Telling Lies to Children

It's my pleasure to welcome Caroline Carlson, author of THE VERY NEARLY HONORABLE LEAGUE OF PIRATES series and the forthcoming middle grade murder mystery, THE WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE. We have plenty of fun on this episode and I think we may have finally solved the childhood mystery of, "Who pinched Caroline's brother and made him cry?"

But we also broached several timely topics that haven't been covered on the podcast before. Join Caroline and me as we talk about battling the green-eyed monster of jealousy, gender imbalance in the representation of women on certain author panels and tours, and the broader topic of what we can do to support diversity in children's literature.

Find out more about Caroline at www.carolinecarlsonbooks.com and on twitter @carolinetc

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Today I'm joined by Liesl Shurtliff, the New York Times bestselling author of Rump, Jack, and Red. Liesl and I compare notes on banned books, successful school visits, and the hazards of sitting and writing all day...AND, I think I may have gotten an early scoop on her next project. Listen to the full episode to hear all about it.

Find out more about Liesl and her books at lieslshurtliff.com and follow her on Twitter @liselshurtliff.

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I've been looking forward to chatting with Jonathan Auxier for a long time. Jonathan is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of books for young readers. His titles include Peter Nimble and his Fantastic Eyes; The Night Gardener; Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard; and Spirit Animals: The Burning Tide. He recently had the opportunity to return to his screenwriting roots when The Night Gardener was optioned by Disney.

Jonathan and I discuss the joys of first drafts, C.S. Lewis's words on children's literature, what it's like when Disney comes calling, and Jonathan's harshest critic (hint: he looks a lot like the guy in his mirror). I also coax him into giving us a few hints as to what he's got next in the pipeline (or in his case, the chimney).

Find out more about Jonathan and his books at his website, The Scop.

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Kent Davis is the author of the middle grade trilogy, A Riddle in Ruby. The second book in that series,  A Riddle in Ruby #2: The Changer's Key, was just published by Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins). Kent is also an actor, director, and game designer. Maybe you have seen him on television playing, in his words, the role of "concerned friend, overbearing flunky, or odd-yet-amusing next door neighbor." On today's episode, Kent and I discuss how Hollywood prepared him for a career in writing, why it's okay--and awesome--to be an introvert, and the joy of helping young creative writers find their voice.

Find all things Kent Davis at www.kentishdavis.com and @kentishdavis on twitter.

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If you are a regular listener of the podcast, you've heard me mention Tom Watson before. Tom is the author of the wildly popular Stick Dog and Stick Cat series. His latest book for elementary school readers, Stick Dog Slurps Spaghetti, will be out on October 4th. Tom is also one of the first authors I had the pleasure of touring with and I picked up (stole) a lot of great ideas while out on the road with him. Join us as we talk about sunburns, Skype visits, and HarperCollins' Class Acts tours, and revisit the infamous trail mix food-poisoning incident of 2014.

Find Tom, Stick Dog, and Stick Cat online at www.stickdogbooks.com

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I talk about kids lit gatekeepers a lot on this podcast and today I get to chat with one. Jennifer Underhill is the Chair of the Sunshine State Young Readers Award (SSYRA) committee, Florida's statewide reading program designed to encourage students in grades 3-8 to read independently for pleasure. Each year, over 70,000 Florida students vote for their favorite book as part of this wildly successful program. Jenn is also a K-12 librarian based in Tallahassee, and freely admits that she is the one in the library most in need of "shushing." Join us as we talk about this year's SSYRA list, school library trends, getting your hands dirty in library makerspacers, and shushing the librarian.

You can check out this year's SSYRA lists and learn more about the program HERE. By the way, there happens to be a little book called The Luck Uglies on this year's grades 6-8 list. Also, follow @FloridaSSYRA and @pauldurhambooks to join a live Twitter chat with me on Thursday, September 15, beginning at 7:00PM. The chat series SSYRA authors continues throughout the school year on the third Thursday of every month. 

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Lou Anders is a Hugo Award-winning editor, Chelsey Award-winning Art director, and most recently, the author of the Thrones & Bones series of middle grade fantasy novels. The third book in that series, Skyborn, has just been published by Crown Books for Young Readers. Lou was nice enough to spend some time with me on today's podcast. Join us as we talk about Lou's many accents, video-gaming as inspiration, and the utility of collapsible Viking helmets. Lou, if you're reading this, you had to have known I was going to pick the picture of you in the helmet, right?

Be sure to visit Lou online at:

www.louanders.com

www.thronesandbones.com

Twitter: @LouAnders

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThronesandBones/

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It's my pleasure to welcome literary agents Markus Hoffmann and Claire Anderson-Wheeler to the podcast. Markus and Claire are agents at Manhattan-based Regal Hoffmann & Associates LLC. They represent adult and children's authors (including this one) and regularly travel the world on behalf of their clients. They also happen to have really cool accents. On this episode we talk about selling literary rights internationally, discuss the differences between the adult and children's book markets, and learn what the heck a Literary Scout is (hint: It's kind of like a spy). 

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Today's podcast features David Teague and Marisa de los Santos. Marisa has published three New York Times bestselling novels for adults. Her latest novel is The Precious One. David is the author of the critically acclaimed picture books Franklin’s Big Dreams and The Red Hat. Their first joint middle-grade venture was the Texas-Bluebonnet-Award nominated Saving Lucas Biggs, and their second collaboration, Connect the Stars, appeared in September 2015 and is a Scholastic Book Fair pick.  They live in Wilmington, Delaware, with their two children, Charles and Annabel, and their two dogs, Huxley and Finn, and they like nothing better than visiting schools, libraries, and community centers to talk about books.

Listen in as we talk about school visits, the challenges and rewards of collaborating, and a whole lot more. Visit David and Marisa at:

www.davidteague.net

HarperCollins site for Marisa de los Santos

Marisa de los Santos on Facebook

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In this episode I'm joined by the wonderful Sarah Dotts Barley, Senior Editor at Flatiron Books, an imprint of Macmillan. Sarah edits Flatiron's Young Adult list which includes recently released AMERICAN GIRLS by Alison Umminger, IF I WAS YOUR GIRL by Meredith Russo, and the forthcoming CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber. Prior to joining Flatiron, Sarah was an editor at HarperCollins where, among other great books, she worked on The Luck Uglies series with me.

Sarah and I catch up to talk about the process of acquiring and editing books, the challenge of capturing male readers in the YA market, and what makes a good author-editor relationship.  

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