Episode #173: Performance, the Monarchy, and is Publishing Broken?
Welcome back to a Chop Suey episode! On today’s episode of Book Friends Forever, Grace and Alvina discuss their relationship with performance, their thoughts on the monarchy and royalty, and talk about a Publishers Weekly article asking if the publishing industry is broken!
REMINDER! You can STILL 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!
“How have you been?”
Grace and Alvina check-in about what they’ve been up to. They actually met recently in NYC to attend a Pet Shop Boys and New Order concert at the Barclays Center! Grace handed in her art work for her upcoming book, Chinese Menu, a celebration of Chinese culture and folktales coming out in Fall of 2023!
Performance
This concert sparked a though in Alvina and Grace about performance! What is the biggest crowd they have performed in front of and what is their relationship like with performance? Grace mentions her TEDx talk in 2016 as being the most transformative because she had to learn how to speak to such a large crowd. Grace claims she is not as nervous but more excited to share in front of a large audience. When Alvina things of performance she is reminded of her high school marching band days. She enjoyed being a single part of a large performance. Listen to the episode to hear more stories about public speaking and what it means to them.
The Monarch
With the recent news of Queen Elizabeth’s death, the book friends touch briefly on how they feel about the monarch and royal life in general. In summary, they both believe it is outdated and wrong for many reasons but also understand why so many people remain intrigued and follow the Royal Family.
Is Publishing Broken?
Grace and Alvina discuss the recent article in Publisher’s Weekly. It is obviously in need of some change but they don’t believe that it’s broken. Alvina shares her thoughts on what could be done differently. Grace reflects on how the history of publishing and diversity.
“What could we be reading?” with Alison Morris
Alison Morris offers these book recommendations:!
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!
Grace is grateful for being immersed in her work and having a tunnel vision so that she can get it all done on time. Alvina is thankful for audiobooks and e-books on her kindle, and Alison is grateful for the listeners of this podcast who reach out to her appreciating her book recommendations.
Thank You!
*If you’re a patron, don’t forget to check out this week’s Random Questions feed! Authors Rhode Montijo and Grace Lin answer the random question “What Food Do You Crave More Than Any Other?” 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
