Category Archives: books

New and Beginning Teachers, this is for YOU (Real Talk for New Teachers open for pre-orders)

A happy graduate, after receiving her degree! Photo credit SMC instagram.

(cross posted at my Substack, Draft and Drift)

Ah, spring. Recently, I cheered my pre-service teachers on at graduation, as they waved at loved ones, smiled, and took in the moment. I’ve listened and given advice as they interviewed, did guest teaching, and landed teaching jobs in Vermont and beyond. They are a bright and talented bunch, full of ideas, enthusiasm, and love for their students and the craft.

I wish them ALLLLL the success. ❤️

I want teaching to be a fulfilling and sustainable profession for them—one where they can thrive without sacrificing their well-being, identity, or personal lives.

This is a big ask.

Because we know the big challenges, there are too many to list here, though I have written about them widely in other places. I wrote a whole book about why teachers leave, and what we need to do to help them stay, but it needed an update, and a change of approach.

I wanted to write something that helped shorten the learning curve for new and beginning teachers. Something that helped them develop a plan right from the beginning. And that is what Penny Bishop, my co-author and fellow champion of new and beginning teachers (and Dean of the Wheelock School of Education at Boston University), tried to do with our new book, Real Talk for New Teachers: Tools for a Sustainable Career.

I’m happy to report that pre-orders (at your favorite bookstore or online retailer) are now open! I hope as students are graduating and launching into their careers, they can create a sustainable plan for teaching that supports them (and beginning teachers, too).

“Real Talk for New Teachers is a MUST for anyone entering the teaching field or in their first years of teaching! This book makes teaching feel “doable” in a holistic manner that starts with the self (living healthily) and moves toward collaborating with others and becoming a leader in the profession.”

—Dr. Stacy Simonyi, Assistant Professor of Education at Saint Michael’s College

Our country needs desperately teachers that are inspiring, engaged, brave, knowledgeable, compassionate, caring and healthy. Teachers that can move through complex emotions, develop strong communities, and work to provide equity, access, belongingness, opportunity and access for their students.

If you know any new or beginning teachers, I hope you will share Real Talk for New Teachers with them! You can pre-order at your local independent book store, or the regular online retailers.

Thanks for reading, be well!

The Board signed pre-orders open (from Bear Pond Books!)

After a long day of teaching and hosting 120 kids on campus, I opened this box of Advanced Reader Copies and THE BOARD became real. Calm is my middle name, obviously.

(cross posted on my Substack newsletter, Draft and Drift)

Okay, as you can see, I’m super chill about getting the Advanced Reader Copies of my new thriller, THE BOARD, out with Blackstone Publishing on September 9th, 2025. This is my debut fiction for adults, and it feels like a fever dream that it is even real. (Here is the moment I opened the box— I fear I screeched).

I wrote this book in the early AM hours, on my couch, while slugging coffee, before heading in to teach fifth graders during the pandemic. My nerves were shot. My eyes were red and barely open. But the world of small town school politics, board takeovers, and narcissistic leaders, took shape in my mind. And the story, well, it is eerily familiar to what many communities (and dare I say, the country) are facing right now, with book banning, funding being pulled for teaching accurate history and practicing inclusion, though taken to the extreme. THE BOARD, over many early mornings and cups of coffee, was born.

THE BOARD is now open for SIGNED pre-orders from my brave, steady, and super informed local bookstore, Bear Pond Books. For these pre-orders I will go down to Bear Pond, happily sit there, and sign them before they ship. In fact, I am super excited to do so. I LOVE this bookstore and effort to support them while also sharing this story with you. And, you’ll get the first signed copies of THE BOARD, delivered to you on the pub day of September 9th!

Here is a blurb about the book (for which I am so grateful):

“Katy Farber writes with verve about the Machiavellian politics of small towns, and the dark secrets they hide. Clever and propulsive, this taut mystery will keep you turning pages until the end.” —Thomas Christopher Greene, bestselling author of The Headmaster’s Wife

Thank you for considering, for reading, and for supporting your local indie bookstore!

New Substack Newsletter: Draft and Drift (join me!)

In an effort to reclaim those by-gone days of early blogging, and connect to fantastic writers and readers, I started a new newsletter called Draft and Drift.

Why Draft and Drift? Because I do both!

If you don’t like being stuck in boxes with your creative projects, this is the place for you. This is the place for lane hoppers and drifters.

As you know if you are here, I’m interested in stories, learning, exploration, connection, and ideas, not sticking to certain genres or lanes in publishing and education. My writing spans the genres of fiction and non-fiction for YA, children, and adult audiences. I have 4 (soon to be 5!) education books, a middle grade novel, a picture book, and a thriller for adults (coming in Sept. 2025- more on this soon!).

Hence, Draft and Drift…

Here are some recent posts:

On the Spring Amphibian migration (and using spring and nature to soothe sadness and extensional dread).

And on the story of Real Talk for New Teachers: Tools for a Sustainable Career, moving from Why Great Teachers Quit to how to STAY teaching sustainably for years to come.

Hope you can join me over at Substack for more regular updates! I’ll try to cross post content over here as well.