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the Book Friends Forever Podcast

Children's book publishing’s secrets are revealed as we listen in on fascinating, unguarded, insider discussion from two uniquely qualified best friends: award-winning author/illustrator Grace Lin, and one of NYC’s top editors, Alvina Ling. Go behind the scenes of kid lit and catch a glimpse of the lives of the best-selling author and editor, and the relationship between them.

Episode #149: CHOP SUEY: Turning Red, Brandon Sanderson, and Creative Types!

Episode #149: CHOP SUEY: Turning Red, Brandon Sanderson, and Creative Types!

Alvina and Grace talk about the controversies surrounding the movie Turning Red, they talk about author Brandon Sanderson's amazingly successful Kickstarter campaign, and discuss what creative type they are. Alison Morris also shares some book recommendations!

“How have you been?”

Grace has been working on the Horn Book Magazine Cover and is finishing her Legacy Award speech!

Alvina is excited about John Cho’s Troublemaker book release. She and her colleagues took him out to dinner recently and did a toast!

 

Chop Suey! Random Topics:

  1. The controversial issues surrounding the Pixar movie, Turning Red, about a Chinese-American girl living in Toronto. Grace and Alvina discuss some of the complaints that came up about the movie including Tiger Mom concept and menstruation.

  2. Author Brandon Sanderson’s Kickstarter campaign to self-publish and how he raised $20M in 72 hours. Would this work for a children’s book author?

  3. Creative Types quiz! Who one are you?: The Artist, The Thinker, The Adventurer, The Maker, The Visionary, The Innovator, The Dreamer, or The Producer?

Book Recommendations from Alison Morris!

“What should we be reading?” Books about boys with flowers!

Alison Morris is a nationally recognized children's book buyer with an infectious enthusiasm for reading and 20 years' experience matching books to readers. As the Senior Director of Title Selection for nonprofit First Book, she oversees the curation of children’s and young adult books on the First Book Marketplace, hand-selecting a diverse range of titles that speak to and address the needs of kids in underserved communities, with a keen eye to inclusion, authenticity, and kid-appeal. She previously served as Senior Editor at Scholastic Book Clubs, Children's Book Buyer for Wellesley Booksmith and The Dartmouth Bookstore, and was the founding blogger of the ShelfTalker children’s book blog for Publishers Weekly. She'll be joining us from her home near Washington, DC where she spends LOTS of time discussing books with her husband, illustrator and graphic novelist Gareth Hinds.

Gratefuls:

Alvina is grateful for this period of time; things feel like they’re kind of back to normal, lowering masks requirements, goin out to eat… it feels both weird and amazing. “I am just grateful that we have this time.” 

Grace is that she has finished her taxes!

Alison is grateful that she has been able to travel again. She recently went to Hawaii and she is so grateful for Hawaii’s natural history and beauty!

Thank You!

*If you’re a patron, don’t forget to check out this week’s Random Questions feed! Authors Mike Jung and Grace Lin answer the random question: “You are going to be a Broadway star, what would your stage name be?” Click here to listen! If you’re not a patron already, join today!

Thank you for tuning in! Thank you to Hachette Audio, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, and Alex at Pacyworks Studio for producing and editing this podcast. Be sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and tell a friend about us. (Use the hashtag #bookfriendsforever.)

Episode #150: Adult Homework

Episode #150: Adult Homework

Episode #148: Childless-ish with Stephen Colman!

Episode #148: Childless-ish with Stephen Colman!