Literaticast

It's the best time of year - HOLIDAY BOOK SHOPPING TIME! I'm joined by author and newly minted bookstore owner Lindsey Leavitt, whose gorgeous store Folklore Bookshop opened just this September. We talk a bit about what it is like to open a bookstore and the special things she and her co-owners are doing to help make their store stand out. More importantly, we give out book recommendations for EVE...

The number of books being banned and challenged in schools and libraries has increased exponentially in the USA in recent years. These attacks on our freedom to read are not coming just from fringe zealots -- they are being embedded into legislation across the country, and that's a BIG problem for anyone who values public libraries, public schools, education, books, and, yanno... FREEDOM. Authors...

Author Martha Brockenbrough joins me to discuss her new book FUTURE TENSE: HOW WE MADE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE -- AND HOW IT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING. We're tackling your burning AI-related questions, such as: Should authors and illustrators be worried about AI? HOW worried? Are there ethical ways to utilize AI technology? How can AI help us, and how can it hurt? If Aunt Gladys won't stop posting we...

We're back from hiatus with special guest Brian LaRossa, who in addition to being an Executive Art Director at Scholastic, is an educator, pizza-maker, and all-around mensch. We tackle a variety of topics, like what IS an Art Director, how does the Art Department work with illustrators, what role do they play in the acquisitions process, how do typography and design affect the reading experience,...

Is this the year you've promised yourself you'd finally finish that manuscript, or stop playing on your dang phone so much and get into a healthier writing routine? Author Jami Attenberg joins me to talk about her new book 1000 WORDS: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused and Productive All Year Round , as well as lots of other stuff: The differences between writing fiction and memoir, fin...

Happy Holidays! In this episode, I give a bit of an End-of-the-Year rundown -- what sold this year, what good stuff happened, and what's the mood? Then Middle Grade author Alex Gino joins me to chat about their new book, GREEN, out now from Scholastic, and what it is like being a "mid-career" full-time author. From evolving editorial relationships, to finding a writing process that works, to build...

It's the most wonderful time of the year -- BOOK GIFTING TIME! I'm joined by booksellers Nicole Brinkley from Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY, and Cathy Berner from Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, TX, and we give you 50+ great recommendations for all the readers in your life, or for your own To Be Read pile.  Love these bookseller recs? Support your local independent bookstore! Or, visit Blue Willo...

Kid-lit power couple Raúl the Third and Elaine Bay are collaborators in both life and in books. They met in high school, grew into underground artists and zinesters, and in recent years, have become an award-winning and New York Times Bestselling creative powerhouse team. We talk about how they got started, how they work together, and the many (MANY) projects they have out and cooking! Show notes,...

The multi-talented Phoebe Wahl joins me to talk about how she got her start in publishing, as well as how she manages to run the cutest online shop in history, do brand collaborations, make films, thrive on social media, raise a toddler and more in addition to her busy career as an author-illustrator of picture books. And Phoebe will tell us all about her latest book - a debut YA novel called PHOE...

Librarian, author, blogger, podcaster -- our guest Betsy Bird wears a lot of hats. She is not only a bona fide children's book expert but also has a great knack for predicting ALA Awards! As the awards are being given out at the end of this month, Betsy's going to take us behind the scenes and talk about the mysterious process of how the awards are even chosen, and what books MIGHT take home some...

Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator and author Cindy Derby joins me to discuss her unusual path to an illustration career, getting inspired, dealing with burnout, navigating social media, what she learned from dog finishing school, and so much more. We also celebrate Cindy's latest picture book, BLURP'S BOOK OF MANNERS, about a sentient ink blot that needs etiquette lessons, which is brand new fro...

The annual Great Big Holiday Gift Guide is BACK, baby! Booksellers Nicole Brinkley from Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY and Kassie King from the Novel Neighbor in St Louis, MO are joining to give their recommendations. If you're looking for holiday gifts for the kids in your life (or, for your own cozy winter reading), this episode is a must! Please remember to order your holiday books as early as p...

We're back from hiatus, and excited to chat with Jemiscoe Chambers-Black. Jem is one of the newer agents at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, and a rising star who has had many awesome deals (and even a NYT Bestseller) in her two years at the agency -- especially amazing considering the fact that she started in the midst of the Pandemic. We'll talk about what she's looking for in a manuscript (and a c...

Award-winning YA author (and podcast host!) Sara Zarr joins me to talk about the joys and challenges of crafting a sustainable writerly life.  She has practical and inspirational insights for newbies and mid-career authors alike in her new book,  This Creative Life: A Handbook for Writers,  from the myth of "genius", to best practices for getting feedback, to the realities of dealing with procrast...

New agents can be great to query, as they have a lot of energy and are actively building their lists! Paige Terlip is an Associate Agent at ABLA. She's been an agent for just over a year and she's already making a splash with great clients and sales. Paige and I talk about her philosophy of agenting, her feelings about rejection, and what she is looking for in a client. Plus, she helps me answer s...

My guest today is author Maggie Tokuda-Hall, who writes picture books, graphic novels, YA, fiction, non-fiction... basically a little bit of everything! She talks about her experiences with an MFA program (and questions you might ask yourself if you are thinking of going to such a program). She also discusses how she juggles writing in multiple categories, managing creative ebb and flow, and how (...

My guest for this end-of-year show is Alison Morris. She's a book expert, and the Senior Director of Title Selection at FirstBook, a non-profit that provides literally millions of books to underserved kids (and so much more) -- we'll talk about it, and how YOU can support their vital mission. She's also here to give us a heads up about Books We Might Have Missed while we were all SOMEWHAT busy wit...

My guest this month is graphic novelist Gareth Hinds. He's famous for doing amazing Graphic Novel reinterpretations of classics like the Odyssey, the Iliad, Shakespeare, Poe and more... and we'll talk about how he chooses projects, and how he adapts them for modern readers and a graphic format, tips for aspiring graphic novelists, and so much more. We'll also get into his NEWEST project -- a moder...

It's almost Holiday Time already (yeah, I know, yikes!) - and I want to encourage people to get their bookish gift shopping done early this year, and to pre-order books if you want them before Hanukkah or Christmas. To that end, it's time for the annual Holiday Gift Guide! Bookseller Melissa Posten joins me to give some great recommendations of beautiful Fall 2021 books for giving (or, hoarding fo...

Welcome back to the Literaticast! I'm back from hiatus with lots to say - first, about some of the newsworthy books of mine that came out during my absence. Then I'm joined by my friend, the prolific translator and author Lawrence Schimel, coming to us all the way from Madrid. We chat about World Kid Lit Month, and about the importance of books in translation and the International kid's book marke...

My guests are award-winning author-illustrator Grace Lin and editor-in-chief of Little Brown Books for Young Readers Alvina Ling. Both are accomplished children's book pros, lifelong besties, AND hosts of the popular podcast Book Friends Forever. They both have a LOT to say about all things Kids Books. We're going to get into stuff like how the industry has changed over the years, how to confront...

Guest agent Molly O'Neill from Root Literary joins me and we take it back to basics, talking about query letters and debunking some myths. We also dig into what the pandemic has been like for the publishing industry from our points of view. And Molly recommends some awesome books for your holiday purchasing pleasure! Finally, we get super-over-excited about TV shows: Ted Lasso, The Crown, and Quee...

I check in with my friend Suzanna, the co-owner and buyer for Oblong Books and Music in Rhinebeck and Millerton, NY. She talks about how the bookstore has weathered these wild times, what has changed, and what booksellers have learned -- and together, we give AWESOME BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS! Get your pencil and paper ready and prepare to order awesome gifts for the holidays (and treats for yourself,...

Today we're talking pop culture! If you insert specific pop culture references in your work, how do you walk the line between seeming current now, and possibly making your book seem dated a couple years from now... and how DOES a grownup stay current, anyway? How can 1980's TV inform the way you structure your book, and what can superhero stories teach us about crafting a short pitch? All this and...

It's a very special episode: Four amazing authors helped me celebrate the Hudson Valley YA Society's 10th Anniversary and launch Christine Heppermann's new novel in verse WHAT GOES UP, in conjunction with Oblong Books & Music's "Oblong Online" event series. Listen in on this great event with Christine Heppermann, Brandy Colbert, Laura Ruby, and Sherri L. Smith. (And please forgive any technical gl...