What It’s Like to Debut with Thousand Voices: Bringing Abby Offsides to Life - Book Gang | Lyssna här

Debuting with Thousand Voices, Anna McCallie shares how mentorship and fresh perspectives shaped Abby Offsides—a heartfelt romance about reinvention and belonging.

Debut author Anna McCallie joins Book Gang to celebrate her sparkling debut, Abby Offsides—a contemporary romance set amid the camaraderie and chaos of UK football—and to introduce listeners to Thousand Voices, Jenna Bush Hager's new imprint dedicated to uplifting debut and early-career authors.

Drawing on her own leap from Boston to London, Anna shares how she wove personal experiences of reinvention, vulnerability, and found family into Abby’s journey from outsider to insider—and learned the rules of romance writing along the way!

In this week’s episode, we discuss:

📚Launching with Thousand Voices: Anna discusses being among the first wave of debut authors published by Jenna Bush Hager’s new imprint, Thousand Voices, and shares how this supportive publishing model and hands-on mentorship shaped Abby Offsides from manuscript to publication.

📚 The Power of Found Family: We explore the vibrant, lived-in world of Mersey Football Club, the camaraderie among athletes, and how McCallie crafts cozy, relatable moments—on and off the field—that capture the heart of sports and romance fans alike.

📚 Navigating Romance Reader Expectations: Anna talks candidly about the specific tastes and strong opinions within the romance community, how she approached sensitive topics like infidelity and “messy” relationships in Abby Offsides, and what she’s learned from reader feedback as a debut novelist in the genre.

FREE BONUS BOOK LIST: 12 Books From Thousand Voices to Watch For

This week’s bonus book list spotlights the standout debuts and upcoming releases from Thousand Voices, Jenna Bush Hager’s new imprint. Patrons will receive a printable list to take to their local library, plus a bonus spoiler chat with Anna McCallie, where we dive deeper into Abby Offsides and how she created her unforgettable happily-ever-after moments.

Meet Anna McCallie

Anna McCallie was born in Boston and moved to the small town of Stilwell, Kansas, as a child. She has a B.A. in Arabic from Harvard University and an M.A. in international environmental policy from the Fletcher School, yet has never managed to have a job related to either of those subjects. She lives in London, and when she’s not writing, she can be found solving crossword puzzles, badgering her friends to go to pub quizzes, and watching a tremendous amount of football. Abby Offsides is her first novel and available on store shelves now.

Mentioned in this episode:

SUPPORT OUR SHOW: Join the Book Gang- patreon.com/momadvice

SUPPORT OUR SHOW: Make a One-Time Donation in ANY AMOUNT- buymeacoffee.com/bookgangpodcast

2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections)

October Book Club Episode: One Yellow Eye by Leigh Radford

FREE BONUS BOOK LIST: 12 Books From Thousand Voices to Watch For

Abby Offsides by Anna McCallie

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Two Weeks Notice

Mia Hutchinson Shaw

Into The Blue by Emma Brodie

Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores.