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ENTRY TYPE: new
WORK TITLE: Miss Liberty
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WEBSITE: https://www.erinmoonyeenhaley.com/
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PERSONAL
Female.
EDUCATION:Graduated from University of the Arts (Philadelphia); earned master’s degree.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Educator and writer. Has worked variously as a dance instructor, bookseller, librarian, and positions in the film industry. Has also interned at the Cannes Film Festival.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, March 15, 2025, review of Miss Liberty.
Publishers Weekly, February 17, 2025, review of Miss Liberty, p. 49.
ONLINE
Erin Moonyeen Haley website, https://www.erinmoonyeenhaley.com (November 10, 2025).
Watch. Connect. Read., https://mrschureads.blogspot.com/ (October 1, 2024), John Schu, author interview.
About Erin…
Erin has been, by turns, an educator, a dance instructor, a Tinseltown assistant, a Barnes & Noble bookseller, and a librarian. Armed with a degree in Writing for Film and Television from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Erin interned at the Cannes Film Festival and worked at Disneyland while edging her way up the Hollywood food chain. She then spent several years working at A-list talent agencies and production companies, writing extensive story coverage and aiding in all things development. From there, she earned her teaching certifications and her Masters in English and History. Today, she’s a librarian at a Philadelphia-area school where she also teaches an eclectic array of courses, including English, Dance, Pop Culture Critical Thinking, and Art History.
Miss Liberty is her first novel.
Miss Liberty by Erin Moonyeen Haley
Hello, Erin Moonyeen Haley! Welcome to Watch. Connect. Read.! I’m grateful you stopped by to share Miss Liberty’s cover. What ran through your heart the first time you saw Bev Johnson’s cover illustration?
Erin: Hi John! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me about Miss Liberty. I’m beyond thrilled to dig into my debut novel.
Excitement. Pure, sugary, heart-thumping, stay-up-all-night excitement. I don’t even know where to begin. I love everything from the bold colors to the popping fireworks to the sparkling tiara to the way Savvy is striking a pose…it was all I could have hoped for. One thing I really love about the cover is that it is brimming with confidence. Savvy looks just as I envisioned her, like a young person who is ready to try and take on the world - or at least her own part of it - regardless of the hiccups along the way. I also love how the cover captures a sense of pageantry and the nostalgia of summer nights. My Granny Moon and Grandpa Bill used to throw epic Fourth of July shindigs and, to this day, I can’t help but think of them over the holiday. Then I got older, and began to perform in the Philadelphia Fourth of July parade right in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and I started to savor the holiday on an entirely new level. To see those memories and emotions come alive on Miss Liberty’s book cover is unbelievably sweet.
Please finish the following sentence starters:
Writing is my everything. I am never happier than when I’m writing. Playing with language, discovering words, excavating stories and describing the world as I see it is when I’m most alive. When I write, I can’t help but feel like there’s an electric storm in my head, and all that creativity and passion is swirling and swishing and sending lightning from my eyeballs straight to my fingers. That’s not to say that writing isn’t hard, but I love that it’s hard. Even when I’m dancing around a scene or struggling with escalating action, the hard work reminds me that I’m not letting my characters off too easy, that I’m crafting a journey that’s worth the blood, sweat and tears. I think my favorite part of the writing process, however, is the rewriting stage. I tell my students that it’s my ‘slice-and-dice’ stage. I spread out the papers and, with my array of colored pens, go to work chunking material, moving scenes, nixing characters, checking story arcs and reworking entire sequences. Something about the gritty stress of that phase makes me feel like I finally get to call myself a ‘writer’ after all.
Libraries are the heartbeat of schools and society, but especially schools. They are places where imagination and curiosity run deliciously amuck and students can find a place where they feel less alone and less overwhelmed by the outside world. Every child and every young adult especially has the right to enter a library and feel safe as well as a sense of overwhelming positivity. That is why libraries need to be defended and celebrated. For students especially, libraries are escape hatches, cozy havens and places to go where they are not under any stress to perform or compete. Librarians are the guides who are always eager to help students find the book that is ideal for them, while also introducing them to new material. I was lucky to have parents who were, (and still are), voracious readers. My mom always had a book in hand or in her purse and my dad was kind of famous among my friends for reading Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark at every single one of my sleepovers.
But not everyone comes from a home where books take center stage. And yet, it is human nature to crave stories - fiction, nonfiction, whatever. Libraries are where we are all equal in that there is a story for everyone. Now that I’m the librarian, my favorite part of the job is when a student comes to me and asks, “What should I read next?” I love getting that question. It’s like we’re on a quest as we meander through the books together. And the best part is: there is always something from everyone.
John Schu, you should have asked me how I start prepping for a story. The answer is….Writing Notebooks! (Cue the trombones or trumpets or any sort of ‘ta-da’ music). I truly believe that every writer should always have a notebook, notepad, sketchpad, napkin, day planner, old receipt or anything else on them that would work to jot down a few ideas. The worst sensation is feeling like you’ve ‘got nuthin’ to work on, mostly because we all know that - as writers - we have a plethora of ideas stashed in the brain, and usually the difficulty simply lies in accessing them. Keeping a writer’s notebook handy is like walking around with a bank of characters and an unending reel of worldbuilding images. In addition to keeping a notebook with ideas, I also scan the visual wonderland that is Pinterest and flip through the latest Vogue magazine, printing and cutting out images to scrapbook my notebook with them. I’ll either match the images to what I’ve written, or glue them on blank pages and see what they inspire. It might sound silly, but watching my notebooks get thick with words and pictures always gives me a sense of accomplishment. Notebooks are also something of a safety net, because - whenever I feel stuck - I can pull random passages to start to sandcastle my next idea. I never feel blocked or ‘not ready’ to write.
Thank you for your beautiful responses, Erin! Congratulations!
Erin Moonyeen Haley has been, by turns, an educator, a dancer, a dance instructor, and a bookseller. After graduating with a degree in writing for film and television from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Erin spent time in Hollywood working at A-list talent agencies and production companies. Today, she’s a librarian who also teaches English, history, and art history at a Philadelphia-area school for gifted students.
Miss Liberty releases on May 6, 2025. Pre-order a copy today!
Dumplin’ meets the small-town drama of Gilmore Girls in this sparkling debut from Erin Moonyeen Haley. For twelve-year-old Savvy, dancing in her town’s Miss Liberty pageant is the ultimate dream. But what happens when her sister sets out to destroy it?
Twelve-year-old Savvy’s only ambition is to be chosen as Miss Liberty in her town’s glitter-tastic Fourth of July parade. In her mind, being Miss Liberty is the key to getting everything you want for the rest of your life. And Savvy’s anxious mind needs to know what’s going to happen for the rest of her life, just like she needs to know what the weather is going to be like every single day. Unfortunately, Savvy is only a dancer in the kickline, while her older sister, Levi, is the glamorous Miss Liberty for the third year in a row.
But this year, Levi seems committed to taking down the parade and crushing Savvy’s future dreams, for reasons that neither Savvy nor the town can understand.
Only one thing is certain: it’s up to Savvy to bring the glitter back to her beloved parade, her town, and her sister.
Posted 18th October 2024 by John Schu
Miss Liberty
Erin Moonyeen Haley. Storytide, $18.99 (224p)
ISBN 978-0-06-336001-3
* | Weather-obsessed Savvy Montrose, who reads as white, dreams of following in her older sister Levi's footsteps by winning the Miss Liberty pageant and taking on the coveted role as the star of town Libertes long-running Independence Day parade. It's a position that could open doors to future opportunities-and could mean that Savvy will never feel overlooked again. This year, the anxious 12-year-old hopes to finally show off her tap skills as part of the pageant's talent portion. But everything goes wrong: the pageant runner refuses to acknowledge her dance abilities, the parade is in danger of being canceled, and worst of all to Savvy, Levi uses the traditionally quiet and compliant Miss Liberty role to raise awareness of voting inequity following the closure of Libertes voting center. In this heartfelt debut, Haley sensitively portrays a character who's struggling to hold on to the comfort of the familiar while contending with fear regarding an uncertain future. Savvy's personal ambitions ("Being Miss Liberty is the secret to getting everything you want in life") collide with her desire to support her sister's efforts (using her position as Miss Liberty to "guard and nurture" their town), making for engaging, relatable familial and internal drama. Ages 8-12. Agent: Molly O'Neill, Root Literary. (May)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Miss Liberty." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 7, 17 Feb. 2025, pp. 49+. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A829933423/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d4ba0f11. Accessed 16 Aug. 2025.
Haley, Erin Moonyeen MISS LIBERTY Harper/HarperCollins (Children's None) $18.99 5, 6 ISBN: 9780063360013
A 12-year-old girl dreams of being the lead dancer in her small town's Fourth of July parade, the future of which is under threat.
Savvy loves Glitter Season, when her town starts celebrating and counting down to the Fourth of July. She believes that if she can become Miss Liberty, everything will go well for her; anxious Savvy, who struggles with panic attacks, craves this reassurance. But her older sister, Levi, has other plans. Now in her third year as Miss Liberty, 17-year-old Levi, inspired by her honors civics class, is done being silent. She believes that Miss Liberty should stand for a cause, and hers is protesting a change that undermines voting access for the town's citizens. Savvy is convinced that Levi's planned protest will ruin the parade, which the town council decided will end after this year due to budget constraints. Will Savvy be able to fulfill her dream of someday being Miss Liberty? First-person narrator Savvy gives readers strong descriptions of her inner world, the weather forecast ("one less thing to worry about"), and her anxiety. The pacing is just right, and Savvy and her close friends, Seymour (who loves fashion) and Dulce (a student journalist activist), are likable as they support one another in what they each believe matters. Most main characters read white, and Dulce is cued Latine.
A fierce, sparkly debut that shows the importance of taking a stand and being yourself.(Fiction. 8-12)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Haley, Erin Moonyeen: MISS LIBERTY." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A830532484/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c9e19468. Accessed 16 Aug. 2025.