Episodes
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Here are some highlights from our conversation with NYTimes-bestselling, award-winning author Jasmine Warga!:
Excavating not simply WHAT your characters want, but WHY they want itThe necessity of internal contractions Becoming a collector of ideas and moments throughout the drafting and revision processHow images drive her plotting processThe role of alchemy in storytellingThe consistent theme at the root of her stories, and writing for our inner 10-year-oldsThe art of crafting the twistJasmine Warga is the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of middle grade novels Other Words For Home, The Shape of Thunder, A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall and A Rover’s Story. Other Words For Home earned multiple awards, including a John Newbery Honor, a Walter Honor for Young Readers, and a Charlotte Huck Honor. The Shape of Thunder was a School Library Journal and Bank Street best book of the year, a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Children's and YA Book Award, and has been named to several state award reading lists. A Rover’s Story, her latest novel, was an instant New York Times bestseller, a Indie Next List and a Junior Library Guild selection, and was named a best book of the year by Publishers Weekly and The Washington Post. She is also the author of young adult novel, My Heart and Other Black Holes, which has been translated into over twenty different languages. Originally from Cincinnati, she now lives in the Chicago-area with her family in a house filled with books.
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Here are a few highlights from our conversation with the award-winning Adib Khorram:
How his notes app has come to be bursting with character ideas and peoples' idiosyncrasiesImpact of theater school on character-buildingOperating as a subconsciously-driven artistHow his starting place for creating character differs from other authorsPrioritization of character vs plot vs world buildingRevision as the time to sharpen or dull edges of characterWhy you may want to think twice before eating a D.C. taco from a gas stationADIB KHORRAM is the author of DARIUS THE GREAT IS NOT OKAY, which earned the William C. Morris Debut Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature, and a Boston Globe–Horn Book Honor, as well as a multitude of other honors and accolades. His followup, DARIUS THE GREAT DESERVES BETTER, received three starred reviews, was an Indie Bestseller, and received a Stonewall Honor. His latest novel, KISS & TELL, received four starred reviews. His debut picture book, SEVEN SPECIAL SOMETHINGS: A NOWRUZ STORY was released in 2021. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where people don’t usually talk about themselves in the third person.
LINKS:
Website: www.adibkhorram.com
IG: Adib Khorram
First listen to Adib's overshare, then watch him white-knuckle (and crush) his speech at the FYE Conference in 2020
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Missing episodes?
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Here are highlights from our conversation with award-winning, NYTimes-bestselling author Randy Ribay:
How characters explore the same internal questions he’s grappling with in his own lifeWriting towards ideas rather than adhering to a firm outlineDoing the work of finding your own processWhat compels a reader to take off their own maskThe genius of Succession’s character buildingWhy Caroline gets all Randy’s royalties on the next bookRandy Ribay is an award-winning author of young adult fiction. His most recent novel, Patron Saints of Nothing, earned five starred reviews, was selected as a Freeman Book Award winner, and was a finalist for the National Book Award, LA Times Book Prize, Walden Book Award, Edgar Award, International Thriller Writers Award, and the CILIP Carnegie Medal. His other works include Project Kawayan, After the Shot Drops, and An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes. His next novels, The Chronicles of the Avatar: The Reckoning of Roku (Abrams) and Everything We Never Had (Kokila/Penguin) will be out in 2024.
Born in the Philippines and raised in the Midwest, Randy earned his BA in English Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder and his Ed.M. in Language and Literacy from Harvard Graduate School of Education. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, son, and cat-like dog.
Randy's website
Randy's Instagram
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Highlights from our episode with the bestselling, awards-winning, queen herself, Grace Lin:
Picking a setting where you *want* to spend timeIdentifying as a storyteller vs. a writerWhy she is the 1% of writers who do NOT start their story with characterHer pals persistence and doggednessThe role of faith in writingHow publishing has shape-shifted over the past 30 yearsGrace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” and the Theodor Geisel Honor for “Ling and Ting.” Her novel “When the Sea Turned to Silver” was a National Book Award Finalist and her picture book, “A Big Mooncake for Little Star” was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is also an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio, a reviewer for the NY Times, a video essayist for PBS NewsHour, and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, “The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf,” as well as the co-host of the Book Friends Forever podcast. In 2016, Grace’s art was displayed at the White House where Grace, herself, was recognized by President Obama’s office as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling. In 2022, Grace was awarded the Children’s Literature Legacy Award from the American Library Association.
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Here are some highlights from our conversation with award-winning, bestselling author Liz Garton Scanlon:
📚 Why setting is not relevant only in hsitorical fiction or fantasy and how it impacts every single experience of ourselves and our characters
📚 Setting as context, and reverse engineering elements of craft
📚Honoring the rhythms of being a s l o w writer
📚 Stories emerging in a dreamscape
📚 How what we know about our fledgling stories becomes self-perpetuating; ask the questions questions, follow the pathways
📚 What to do with envy in a publishing career
Liz Garton Scanlon is the author of numerous beloved books for young people, including picture books Frances in the Country; Kate, Who Tamed the Wind; One Dark Bird; the Caldecott honored All the World, and many others, illustrated by some of the very best artists in the business. She's also co-authored several books with her pal Audrey Vernick, including the hilarious Bob, Not Bob, and the upcoming World’s Best Class Plant. Scanlon’s middle grade novels are The Great Good Summer and Lolo's Light, and her delightful chapter book series Bibsy Cross debuted in 2024. Liz has taught at Austin Community College, the Writing Barn, the Writers’ League of Texas, and at countless schools and conferences. She currently serves on the faculty and is faculty co-chair of the Writing for Children and Young Adults program at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, but lives in Austin, Texas.
Liz's Facebook: Liz Garton Scanlon
Liz's IG @LizGardenSalad
Liz's Website: www.LizGartonScanlon.com
EPISODE LINKS:
Snag your copy of Liz's irresistable Bibsy Cross!Joanna's latest A City Full of Santas is out TODAY! Get your copy at your local independent bookstore HERE!That Instagram post we couldn't stop blabbing about.... -
Highlights from this episode include:
Starting with a story and discovering theme along the wayPropping up a story with telephone poles and burying the wires in betweenLeaving space for readers to lean in and discover things for themselvesMinh Lê is the award-winning author of household favorites Drawn Together (winner of the 2019 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature), Real to Me, The Blur, Lift (an Eisner Award nominee). He also writes popular middle grade graphic novels, including Green Lantern books and Enlighten Me. He is also a has been a contributor to a number of national publications including the New York Times, The Horn Book, HuffPost, NPR, Book Riot, and Reading Rainbow, and was until very recently, on the Board of We Need Diverse Books. He's also on the faculty of the Hamline MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults.
IG: @bottomshelfbks
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We're thrilled to introduce our first guest of Season 2, the brilliant author Laurel Snyder. Highlights in this episode include:
Theme bumping against character, setting, plot and more in order to find its pathWriting from the heart in a capitalist systemWriting like a cook, not a bakerWhy the outline changes the minute she starts writingThe realities of loving, and envying!, authors like Kate MessnerEpisode links:
Laurel's episode on the Commonplace Podcast with Rachel Zucker
The Ezra Klein Show podcast episode with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy
Laurel Snyder is the beloved author of many picture books and novels for children, including National Book Award nominee Orphan Island, the Geisel Award winner Charlie & Mouse, and the Sydney Taylor Award winner The Longest Night. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she teaches in Hamline University’s MFA in writing for children and young adults program. She lives in Atlanta with her family and can be found online at laurelsnyder.com.
IG: @ohmylorelai
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In which we share ways we've taken our KLHH guests' advice to live life as inspiration for craft, and attempt to buckle down for this upcoming year - because the year actually follows the academic calendar, right?
We've got things cooking for you this season, and we hope we can find ways to connect with our listeners more. One way you can do that is by dropping your questions for upcoming guests on our KidlitHappy Hour IG! We're excited to be back for Season 2 - we've already got some gems ready for you!
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It’s our final episode of the inaugural season of Kidlit Happy Hour!!! Join us as we surprise one another with favorite moments from each episode, reflect on the season, and talk through where we’re going from here.
We will officially be back in August with our second season that is PACKED TO THE BRIM with brilliant minds across kidlit. In the meantime, be sure to follow the podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen and catch up on any episodes you missed!
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Highlights from our conversation with NYTimes bestselling and award-winning author Claribel A. Ortega:The #1 way to connect to your audienceClaribel's tried and true mantra in publishingRisks and benefits of sharing your writing journey onlineWhy writing your interests into your stories is a smart betThe joys of trolling (not the kind you may be thinking) and why she loves receiving "hate mail" from readers The brilliant approach to making self-promo work for youWhy supporting the writing community is everything, and focusing on online conversation vs. discourseWays to cultivate in-person community What it's like drafting in Windings 3...New York Times Bestselling and award-winning author, Claribel A. Ortega is a former reporter who writes middle-grade and young adult fantasy inspired by her Dominican heritage. When she's not busy turning her obsession with eighties pop culture, magic, and video games into books, she’s co-hosting her podcast Bad Author Book Club. Claribel is a Marvel contributor and has been featured on Buzzfeed, Bustle, Good Morning America and Deadline. Claribel’s NYT Bestselling debut middle grade novel Ghost Squad is being made into a feature film. Her latest book Witchlings (Scholastic) was an Instant NYT and #1 Indie Bestseller. Her graphic novel Frizzy with Rose Bousamra was winner of the 2023 Pura Belpré Award for Children's Text and an Indie Bestseller. Instagram, X and Tiktok @Claribel_OrtegaTwitch @radbunnieWebsite at claribelortega.com
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Some highlights from our conversation with marketing guru Emily Lyman:
Reframing self-promotion as a celebration with your communityIndividuals understand their “brand”Good marketing IS storytellingWhy sharing your values, even if controversial, generates more loyal connections and communityEmpathetic marketingEmily spent nearly a decade working in-house with global publishers such as Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster managing both corporate and title marketing initiatives. Emily is now the CEO and Founder of Branch and Bramble, a digital marketing company. As an award-winning data artist, Emily specializes in blending data with heart and values to create meaningful audience connections for brand partners which include Patagonia, Paramount, and Penguin Random House. She's worked with companies with household names to individual authors just trying to get their books out in the world. She also runs the Mountain Brook Inn in the Catskills in upstate New York.
Branch and Bramble
Book influencer guide
IG @emilylyman
LinkedIn @Emily Lyman
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Here are select highlights from our conversation with NYtimes bestselling, award-winning author Cynthia Leitich Smith:
Story as a circle, gathering, and communal effortFiguring out where your voice can best serve and where your heart beats with hopeBuilding on “and” instead of “vs”Inviting people into the conversation AND being a part of the conversationSocial media dynamics as both tricky and powerfulApproaches to book promotion that start locallyHow we can never surrender progress made by generations beforeOnly asking kids to take on battles we’re willing to engage in ourselvesCynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee) is a NYTimes bestseller, 2024 Southern Mississippi Medallion Winner, and 2021 NSK Neustadt Laureate. Her titles include HEARTS UNBROKEN, which won an American Indian Youth Literature Award, the anthology ANCESTOR APPROVED, an Indigenous PETER PAN retelling titled SISTERS OF THE NEVERSEA, HARVEST HOUSE, which is one of five Bram Stoker Award® Nominees for Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel, and—the BLUE STARS series, also by Kekla Magoon and Molly Murakami. Cynthia looks forward to ON A WING AND A TEAR for middle graders. She is the author-curator of Heartdrum, a Native-focused imprint of HarperChildren’s.
Website: https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/
IG: @cynthialeitichsmith
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Highlights from our conversation with football coach Tavita Pritchard:
Centering relationships over x’s and o’sHow who you are shows up on the tapeHow embracing his family history guides his coaching styleBelieving in your process instead of over-indexing on an individual resultConnections between coaching and the writing processPritchard played quarterback at Stanford University from 2006-09 and joined the coaching staff in 2010. He worked his way from a graduate assistant, to defensive assistant, to running backs coach, to wide receivers coach, to quarterbacks coach, and ultimately assumed the role of offensive coordinator from 2018-22. During Pritchard’s time at Stanford, the team won three Pac-12 titles and two Rose Bowl championships. Pritchard coached a range of remarkable future NFL players, including QB Kevin Hogan, a fifth-round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs, who led the team to the 2015 Pac-12 title and a Rose Bowl win. Pritchard is now in his second year as the Quarterbacks Coach for the NFL’s Washington Commanders. He lives with his wife Caroline Kusin Pritchard (oh, hey!!!) and four kids in Oakton, Virginia.
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Highlights from our conversation with Andrea Davis Pinkney:
- Why riding the Coney Island cyclone is one of the earliest steps to polishing a manuscript
- Relying on an inner circle that we trust with our unpolished work
- Physically dIsmatling a piece and then stitching it back together
- Making homemade audio book read alouds as part of the revision process
- The "page one pact" and “hook, pull, hold"
- How to push part deluding ourselves that we've done our best work
- Deconstructing the greats to find inspiration
Andrea Davis Pinkney is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of more than 50 books for children and adults. Her numerous awards including multiple Coretta Scott King Book Awards, the Boston Globe—Horn Book Honor, and the Parenting Publications gold medal, among other citations. She is a four-time NAACP Image Award nominee, recipient of both the Regina Medal and the Arbuthnot Honor Awar for her singular body of work and distinguished contribution to the field of literature. She's been named one of the “The 25 Most Influential People in Our Children’s Lives” by Children’s Health magazine, is among The Network Journal’s “25 Most Influential Black Women in Business,” and is one the “50 Over 50 Extraordinary Women” and “Women Who Light up the Arts Scene” noted by Good Housekeeping and Woman’s Day magazines. Andrea lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband.
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Highlights from this episode with Lil Miss Hot Mess include:
Why nail polish is like writing a bookWriting for kids through the lens of performance artsWhy theater kids run the worldLil Miss Hot Mess is a drag queen, activist, and children’s book author, known for her work with the #MyNameIs campaign and Drag Queen Story Hour. She has appeared on Saturday Night Live as a backup dancer for Katy Perry with a group of drag and ballroom performers. She is also a university professor with a PhD from NYU.
IG: @lilmisshotmess
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Here are a few highlights from our conversation with Erin Entrada Kelly:
Building stories grounded in a single characterThe gift of writing in your head Why all roads lead back to one word: “organic”The power of writing in longhandWhy novels should be like a blanket, not a quiltFeeding your creative soul, and why it counts as writing timeEmotional tension vs. external tensionRemembering that characters are living, breathing people… not pieces on a chess boardSecrets hidden in her books… hint: Wuthering Heights fans and Trekkies will delight!Erin Entrada Kelly is the award winning journalist turned NYTimes bestselling and award-winning author of a vast range of gorgeous children’s books. Among other honors, she won 2018 Newbery Medal for Hello, Universe, a 2021 Newbery Honor for We Dream of Space, 2017 APALA Award for The Land of Forgotten Girls, and the 2016 Golden Kite Honor Award for Blackbird Fly. Erin is also the author and illustrator of the beloved Marisol Rainey chapter books series. Erin lives in Delaware and teaches in the MFA programs at Hamline University and Rosemont College, and also teaches fiction with Gotham Writers Workshop.
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Here are a few highlights from our conversation with Angel Barreto, one of the most creative and celebrated chefs in the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond:
Staying true to the traditional values of a dish while adding your own voiceHow working within constraints can bring out innovation and creativityHow his family history as sharecroppers influenced his passion for foodWhy being the first person of color to have a #1 restaurant in DC is both remarkable and dishearteningNavigating the tension of appreciation and appropriationWhy the best chefs know the history of the food they cook, even when it makes us uncomfortableThe one scene from TV show The Bear that may have hit too close to home…Angel Barreto is the executive chef and partner of Anju, a contemporary Korean restaurant in D.C. that received three stars from the Washington Post. Barreto has had a culinary career that spans over a decade, with experience in both French and Korean cuisine from institutions like Vermilion, Wolfgang Puck’s The Source and more. Angel studied Korean food and history in Korea after winning a competition sponsored by the Korean embassy and was eventually recruited to Anju. Baretto was a finalist for the RAMMY Award for "Rising Culinary Star of the Year" in 2019 and was named one of Food and Wine's “Best New Chefs” in 2021. He was a James Beard Foundation Award semifinalist for "Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic" in both 2018 and 2019. He is also an advocate for mental health in the hospitality industry and works to eliminate the disparities and toxic work environments that often exist within the kitchen.
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Highlights from this episode with Jerry Craft include:
Why building a story is like building a houseHow eavesdropping enriches characterization… and body odorEvolution of attending book conferences as a fan to becoming a headline authorTricks to building a series that continues to feel fresh and relevantResistance to writing stories with horrific events, especially while centering Black charactersExploring small, mesmerizing details that will crack open a kid’s worldJerry Craft is the NYT bestselling author and illustrator of many books for kids including graphic novels New Kid and Class Act. New Kid was the first graphic novel to win the Newbery Medal, and the only book in history to win the Newbery, the Kirkus Prize, AND the Coretta Scott King Author Award. He has been a copywriter, a cartoonist and creator of the beloved comic strip, Mama's Boyz, and even an editorial director at Sports Illustrated. Jerry was born in Harlem and grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City and now travels the world telling kids and their families about the importance of reading.
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Highlights from this episode with Nic Stone include:
Nic’s famous mnemonic for the writing process, including a behind the scenes sneak peek to her third book in the Dear Martin seriesThe two questions to ask when working on a new storyThe experience of having FUN while writing and how each book is a form of self-explorationReading (rather than avoiding) comp titles during the drafting processLiving an emotionally honest life in order to achieve emotional resonance on the pageNeurodivergence as a gift and the power of centering mental healthThe power (and hilarity) of personifying emotionsPutting people from your real life in books… so you can murder them.Nic Stone is the brilliant, prolific #1 NY Times-bestselling author of young adult fiction, including Dear Martin, Dear Justyce, Odd One Out, Jackpot, her latest Chaos Theory, and her co-authored book with Ibram X. Kendi: How to Be A (Young) Antiracist. Dear Martin was one of Time magazine’s 100 best YA books of all times and won the William C. Morris Award in 2018. The books sequel, Dear Justyce, was an NPR Best Book of the Year. Her middle grade books include, Clean Getaway, Easy Pitch, and Marvel’s Shuri series based on the breakout character from Black Panther.
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Highlights from this episode with Frankie Quiñones include:
Deriving inspiration from witnessing others people’s art and vulnerabilityHow laughter leads to the emotional centerDeveloping confidence to share painful traumas on stage and bring the audience along with himProcess of developing hilarious, detailed and heartfelt characters inspired by his familyTwo overshares that span opposite end of the spectrum, from mortification to celebrationFrankie Quiñones is a stand up comedian, actor, and creator best known for his characters like Creeper, Juanita Carmelita, and countless others. His online videos have millions of views and will have you rolling on the ground laughing. Frankie stars in the new ABC Studios Hulu show "This Fool" and has made appearances on Comedy Central, HBO, TBS, Nickelodeon and more.
IG: @frankiequinones https://www.instagram.com/frankiequinones/
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