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
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​* 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. 

My guest for this end-of-year show is Alison Morris. She's a book expert, and the Senior Director of Title Selection at FirstBook, a non-profit that provides literally millions of books to underserved kids (and so much more) -- we'll talk about it, and how YOU can support their vital mission. She's also here to give us a heads up about Books We Might Have Missed while we were all SOMEWHAT busy with other things, like, you know, a global pandemic. I'm going to ask her about trends she's seeing, award predictions, and SO much more. Join us, won't you?

* The Literaticast has a Patreon. Throw in a buck and help support the show.
* Listen to the Book Friends Forever podcast, which often has guest star Alison Morris!
* Learn more aboutFirstBook and the FirstBook Marketplace
* We name-dropped Jess Keating - check out her books (and life coaching!)
* PW "Pandemic Missed Connections": Spotlighting special books you might have missed!
* Alison really did make a list of all the recent TREE books and ... whoo boy, that's a lotta trees!
* Check out the comic book store Jenn is obsessed with: Silver Sprocket in San Francisco!
* Alison's Podcast Rec: "Films to be Buried With"
* Jenn's Podcast Rec: "The Plot Thickens"
* Love Ted Lasso? Check out this cute keychain 

My guest this month is graphic novelist Gareth Hinds. He's famous for doing amazing Graphic Novel reinterpretations of classics like the Odyssey, the Iliad, Shakespeare, Poe and more... and we'll talk about how he chooses projects, and how he adapts them for modern readers and a graphic format, tips for aspiring graphic novelists, and so much more. We'll also get into his NEWEST project -- a modern classic -- GRACELING, THE GRAPHIC NOVEL, adapted from the YA fantasy by Kristin Cashore, which is on shelves now.

Gareth Hinds and Kristin Cashore are doing a virtual event
through Oblong Books Friday, November 19th
Click here for more info, and a link to registration, and to buy autographed copies of GRACELING, THE GRAPHIC NOVEL!

* The Literaticast has a Patreon - throw in a buck and help support the show!

* Follow me on Twitter! Follow Gareth Hinds on Twitter!

* Gareth's website has ALL his awesome titles, including links to the early, self-published work

* Check out Gareth's other social media - like process videos on YouTube, Insta, and TikTok!

​* Here's a link to that TikTok I talked about with the art teacher!

It's almost Holiday Time already (yeah, I know, yikes!) - and I want to encourage people to get their bookish gift shopping done early this year, and to pre-order books if you want them before Hanukkah or Christmas. To that end, it's time for the annual Holiday Gift Guide! Bookseller Melissa Posten joins me to give some great recommendations of beautiful Fall 2021 books for giving (or, hoarding for yourself!).

* The Literaticast has a Patreon - throw in a buck and help support the Pod
* Visit Melissa Posten on Twitter! Visit me on Twitter!
* TheNovel Neighbor Bookstore in St Louis, Missouri
​* The Novel Neighbor on TikTok
* Order a Mystery Box from The Novel Neighbor! (Such a cool idea!)
* TV shows we talked about : WE ARE LADY PARTS - ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING - TED LASSO

Welcome back to the Literaticast! I'm back from hiatus with lots to say - first, about some of the newsworthy books of mine that came out during my absence. Then I'm joined by my friend, the prolific translator and author Lawrence Schimel, coming to us all the way from Madrid. We chat about World Kid Lit Month, and about the importance of books in translation and the International kid's book market. Lawrence tells us fascinating things about translating children's books, and we talk about how two of his new baby books caused an International Incident, just in time for Banned Books Week. And so much more. Plus, find out what we're obsessed with!

If you'd like to purchase any of the books we talked about on the show, there are links to buy if you click the book jackets below. These are affiliate links to Bookshop.Org, and a portion of the proceeds goes to support the podcast. They are also available anywhere that fine books are sold. 

* Find Lawrence Schimel on Twitter - Find me on Twitter!
* The Literaticast has a Patreon - join for a dollar a month and help support the show!
* September is World Kid Lit Month! The WKLM website has lots of info about celebrating International Children's Books, as well as resources for translators, publishers and more.
* Lawrence used to work at Books of Wonder, one of my fav kids bookstores in NYC!
* The Guardian article Lawrence discussed by Jennifer Croft, "Why translators should be named on book covers."
* The LA Times article Lawrence discussed about the issue of representation in translation, "Amanda Gorman brings the representation debate to the small world of book translation." 
​* Backlash from the Hungarian Government over Lawrence's latest titles: "Hungary fines bookshop chain over picture book depicting LBGT families" 
* And how it is being sold in Russia: "The picture book fighting back against Russia's LGBT+ propaganda law"
​* Interested in knowing more about Banned Books? Banned Books Week is September 26-October 2. 
* The top most challenged books in 2020

... And now for something completely different... If you want to know where to start with Lawrence and my mutual obsession, the work of romance author Alyssa Cole, I'd begin with the Reluctant Royals series!

These are the ones that caused all the fuss overseas, as discussed in the podcast -- available as of 9/14 in the USA.