Meet Justin Colón — and his next picture book

Looking for your next great, funny read?

You may have to look no further than Justin Colón’s and James Rey Sanchez’ picture book IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS, which releases Oct. 22 from Disney Hyperion.

Life as an aspiring villain is lonely for Carl the possum, so he’s on a mission to create a like-minded conspirator. But, when his Possum Populator arrives, it requires assembly — and everyone knows villains don’t have time for that.

So, Carl tosses the instructions, leading to a series of outlandish mishaps and mounting frustration as the contraption pops out all the wrong creations.

Justin joins Picture Book Builders today to chat about writing, books, pangolins and possums.

Where did the idea for IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS originate?
IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS was inspired by and evolved from a combination of an agent’s manuscript wish list (mswl), Reddit, and my imagination leading me down a rabbit hole of what ifs. For the longer story, let’s venture back to the year 2019, just a few short months before the world would soon shut down . . .

I was scrolling Twitter during its glory days when I spotted a mswl tweet from a reputable agent who wanted to see a pangolin story in her query inbox (she would later pass on my submission). After learning pangolins are endangered largely due to illegal poaching, I set out to write a tale about a boy who advertises his home as a sanctuary to pangolins around the planet, only for a slew of animals disguised as pangolins to show up instead. Despite good intentions, the story felt didactic and too sweet for my taste. So, it was back to the drawing board.

While brainstorming a new approach, I stumbled upon a Reddit thread likening pangolins to villains because they walk hunched over like they’re plotting something nefarious. As an author who enjoys incongruities and the absurd, the idea of taking this shy, docile creature and making it a villain was funny to me.

Now, you might be wondering why the story features a possum instead of a pangolin. During that time, a theory emerged that pangolins were the cause of Covid. While the theory was disproven while my story was still making the editorial and acquisitions rounds at different houses, it was enough to spook one publisher. While my acquiring publisher, Disney Hyperion, didn’t share this concern, they requested I change the pangolin to an animal more easily recognized by children. That’s how the story became IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS.

What was the process of turning that idea into a viable book? How did that process compare to creating your first picture book, THE QUACKEN?
Well, I actually wrote IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS before THE QUACKEN.

I wasn’t yet querying agents or submitting to editors when I wrote IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS. That meant less pressure and more opportunity to play with the story during the creative process. Eventually, I pitched an earlier version of the story during a popular Twitter contest, and it received several requests, including one from the agent who was #1 on my query list. I didn’t want to blow my chance, so I notified her that I was going to revise the story and would submit it when ready, which was about 6-8 months later. She loved it and requested additional picture book manuscripts.

During that time, the same Twitter contest rolled back around, and I participated again, this time pitching THE QUACKEN. The agent who was already reviewing my materials requested it, and soon we had a call to discuss representation. Even though she already had a few manuscripts from me, she was especially interested in THE QUACKEN and asked to see it. But I didn’t have a submission-ready draft, so she asked me to send it to her when it was completed and we could resume our conversation regarding representation then. For this reason, there was a lot of pressure while drafting and revising THE QUACKEN. There was also less opportunity to play because I had already pitched the premise, and I needed to stay true to it. Ultimately, I drafted and revised the manuscript in about a month and sent it to my agent a day or two before the winter holiday hiatus.

Pre-release copy for IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS describes it as “exceptionally goofy.” Was that your goal? How do you know when you’ve achieved exceptional goofiness?
My goal was to write a silly story that would hopefully surprise readers with each page turn and have them laughing in the process. So, “exceptionally goofy” feels like another way of saying mission accomplished.

However, I have reservations viewing anything I’ve created as “exceptional.” Of course I want to believe it is, but I also know that’s dangerous territory. It can heighten the ego as well as set one up for disappointment.

There’s definitely a point though at which I often feel proud of and confident in a story.  With my funny stories, it usually involves me laughing at what I’ve written. The next step after that is testing it on my family (they don’t hold back with letting me know what is and isn’t working, and why). I also share lines and scenes with a few trusted critique partners to gauge their response.

How did you and the illustrator, James Rey Sanchez, interact throughout the process?
With the greenlight from Disney Hyperion, James Rey Sanchez and I communicated throughout the process. We’ve had group Zoom calls with our incredible editor, Sylvie Frank, who is the editorial director at Disney Hyperion. We’ve even had some fun group emails with Sylvie, Art Director Tyler Nevins, and our agents. Beyond that, James and I have communicated through Zoom, phone, Twitter, Instagram, and email to discuss marketing ideas, goals for the book and what it could be, etc.  We’ve even done some interviews together, which isn’t as common. A few months back, we mailed bookplates to each other to sign, that way when people pre-order the book, they can have a bookplate signed by both of us.

We’re very respectful of our team, and so we don’t give each other any notes regarding art or text outside of the proper channels. We don’t want to compromise the process or jeopardize our team’s trust. That’s what allows this sort of communication to be possible.

In a profession that can feel very isolated (despite being a team effort) and at a time when the kidlit community feels especially dispersed and not quite as connected as it once was, this type of collaboration has been especially rewarding.

How do you plan to celebrate the book’s release date?
I’ll probably kick the day off with a cup of coffee, promote the book on social media, put a newsletter out to my subscribers, and enjoy a nice dinner with my family.

For my debut book, THE QUACKEN, I did a signing marathon where I visited Barnes and Noble stores across Long Island to sign copies and leave behind swag. At the end of the day (in an impromptu situation), a family friend had me drive to a stranger’s house and read the book to a brood of wild ducklings that were living in the pond she has in her backyard. All the while, a few adults and children looked on as pellets were tossed at me in an unsuccessful effort to entice the ducklings to stay nearby.

While I’d love to spend the day chillin’ with possums, I didn’t get around to setting that up. But, if anyone ever wants to help make that happen, hit me up!

What’s next for you?
A lot! Today (as in the day this interview goes live on the blog), you can find me at New York City Comic Con on a panel with author-illustrators Jessie Sima and Lucy Ruth Cummins (who was the art director of my first book, THE QUACKEN). I’ll be at Nerd Camp Long Island in a few weeks, and I’m doing a signing/reading with Josh Funk at a local indie later that day. I’ll also be doing some reading at Barnes and Noble, and I hope to launch school author visits soon.

My third picture book, THE ZOMBEES (illustrated by Kaly Quarles) publishes next summer with Simon and Schuster. IMPOSSIBLE POSSUM FOR MAYOR (the sequel to IMPOSSIBLE POSSUMS) publishes with the same Disney team next fall. And my spooky, lyrical tale, VAMPURR (illustrated by Lenny Wen) is slated to publish spring of 2026 with FSG/Macmillan

If you want to stay connected with Justin, you can find him on:

Twitter (X): @JustinRColon
Instagram: @justinryancolon
Website: www.justincolonbooks.com

WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT STORY STRUCTURE?
REGISTER FOR MY WEBINAR.

Join me, Pat Zietlow Miller, for an online webinar with R(ev)ise and Shine about why structure is an often overlooked part of picture book writing.

I’ll explain several common picture book structures, talk about how to determine which one might be right for your manuscript, share LOTS of book recommendations, and talk about how you can get creative with picture book structure — if you do it properly.

You can join us live online on Oct. 23 from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Eastern Time. Or, you can register now and watch a recording of the webinar after the fact at a time that works for you.

Check out the details and registration information.