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: 

First I talk a bit about the etiquette of leaving your agent and getting a new one -- it's not as scary or weird as you might worry it will be! Then, the fabulous Dahlia Adler joins me to talk about her books, blogging, promoting authors, self-promoting, cutting through the internet noise, avoiding burnout, and being a professional Big Mouth. We also talk about her site LGBTQ Reads, and Dahlia gives us a taste of her favorite queer reads. Get your pen and paper ready so you can jot down these terrific titles!

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

* Guest author Dahlia Adler's Website / Dahlia's Twitter

* LGBTQ Reads site / LGBTQ Reads Patreon

* B&N Teen Blog

* #DVPit

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!