First Draft with Sarah Enni

Jon Klassen, Caldecott Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of the "I Want My Hat Back" series, as well as the illustrator of Sam and Dave Dig a Hole and Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett; The Dark by Lemony Snicket; House Held Up by Trees by Ted Kooser; Cats' Night Out by Caroline Stutson; and many more. Find him on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr!

Circle, the third and final book in Barnett and Klassen's "Triangle, Circle, and Square" series, is available now where books are sold!

In the course of our conversation, Jon and I discuss how his early experience as a set designer changed how he thought about picture book audiences, why he felt that painting objects or animals had as much emotional impact as human characters, and how the personal arc of his best-known series, I Want My Hat Back, went from ironic detachment to artistic earnestness.

• The Little Mermaid was one of the Disney movies that made Jon aware of animating as a job
• Maurene Goo, author of Somewhere Only We Know, The Way You Make Me Feel, I Believe in a Thing Called Love, and Since You Asked (Listen to Maurene's first, second, and third episodes of First Draft)
• Chris Appelhans, co-director of Wish Dragon, an animated feature scheduled for release on July 26, 2019
• Arts Center
• One of Jon's earliest jobs was working on Coraline, the animated film based on the book from Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean
• An early illustrating gig for Red Cap Cards led Jon to discover his love for drawing animals, including bears wearing hats
• Carrie Gifford (co-owner of Red Cap Cards)
• Filmmaker and author Ed Wood
• The third book in the I Want My Hat Back trilogy was partly inspired by a scene in the Chevy Chase comedy European Vacation
• Author Mac Barnett is one of Jon's most frequent collaborators
• Jon is inspired by the classic children's book series Frog and Toad, and it was one of the first things he and Mac Barnett bonded over
• What Can a Citizen Do? By Dave Eggers; illustrated by Shawn Harris
• Dave Eggers' online satire periodical McSweeny's
• 826 National, the literacy non-profit founded by Dave Eggers and educator Nínive Calegari
• The "things" in Where the Wild Things Are by Marcus Sedgewick came about after Sedgewick almost quit on the project
• Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd

Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent, Michael Dante DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender, or John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie's Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works.

Don't miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's free!

How do you like the show?

Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you!

Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do?

Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post!

Thanks again!

Lilliam Rivera, author of THE EDUCATION OF MARGOT SANCHEZ, is back with DEALING IN DREAMS, out now! She talks about writing a Latinx future, entering a room with hope, and getting to meet Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Lilliam Rivera 2.0 Show Notes

Lilliam's first interview on First Draft here

Ingrid Rojas Contreras, author of FRUIT OF THE DRUNKEN TREE

Amerie

Zareen Jaffrey, executive editor at Simon & Schuster

Anderson Cooper

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

A Clockwork Orange (movie)

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The Warriors (movie)

Mad Max Fury Road (movie)

Ray Bradbury

Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Pablo Cartaya, author of MARCUS VEGA DOESN'T SPEAK SPANISH

Veronica Roth (listen to her First Draft podcasts here and here)

Meg Medina

Matt de la Pena

Soman Chainani, New York Times bestselling author of the SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL series, including the most recent A CRYSTAL OF TIME (out today!) talks about the insidiousness of triumphant good, how tutoring taught him discipline, and the epic battle of Serena Williams versus Maria Sharapova.

Soman Chainani Show Notes

The Ramona series by Beverly Cleary

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Renee Ahdieh, author of The Wrath & the Dawn series and Flame in the Mist (listen to her First Draft podcast here)

50 Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Cinderella Ate me Daughter by Peggy Orenstein

Soman's appearance on the Tim Ferriss podcast

Maria Sharapova

Serena Williams

Tiger Woods

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo (listen to her First Draft interviews here and here)

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars (movie)

Becky Albertalli, author of SIMON VERSUS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA (listen to her First Draft interview here)

Love, Simon (movie)

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (movie)

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han To All the Boys I've Loved Before (movie)

Sarah Enni, debut author of TELL ME EVERYTHING and usually the host of the First Draft podcast, answers questions from past First Draft interviewees about craft and ego, staying on schedule, Bob Costas' pink-eye story, the evolution of her interview style, Hammer the cat's origin story.

Sarah Enni bonus episode show notes

Maurene Goo (listen to her First Draft episode here)

Nic Stone, author of DEAR MARTIN and ODD ONE OUT (listen to her First Draft podcast here)

Kristen Kittscher, author of WIG IN THE WINDOW and TIARA ON THE TERRACE (listen to her First Draft podcast here)

Bullet journal

Allie Brosh's comics about procrastination

Shane Pangburn (listen to his First Draft podcast here)

Kate Hart, author of AFTER THE FALL (listen to Kate Hart's First Draft interview here)

Bob Costas

Tochi Onyebuchi, BEASTS MADE OF NIGHT and CROWN OF THUNDER (listen to his First Draft podcast here)

The Deftones, lead singer Chino Moreno

The Darkness, "I Believe in a Thing Called Love"

Victoria Aveyard, author of the RED QUEEN series (listen to her First Draft episodes here and here)

Margaret Stohl, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES and CATS VS. ROBOTS (listen to her First Draft episode here)

Jasmine Warga, author of HERE WE ARE NOW and (listen to her First Draft episode here)

Libba Bray, author of THE DIVINERS (listen to her First Draft episodes here and here)

Pod Save America (podcast)

Danielle Paige, DOROTHY MUST DIE and STEALING SNOW (listen to her First Draft episode here)

Arrested Development

Stephanie Kuehn, author of CHARM & STRANGE (listen to her First Draft podcast here)

"Welcome to New York," by Taylor Swift

Peter Stone, author of THE PERFECT CANDIDATE (listen to his First Draft episode here)

Kumail Nanjiani (actor, Silicon Valley)

Sabaa Tahir, author of the EMBER IN THE ASHES series (listen to her First Draft episode here)

Sam Maggs, author of GIRL SQUADS and more (listen to her First Draft episode here)

Alison Cherry, author of RED and PROS OF CONS and more (listen to her First Draft episodes here and here)

Pod Save America (podcast)

NPR Politics podcast (podcast)

The Daily (podcast)

Keep It (podcast)

Serial (podcast)

S-Town (podcast)

Subscribe to Sarah's newsletter

Beth Revis, author of the ACROSS THE UNIVERSE series and the GIVE THE DARK MY LOVE series (listen to her First Draft podcast here)

The Bigfoot Discovery Museum

Kitchen's Temple

Jeff Goldblum

Leigh Bardugo, author of the SHADOW AND BONE and SIX OF CROWS series, and her upcoming book, NINTH HOUSE (listen to her First Draft interviews here and here)

Kaitlin Ward, author of WHERE SHE FELL (listen to her First Draft podcast interview here)

Brandy Colbert, author of LITTLE AND LION and THE REVOLUTION OF BIRDIE RANDOLPH (listen to her First Draft interviews here and here)

Aminah Mae Safi, author of the upcoming TELL ME HOW YOU REALLY FEEL (listen to her First Draft interview here)

Kayla Cagan, author of PIPER PERISH and ART BOSS (listen to her First Draft interview here)

Susan Dennard, author of the WITCHLANDS series (listen to her First Draft interview here)

Ameriie, editor of the BECAUSE YOU LOVE TO HATE ME anthology and she recently released two albums, 4 AM MULHOLLAND and AFTER 4 AM

Sara Farizan, author of HERE TO STAY (listen to her First Draft interview here)

Sarah Enni, debut author of TELL ME EVERYTHING and usually the host of the First Draft podcast, answers questions from fellow YA writer Maurene Goo! Sarah shares her lengthy path to publishing, the role of humor and tone in contemporary fiction, her outlining process, and the one cross-country flight that changed everything.

Sarah Enni Show Notes

Maurene Goo, author of the upcoming SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW and THE WAY YOU MAKE ME FEEL, I BELIEVE IN A THING CALLED LOVE, and SINCE YOU ASKED

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

Xenon: Girl of the 21st Century (movie)

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

YALLWEST

Zan Romanoff (listen to her First Draft podcast here)

Seattle Metropolitan

Washington Business Journal

American Lion by Jon Meacham

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

Sara Zarr (listen to her First Draft podcast here)

Ameriie

Interstellar (movie)

Tahereh Mafi (listen to her FIrst Draft interview here)

Kate Hart (listen to her First Draft interview here)

Kaitlin Ward (listen to her First Draft interview here)

Stephanie Kuehn (listen to her First Draft interview here)

Kirsten Hubbard (listen to her First Draft interview here)

YA Highway

Sarah Burnes (listen to her First Draft interview here)

Amanda Maciel (listen to her First Draft interview here)

Lorde

Local Natives

DJDS "Trees on Fire"

Jeff Goldblum

Veronica Roth (listen to her First Draft podcasts here and here) Never Been Kissed (movie)

Amanda Maciel Show Notes

TELL ME EVERYTHING by Sarah Enni

TEASE by Amanda Maciel

LUCKY GIRL by Amanda Maciel

Post Secret (social media site)

Michelle Schusterman

David Levithan

Emergency Contact by Mary H. K. Choi

Nina Goffi

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Sarah Burnes, literary agent with The Gernert Company. She has been my agent since 2013. I loved what Sarah had to say about her approach to the slush pile, the myth of work-life balance, and her "no assholes" rule.

Sarah Burnes Show Notes

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares

Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

Alloy book packaging company

Zan Romanoff (Listen to her First Draft episode here)

Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia

Pseudonymous Bosch

Jon Gertner

Witches of America by Alex Marr

Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Vicki Lame, editor at St. Martin's

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes

What If This Were Enough by Heather Havrilesky

Amanda Maciel, editor at Scholastic

Susan Dennard is the New York Times bestselling author of the SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY series and THE WITCHLANDS series. Her newest novel in that series, BLOODWITCH, is out February 12.

Susan Dennard Show Notes

Susan's wikipedia page

Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (hear her First Draft interviews here and here)

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Paul Scheer (host of How Did This Get Made)

Joanna Volpe, literary agent at New Leaf Literary

Harper Collins

Tor

Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan

Anne McCaffrey

Misfits & Daydreamers (Susan's newsletter) and her writing about writing and life

The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Alexandra Bracken

"The Silicon Valley Suicides," by Hanna Rosin

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Assassin's Creed

Holes by Louis Sachar

The FRIENDS episode where Joey and Phoebe try to find a truly selfless act

National Novel Writing Month

Robin LaFevers, author of the New York Times bestselling HIS FAIR ASSASSINS series, talks about the memories that live on in our bodies, the downside to critique groups, and how writing her breakout series retriggered old trauma--sidelining her ability to write for more than a year. She worked her way, physically and emotionally, back to write the latest in the series, COURTING DARKNESS, out February 5, 2019.

Robin LaFevers Show Notes

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Writer Unboxed

SCBWI

RWA (Romance Writers of America)

Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart

Jesus Camp (documentary)

Donald Maass (agent and author of Writing the Breakout Novel)

Leigh Bardugo (listen to her First Draft episodes here and here)

Renée Watson, New York Times bestselling author of PIECING ME TOGETHER a Newberry Honor book and winner of the Coretta Scott King award, THIS SIDE OF HOME, and many others, and co-author of WATCH US RISE, out February 12. Renée is also founder and executive director of the I, Too Arts Foundation, a non-profit organization housed in the home of legendary poet Langston Hughes, committed to nurturing voices from underrepresented communities in the creative arts.

Renée Watson Show Notes

Renée Watson's first First Draft interview

I, Too Arts Collective

Dreamyard

Community Word Project

A Place Where Hurricanes Happen by Renee Watson

Langston Hughes

Kate Messner (author)

Kendolyn Walker, program director at I, Too

Jennifer Baker, social media director at I, Too and co-host of the Minorities in Publishing podcast

Ellice Lee, graphic designer for I, Too and Associate Art Director of Philomel, Penguin Random House

Tracey Baptiste

SCORE, the nation's largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors

Ellen Hagan, poet and co-author of WATCH US RISE Black Enough, an anthology edited by Ibi Zoboi