It's the most wonderful time of the year -- BOOK GIFTING TIME! I'm joined by booksellers Nicole Brinkley from Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY, and Cathy Berner from Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, TX, and we give you 50+ great recommendations for all the readers in your life, or for your own To Be Read pile. 

Love these bookseller recs? Support your local independent bookstore! Or, visit Blue Willow Bookshop or Oblong Books! Or, click the links in the show notes below to purchase from Bookshop.org and a percentage of the sales goes straight to supporting indie bookstores! Thanks, and happy shopping. :-)

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! Throw in a buck and help support the pod.

* Visit Oblong Books online! Support the Book Angel program! Support the Beacon Prison Books Project!

* See what's up at Blue Willow Bookshop!

* Listen to Cathy's guest spot on Nicole's podcast Misshelved, in convo with Mac Barnett!

* Check out Phoebe Wahl's online shop for gorgeous goodies!

* Nicole is obsessed with the Mom Can't Cook podcast!

​* Cathy is obsessed with the Hannah Waddingham Home For Christmas special!

Kid-lit power couple Raúl the Third and Elaine Bay are collaborators in both life and in books. They met in high school, grew into underground artists and zinesters, and in recent years, have become an award-winning and New York Times Bestselling creative powerhouse team. We talk about how they got started, how they work together, and the many (MANY) projects they have out and cooking!

* Like the Pod? Chip in a buck a month on Patreon and help keep it going! 

* Follow Raúl on Instagram to see the latest art, books and other updates! 

* Raúl wanted to work forHighwater Books  (before he realized it was like, two dudes in an apartment who made books at kinkos)

* The artwork for the LOWRIDERS series was inspired by, of course, Lowrider Magazine, as well as the Chicano art of drawing on handkerchiefs, known as paños. 

* A little about Raúl and Elaine's forthcoming co-created graphic novel series, THE SNIPS! (LittleBrown, 2024)

* About the Pura Belpré Award, including a list of past winners. VAMOS, LET'S CROSS THE BRIDGE was a gold medal winner for illustration in 2022. VAMOS, LET'S GO EAT was a gold medal winner in 2021. VAMOS, LET'S GO TO THE MARKET was a silver medal winner in 2020. LOWRIDERS TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH was a gold medal winner in 2017.

* The character of "Mr Posada" from VAMOS, LET'S GO READ, who teaches the kids to make comics, is based on the real life José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913), an artist, lithographer and political cartoonist whose images of Calaveras have become synonymous with Mexican folk art and Day of the Dead imagery, and who was a major influence on Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, among others.

* My gnome book obsession reminded Raúl of David the Gnome, a cartoon from our childhood, based on the book!

* Elaine is obsessed with exercise, in particular Tai Chi practices - her daily regimen includes the Eighth Brocade and Cat-Cow pose.

* Raúl is obsessed by the IDW Artisan Editions

The multi-talented Phoebe Wahl joins me to talk about how she got her start in publishing, as well as how she manages to run the cutest online shop in history, do brand collaborations, make films, thrive on social media, raise a toddler and more in addition to her busy career as an author-illustrator of picture books. And Phoebe will tell us all about her latest book - a debut YA novel called PHOEBE'S DIARY, based on her own teenage diaries and fully illustrated. ​We'll also discuss topics like Fat Representation, Shipwrecks, Taxes and Weird Shoes! 

* Like the podcast? Chip in a dollar a month on Patreon to keep it going!

* Check out Phoebe's personal Instagram for art and book news, and the Phoebe Wahl Shop instagram for new product drops!

* Shop for all the goodies at the Phoebe Wahl shop!

* Phoebe got her start doing illustrations for Taproot Magazine -- the vibes are immaculate

* You can watch TULIP, the short stop-motion animation film Phoebe co-created, here

* Phoebe also co-created a totally adorable music video for Ingrid Michaelson and Zooey Deschanel 

* Listen to the playlist for PHOEBE'S DIARY

* Get all the Pacific North West feels with Rainymood.com

* The legendary Crockenstocks

Click the book jackets for links to Bookshop.org -- a portion of proceeds from books purchased here go toward supporting indie bookstores, and the podcast! But these books are also available wherever fine books are sold. :-) 

Librarian, author, blogger, podcaster -- our guest Betsy Bird wears a lot of hats. She is not only a bona fide children's book expert but also has a great knack for predicting ALA Awards! As the awards are being given out at the end of this month, Betsy's going to take us behind the scenes and talk about the mysterious process of how the awards are even chosen, and what books MIGHT take home some hardware this year! (Will we be right? WHO KNOWS!  But it will be fun to find out!) She also answers some listener questions about library etiquette, book banning, what she'd like to see more of in the picture book space, and more. 

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! Throw in a buck and help keep the podcast going.
* Visit Betsy on the web.
* Follow Betsy Bird's blog Fuse #8 - This is her final award prediction post for the year, but she also does tons of book reviews, talks about bookish news, fun random kid lit stuff and more! It's a MUST READ blog for kids book creators.
* Betsy also has a podcast where she and her (non-kid-lit-world) sister discuss picture book classics hilariously.
* This article set off "scrotumgate" - the controversy surrounding the Newbery winner the year Betsy was on the committee.
* Will the winners of the Walter Dean Myers award this year be any indication of what wins at ALA?

WATCH THE ALA AWARD ANNOUNCEMENTS LIVESTREAM
​AT 8am CENTRAL TIME ON JANUARY 30th, 2023

Caldecott Honor winning illustrator and author Cindy Derby joins me to discuss her unusual path to an illustration career, getting inspired, dealing with burnout, navigating social media, what she learned from dog finishing school, and so much more. We also celebrate Cindy's latest picture book, BLURP'S BOOK OF MANNERS, about a sentient ink blot that needs etiquette lessons, which is brand new from Roaring Brook.

This is the last podcast of 2022. I hope your holidays are joyful and you get to have a lovely break and recharge -- 2023 is going to be a big year, I can feel it! <3

* The Literaticast has a Patreon -
throw in a buck and help support the podcast! <3

* Visit Cindy Derby on Instagram

* Visit Cindy Derby's website
​
​* Check out Cindy's ADORABLE video about Blurp!

* This is the link to the amazing Ginger Veggie Soup TikTok I talked about at the end. It's SO good. I personally blend about 3/4ths of it and leave some chunky for texture. This is the link to the full written recipe: Yum yum, I want to make it right now! 

The annual Great Big Holiday Gift Guide is BACK, baby! Booksellers Nicole Brinkley from Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY and Kassie King from the Novel Neighbor in St Louis, MO are joining to give their recommendations. If you're looking for holiday gifts for the kids in your life (or, for your own cozy winter reading), this episode is a must! Please remember to order your holiday books as early as possible - continued supply chain issues, etc, mean that it might be tough to get some of these at short notice. Please support your local independent bookstores whenever possible. Happy reading!

* The Literaticast has a Patreon - throw in a buck and help support the pod.
* Follow Oblong Books on Insta, or visit their website!
* Follow The Novel Neighbor on Insta, TikTok, or visit their website!
* Nicole hosts the Misshelved Podcast - a podcast for book lovers!
* Kassie even guested on Misshelved - listen to her episode, with author Nina LaCour!
* Oblong Books Book Angel program gets books to kids in need for the holidays
* The Noble Neighbor is the non-profit program Kassie's store runs that gets books to underserved communities
* If you want to shop my client books -- the full list of 2022 books is here!
* Interview with Sophie Blackall about creating the art for FARMHOUSE
* Indies Introduce book list - Kassie & Nicole were both on the committee for this!
* Libro.Fm - if you listen to audio books, the Libro.Fm app allows you to support indie bookstores while doing so!
* Meowsterpiece Puzzles to go with the book recommended below!
* I'm obsessed with Derry Girls on Netflix
* Kassie is obsessed with Taylor Swift's MIDNIGHTS (and recs books with the same vibe, too)
* Nicole is obsessed with Dimension 20 on YouTube

For more info on any book below, or to buy, click the book jacket. Note that these are affiliate links, a small portion of the proceeds go to support the podcast and independent bookstores. By the way - I ordered the books by age range, so if there were "wildcard picks" that were picture books, they are in with the regular picture books, etc. But within the categories they are roughly in the order they appeared in the pod. x JL

We're back from hiatus, and excited to chat with Jemiscoe Chambers-Black. Jem is one of the newer agents at Andrea Brown Lit, and a rising star who has had many awesome deals (and even a NYT Bestseller) in her two years at the agency -- especially amazing considering the fact that she started in the midst of the Pandemic. We'll talk about what she's looking for in a manuscript (and a client!), how to establish a great author-agent relationship,  and how she keeps her sanity and focus in a wild time, among other topics. 

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! Throw in a buck a month and help keep the podcast running.

* Follow me on Twitter. Follow Jem on Twitter.

* Follow my Instagram (especially stories) where I post lots of pics of Poppy the Puppy!

* Jem's official ABLA page (including wishlist and link to query!)

* BONUS! * At the end of the podcast, we talk about the Dora the Explorer movie, and I remembered the movie novelization, which is HILARIOUS. I promised an excerpt, so here ya go:

Award-winning YA author (and podcast host!) Sara Zarr joins me to talk about the joys and challenges of crafting a sustainable writerly life.  She has practical and inspirational insights for newbies and mid-career authors alike in her new book, This Creative Life: A Handbook for Writers, from the myth of "genius", to best practices for getting feedback, to the realities of dealing with procrastination and burnout -- and we discuss all of it. We also chat about her brand-new middle grade novel, bonus Pirates, dead eyes, Harry Styles and MORE!

* The Literaticast has a Patreon! Throw in a buck and help support the pod. 
​
* Follow me on Twitter! Follow Sara on Twitter!

* Sara Zarr's website

​* Watch Elizabeth Gilbert's TED talk about "genius"

* Listen to This Creative Life: The PODCAST!

* SPECIAL FOR PODCAST LISTENERS: Buy the ebook of This Creative Life: A Handbook for Writers for 30% off! 
Go here and enter the TOP SECRET COUPON CODE: QWBODLO8MX

New agents can be great to query, as they have a lot of energy and are actively building their lists! Paige Terlip is an Associate Agent at ABLA. She's been an agent for just over a year and she's already making a splash with great clients and sales. Paige and I talk about her philosophy of agenting, her feelings about rejection, and what she is looking for in a client. Plus, she helps me answer some listener questions about everything from query tips to the state of publishing. 

* The Literaticast has a Patreon - throw in a buck and help keep the podcast going!

* Follow me on Twitter. Follow Paige on Twitter or Instagram!

* Paige's personal website with lots of details about stuff she likes!

* The official ABLA website page about Paige, including a Link to query her!

* This is the twitter thread (by me) that Paige referenced about the importance of reading in your category, and how to get a "free MFA." 

* Paige is currently reading SAVVY SHELDON FEELS GOOD AS HELL, a grownup romance! (And I read it too, it's so fun!)

Click the book jackets for more information or to buy from Bookshop.Org -- note that these are affiliate links, so a few cents from each sale through these links goes toward helping the podcast. Thanks!

My guest today is author Maggie Tokuda-Hall, who writes picture books, graphic novels, YA, fiction, non-fiction... basically a little bit of everything! She talks about her experiences with an MFA program (and questions you might ask yourself if you are thinking of going to such a program). She also discusses how she juggles writing in multiple categories, managing creative ebb and flow, and how (in the words of MT Anderson), "a change of pace is the same as taking a break."  We also talk about her latest picture book, LOVE IN THE LIBRARY, which is especially close to her heart as it is the true story of her grandparents and how they met as prisoners in an Incarceration Camp. She's a genius and I'm so excited for you to get to know her!

* The Literaticast has a Patreon - throw in a buck and help keep the podcast going!

* Follow me on Twitter. Follow Maggie on Twitter!

* Maggie has Podcasts - Failure to Adapt is all about book-to-film adaptations. /  Drunk Safari is no longer updating, but is super fun / Let's Not Panic is no longer updating, but was the saga of Maggie and her husband driving a van from San Francisco to Patagonia (and lots of other places in between).

* Maggie's obsession is the Normal Gossip podcast
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* My obsession is the cool Lego Bookstore (and more!)

* LOVE IN THE LIBRARY has an amazing illustrator in Yas Imamura - check out her work!

>>> You can get signed copies of LOVE IN THE LIBRARY Mrs Dalloways by clicking this link.

Speaking of LOVE IN THE LIBRARY -- is this gorgeous or WHAT? One of Maggie's favorite spreads in the book:

Clicking on any of the book jackets will take you to Bookshop.Org. These sales go toward helping independent bookstores. Additionally, they are affiliate links, and a small portion of each sale made through these links goes toward supporting the podcast.