We chat with author Ellen Hagan about All That Shines, a contemplative novel in verse that questions what it means to lose everything you once treasured and rediscover yourself, falling in love along the way.
Hi, Ellen! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Yes! I am thrilled to be talking with you all. I was born and raised in Bardstown, Kentucky and grew up loving the rolling hills and lush landscape of the Bluegrass. I studied acting and creative writing first at the University of Kentucky and then at The New School in New York City, getting the chance to learn from incredible writers such as Kelly Norman Ellis, Crystal Wilkinson and Nikky Finney. I have published poetry collections with Northwestern University Press and middle grade and YA with Bloomsbury over the last several years and am thrilled to be celebrating All That Shines, my new YA novel in verse set in Lexington, Kentucky. My partner is a photographer and filmmaker and my children are poets and visual artists. We try to make art and share it as much as possible. I’ve been a teacher for two decades and love the community building part of art making. I am so excited to continue making art in community with others.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I started writing seriously around 7th / 8th grade and am a big journal keeper. I have dozens that have followed me through the years and they are full of poems, stories, snippets of life, details and lists of things I love. Some of those include: family, decades long friendships, cornbread, potlucks, dance floors, community gatherings and on and on. I also found my love of performing in the 7th grade when I played Maleficent in our middle school production of Sleeping Beauty. I have always loved storytelling and connecting with others through writing and performance. I want to also shout out the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts, a program for young artists that I attended when I was 17 years old. I learned to write about my identity, culture, traditions and home. That program was transformative for me and taught me so much about being the kind of artist who listens and pays close attention to the world and community around me.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
One of the first books that I remember reading and loving was: Cotton Candy On A Rainy Day by Nikki Giovanni. The poems flew off the page for me and I knew I wanted to be a poet. There’s even a small love poem that I scrawled on the back page when I was still in high school.
One of my favorite books in high school was Sula by Toni Morrison. That was a book that cracked everything open for me. I loved the way she wrote complicated and nuanced women on the page. It felt alive and tender and stunning.
A book I currently can’t stop thinking about is Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion by Bushra Rehman. That book was full of so much heart and vulnerability – so many complicated emotions and new love. It is the book I will be giving to loved ones this year.
Your latest novel, All That Shines, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Love story set in Kentucky
or
Love, Identity, Class, Kentucky, Cornbread
What can readers expect?
ALL THAT SHINES is full of the rolling hills in Kentucky, making music, horse-riding, late-night kissing in the tall bluegrass, catching the sun sinking into the earth and falling fast in love, with both yourself and the people around you.
Readers will find a novel in verse about identity, class, family, music, food, and the people and places that you come from. Here is a sample poem about where to find wealth in your own life.
Wealth is the sunshine
arching high atop the trees.
Sky reaching, rounding, frolicking.
It is the winding hilltops.
The way Clint’s palm
feels on my lower back,
hip, waist. Shake.
My head a jumble
of what everything is worth.
Wealth is love.
Is falling in love.
And figuring out
how to last, withstand,
make it through the night
and look forward to the morning.
Where did the inspiration for All That Shines come from?
The book started with poems about how to love who you are and not be caught up with the excess or stuff that surrounds you. How do you love who you are and how you show up in the world? I wanted to explore that first and then I started to think about wealth and class and privilege and started to question what money means and what it is a symbol of. Money can be a very taboo subject and one that we are not always comfortable talking about, and I wanted to write that story. The one that uncovers what is underneath that fear. I was also inspired by the stunning landscape of Kentucky. And finally, I was inspired by my own family, friendships and finding love in my own community. I wanted to show that beauty on the page.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved writing the scenes with Chloe, Skye, James, Natalia and Clint. Anytime they were on the page, it was so full of love, music, exciting dialogue and fun! I love when Clint makes cornbread for Chloe and when they all find themselves singing and making music together. It feels so full of joy and abundance. I loved figuring out where Chloe was going to find the wealth in her own life and how she discovered how to love herself. The poems about Kentucky were so much fun to write as well. I love showcasing the Bluegrass to people who might not be familiar with the state and bringing that landscape to life.
What’s next for you?
I am so excited to be working on a new YA book with my partner David Flores who is also a photographer and filmmaker. We first met when we were 17 years old at the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts when we were both studying art and then started dating and got married a decade later. I love working on projects with him. The synopsis is below.
LOVE AT LAKE MAJESTIC. This is the kind of love story that starts with a lie. Set at an exclusive resort in upstate New York, Mia Malik (an employee of The Lake Majestic Mountain House) takes a dare to convince teenage guest JP Abrigo to fall in love with her. Winning the bet is her ticket out of town, but when Mia starts discovering real feelings and JP invents a lie to rewrite a trauma from the past, they both realize that telling the truth and sharing who they really are might be the best ending of all. This is a love story for anyone who willing to tell the truth and owning your own stories to fall in love.
I love this book and cannot wait to share it with readers in 2025!
Lastly, do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
Yes! Some books that I currently love are: Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez, which kept me page turning and invested in all the characters. All the Blood Involved in Love by Maya Marshall, a book of poems that was so stunning to me and Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang, a graphic novel that stayed with me long after I finished it. Hope you will check those books out!
