I sit down with powerhouse editor Namrata Tripathi, the founder and publisher of Kokila Books, a new imprint of Penguin Random House. The first books from Kokila are coming this week, so we have a great discussion about what it is like to start an imprint from scratch, from deciding on the name and logo to choosing the first books to publish; also the importance of diversity in creators, topics, gatekeepers; and what conversation would be complete without mentioning nerdy vampires? 

* The Literaticast has a Patreon - throw in a buck, and help keep the podcasts coming.

* Find me on Twitter. Find Namrata Tripathi on Twitter. Find Kokila Books on Twitter, and on the Penguin website!

* Hey design nerds: Check out this AWESOME article about the creation of the Kokila Logo.

​* MY PAPI HAS A MOTORCYCLE is featured in the NYT this week! 

* Kokila is open to submissions from unagented writers from September 1st to December 1st. If your book fits the submission criteria, check it out.

* Some organizations working on diversity in publishing include: POC in Pub, Latinx in Pub, and We Need Diverse Books. The Lee & Low Diversity Survey. 

My guest is Laurent Linn, an Art Director from Simon and Schuster. He'll give us the inside scoop on such hot topics as: What the heck does an Art Director do?! What should an illustrator have in their portfolio? How are book jackets made? What is the "life cycle" of a picture book and why do they take soooo long to come out? And WHO PICKS THE FONTS?! Also we'll talk about vampires and theme parks, obviously.

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! 

* Me on Twitter - Laurent on Twitter

​* Laurent's official website

* As promised - this is everything I know about making an author website, for authors (or illustrators) at all stages of their careers!

* Buy Laurent's book from your local independent bookstore! 

* Oh, you want to see an adorable pic of Baby Laurent with Kermit? 

* I couldn't find the video I remembered of Leo and Diane Dillon drawing together - if you find it, let me know! But here's an article about them. 

More Art:

This episode, I'm pleased to welcome newly minted Newbery Medalist Meg Medina. We chat about world building in realistic fiction, writing large casts of characters, balancing business vs art, tips for debut authors as well as those suffering from "sophomore slump." Oh... and though I promised her I would NOT ask her about "the call" from the Newbery committee.... at the end, she tells a bit of the story anyway! Yesss! Plus we gab about TV shows and Tamales. 

* Find me on Twitter. Find Meg on Twitter. Visit Meg Medina's website

* Some photos and cool stuff about winning the Newbery award! And watch the video about what it was like to get "the Call"!

* Want a signed copy of MERCI SUÁREZ CHANGES GEARS? There are signed copies available at Meg's local indie, ready to ship.

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! Throw in a buck, and you just might win books. Including MERCI!

I sit down with Lisa Cron, the author of STORY GENIUS and WIRED FOR STORY - she is chock full of advice to make your next novel truly unputdownable. Also, I get a couple of words in edgewise, and talk about my obsession: RUSSIAN DOLL!

 * The Literaticast has a Patreon! Throw in a buck, and you can give me ideas for future episodes, ask guest questions, and maybe win a book!

* Find me on Twitter! Find guest Lisa Cron on twitter!

* Lisa Cron's website, with book info and more

* Creativelive Story Class with Lisa Cron

I'm getting ready to head to Seattle for ALA Midwinter. So what even IS that? In this episode, I speak to Jenny Choy, the Associate Director for School-Library Marketing for Abrams Books for Young Readers. Jenny tells us the difference between publicity, marketing, and school-library marketing, and gives us the lowdown about what happens behind the booth curtains at a big librarian conference like ALA. What books are on display, and why? Which authors get invited, and why? What does she wish that authors knew about her job? So much great info! Yay!

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! Throw in a buck and you just might win a book. Plus, you can give me input about what you'd like to hear about on the podcast! 
* Abrams Books for Young Readers website
* ALA Youth Media Award speculation blogs: Calling Caldecott, Heavy Medal (Newbery),
* Books we chatted about: 

I chat with four awesome booksellers about their top children's and YA book picks for holiday gift giving (and my own picks, too!) -- some you've probably heard of, but others likely be new to you, and all are well worth checking out. Of course, there's no way that we could get ALL our faves in one little podcast.... but hey, it's a start. :-) 

Stephanie Appell, Parnassus Books, Nashville TN
* Find Stephanie on Twitter
* Find Parnassus on Twitter
* Parnassus has awesome book subscriptions for both YA and grownup books! These first edition, signed hardcovers come straight to your door every month -- a subscription would make an AWESOME gift for a true booklover.
* Parnassus has amazing dogs, for real. Mary Todd Lincoln is my best friend!
* Stephanie is obsessed with this Etsy shop...

​Rebecca Wells, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA
* Find Rebecca on Twitter
* Find Porter Square on twitter
* Porter Square does a ton of events - including a Debut Authors event series starting in 2019!
* Rebecca is also an author! Find out more about her debut, SHATTER THE SKY, out in July 2019.
* Rebecca is obsessed with the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

     Abby Rice, The Briar Patch, Bangor, ME
* Find Abby on Twitter
* Find the Briar Patch on Twitter
* The Briar Patch has been a children's-only bookstore for 35 years.
* They do a Harry Potter Festival every summer -- I NEED TO GO TO MAINE FOR THIS!
* Abby is obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons!

Nichole Cousins, White Birch Books, North Conway, NH
* Find Nichole on Insta
* Find White Birch Books on Insta
* White Birch has been open for 25 years -- and they have some long running book clubs that are almost as old as the store!
* Nichole is obsessed with Litograph Temporary Tattoos - they make great stocking stuffers, too! 

Martha Brockenbrough returns to discuss her latest book of YA Nonfiction, UNPRESIDENTED, a biography/documentary about the life and times of Donald Trump. We also talk about how you can decide when a story is YOURS to tell, how to deal with bad reviews, how teen readers are the BEST readers, and how to write about current events without having a brain meltdown. Martha gives writerly advice about a variety of craft issues, and we do a switcheroo, where Martha asks ME about Holiday Books! Plus, as always, we discuss what we are obsessed with this week.        

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! Throw in a buck and you just might get books - more importantly, you'll help me keep making podcasts!
* Find Martha on Twitter  --  Find me on Twitter
* Martha's website
​* Huskies! Having! Tantrums!
* Rat Chases Cat

Editorial consultant Emma D. Dryden has a storied career in children's publishing. She sat down with me to talk about revision, as well as the difference between working for a publisher and editing under her own shingle. I asked her a LOT of questions, including, what should an author expect from a Freelance Editor? How do you know if or when the time is right to hire one? What are the most common problems she sees in manuscripts? What is a "Quiet Book"? What's the difference between YA and MG, reallllly? Plus, Emma gives her top tips and tricks for revising, and a whole lot more.

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! Throw in a buck and you just might win some books.

* Find me on Twitter! Find Emma Dryden on Twitter!

* Want to hire Emma to help you overhaul your ms? Visit DRYDENBKS website.

* Emma's upcoming Spring 2019 Highlights Foundation workshop intensive looks terrific!

* Emma is an author, too! Check out WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR

* Resources we chatted about include Underdown.org and Darcy Pattinson's "Shrunken Manuscript" -- and here's a video of the Shrunken Ms technique!

* Emma recently wrote about the power of "Quiet Books" for the SCBWI

* Stay Here on Netflix may be about renovating rental properties - but there are lessons here for writers, too!

* Pics from Maurice Sendak's house:

Guest agent Kelly Sonnack joins me to talk about best practices, agent-wise... and WTH are some bad agents even DOING? Also we answer listener questions, talk about query management, vent on the topic of submission do's and don'ts, and we go in deep about our favorite yearly event, the Big Sur Children's Writers Workshop. Oh and obviously we also talk about the Black Death and how it affects caterpillars, among other scintillating topics. Join us, won't you? 

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! Throw in a buck to support the show, and you just might win books.

* Here's me on the twitter! Here's Kelly Sonnack!

* ABLA query guidelines

* Registration for the Big Sur Children's Writers Workshop is now open!

* TheJanuary Elfman Scholarship for Big Sur CWW. Application deadline is 9/30

​* The Shaya Cookbook

* Ever want to know everything about what can go wrong with caterpillars? I gotchu.

Books we talked about:

Guest author Lesa Cline-Ransome gets into it about writing nonfiction (particularly biographical) picture books. Like, how does she choose subjects? How does she decide HOW to tell the story, do research, and get a new angle on a topic we might think we already know? Plus, what is it like to have a partner who is also the illustrator for your picture books? Annnnd, we discuss Lesa's brand-new debut Middle Grade novel, FINDING LANGSTON.

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! 

* Find me on the Twitters!

* Find Lesa Cline-Ransome on Twitter, or on her website!
​
* 44 PAGES - A documentary about Highlights Magazine and the production of the 70th anniversary issue, Inon Netflix

* KIM'S CONVENIENCE - A funny and heartwarming sitcom about a Korean-Canadian family, also on Netflix. (Both OK for kiddos.)

* Want to procrastinate? Spend time on Apartment Therapy.

* One of our fave shows on HBO, INSECURE is about to start its third season! (Not for kiddos...)