
John Masiulionis, "Walking Each Other Home – Zachary’s Mission: A Hospice for Children" (Trolley Stop Publishing, 2026)
From New Books in Children's Literature by New Books Network
April 10, 2026 · 47 min
About this episode
John Masiulionis discusses his picture book about a child named Zachary who is dying from cancer and his mission to build a hospice for children.
It's not every day that I get to interview an author (John Masiulionis) who has written a picture book entitled Walking Each Other Home – Zachary’s Mission: A Hospice for Children (illustrations by Roksana Barwinska) on such a difficult and challenging theme: a child named Zachary who is dying from cancer. Zachary's mission of building a hospice for children before he dies aligns with John's own mission of building a children's hospice in San Diego. In our heart-to-heart talk, we discuss much more - John's successful videocast program (The Children's Books Spotlight Series - II was just interviewed by him) and his own experiences, inspirations, revalations and illness that led him to write his book and seek to help other children's authors on their journey. We also discuss the dilemma of children's authors in choosing between self-publishing and seeking an agent and the traditional publishing route. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Guest: John Masiulionis
Topics covered
- children's literature
- hospice care
- self-publishing
- traditional publishing
- author experiences
- cancer in children
Keywords
- children's hospice
- picture book
- cancer
- self-publishing
- author journey
- children's authors
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Trolley Stop Publishing, The Children's Books Spotlight Series
Books & works: Walking Each Other Home – Zachary’s Mission: A Hospice for Children
Places: San Diego
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