Feb 13

Feb 13 Episode #50: Love!

Love is in the air! What do the Book Friends Forever love to talk about most?…books! In honor of Valentine's Day, Grace and Alvina talk about all of the things that they love (and don't love!) about the publishing industry.

First, they will recap a bit of what’s been happing in their lives since the last episode and share some highlights. Alvina has some wonderful news after returning from the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia! “A book I edited and an illustrator I work with won a Caldecott Honor award!” The Youth Media Awards were announced and Richard T. Morris won the award for his book titled Bear Came Along, illustrated by LeUyen Pham.

She also had the opportunity to see Scott Simon from NPR’s Weekend Edition signing his latest middle grade book titled Sunnyside Plaza! Everyone was curious to hear his voice and wondered if it sounded the same as his radio voice. That is true and Alvina can conclude that is also a really nice guy!

Grace has been embracing this slow-down period of her life as she doesn’t do as many school visits this time of year. She is grateful for more time that she has during this period to participate in school activities (field trips and book events!) with her daughter and really be present for her.

Starting with the negatives so they end with the positives….”What do you not love about the publishing industry?”

Grace’s biggest issue with the industry is the inequality that she still believes is very present. She was hoping that Oge Mora would win an award as a woman of color. She is not saying that the winners are not worthy of their awards, she would just like to see more diversity in the creators of the community. Grace started the Kidlitwomen* podcast to discuss these issues and that was helpful in getting people to acknowledge specific issues and talk about it. She ended that podcast with a special scholarship through the Highlights Foundation. The scholarship includes full tuition to a Highlights Foundation workshop for illustrators plus a travel stipend of up to $500. It is a tiny step in the right direction and Grace is hoping this will continue on every year. Secondly, she feels that the industry can also be hard on your self-worth. There is a time Grace recalls that another author was paid more to speak at the same conference and she felt terribly small and under-appreciated! The fact is, there a million variables why that author was paid more than Grace, but it is still very hard to face.

Alvina dislikes the low paying salaries of the publishing industry. She thinks that this may be contributing to the lack of diversity that we see. It’s true that everyone loves the work and sometimes you will start working for free just to climb your way up and get your foot in the door. It is unfair and Alvina sees many people leaving the industry now because of it. You can hear the Kidlitwomen* podcast episode on this subject matter with Kheryn Callender.

What’s there to love about the publishing industry?

Grace obviously loves the opportunity to create books that mean the world to people just as books she read as a child meant the world to her. She also believes that everyone in the publishing world is genuinely sincere and trying to do the right thing. She reminds us of the time when her first husband Robert was diagnosed with cancer and they started a fundraiser called “Robert’s Snowflakes”. She was shocked how generous and supportive the community was.

Alvina also loves the books of course! As she mentioned in the dating episode of this podcast, “How Publishing is Like Dating”, she wants to fall in love with someone just like when she picks up a book and falls in love with it.

“What do you love most about this podcast?”

Grace loves that she can talk to Alvina on a regular basis. It has also given her the confidence to pursue other projects like the new podcast called “Kids Ask Authors” that will be coming soon! It recently made the news!

Alvina loves the podcast because she can keep talk to Grace every week and also enjoys the part about expressing what they’re grateful for because that is so important for your mental and physical health!

What we are so grateful for:

Alvina is grateful for the Caldecott awards committee for nominating Bear Came Along. Grace is grateful that she was asked to host the Walter Awards for We Need Diverse Books. She has always been a huge supporter and advocate for them but is now happy that she can give something back.

2-Minute Book Review -by Alison Morris:

Mirror, Mirror: A Book of Reverso Poems. by Marilyn Singer and Josee Masse. When lines change, the story changes…

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.