Welcome to the first recorded Book Friends Forever episode of 2020! How have the BFF’s been?

Grace just got back from an exhausting but wonderful trip to Taiwan with her family. Some of the highlights included a visit to the Rainbow Village and a trip to the Arts and Culture Center where they spent two days exploring and doing crafts. Grace started to question what the process would look like if she wanted to write a book specifically on the Rainbow Village. It brought up her thoughts on appropriation and #OwnVoices…who should really get credit for writing a book and profiting on something that’s never been written about?

Grace Lin’s daughter, Hazel is visiting the Rainbow Village in Taiwan.

Alvina had an amazing time on vacation with her family on a 7-day Mexican cruise! Some highlight for her were running on the ship’s track every morning and watching the sunrise, enjoying the three different ports, and a fun hike to a lighthouse in Mazatlan. Alvina also had the unique experience of flying to a conference just in one day! The conference was in Minnesota at Hameline University. She gave two presentations as a guest editor; one on “Thinking Like Your Editor” and one on “Plot”. She had a great time meeting up with Brandy Colbert and Sarah Park Dahlen.

The main topic of discussion on this episode is examining the difference between commercial writing vs. literary writing. What do they mean and what’s the difference? Alvina helps break down the definitions of these terms. “It’s nebulous!” That’s the main take-away. However, there are some ways to simplify it: If it’s literary then it tends to be plot based, all about the characters, inspiring, etc… If it’s commercial then the purpose is to make money, to make a series perhaps, and to become best-sellers. (Not so much about the awards!). In children’s books, it is a little bit harder to define. For example, in Grace’s' "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon”, it has both!

What are the Book Friends grateful for this week? Alvina is so grateful for her family vacation time and saying “YES!” to so many more things in 2020.

Grace is grateful for the heart-warming experience in Tawain when her daughter was so excited about getting her Name Chop on the trip! She was thrilled and it made the trip so worth it to see her so happy.

2-Minute Book Review- Alison Morris

Book: Snail Crossing by Corey R. Tabor

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.