Oh, what a night! My wife @lsantat looked dazzling in her dress, I wore my old Wimbledon shirt under my tuxedo for good luck, took a “selfie” with Oprah, and saw a few old friends. If you told 13 year old Dan that his most humiliating childhood moments would become a National Book Award winner he would have thought you to be insane, but that’s the funny thing about life. You experience certain highs and lows and sometimes those experiences are completely out of your control, but if you take a moment to pause, and reflect on the positives of those moments, you will realize that you will come out of it a much stronger person. If I did not die of embarrassment in front of my entire junior high then I wouldn’t have gone to Europe, or become a writer, or have those memories to tell this story. In the end the highs and lows are what make you who you are and I wouldn’t change a thing ❤️
Today I had the lovely honor of giving the commencement speech to the 2026 graduating class at the @montcollegeart where I received an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts. You shall all refer to me as Dr. Santat, now. (Attached are a few excerpts from my speech) My parents would be proud ❤️🩺
ALL THE HULK FEELS has been nominated for an Eisner Award! This one is especially special for me because it’s a Marvel book (with Abrams) and I once poured my heart out to Stan Lee years back (2006) and he gave me some great career advice, “Do what you love and the money will find you.” and I told him I had a dream that I could work on a Marvel title someday, and he said, “I’m sure that day will come.” Well, he isn’t here to see this but I couldn’t be more honored ❤️
DON’T TRUST FISH is the winner of the Irma Black Award given by the Bank Street Center for Children’s Literature and voted on by kids! Written by @neilsharpson with art by me. As Jeff would say, “You have done well.” (Also congrats to @authorjasonchin for winning the Cook Prize)
Happy Mother’s Day to my wife @lsantat for being the mother of my kids for the past 20+ years. And a first Mother’s Day without my own mom who I hope is resting peacefully. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms everywhere. They make us who we are and help our kids become the best people they can be🙏❤️
Dan Santat, author of A Fishboy Named . . . Sashimi (Roaring Brook Press), joins Matthew to talk about creating worlds that readers will want to believe.
Dan Santat’s back! And this book made me chortle in public places. Ha!
Here are a few of the things I learned in this conversation:
NUMBER ONE: Dan has loved urban myths his whole life. Framing his latest series around a mysterious monster in a small seaside town felt like something he’s been playing with for years.
NUMBER TWO: Sashimi is Dan’s id. You know how Sigmund Freud gave us the concept of the id, the ego, and the superego? This is Dan, gills to tail.
And NUMBER THREE: Dan wants to write a child’s next obsession, that book series they cannot put down and are always checking shelves for a new installment. And in creating the world of Sashimi, he created a world you want to believe in.
Let’s get obsessed with our guest!
Click on the link in my bio or listen wherever podcast are found! 🎧 📚 💕
@dsantat@macmillanusa@mackidsbooks
It's gonna be MAY on the Children's Book Podcast! Look who's coming up! 🎧 📚 💕
05.05.26 - Dan Santat and A FISHBOY NAMED...SASHIMI
05.12.26 - Katherine Applegate and WOMBAT WAITING
05.19.26 - Andy Griffiths and YOU AND ME AND THE PEANUT BUTTER BEAST
05.26.26 - Namrata Tripathi, President and Publisher of Kokila
Available wherever #podcasts are found. 📚👍🏽 #kidit #ChildrensBkPod
@dsantat@kaaauthor@andygbooks@tweetpathi@macmillanusa@harperkids@kokilabooks@boydsmills
