👉 6 Questions with Shred Girls Author Molly Hurford

From favorite books as a teen to some sneak peeks at what's coming next!

Hey everyone! With our first couple of books at Strong Girl Publishing about to launch in just a few weeks—one from new author Mackenzie Myatt, In Defense of Big Dreams, and one from me called The Strong Girl—I thought it was a good time to re-introduce myself to anyone who’s new here!

What inspired you to write the Shred Girls series?

Back in 2015, I was working on an article about why girls stay in cycling. I knew that cycling and sport in general had a super high dropout rate for girls—it’s over 80 percent, according to some stats, between the ages of 8 and 12—and I wanted to reverse engineer the ‘why’ by finding out what worked. I interviewed a lot of young girls who were active cyclists and chatted with their parents. I realized that the thing that kept girls in was rarely competition-based: It came down to having other girls to ride with. Participation begets more participation! So, I asked myself what would have gotten me riding at that age. I was a late-bloomer in athletics (I didn’t run a mile til I was 20!), and I was a die-hard bookworm. I read Nancy Drew and wanted to be a detective. I read The Babysitter’s Club and actually became a babysitter. I realized if I’d read a book that made cycling seem cool, I likely would have dusted off my Diamondback and headed out for a ride. So, the Shred Girls was born: A series about a group of unlikely friends having adventures on two wheels. 

Why start Strong Girl Publishing now?

In talking to a lot of girls in sport/girls who love reading, parents and young women athletes, I realized there was a way to grow beyond myself, beyond The Shred Girls, and to have even more impact on the upcoming generation of girls who desperately need stories that let them see themselves in sport, and I wanted to create a pathway to publishing for young women athletes who had stories to tell. After COVID, I found out that a huge percentage of girls didn’t go back to school sports when the sports returned—a much higher percentage than the boys. To me, that was a warning shot that we really need to come at the problem of girls not participating in sport in new ways. There’s so much momentum for women’s sport, and so much support for girls who do want to be in sport, but there’s not a lot of work being done to nudge girls into at least trying different sports… and that’s where I think books can be magical!

How do you hope the series and Strong Girl Publishing will impact young readers?

I already know from parents and girls that the Shred Girls series has gotten some girls into bikes who were formerly uninterested, and I’ve also heard from some parents of girls (and boys!) who love biking but didn’t enjoy reading until they tried The Shred Girls. For me, success is getting more girls to at least try a sport, whether it’s biking, running, hiking, lifting weights, yoga, or a more traditional team sport at school—anything that gets them moving and having fun while they are! That’s a big part of why I wanted to broaden out and create Strong Girl Publishing too—I want to make sure that we're representing a lot of different sports, not just cycling. I think bikes are one of the absolute best ways to be active, since they provide a way to get around as well as a fun way to get in some fitness, and there are so many cool groups doing great things with girls on bikes. But I also think running is more easily accessible for a lot of girls, and I think something like strength training, which is a big focus in The Strong Girl, is one of the sports/fitness activities that really gets skipped for girls but is so important as we get older!

What advice do you have for young girls who are interested in pursuing extreme sports?

I think with social media, it’s easy to see someone else’s chapter 10 and think you need to be there, right now. You don’t have to start with the scary thing! I think we assume that it’s all or nothing: If you want to run, you have to sign up for a marathon (or even a 5K). If you want to mountain bike, you have to race, or head to the gnarliest trails around. This isn’t true! If you want to run, start with running for 30 seconds, walking for a minute—and repeat that for 20 minutes. Want to mountain bike? Start on a flat gravel road near your house so you learn how to handle your bike before hitting the trails. Figure out what starting point feels do-able for you and start there!

Who are the most influential authors in your life?

I have SO many. But a few of my absolute favorite young adult/middle grade authors that have definitely influenced my writing include Ann M Martin (The Babysitters Club), Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew), Ellen Wittlinger (Hard Love), Todd Strausser  (How I Changed My Life), Ron Koertge (Confessorama), Francesca Lia Block (Weetzie Bat), and of course, Judy Blume (Just As Long As We’re Together). There are tons of others, but those come immediately to mind as authors who wrote realistic, strong women characters. They helped broach tough subjects, they were inspiring, and—to be honest—many had fantastic descriptions of clothes, which as a former fashion journalist, I adored. I also loved that many of them had characters who broke traditional molds—though I often felt like they would get boxed into one stereotype, i.e the artist, the goth, the nerd, etc. — and that’s something I always wanted to work to change! 

What's next for you as an author and a runner?

As an author, I’m getting ready for The Strong Girl to come out. I admit, it’s my favorite thing I’ve written so far, and I have high hopes that it will resonate with both my sporty girl audience and also my bookworms and offbeat girls who love to read and aren’t necessarily thinking about athletics. It’s also my first historical fiction, so it was really fun to dig into! I actually remember writing a chapter of a ‘book’ when I was maybe 11 years old set around the same time in history as The Strong Girl, and I had such vivid flashbacks of writing that while I was working on the new book, so I honestly believe it’s a story that’s been brewing in me for almost 25 years! 

Running-wise, I have a couple more smaller events this fall, but it’s all about the Leadville 100 run next August—345 days and counting! That sounds like a lot of time, but with 100-milers, there’s no end to the amount of work you can put in to be as prepared as possible on the start line.  

Have any more questions for Molly, or any of our other authors? Respond to this email and let us know! And make sure you check out the new swag we launched as we get ready for In Defense of Big Dreams to hit the shelves… it’s all inspired by Mackenzie’s poetry, and a lot of it is perfect for cyclocross season—especially the Après collection for post-race hangouts! (And remember, anytime you buy any of our clothing or books, a chunk of the profits goes directly to the authors to help them live out their athletic dreams—and 5% of profits goes to an organization of their choice that supports girls in sport!)