Book Friends Forever Podcast

Grace and Alvina talk about the importance of discomfort, using two Hidden Brain podcast episodes plus Adam Grant's book Hidden Potential as jumping-off points. They discuss times in the past where they've embraced discomfort and have grown from the experience, including public speaking and Karaoke! For the Fortune Cookie segment, they make some resolutions for the podcast, including producing a g...

Grace and Alvina have their first episode of 2026. They sum up 2025 with one word, they share their proposed words of the year for 2026, and then share four resolutions and some aspirations each. They also share something they want to let go of in 2026. For the Fortune Cookie segment, they share some of the favorite things they consumed over the holidays, including books, movies, TV shows, and foo...

Grace and Alvina look back on the year and share their highlights and lowlights, look back at their words of the year, and evaluate how they did on their new year's resolutions. For the Fortune Cookie segment they share their favorite things they consumed all year. And, they end as always with what they're grateful for. FYI, they're taking the next two weeks off for the holidays! See you in 2026! ...

Grace and Alvina talk about the difference between wisdom as intelligence, as outlined in an episode of the Hidden Brain podcast, and how this applies to current events as well as the publishing world. They talk about the definitions of both, and how intelligence is not an indicator for success. For the Fortune Cookie they talk about the nonprofit organization Inkluded and their efforts to diversi...

Grace and Alvina have their annual holiday gift guide episode where they give gift recommendations for the people in your life! The gifts ideas include bread lamps, banned books socks, board games, and more! For the Fortune Cookie they talk about School Library Journal's 21st Century Canon and the lack of inclusion of picture books by women. And they end as always with what they're grateful for. C...

Grace and Alvina continue their Publishing Curriculum series and welcome special guest Lianna Izzo, to talk about inventory management! They cover everything from what is entailed with evaluating how many books to print, as well as the supply and demand of books, and which departments Lianna works with the most. They talk about the difference between books printed overseas vs domestic printing, an...

Grace Lin and Alvina Ling have an odds and ends episode where they talk about the big news that was recently announced--Alvina is going to be starting a new imprint in the new year! And, the LBYR editorial team is being reorganized. They also talk about how AI is being used by some librarians in Texas to comply with some new book banning laws. And they also talk about traveling alongside literary...

Grace Lin and Alvina Ling discuss how regret factors into their decision making, and they discuss five styles of decision making, and which style they both fall under. They also talk about the endowment effect and how that factors into their decision making, and their feelings about making mistakes and whether they consider themselves to be careless or careful. For the Fortune Cookie segment, they...

Grace and Alvina talk about two topics this week. The first, inspired by a post by actor Ming Na Wen, they talk about different types of Asian parents and what some of the stereotypes and cultural differences are. Then, they talk about gratitude chains, where you start with the thing you're grateful for, and then work your way back to trace all the things that had to happen for that thing to exist...

Grace and Alvina discuss a recent article about the challenges regarding the business model of book publishing, and how publishers tend to gamble big on debut novels. They discuss sales track and how that affects how publishers view you, and the ups and downs of publishing in general. For the Fortune Cookie segment they talk about what their favorite type of landscape is. And they end as always wi...

Grace and Alvina have an odds and ends episode where they talk about the closing of Baker & Taylor, and they touch on some topics regarding banned books. They also talk about internships and their own experiences working as interns back in the day, as well as some advice for interns today. Then, Alison Morris joins to share some book recommendations, and they end by sharing what they're grateful f...

Grace Lin and Alvina Ling welcome special guest Debbi Michiko Florence--Grace and Debbi are recording together while on their Very Asian Book Trip! They talk about building community, including the Asian American Voices retreat at Highlights. They talk about the impact the pandemic had on their respective communities. And they talk about how the main thing needed to create community is putting you...

Grace and Alvina welcome special guest Adelia Kalyvas to talk about her job working in Special Sales, specifically the gift side. You'll learn all about how she got into publishing and what "specialty sales" and "gift sales" entails. They talk about the type of products that work well in the gift market, including mini kits and wrapping paper books, and how they sell to accounts using paper catalo...

Grace and Alvina discuss some recent events surrounding the Freedom of Speech, including late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel being pulled from the air temporarily. They talk about censorship and cancel culture. For the Fortune Cookie segment, they talk about Slate.com's recent "25 Greatest Picture Books of the Last 25 years." And they end as they always do with what they're grateful for. Click...

Grace and Alvina are together in Brooklyn and gossip with each other! They talk about their relationship with gossip, when it can be positive or harmful, and Alvina shares a piece of funny gossip from her office. They also share some legendary author gossip! For the Fortune Cookie segment the talk about a group that has formed called "Save Middle Grade" to try to address the challenges the middle...

Grace and Alvina welcome special guest Michele McGonigle DeYoung! Michele was the first producer/editor of the Book Friends Forever podcast, and they discuss how she pivoted from her career in Audio Publishing to family coaching! Michele talks about how she broke into publishing, and then how she pivoted away! She also talks about her coaching training and the common issues she talks about in her...

Grace and Alvina continue their Publishing Curriculum series and welcome special guest Jenny Mandel to talk about her job working in Special Sales. You'll learn all about how she got into publishing and what "special sales" entails. And Jenny also shares the "meet cute" way she met her husband! For the Fortune Cookie segment they talk about what they're looking forward to this Fall, and they end a...

Grace Lin and Alvina Ling discuss a bunch of different pieces of publishing news, including the launch of Google's Gemini Storybook App, the cancellation of the NEA Creative Writing Grant, the creation of a new MFA program of writers of young people's literature, and the news that S&S's CEO will be stepping down to start a new imprint. Children's Literature Specialist Alison Morris joins them to d...

Grace Lin and Alvina Ling talk about travel and explore the question of whether or not all travel is transformative or opens one's horizons? They discuss how living in a foreign country is more transformative than travel, and how reading can be more transformative than travel.  Then they talk about how scammers are using AI to send very personalized emails to trick authors. They talk about some ot...

Grace and Alvina talk about two different topics--they debate the term "well-read" and whether they consider themselves to be well-read or if they even aspire to be so. They also discuss the gender disparity in children's books featuring animal protagonists. And then, Alvina tells Grace about the Book BEAR CAME ALONG by Richard T. Morris and illustrated by LeUyen Pham. They end as always with what...

Grace and Alvina welcome special guest Padma Venkatraman, author and oceanographer, to talk about a recent bill that she helped pass in Rhode Island to protect librarians, teachers, authors, and publishers from book banning. For the Fortune Cookie segment they all talk about their favorite ice cream flavors! Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1.  See i...

Grace and Alvina are in CT with special guest Libby Koponen celebrating Libby's 75th Birthday. They discuss what they think the key qualities for success in the book publishing industry are. For the Fortune Cookie segment, Libby tells Grace and Alvina about her newest book, IS THAT THE BUS. And they end as always with what they're grateful for. See complete show notes at www.bookfriendsforever.com...

Grace and Alvina have an odds and ends episode where they discuss several topics, including how protagonists in YA have gotten older over the years, different ways authors use pen names, and then, Alison Morris joins to discuss what they would all eat for their last meals! Alison also gives some book recommendations based on her recent travels, and they end as always with what they're grateful for...

Grace and Alvina talk about summer--what their relationship is to summer, what their favorite childhood memories from summer are, and what their favorite summer reading books are. For the Fortune Cookie segment, they discuss the recent Mahmoud vs Taylor Supreme Court ruling and read part of a statement written by author Katherine Locke. Then, Grace tells Alvina about her book DUMPLING DAYS which i...

Grace and Alvina do a mid-year check in to see how they're doing on their new year's resolutions! They talk about their words of the year, and give updates on their goals and aspirations. For the Fortune Cookie Segment, they talk about the seven types of friends everyone needs. And, Alvina tells Grace about the middle grade book SILVERBORN by Jessica Townsend. And they end as always with what they...