

Diverse Books | Writing Autistic Characters with Lyn Miller-Lachmann and Meg Eden Kuyatt

American Library Association | Good Different

School Library Journal | Debut Books and the Newbery Medal: Will a first-time author win the Medal again?

Reading Eagle | Books take a look at aspects of courage and bravery

Media Kit

By clicking the link below you will be directed to a Google Docs Folder
where you can download author photos and cover images.