Minorities in Publishing

[This interview was conducted online and there may be some audio variation.]

As the 10th-anniversary year continues, Jenn welcomes debut author Danica Nava (The Truth According to Ember) for some laughs around romance shenanigans! Danica breaks down what often makes a rom-com while increasing the stakes for characters, she discusses the necessity of representing the reality of Indigenous characters within all genres through hardships and highlights, and what it's like being one of the first Indigenous writers of a romantic comedy to be traditionally published.

[You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listings, guest news, and new eps here.]

This month's episode & newsletter were sponsored by Writeability, a nonprofit writers guild, in defense of the imagination.

Intro/Outro music is by Moutaineer and licensed through Premuim Beat.

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

For the 10th anniversary year of Minorities in Pub, Jenn welcomes Nick Medina to the podcast! Nick Medina is the author of the novels Indian Burial Ground and Sisters of the Lost Nation. In this episode, Nick discusses the many drafts that lead to his first book deal, how horror can represent some of the truest and most potent emotions as a genre, and how he wove cultural and fantastical elements into his latest novel.

[You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listings, guest news, and new eps here.]

This month's episode & newsletter were sponsored by Writeability, a nonprofit writers guild, in defense of the imagination.

Intro/Outro music is by Moutaineer and licensed through Premuim Beat.

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation. Intro/Outro music is by Moutaineer and licensed through Premuim Beat]

Continuing the 10th anniversary year of Minorities in Pub, Jenn welcomes another Newbery honoree in Veera Hiranandani! Veera her new middle-grade novel, a follow-up to the award-winning The Night Diary, Amil and the After. Veera also discusses how writing a book about a massive historical event like The Partition of India reflects the ongoing effects/repercussions for the communities (and world) involved, the ways in which we can parse out our own questions through fiction, and how healing can happen through writing and for the characters depicted.

[You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listings, guest news, and new eps here. Transcript of this episode is TK.]

This month's episode & newsletter were sponsored by Writeability, a nonprofit writers guild, in defense of the imagination.

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation. Intro/Outro music is by Moutaineer and licensed through Premuim Beat]

(Content Warning: At around the 20-minute mark there is mention of the video of Ahmaud Arbery's death and the last words of Elijah McClain when Alicia mentions participating in NaNoWriMo. If this may be triggering, please skip forward by 2 minutes and 30 seconds.)

Continuing the 10th anniversary year of Minorities in Pub, Jenn welcomes Newbery honoree and Coretta Scott King awardee Alicia D. Williams! Alicia discusses her new middle-grade novel in verse MID-AIR and how the narrative form scared but called to her, the connections her books exploring the multifaceted nature of grief, the paralysis of writing this second novel after your first receives so much acclaim, the need for more representation of soft-hearted Black boys in books, and the beauty of fully being able to express yourself when you find the story that moves you.

[You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listings, guest news, and new eps here. Transcript of this episode is TK.]

This month's episode & newsletter were sponsored by Writeability, a nonprofit writers guild, in defense of the imagination.

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

For the 10th anniversary year of Minorities in Pub, Jenn welcomes recent Newbery honoree and Pura Belpré winning author/illustrator Pedro Martín! Pedro talks about his entry into books from creating greeting cards, how the Mexikid online comic expanded even more with his award-winning book, learning lots about publishing his debut and how to consider young readers in storytelling, aplus how he approaches humor in his illustrations, especially when touching on aspects of his childhood/family.

[Transcript of this episode can be found on Tumblr. You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listings, guest news, and new eps here.]

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

For the 10th anniversary year of Minorities in Pub, Jenn welcomes back best-selling & award-winning author Renée Watson for her fourth episode (in a year she has 4 books publishing)! We discussed Renée origins in storytelling as a poet and playwright when she started a performing arts company in high school, her new book of poetry BLACK GIRL YOU ARE ATLAS (illustrated by Ekua Holmes), the benefits & necessity of poetry--and poetry for young people--in her work as a teaching-artist, and how early rejections can lead to big successes.

[Transcript of this episode can be found on Tumblr. You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listings, guest news, and new eps here.]

Intro/Outro music is by Moutaineer and licensed through Premuim Beat.

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

For the 10th anniversary year of Minorities in Pub, Jenn speaks with author Matt Mendez about his new young adult novel, The Broke Hearts, a companion to his debut YA Barely Missing Everything. Jenn and Matt discuss the unrealistic expectations of knowing your path at a young age, male representation for young readers, and parental influence on young people not only in life but in writing for younger readers.

[Transcript of episodes can be found on Tumblr. You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listings, guest news, and new eps here.]

Intro/Outro music is by Moutaineer and licensed through Premuim Beat.

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

Jenn speaks with editor and graphic novelist/author Elizabeth Agyemang (Fibbed) about her debut middle grade, finding space for her professional and creative life, how she's learned that incremental progress is still progress in all aspects of our work, and the inherent struggles creators of color face when the expectations are not balanced (or unbiased).

[Transcript of this episode can be found on Tumblr. You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listings, guest news, and new eps here.]

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

Jenn speaks with Candlewick publicity manager Jamie Tan (a 2020 PW StarWatch honoree and CBC Diversity Achievement Awardee) and former Candlewick outreach manager Ally Russell (whose debut middle grade It Comes From Trees pubs in 2024). They discuss working outside of NYC in the publishing industry and the reality of what hybrid work has looked like for their positions, what drew them to the industry and keeps them in publishing, in addition to the added emotional labor BIPOC take on in speaking up about issues in the workplace.

[Transcript of this episode can be found on Tumblr. You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listings, guest news, and new eps here.]

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

Jenn speaks with debut novelist Namrata Poddar about her book Border Less (longlisted for the 2022 Center of Fiction First Novel Prize), pursuing publication with an small press versus a Big 5 publisher, the "classic" question of marketability versus craft that BIPOC writers especially face when publishing their work, and one's intentionality in not only their writing but what their expectations are when it comes to publication.

(We also mention Book Coaching and the Unicorn Authors Club that you can learn more about at their website.)

[Transcript of this episode can be found on the Episodes page of the podcast Tumblr. You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listings, guest news, and new eps here.]