Ask a Librarian with Julie Chavez

Amy Lynn Green is a lifelong lover of books, history, and library cards. She joins Julie to talk about her new title, The Blackout Book Club, and shares her strategy for choosing unlikely characters for the story (like a woman who doesn't particularly like books who’s asked to serve as a librarian). Julie and Amy bond over their love of snail mail and stamps, and Amy also gets a chance to share what it was like to anonymously submit her first manuscript to the publisher she worked for at the time. Amy has an impressive collection of half-filled notebooks of research and uses a scattershot approach to writing when necessary, but she does it all with the goal of making something memorable. 

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Meg Medina is the author of the popular middle-grade series about Mercedes Suarez, a character who came to her in a short story she originally penned for an anthology. But, as is so often the case, that’s merely the beginning of the story. In this episode, Meg and Julie are joined by Alexis Romay, a poet, author, and translator of the Merci Suarez series. Alexis, Meg, and Julie have a thoughtful discussion about the art of translation. Alexis begins with empathy, and speaks beautifully about translating not words, but ways of being. Meg reminds us that a translator aspires to be invisible on the page, but should never be invisible in the work itself. Meg and Alexis share their valuable insight on the unique perspectives of the children of immigrants, developing a love of multilingualism, and the many quirks of language. They offer to return when Julie publishes her memoir, and Julie has already agreed to put herself in the hands of these two lovely, intelligent, loquacious Cubans for what promises to be a fun interview. 

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Neither Julie nor Addison Armstrong would be a value-add in the armed services; but, they’re good for fun conversation about books and writing! Addison, author of The Light of Luna Park and The War Librarian, joins Julie to talk about her path to publication, beginning with the writing of her first manuscript as a just-for-fun summer project with her mom and sister (here’s where Julie understood that Addison is an overachiever). Addison shares about writing historical fiction and how she approaches crafting her dual timelines. She also discusses the pressures of writing and how to ease the agony of waiting during the submission and publishing process by working on something new. Addison is also a teacher, so finishes her conversation with Julie by sharing what she’d like people to know about the current state of education in our country.

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Dr. Jeffrey Bennett is an astrophysicist, an author, and an inspiration. He joins Julie in this episode to share about his latest book, Totality!, which, along with his other titles for kids, will be read from the space station to the children of Earth. Julie and Dr. Bennett discuss mission statements and the ways they can aid in decision-making (and why everyone should write one), our status as the self-awareness of the universe and the resultant responsibility, and why it’s valid to be stressed out by movies about space travel, but there’s no need to be stressed out by space. Dr. Bennett also kindly tells Julie that she can no longer use the excuse that she’s “no good” at physics because understanding depends not on the material, but on where you put your focus, and then proceeds to share a fun fact that Julie has been sharing with everyone she knows since recording this episode. 

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Kristin O’Donnell Tubb is the first repeat guest on the podcast: she returns to talk about her latest title, The Decomposition of Jack. She talks about the fear of releasing a book so different from her previous titles and the hope it will find readers, and the way that certain books can come to life only when the timing and conditions are right. Julie and Kristin discuss some of the beautiful themes in Jack, including the idea that endings and beginnings are inextricably linked, and how smoothing things over to make another happy can lead to silence in a relationship instead of the needed communication. 

Fact check for this episode: Kentucky is, in fact, a commonwealth, as are Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Julie and Kristin will consider taking a US history and geography class. 

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Margaret Muirhead is a coffee-fueled, craft-making, cat-loving writer and children’s librarian who loves all things picture book. She joins Julie in this episode to share what she learned while studying creative writing in North Carolina (aside from developing an appreciation for BBQ), including the ways that poetry can inform children’s picture book writing. Margaret and Julie discuss the practice of being a writer versus the performative space of being an author before they geek out about the true art that’s found in unassuming picture books, the joy of watching students grow, and the importance of libraries as a third space in schools. One big difference between these two librarians: Margaret thinks makerspaces are awesome and Julie thinks they are messy harbingers of chaos.

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Kate Thompson is a journalist, ghostwriter, and the author of seven novels. Her most recent book, out in February in the US, is The Little Wartime Library which tells the story of an underground library established in a tube station in East London during WWII. Kate joins Julie to talk about the value and magic of interviews, the importance of listening and keeping the wisdom of our older generations, and the sanctuary that can be found in any library. Kate also gives Julie a new English expression about the ravens leaving the Tower of London that Julie will surely misuse in her daily life from now on.

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In this episode, Julie celebrates Banned Books Week by speaking to Jonathan Friedman of PEN America about the concerning trends that are worthy of our attention and, more critically, our action. Jonathan is the Director of Free Expression and Education Programs, and in that role he oversees research, advocacy, and education related to academic freedom, educational gag orders, book bans, and general free expression in school, colleges, and universities. He joins Julie to talk about recent cases, the dangerous lean toward a more censorious culture, and PEN’s efforts to unite writers with their allies (they’ve been doing it for one hundred years)!

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