Episode #243: Chop Suey: Hugo Award Controversy, Author's Equity, and Double Standards
Welcome back! Grace and Alvina have an odds and ends episode where they discuss the Hugo Award controversy, a new publishing house launching called Author's Equity, and an article about gender parity in publishing. And Alison Morris of First Books joins to offer some book recommendations!
How have you been?
Grace is working on the illustrations for her novel and thinking about all the anniversaries that are coming up to celebrate her books. The 20th anniversary of Where The Mountain Meets the Moon and the 30th anniversary of The Ugly Vegetables is coming up. If listeners have any ideas of how to celebrate them, please let Grace know! Alvina just watched the “Sound of Music” and was reminded of what a great movie that is!
Chop Suey!
Hugo Award Controversy- The book friends talk about the censorship mess!
The launching of a new publishing company called Author’s Equity. Hear what Grace and Alvina have to say about this new approach.
Double Standards as an author. Grace talks about the essay by Katherine Marsh on the Nerd Daily called Katherine Marsh On The Double Standards As An Author . It is about how men and women are treated differently in the publishing world.
Alison Morris Book Recommendations!
Alison just returned from the Walter Awards and enjoyed all of the great questions from the teenagers.
2024 Walter Awards
2024 Walter Award, Younger Readers Category
Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Random House)
2024 Walter Honors, Younger Readers Category
Grounded by Aisha Saeed, Huda Al-Marashi, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, and S.K. Ali (Amulet/Abrams)
2024 Walter Award, Teen Category
Saints of the Household by Ari Tison (Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan)
2024 Walter Honors, Teen Category
All the Fighting Parts by Hannah V. Sawyerr (Amulet/Abrams)
What else should we be reading?
by Kari Lavelle
Dive: The Story of Breathing Underwater
Chris Gall (Author)
This would be great paired with Otis and Will Discover the Deep: The Record-Setting Dive of the Bathysphere
Barb Rosenstock (Author) Katherine Roy (Illustrator)
by G. Neri (Author), Corban Wilkin (Illustrator)
Sara Holly Ackerman (Author) Robert Neubecker (Illustrator)
This book could be paired with Someone Builds the Dream!
Dolisha Mitchell (Author
Gratefuls
Alison is grateful for all the teenagers who asked great questions at the Walter Awards and is generally grateful for everyone helping teens today live in a more inclusive world. Grace is grateful for how amazing human bodies heal. Alvina is grateful that Holly Black’s book, The Prisoner’s Throne made it on the New York Times Best Seller List.
THANK YOU!
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 and Threads, @alvinaling on BlueSky
You can find Grace @Pacylin on Instagram and Threads, @authorgracelin on Facebook, @gracelinauthor on TikTok, and @authorgracelin on BlueSky Social!
Alison Morris is @AlisonLMorris on Twitter and @kidlitgirl on Instagram
Please keep tagging and messaging us on social media using the hashtag #bookfriendsforever! OR email us at bookfriendsforever@gmail.com! Please let us know if you have any topic ideas!
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.
