Is this the year you've promised yourself you'd finally finish that manuscript, or stop playing on your dang phone so much and get into a healthier writing routine? Author Jami Attenberg joins me to talk about her new book 1000 WORDS: A Writer'

63: End-of-the-Year and Mid-Career, with Alex Gino

Dec 23rd, 2023 50m 16s

Happy Holidays! In this episode, I give a bit of an End-of-the-Year rundown -- what sold this year, what good stuff happened, and what's the mood? Then Middle Grade author Alex Gino joins me to chat about their new book, GREEN, out now from Sch

62: The Great Big Holiday Gift Guide, 2023 Edition

Nov 16th, 2023 1h 18m

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 fo

61: The Dynamic Duo: Raúl the Third and Elaine Bay

Sep 11th, 2023 1h 6m

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 Bestselli

60: From Picture Books to YA, with Phoebe Wahl

Aug 31st, 2023 1h 4m

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 mor

59: Predictions and prognostication with guest librarian Betsy Bird

Jan 18th, 2023 1h

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 mon

58: The Art of Being Present, with author-illustrator Cindy Derby

Dec 9th, 2022 53m 32s

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

57: The Great Big Holiday Gift Guide, 2022

Nov 9th, 2022 1h 8m

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 holid

56: Meet the Agent, with Jemiscoe Chambers-Black

Oct 8th, 2022 1h 4m

We're back from hiatus, and excited to chat with Jemiscoe Chambers-Black. Jem is one of the newer agents at Andrea Brown Literary Agency, and a rising star who has had many awesome deals (and even a NYT Bestseller) in her two years at the agenc

55: Into the Creative Labyrinth with Sara Zarr

Apr 21st, 2022 1h 28m

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

54: Meet the Agent! With Associate Agent Paige Terlip

Mar 31st, 2022 50m 12s

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

53: Keeping it Honest, with guest author Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Feb 19th, 2022 1h

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 i

52: So... What'd We Miss? With Book Expert Alison Morris

Dec 21st, 2021 1h 7m

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

51: The Art of Graphic Novel Adaptation, with guest Gareth Hinds

Nov 16th, 2021 31m 11s

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 a

50: The Holiday Gift Guide, 2021 Edition, with guest bookseller Melissa Posten

Oct 30th, 2021 51m 47s

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 t

49: World Kid Lit Month with Translator and Author Lawrence Schimel

Sep 13th, 2021 55m 29s

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, comi

48: Two Times the Charm, with guest author-illustrator Grace Lin and guest editor Alvina Ling

Dec 24th, 2020 1h

My guests are award-winning author-illustrator Grace Lin and editor-in-chief of Little Brown Books for Young Readers Alvina Ling. Both are accomplished children's book pros, lifelong besties, AND hosts of the popular podcast Book Friends Foreve

47: Feeling Grateful (that 2020 is almost over), with guest agent Molly O'Neill

Nov 28th, 2020 1h 23m

Guest agent Molly O'Neill from Root Literary joins me and we take it back to basics, talking about query letters and debunking some myths. We also dig into what the pandemic has been like for the publishing industry from our points of view. And

46: October is the New December, with Guest Bookseller Suzanna Hermans

Oct 12th, 2020 1h 1m

I check in with my friend Suzanna, the co-owner and buyer for Oblong Books and Music in Rhinebeck and Millerton, NY. She talks about how the bookstore has weathered these wild times, what has changed, and what booksellers have learned -- and to

45: Heroes, Villains, Sidekicks and Kryptonite with guest author Lamar Giles

Sep 14th, 2020 38m 49s

Today we're talking pop culture! If you insert specific pop culture references in your work, how do you walk the line between seeming current now, and possibly making your book seem dated a couple years from now... and how DOES a grownup stay c

44: Literaticast Live! Celebrating the Hudson Valley YA Society's 10th Birthday

Aug 21st, 2020 1h

It's a very special episode: Four amazing authors helped me celebrate the Hudson Valley YA Society's 10th Anniversary and launch Christine Heppermann's new novel in verse WHAT GOES UP, in conjunction with Oblong Books & Music's "Oblong Online"

43: Shaking Up the "Supposed-To-Bes" with author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow

Jul 30th, 2020 58m

As you may have noticed, the podcast took a little hiatus - but we're back, baby! This episode, I give a little "state of the publishing industry" address, where I answer some burning listener questions about how the pandemic is affecting publi

42: Creativity in Crisis with guest author Rebecca Stead

Apr 6th, 2020 1h 21m

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, shu

41: Marketing Mayhem with Hannah Moushabeck

Mar 23rd, 2020 1h 6m

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 wel

40: A Publicist Explains It All For You, with guest Tracy van Straaten

Feb 21st, 2020 1h

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 wor