Loyal listeners will remember that Amanda Jones was our very first guest on the podcast. It’s only right that she is the last guest for Season 1.

Amanda is the author of “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America.” (https://amzn.to/3TvaSqJ)

She has won a number of awards including the 2023 Intellectual Freedom Award from the American Association of School Librarians.

In her work, she has been given shout-outs from such diverse folks as Oprah Winfrey and Judy Blume.

Patrick "PC" Sweeney is a 2007 San Jose School of Library and Information Sciences graduate and former Administrative Librarian and School Librarian and was Executive Director of EveryLibrary California, a statewide initiative to support library propositions. He was awarded Library Journal’s “Movers and Shakers” award in 2015 for his library advocacy work. Patrick is co-author of “Winning Elections and Influencing Politicians for Library Funding” as well as “Before the Ballot; Building Support for Library Funding.” He was recently recognized with a “40 Under 40” award by the American Association of Political Consultants for his work fighting for libraries at EveryLibrary. He is a lecturer at the San Jose Information School where he teaches courses on politics and libraries. He is active across social media as PC Sweeney.

Becky Calzada is the 2024-2025 AASL President, a District Library Coordinator in Leander, Texas, and a co-founding member of Texas #FReadom Fighters. She was selected for the 4th ALA Policy Corp Cohort, works as a member of the ALA Policy Corp Proactive Advocacy on Book Banning cadre and is a past member of the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee. She is actively involved in the Texas Library Association and serves on the legislative committee and was a Past-Chair for the Texas Association of School Librarians division in 2016-2017.

Becky is the recipient of several intellectual freedom awards and was honored by People Magazine in their 2023 Women Changing the World portfolio. Becky is the co-author of Prepared Libraries, Empowered Teams: A Workbook for Navigating Intellectual Freedom Challenges Together which was published by ALA Editions in June 2024.

http://BookFloodPodcast.com

Tom Bober (http://TomBober.com) is a school librarian at Captain Elementary in the suburbs of St. Louis, MO, a 2018 Library Journal Mover and Shaker, former Teacher in Residence at the Library of Congress, and author of the books Literature and Primary Sources, Building News Literacy, as well as his first title, Elementary Educator's Guide to Primary Sources. 

He is a member of teacher advisory boards for the National Portrait Gallery and the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. Tom has written the Picture Books and Primary Sources posts for AASL’s Knowledge Quest blog and hosted The Primary Source Podcast. He has written articles about students learning through the use of primary sources for several publications including School Library Journal and School Library Connection. He also presents at conferences, runs workshops, and gives webinars to promote the use of primary sources in student learning. His foundation is built on over twenty years in public education as an elementary classroom teacher, educational technologist, and over ten years as a school librarian.

http://TomBober.com

Erin Dealey's original career goal was Olympic Gold Medal tetherball player. When that didn't pan out, she became a teacher, theater director, actor, mom, blogger, award-winning playwright and author of over a dozen children’s books (so far). 

Her books include DEAR EARTH…From Your Friends in Room 5 (NYSRA Charlotte Award/CT Nutmeg Award nominee); SNOW GLOBE WISHES (Anna Dewdney Read Together Honor Book), PETER EASTER FROG (a two-time JLG Emergent Readers Plus selection), and JUST FLOWERS, all of which celebrate kindness and community. 

http://ErinDealey.com

http://BookFloodPodcast.com

Diana Farid is an award-winning author and poet. Her picture book, WHEN YOU BREATHE, was a 2021 National Council of Teachers of English Notable Poetry Book and a 2022 EUREKA! Gold Award winner for nonfiction.

Her novel in verse, WAVE, was a 2022 School Library Journal Best Middle Grade Book, the Cybils Award Winner for Novel in Verse, a Middle East Book Award Honoree, a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, a Golden Poppy Award Finalist, and a Northern California Book Award Nominee.

Her latest picture book, THE LIGHT OF HOME (Scholastic) has been called “incredibly powerful” and “beautifully told.” Her debut board book, ALREADY ALL THE LOVE (Little Bee), an Amazon Editors’ Pick and #1 New Release, is praised as "An excellent choice for early readers" — Foreword Reviews.

Diana is also a physician and Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford University. Learn more at dianafarid.com

Shannon McClintock Miller (https://amzn.to/4cqo2y4) is an international speaker, consultant and author who has a passion for education, librarianship, advocacy, technology, social media and making a difference in the world and lives of others, especially children. 

Shannon serves as the preschool-12th grade district teacher librarian at Van Meter Community School District in Iowa. She currently serves as the Future Ready Librarians  Spokesperson and Future Ready Schools National Faculty Member working with librarians, educators and students around the world every day.  She is also Capstone’s Teacher Librarian Community Leader. Shannon is the author of the award winning The Library Voice blog and enjoys writing for various blogs, journals and other forums including ISTE, School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. She has written 12 children’s books about library skills and Makerspace with Capstone; wrote Leading from the Library with her writing partner Bill Bass and ISTE; and has contributed to several other professional books about libraries and

Novella Dean's passion for storytelling took root in Trinidad and Tobago, her birthplace, where rich folklore is a national treasure. Despite her academic journey leading her to graduate as a scientist, her heart always gravitated toward artistic expressions. The inspiration for her debut book, "Ta-Thump, Ta-Thump, originated from bedtime storytelling sessions with her son.

"Ta-Thump, Ta-Thump" = https://amzn.to/4lcKf6u

Our guest for this week's Book Flood Podcast is award-winning author and poet Nikki Grimes (Our guest for this week's Book Flood Podcast is award-winning author and poet Nikki Grimes (https://amzn.to/43mDXuR).

New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes was inducted into the Black Authors Hall of Fame in 2023. Her honors include the CSK Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the ALAN Award for significant contributions to young adult literature, the Children's Literature Legacy Medal, and the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Author of the Coretta Scott King Award-winner Bronx Masquerade, and five Coretta Scott King Author Honors, she won the Printz Honor and Sibert Honor for her memoir Ordinary Hazards. 

https://bookfloodpodcast.com/book-flood-podcast-e31-nikki-grimes-on-being-a-prolific-author/.

Patricia Newman's latest book is "Sharks Unhooked: The Adventures of Cristina Zenato, Underwater Ranger" (https://amzn.to/3FAtxxR)

Patricia Newman Books (https://amzn.to/4bzKTGY)

Patricia Newman loves nonfiction and nature. She combines both passions in her true environmental stories. She’s written about giant manta rays, sea otters, elephants, rhinos, black-footed ferrets, orangutans, a river in the Pacific Northwest, and our ocean. Her books explore how we are part of nature and how our habits affect plants and wildlife on land and in the ocean. Her nonfiction has received multiple starred reviews, a Sibert Honor from the American Librarian Association, two Green Earth Book Awards, and most have been included on the Bank Street College’s Best Books of the Year lists.

To learn more, visit her website at patriciamnewman.com or connect with her on BlueSky, Pinterest, Instagram, X, and Facebook.