Author Rebecca Stead (WHEN YOU REACH ME, LIAR AND SPY, among others) joins me to talk about her creative process -- as well as such important topics as revision with book maps, finding an authentic voice, giving yourself permission to suck, shutting down your inner critic, the annoyingness of the word "tween", and the restorative power of watching other people bake things. I'll also let her tell you a bit about her latest novel, out this week: THE LIST OF THINGS THAT WILL NOT CHANGE!

* The Literaticast has a Patreon. Throw in a buck and help me keep the show going.

* Find me on Twitter. Find Rebecca Stead on Twitter.

* The 92nd Street Y is closed at the moment, but they have a full roster of online events, including writing workshops!

​* The Highlights Foundation has amazing workshops throughout the year - though they are closed right now, there are still online opportunities -- including free craft seminars!

* Rebecca shares her "Book Map" template

* I'm obsessed with the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen YouTube channel! 

* Rebecca is obsessed with @WednesdayChef on Insta!

Signed copies of Rebecca Stead's books are available at Oblong Books while supplies last! 

My guest this week is Hannah Moushabeck, a book marketing wizard from Quarto Books with a life-long history in the book industry. Hannah and I chat about ways for you to get the word out about your book, and what your publisher is doing, as well as social media 101, and so much more.

​PLEASE NOTE: This episode was recorded several weeks ago, in the Before-Time when we still had lively bookstores and libraries. Much of the valuable info herein will still apply, but some of it, well.... bear it in mind for when the "shelter-in-place" orders lift. I'll be updating with "Corona-Time" info as I have it.

* The Literaticast has a Patreon. Throw in a buck to help support the show.

* Find Hannah on Twitter. Find me on Twitter!

* Hannah's publisher, Quarto Books

* Hannah's family publisher, Interlink Books

* The Interactive Slime Museum! 
​
* More about the Haynes Library in Eleuthera, Bahamas

UPDATE: Hannah has put together a useful article with marketing tips for a Post Quarantine world!

My guest is publicist Tracy van Straaten, who will pull the curtain back and reveal everything you've always wanted to know about Book Publicity but were afraid to ask! (Well, maybe not everything. But a LOT OF STUFF!) Including how to best work with your in-house publicist, when hiring an outside publicist might be the right move, and much more.

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! Throw in a buck to support the show.

* Find me on Twitter! Find Tracy on Twitter!

* TvS Media Group website

* Get a taste of how many books the NYT gets in to review every week...

* You can get audiobooks free from your library with the Libby App

* Authors Tracy talked about who have a great online presence include:
​Jason Reynolds, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jenny Han, Rick Riordan,
Kate Messner, Kelly Yang, Lisa Yee,  Jarret Krocozka

My guest this week is Kate Messner -- the perfect person to discuss Career Building! Over the past decade she's published over 30 children's books, and has 12 more coming out in 2020 alone. Wowza! We'll talk about how she does it. We also talk about things she WISHES she had known when she was a debut, how to find balance in what can be a wild business, and so much more. 

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! If you're a fan and are so inclined, throw in a buck to help me keep the episodes coming.

* Find me on Twitter. Find Kate on Twitter.

* Kate Messner's official website.

* "What Happened To Your Book Today" is a must-read poem by Kate -- especially good for when you're feeling those "nobody is talking about my book" blues....

* More about branding and social media stuffs from the ever-brilliant Jess Keating

* One of the books Kate recommended, ALL THIRTEEN by Christina Soontornvat, is not yet available for pre-order -- keep an eye on her website for more info as it comes.

Books We Discussed: Click on the Book Jackets for info and buy links! 

We welcome the return of the Great Big Holiday Gift Guide, 2019 edition! I interview three independent booksellers from various parts of the country, and we give you our best recommendations for ALL the young folks on your shopping list – and some of the grownups, too. Joining me are Abby Rauscher, from Books are Magic in Brooklyn New York – Cecilia Cackley, from East City Books on Capitol Hilll in Washington DC, and Stephanie Heinz, from Print: A Bookstore, in Portland Maine. Get a pen and paper, you're gonna want to take notes on this one!

My guest Kandace Coston is an editor at Lee & Low, the largest multicultural publisher in the U.S. She is a nonfiction picture book expert, and we'll discuss how to choose a topic, what to include in the backmatter, and how to tackle potentially problematic content in a nonfiction book for young readers. Also, I explore an app that makes me feel EXTREMELY old. Join us, won't you?

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! Throw in a buck and help keep episodes coming.

* Our guest editor Kandace Coston has a website. Check it out!

* Kandace also creates gorgeous hand-crafted jewelry! Check out her Etsy shop.

* Lee and Low Books has writing contests specifically for writers of color and Native/Indigenous writers. 

* We Need Diverse Books awards internship grants to help augment the low pay of interning at publishing houses.

* Here's a great article about different kinds of children's nonfiction, from author Melissa Stewart.

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! The latest Patreon update: We're working on transcribing past episodes of the podcast and are up to Episode 13, with more coming regularly. Thanks, Patrons, for making this possible!

* Find me on Twitter. Find Sergio Ruzzier on Twitter. Find Nancy Inteli on Twitter. Find Philip Nel on Twitter!

* There's a great piece about ROAR on the Seven Imps blog - with tons of illustrations and inspiration!

* Phil Nel has a great blog! Here's an entry about the surprising intersection between Ruth Krauss and... the Beatles?!

I'm joined by author Stephanie Lucianovic, whose debut picture book THE END OF SOMETHING WONDERFUL drops on September 10. She's dropping some hot knowledge on us about what it is like to navigate the pre-debut time, how to find and utilize mentor texts, winning social media strategies, how to work well with illustrators, and so much more. Plus you'll hear me moan about... cars? Listen, I can't talk about TV Shows on a Book Podcast EVERY time. ;-)

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg (large)
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder (make sure it's current!)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 generous cups fresh blueberries.

In a mixer, cream butter, add sugar and beat until light. Add egg and
beat well. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with milk, beating
until smooth. Fold in lemon zest and blueberries. Pour batter (it's
more like: "scrape batter" because this is very thick dough, almost
like biscuit dough) into greased 9 x 9 x 2 pan (grease with butter)
and sprinkle with crumb topping (recipe below). Bake in 375° oven for
approx. 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Crumb Topping:

Blend together with fork or pastry blender (I just use my finger tips,
like sable-ing for pie crust):

1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon

My guest is Executive Editor of the Abrams Appleseed imprint, Meredith Mundy. We chat about all things "little-kid" book related -- including the different types of board and novelty books, and the joys and challenges of writing and publishing them.

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! 

* Find me on Twitter. Find Abrams Appleseed on Twitter.

* Abrams Appleseed publishes gorgeous books for the littlest littles!

It's a Summertime Bonus Episode! ABLA Senior Agent Jen Rofé joins me to answer burning listener questions about queries, submission strategies, working with your agent, and so much more. Plus we talk about glass-blowing and Russian spies. (Obviously!)

* The Literaticast has a Patreon -- throw in a buck, and help keep the podcast going, plus the ongoing project to have all the episodes transcribed.

* Find me on Twitter -- Find Jen Rofé on Twitter

* Submission guidelines - here's how to query Jen Rofé!

* Some resources about what to ask on "The Call"

* Publishers Marketplace is a great resource  for learning about who is selling what, and to whom.

Some of Jen's clients, and other books we discussed: