Literaticast

We welcome the return of the Great Big Holiday Gift Guide, 2019 edition! I interview three independent booksellers from various parts of the country, and we give you our best recommendations for ALL the young folks on your shopping list – and some of the grownups, too. Joining me are Abby Rauscher, from Books are Magic in Brooklyn New York – Cecilia Cackley, from East City Books on Capitol Hilll in Washington DC, and Stephanie Heinz, from Print: A Bookstore, in Portland Maine. Get a pen and paper, you're gonna want to take notes on this one!

My guest Kandace Coston is an editor at Lee & Low, the largest multicultural publisher in the U.S. She is a nonfiction picture book expert, and we'll discuss how to choose a topic, what to include in the backmatter, and how to tackle potentially problematic content in a nonfiction book for young readers. Also, I explore an app that makes me feel EXTREMELY old. Join us, won't you?

Welcome to an all-new feature on the Literaticast: BEHIND THE BOOK, in which we take a deep dive into the backstory behind the making of one fascinating book. Up for discussion today is ROAR LIKE A DANDELION by Ruth Krauss, Illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier, published by HarperCollins. Ruth Krauss was one of the foremost children's authors of the 20th century, and ROAR is a long-lost manuscript that has just been published for the first time. I speak to HarperCollins editor Nancy Inteli, who rediscovered the manuscript; Children's Book Historian Philip Nel, who is an expert on Ruth Krauss; and illustrator Sergio Ruzzier, who brought the story to life. If you like children's book history and the art of the Picture Book, you won't want to miss this episode.

I'm joined by author Stephanie Lucianovic, whose debut picture book THE END OF SOMETHING WONDERFUL drops on September 10. She's dropping some hot knowledge on us about what it is like to navigate the pre-debut time, how to find and utilize mentor texts, winning social media strategies, how to work well with illustrators, and so much more. Plus you'll hear me moan about... cars? Listen, I can't talk about TV Shows on a Book Podcast EVERY time. ;-)

Shownotes: JenniferLaughran.com/Literaticast

My guest is Executive Editor of the Abrams Appleseed imprint, Meredith Mundy. We chat about all things "little-kid" book related -- including the different types of board and novelty books, and the joys and challenges of writing and publishing them.

It's a Summertime Bonus Episode! ABLA Senior Agent Jen Rofé joins me to answer burning listener questions about queries, submission strategies, working with your agent, and so much more. Plus we talk about glass-blowing and Russian spies. (Obviously!)

First I talk a bit about the etiquette of leaving your agent and getting a new one -- it's not as scary or weird as you might worry it will be! Then, the fabulous Dahlia Adler joins me to talk about her books, blogging, promoting authors, self-promoting, cutting through the internet noise, avoiding burnout, and being a professional Big Mouth. We also talk about her site LGBTQ Reads, and Dahlia gives us a taste of her favorite queer reads. Get your pen and paper ready so you can jot down these terrific titles!

I sit down with powerhouse editor Namrata Tripathi, the founder and publisher of Kokila Books, a new imprint of Penguin Random House. The first books from Kokila are coming this week, so we have a great discussion about what it is like to start an imprint from scratch, from deciding on the name and logo to choosing the first books to publish; also the importance of diversity in creators, topics, gatekeepers; and what conversation would be complete without mentioning nerdy vampires?

My guest is Laurent Linn, an Art Director from Simon and Schuster. He'll give us the inside scoop on such hot topics as: What the heck does an Art Director do?! How are book jackets made? What should an illustrator have in their portfolio? What is the "life cycle" of a picture book and why do they take soooo long to come out? And WHO PICKS THE FONTS?! Also we'll talk about vampires and theme parks, obviously.

This episode, I'm pleased to welcome newly minted Newbery Medalist Meg Medina. We chat about world building in realistic fiction, writing large casts of characters, balancing business vs art, tips for debut authors as well as those suffering from "sophomore slump." Oh... and though I promised her I would NOT ask her about "the call" from the Newbery committee.... at the end, she tells a bit of the story anyway! Yesss! Plus we gab about TV shows and Tamales.