Episode #164: Chop Suey: Supply Chain Update, Publishing News, and Good Things About Getting Older!
Grace and Alvina talk about supply chain issues in publishing, they discuss some recent publishing news including new imprints and a reality show about writing, and talk about the benefits of getting older. Alison Morris provides book recommendations!
Don’t forget! You can now order Grace’s limited edition autographed 12" x 18" double-sided poster featuring artwork by Grace Lin commemorating the Newbery Award Centennial for The Horn Book Magazine. You can purchase them at the Eric Carle Museum and help support Everylibrary.org! Order HERE!
Catching Up!
Alvina had a COVID Birthday! Once the returned home from their trip to California, Stephen and Alvina finally got the virus and have been laying low. Stephen got her a karaoke machine!
Grace spent the week mostly outside with Hazel as she had a week off from summer camps. She’s been enjoying the feedback and reviews about her speech at the ALA awards for her Legacy Award banquet. She was concerned about one review in particular that mentioned her speech was all about the discrimination she had faced. Grace wanted to be clear that the speech about so much more than that.
Supply Chain Issues:
Alvina shares what she has learned about the supply chain issues particularly in regards to book publishing. Overseas printing quantity, Covid in China, rail travel, and warehouse overflow are some of the main issues.
Publishing News:
Kwame Alexander and America’s Next Great Author! Read more about this new reality show here.
New publishing imprints! Linda Sue Park’s Allida, Bright Matter Books, and Sandra Boynton books.
The Book Friends also discuss lay offs, and the Gender Queer hearing.
Good Things About Getting Older:
Grace and Alvina list some of the ways that they have become more OK with getting older.
Alison Morris Book Recs:
What should we be reading?
Beautiful Blackbird by the late Ashley Bryan. Alison was recently in Maine at the memorial for Ashley Bryan and stoped by the Ashley Bryan exhibit at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, ME. There is a craft to go along with the book!
Thank you Alison Morris!
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 that their Covid symptoms were mild and that they can still go on the trip to Europe that they have planned in a couple of weeks.
Alison is grateful for community! She has felt the sense of community recently at ALA and the memorial for Ashley Bryan that she just attended.
Grace is grateful that Alex was able to help so much with getting their A/C fixed inside their home. She’s grateful for having a reliable partner in this way. They can rely on one another for taking care of certain things.
Thank You!
*If you’re a patron, don’t forget to check out this week’s Random Questions feed! Authors Anna Kim and Grace Lin answer the random question: What is the name of one (or more) of your stuffed animals when you were a kid? 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.)
You can find Alvina @Planetalvina on Twitter and TikTok and @Alvinaling on Instagram
You can find Grace @Pacylin on Twitter and Instagram and @gracelinauthor on TikTok and @authorgracelin on Facebook
Alison Morris is @AlisonLMorris on Twitter and @kidlitgirl on Instagram
