Episode #288: CHOP SUEY: blurbing, social media, and how publishing has changed for the better
Grace and Alvina have an odds and ends episode where they discuss book blurbing, where the kidlit community is on social media, how publishing has improved over the years, and then Alison Morris joins to give some book recommendations.
info about Grace's new book "The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon": https://linktr.ee/gracelinauthor
How have you been?
Alvina spent some nice time with her family in New Jersey. Alvina had an ALL COMPANY meeting last week. The most encouraging part was hearing the CEO take a stance on DEI work and promised that the DEI at work will not stop. Grace has been depressed because of the news in the world. Trump just announced that the new president of the Kennedy Center and Grace doesn’t have any hope that her books that were made into plays will be performed there. Aside from that, Grace is working on sketches and selling Girl Scout Cookies with Hazel.
BLURBS
Do you blurb? Grace and Alvina share their thoughts on blurbs.
What platform is the kidlit community in?
Grace and Alvina talk about the difficulties of social media platforms in this day and age. Twitter, Blue Sky, Instagram, Facebook etc…Are people waiting for something to replace Instagram Goodnight Mush platform!
The ways that publishing has changed for the better in the last 25 years….
Alison Morris “What we could be reading..”
Jellyfish Scientist: Maude Delap and Her Mesmerizing Medusas by Michelle Cusolito and Ellen Rooney (Coming out in April!)
The Spider Lady: Nan Songer and Her Arachnid World War II Army by Penny Parker Klostermann and illustrated by Anne Lambelet (Coming in May!)
Lady of the Lines: How Maria Reiche Saved the Nazca Lines by Sweeping the Desert by Michaela MacColl and illustrated by Elisa Chavarri (Coming in April!)
Yvonne Clark and Her Engineering Spark by Allen R. Wells and illustrated by Deandra Hodge
Can you Imagine?: The Art and Life of Yoko Ono by Lisa Tolin and illustrated by Yas Imamura
Revolutionary Mary by Karen Blumenthal and Jen McCartney, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley.
Gratefuls:
Alvina is grateful that she feels part of a collective group of people making a change. She’s been making phone calls about the various terrible things going on in the country. 5 Calls.org
Alison is also grateful for puzzles and doing them with her Dad who’s in a memory care home. The puzzles support structure and framework. Story Time for Grown-Ups was at the Library of Congress and Alison attended it with colleagues. She’s feeling grateful for the connection.
Grace is grateful that her family and community is all good and safe. I am grateful for flowers from Trader Joe’s! They make her really happy!
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.
You can find Alison Morris @kidlitgirl on Instagram
Please keep tagging and messaging us on social media using the hashtag #bookfriendsforever! OR message us on Instagram @bookfriendsforever_podcast or email us at bookfriendsforever@gmail.com! Please let us know if you have any topic ideas!
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