A New Kid-Focused Story Podcast
- January 15, 2026
- By Alice Knisley Matthias
Who doesn’t love a great story?
Two award-winning authors, Kelly Yang and Kate DiCamillo, are launching a new podcast, StoryKind, on January 19, 2026 to spark the joy and connectivity of storytelling in kids. Each week they will share tips for writing, answer your questions, celebrate the hard work of teachers and librarians in literacy spaces, and spread the magic of real storytelling.
Access to social media outlets allows us to discover, stumble upon and share the latest news on topics of interest in short bursts of information and entertainment.
The idea for the new podcast grew out of the authors’ concern over declining literacy rates among children and the desire to do something to help the situation with all they know about using the tools of imagination and creativity to tell an engaging story.
“Kelly and I both get a lot of questions from readers–about reading, writing, and life. We thought it would be good if we could answer some of those questions together, to encourage young writers and readers to tell their own stories,”says DiCamillo.
“So much of storytelling is a desire for connection, and we thought a podcast would be a way for us all—kids, teachers, librarians—to connect.”
StoryKind, is geared for kids ages 8 and up, educators and parents who want to offer kids something other than the short form video content they consume. Weekly episodes are designed as a 15-minute springboard of inspiration, whether it’s riding in the car, taking a walk outside, or in the classroom. The idea is to start a conversation that sparks an appreciation for longer stories through reading and bringing that energy to drafting their own stories.
Young readers know Yang as the author of over 15 books for children, teens and adults, including the Front Desk series, and DiCamillo as the beloved author of Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tiger Rising, The Tale of Despereaux, and Flora & Ulysses.
Yang adds that she knows what it is like to be the parent of a reluctant reader and have the conversation with kids to get off their screens.
“It’s not because kids don’t want storytelling, they’ve just become addicted to short form video storytelling. This is deeply concerning because I know, as a reader, what you get from a 10-second video is simply incomparable to the fulfillment that comes with understanding a deeper story. A real, human story.”
Yang points out that it might seem like there are two options for most kids–read a book or scroll on YouTube. She says their goal with the StoryKind podcast is to introduce a third option where kids get to hear two authors tell stories, have fun and share meaningful dialogue every week.
“Hopefully, we’ll get kids interested in longer form storytelling again,”says Yang. “From there, the mission is to inspire them to give reading a chance!”
There is a storyteller in all of us and reading books and talking about what makes an engaging story can help us become better readers and writers.
You can find Yang and DiCamillo on the StoryKind podcast every Wednesday at Kelly Yang’s YouTube channel, Spotify, Apple Music, and your favorite podcast host.
