Book Friends Forever Podcast

Grace and Alvina are back from ALA and discuss the importance of friendship groups, if they have them now or had them in the past, and share some articles that give advice on how to create them. For the Fortune Cookie segment, they discuss Quirk Publishing's recent announcement that they are pausing their publishing program and subsequent layoffs. For the Tell Me About segment, Alvina tells Grace...

Grace and Alvina have an odds and ends episode where they discuss several topics, including tips on how to stay grounded, various publishing news including the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, BookCon returning, and a bookstore in San Francisco deciding not to carry Harry Potter. They also discuss various recent developments regarding AI. And then, Alison Morris joins to give some book recommendatio...

Grace and Alvina are together at the Carle Museum, recording a live episode with special guest Melissa Hung, curator of Grace's solo art exhibit at the Carle Museum! They talk about how the show came to be, what the process of curation entailed, what the name and meaning of the show is, and what they would like visitors to the show to take away from it. For the Fortune Cookie segment, they talk ab...

Grace and Alvina welcome special guest Janelle DeLuise, Senior Director of Subrights at Hachette Book Group to the podcast. They talk about what Subrights entails, what her most and least favorite aspects of her job are, and what a typical work day might look like for her. She talks about how international news affects the foreign rights market, which countries are licensing US books these days, a...

Grace and Alvina revisit the "bucket lists" they created in 2005, see what they've already crossed off, and create updated lists. For the Fortune Cookie segment, they talk about some recent changes at Scholastic Publishing. And then, Alvina tells Grace about the new book WHAT IF WE... by Eugenia Yoh and Vivienne Chang. And they end as they always do with what they're grateful for. See complete sho...

Grace and Alvina have an odds and ends episode where they give some updates on the recent firing of the Librarian of Congress, they talk about the AI-generated summer reading list, and they ponder what they're hoping to focus on this summer. Then, children's literature specialist Alison Morris joins to give some book recommendations, and they end as always with what they're grateful for. See compl...

Grace and Alvina talk about their personal organization techniques, including what kind of tools they use and how they coordinate with their family. For the Fortune Cookie segment they share some book recommendations. Grace recommends Stan Yan's upcoming book The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang, and Alvina recommends TJ Klune's Somewhere Beyond the Sea. They end as always with what they're gratef...

Grace and Alvina record an episode while Grace is in the middle of her book tour for THE GATE, THE GIRL, AND THE DRAGON, so of course the topic is everything having to do with book tours! Grace shares some highlights and lowlights, gives some tips and tricks for travel and touring, talks about what her expectations about book tours vs the reality, how she prepares for book tours, and more. For the...

Grace and Alvina are celebrating the launch of Grace's THE GATE, THE GIRL, AND THE DRAGON and they talk about their writing, editing, and revision process for the book. They cover the writing process, how Alvina edits the novel, how Grace receives edits and revises, and more. For the Fortune Cookie segment they discuss a new publishing imprint focusing on male authors. And, they end by sharing wha...

Grace and Alvina have an odds and ends episode where they talk about several topics. They discuss the recent Supreme Court case Mahmoud v Taylor about religious freedom to opt their children out from certain storytimes. They also talk about three recent picture books adapted from middle grade novels, including THE WILD ROBOT ON THE ISLAND by Peter Brown, and they talk about their relationship to g...

Grace and Alvina talk about how the current presidential administration has and could affect publishing. They discuss how the increase in book banning, cuts in funding for libraries, changes in how diversity is valued, and increased tariffs may or may not affect publishing.  For the Fortune Cookie segment they talk about what's making them happy right now. And then, Grace tells Alvina about her tw...

Grace and Alvina welcome special guest Janet Bruins, who has started her own independent publishing company, Picnic Heist. They talk about how she decided to start her pubilshing company and what steps she took to make that happen, including her mission for the company. They also discuss the reasons one might decide to publish with an independent publisher vs a larger one. For the Fortune Cookie s...

Grace and Alvina talk about two different types of price: authentic pride and hubistric pride, and how that might apply to their work and lives. For the Fortune Cookie segment they discuss a recent executive order to defund libraries. Alvina tells Grace about the book BIG ENOUGH by Regina Linke. And, they end by sharing what they're grateful for. Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www....

Grace and Alvina talk about leadership styles, specifically the Goleman six styles of leadership. They also talk about a recent Hidden Brain podcast episode about how great leaders rise to the occasion. For the Fortune Cookie segment, they discuss Meta AI and how published books (including Grace's) were pirated to train their AI program. Then Alvina tells Grace about the book BLOW OUT THE MOON by...

Grace and Alvina talk about chance, flukes, and the unknown and how small changes and chance encounters can change the whole course of your life. For the Fortune Cookie segment they share something that gives them hope (and end up on a bit of a tangent about politics). Alvina tells Grace about the book ATOMIC WOMEN by Roseanne Montillo, and they end by sharing what they're grateful for. See comple...

Grace and Alvina have an odds and ends episode where they discuss several topics. At the five-year anniversary of the global pandemic, they look back on how their lives have changed for the better or the worst; they discuss soft censorship, especially in relation to the Young Media Award winners. They continue to brainstorm their mission statement using adjectives some of their listeners used to d...

Grace and Alvina continue their publishing curriculum series and welcome special guests Sangeeta Mehta and Julie Scheina to the podcast. Both of them are former editorial colleagues of Alvina's who now run their own freelance editorial companies. Julie also does some coaching. They discuss how they got started in publishing and when they started freelance editing. They discuss how they structure t...

Grace and Alvina talk about the emotion of jealousy and how it differs from envy, and how both are normal emotions. They discuss how to better reframe feelings of jealousy. They also discuss the feeling of compersion, which is the opposite of jealousy. For the Fortune Cookie segment, Grace shared some insights from a Winter Institute panel about the middle grade market. And then Alvina asks Grace...

Grace and Alvina talk about different organizations and their mission statements, and start brainstorming a possible mission statement for this podcast! They start by talking about their values. For the Fortune Cookie segment they talk about the announcement of a surprise new book by Stephen King and Maurice Sendak. Then, Grace asks Alvina to tell her about the book MIRROR GIRLS by Kelly McWilliam...

Grace and Alvina have an odds and ends episode where they discuss book blurbing, where the kidlit community is on social media, how publishing has improved over the years, and then Alison Morris joins to give some book recommendations. See complete show notes at www.bookfriendsforever.com . Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1 . See info about Grace Li...

Alvina is back from Kindling Words and so she and Grace talk about the importance of community (Alvina's word of the year!) and how to build community. They talk about which communities they are currently a part of, and which communities they want to build--including the Book Friends Forever community! For the Fortune Cookie segment they talk about two bits of publishing news: the naming of Mac Ba...

Grace and Alvina talk about the ALA Youth Media Award winners, as well as a bunch of other publishing news, including about book bans, children's book relief efforts as a result of the LA Fires, publishing staff changes, and a book publishing scam. For the Fortune Cookie segment Grace shared about the Year of the Snake in honor of Lunar New Year. See complete show notes at www.bookfriendsforever.c...

Grace and Alvina have an odds and ends episode where they discuss the state of social media, including new updates on the TikTok ban and Facebook, they talk about how to cope when everything feels like it's too much, and talk about Barnes & Noble under James Daunt after five years. They also talk a little bit about three books: I AM AN AMERICAN: THE WONG KIM-ARK STORY; HELLO, TREE; and PARADISE ON...

With all the terrible things going on in the world right now, Grace and Alvina decide to help make themselves and others feel a little better by listing 25 small things that bring them joy. Listen to find out if their lists have any overlap! For the Fortune Cookie segment, they talk about the TikTok ban, and a potential replacement. See complete show notes at www.bookfriendsforever.com . Click her...

Grace and Alvina kick off their first episode of 2025 by sharing their words of the year and their new year's resolution. They also share what word sums up their 2024. For the Fortun Cookie segment, they share small things that make them happy! See complete show notes at  www.bookfriendsforever.com . Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1 . See info abou...