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MUNCIE – Camille McCreery is turning her passion for curling up with a good book into a career of spreading the joy of reading to others.
The New Palestine native is a co-host of a talk radio show and podcast in Muncie called Page Turners. The Saturday morning program features local and regional authors, book store owners and more, with a slant toward young adult science fiction and fantasy.
“I like to say it’s the Saturday morning cartoon equivalent – just with books,” McCreery said.
McCreery graduated from New Palestine High School in 2011 and attended Ball State University to study graphic design and graphic arts management. She met and married her husband Garth McCreery, and she spent 10 years working in the pet industry, where she said she thought it was her “mission in life to help people find appropriate nutrition for animals.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic halted work, McCreery said she was forced to re-evaluate what she wanted to do. The radio station in Muncie was right down the road from her home and – having for years dreamed of voicing a cartoon character – decided to give broadcasting a shot.
Throughout the week, she works in digital sales for Woof Boom Radio, but was recently tasked with co-host Thomas “TC” Peek to come up with their own idea for a talk show.
“Why not books, try to foster Muncie’s love for reading and literacy?” she said. “We have a lot of amazing kiddos in Delaware County, why not foster whatever they’re going to do in their life. That started the ball rolling and we pitched the idea to the owners… and they loved it.”
Each Saturday at 8 a.m. WMUN, “The Talk of Muncie,” airs the broadcast on 92.5 FM and 1340 AM. It can also be heard on popular podcast platforms.
McCreery said it’s been gaining momentum for about eight months now, and the community is enjoying it– especially the young genre.
“We found that, especially during the pandemic, that particular genre grew by 42%,” McCreery said. “We know people are reading it, and people are talking about it and selfishly – that’s my bread and butter, what I like to read on a daily basis.”
McCreery said she was always a big reader – in 2023 she completed 127 books and will often read two or three at a time, by hard copy or audio.
The radio show explores some of the books the co-hosts have read, primarily sticking with young adult fiction but sometimes veering into other genres, including horror and poetry. Social media sites continue the conversation throughout the week, and she recently started airing videos of opening blind book boxes.
Andrew Smith, New Palestine High School’s journalism and economics teacher, said McCreery was one of the most creative and passionate journalism students he’s had in 14 years of advising publications.
“She loves telling stories and is incredibly gifted in doing so,” Smith said in an email. “It doesn’t surprise me at all she has found a career in media. The idea to take one of her passions – reading– and turn it into a popular radio program was incredibly creative and something I’d expect from Camille. I’m really proud of her and happy she’s using her talents to not just pursue her interests, but share them with others.”
McCreery said she hopes people listening try something new.
“I always want someone to listen to us and get inspired, either to read any book that sounds interesting or to read what we’re talking about,” she said. “We had a guest that said, ‘If you’re not interested in reading you just haven’t found the right book yet,’ and that’s really indicative of how I feel about it.”
McCreery would also love to watch a new generation of authors come up in the community, and perhaps inspire teens to start writing.
“I really love my job, love what I do and I get to talk about my hobby,” she said. “It’s a weekly conversation of what we’re reading, what we’re doing and who we’re going to talk about next week and it seems like the community has really grabbed onto it.”
For more, visit wmunmuncie.com/p/page-turners; facebook.com/PageTurnersWMUN; or instagram.com/pageturnersbroadcasting.
