Kidlit Happy Hour

Ep. 31: Character: Jasmine Warga on Robots, Geese, Turtles and the Alchemy of Writing Oct 31, 2024

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 it
The necessity of internal contractions
Becoming a collector of ideas and moments throughout the drafting and revision process
How images drive her plotting process
The role of alchemy in storytelling
The consistent theme at the root of her stories, and writing for our inner 10-year-olds
The art of crafting the twist

Jasmine 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.

Ep. 30: Character: Adib Khorram on Keeping Your Mental Filing Cabinet Full and Why NSYNC Transcends Backstreet Boys Oct 22, 2024

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' idiosyncrasies
Impact of theater school on character-building
Operating as a subconsciously-driven artist
How his starting place for creating character differs from other authors
Prioritization of character vs plot vs world building
Revision as the time to sharpen or dull edges of character
Why you may want to think twice before eating a D.C. taco from a gas station

ADIB 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

Ep. 29: Character: Randy Ribay on Asking the Right Questions and Graphing Relationships in Writing Oct 10, 2024

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 life
Writing towards ideas rather than adhering to a firm outline
Doing the work of finding your own process
What compels a reader to take off their own mask
The genius of Succession’s character building
Why Caroline gets all Randy’s royalties on the next book

Randy 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

Ep. 28: Setting: Grace Lin on Writing Where You Want to Be and the Myth of the "Real Writers" Sep 24, 2024

Highlights from our episode with the bestselling, awards-winning, queen herself, Grace Lin:

Picking a setting where you *want* to spend time
Identifying as a storyteller vs. a writer
Why she is the 1% of writers who do NOT start their story with character
Her pals persistence and doggedness
The role of faith in writing
How publishing has shape-shifted over the past 30 years

Grace 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.

Ep. 27: Setting: Liz Garton Scanlon on Creating Context and Chasing Stories Through a Dreamscape Sep 10, 2024

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....

Ep 26: Theme: Minh Lê on Burying Telephone Wires and Leaving Space for Connection Aug 27, 2024

Highlights from this episode include:

Starting with a story and discovering theme along the way
Propping up a story with telephone poles and burying the wires in between
Leaving space for readers to lean in and discover things for themselves

Minh 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

Ep 25: Theme: Laurel Snyder on Maintaining an 8 year-old Brain and Creating in the Face of Capitalism Aug 20, 2024

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 path
Writing from the heart in a capitalist system
Writing like a cook, not a baker
Why the outline changes the minute she starts writing
The realities of loving, and envying!, authors like Kate Messner

Episode 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

Ep 24: We're back! Caroline and Joanna Kick off Season 2 Aug 13, 2024

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!

Ep. 23: Reflections: Joanna and Caroline on Taking Leaps That Make No Sense and Our Favorite Moments From This Past Year Jun 25, 2024

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!

Ep. 22: Finding Audience: Claribel A. Ortega on Cultivating Real Community and No "Little Book Energy" May 15, 2024

Highlights from our conversation with NYTimes bestselling and award-winning author Claribel A. Ortega:

The #1 way to connect to your audience
Claribel's tried and true mantra in publishing
Risks and benefits of sharing your writing journey online
Why writing your interests into your stories is a smart bet
The 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 you
Why supporting the writing community is everything, and focusing on online conversation vs. discourse
Ways 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_Ortega Twitch @radbunnie Website at claribelortega.com

Ep. 21 Finding Audience: Emily Lyman on Reframing Self-promo and Why Good Marketing is Storytelling May 07, 2024

Some highlights from our conversation with marketing guru Emily Lyman:

Reframing self-promotion as a celebration with your community
Individuals understand their “brand”
Good marketing IS storytelling
Why sharing your values, even if controversial, generates more loyal connections and community
Empathetic marketing

Emily 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

Ep. 20: Finding Audience: Cynthia Leitich Smith on Story as a Circle and Making Magic Out of Nothing Apr 03, 2024

Here are select highlights from our conversation with NYtimes bestselling, award-winning author Cynthia Leitich Smith:

Story as a circle, gathering, and communal effort
Figuring out where your voice can best serve and where your heart beats with hope
Building on “and” instead of “vs”
Inviting people into the conversation AND being a part of the conversation
Social media dynamics as both tricky and powerful
Approaches to book promotion that start locally
How we can never surrender progress made by generations before
Only asking kids to take on battles we’re willing to engage in ourselves

Cynthia 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

Ep. 19: Polishing Story: Tavita Pritchard on Trusting the Process and Letting 5-Year-Olds Feel Their Feelings Mar 19, 2024

Highlights from our conversation with football coach Tavita Pritchard:

Centering relationships over x’s and o’s
How who you are shows up on the tape
How embracing his family history guides his coaching style
Believing in your process instead of over-indexing on an individual result
Connections between coaching and the writing process

Pritchard 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.

Ep. 18: Polishing Story: Andrea Davis Pinkney on Screaming on the Cyclone and Our Page One Pact Mar 05, 2024

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.

Ep 17: Polishing Story: Lil Miss Hot Mess on Doing Nails, Dolly Parton, and Killing Our Darlings Feb 20, 2024

Highlights from this episode with Lil Miss Hot Mess include:

Why nail polish is like writing a book
Writing for kids through the lens of performance arts
Why theater kids run the world

Lil 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

Ep. 16: How to Build a Story: Erin Entrada Kelly on Writing Organically and Trapping Guinea Pigs in a Well Feb 08, 2024

Here are a few highlights from our conversation with Erin Entrada Kelly:

Building stories grounded in a single character
The gift of writing in your head
Why all roads lead back to one word: “organic”
The power of writing in longhand
Why novels should be like a blanket, not a quilt
Feeding your creative soul, and why it counts as writing time
Emotional tension vs. external tension
Remembering that characters are living, breathing people… not pieces on a chess board
Secrets 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.

Ep. 15: How to Build a Story: Angel Barreto on Making Samgyetang and That One Scene From the Bear Jan 31, 2024

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 voice
How working within constraints can bring out innovation and creativity
How his family history as sharecroppers influenced his passion for food
Why being the first person of color to have a #1 restaurant in DC is both remarkable and disheartening
Navigating the tension of appreciation and appropriation
Why the best chefs know the history of the food they cook, even when it makes us uncomfortable
The 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.

Ep. 14: How to Build A Story: Jerry Craft on Writing Authentic Feel-Goods and Characters with Body Odor Jan 23, 2024

Highlights from this episode with Jerry Craft include:

Why building a story is like building a house
How eavesdropping enriches characterization… and body odor
Evolution of attending book conferences as a fan to becoming a headline author
Tricks to building a series that continues to feel fresh and relevant
Resistance to writing stories with horrific events, especially while centering Black characters
Exploring small, mesmerizing details that will crack open a kid’s world

Jerry 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.

Ep. 13: How to Build A Story: Nic Stone on Walking Barefoot in Her Yard and Personifying Emotions Jan 16, 2024

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 series
The two questions to ask when working on a new story
The experience of having FUN while writing and how each book is a form of self-exploration
Reading (rather than avoiding) comp titles during the drafting process
Living an emotionally honest life in order to achieve emotional resonance on the page
Neurodivergence as a gift and the power of centering mental health
The power (and hilarity) of personifying emotions
Putting 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.

Ep. 12: Finding Ways into Story: Frankie Quiñones on Moving Past Fart Jokes to Sharing His Truth Dec 28, 2023

Highlights from this episode with Frankie Quiñones include:

Deriving inspiration from witnessing others people’s art and vulnerability
How laughter leads to the emotional center
Developing confidence to share painful traumas on stage and bring the audience along with him
Process of developing hilarious, detailed and heartfelt characters inspired by his family
Two overshares that span opposite end of the spectrum, from mortification to celebration

Frankie 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/

Ep 11: Finding Ways into Story: Yuyi Morales on Getting Lost and Feeling Your Way Home Nov 28, 2023

Highlights from this episode with Yuyi Morales include:

The impact of environment on storytelling
Reframing what it means to write and work
Toggling between anguish and joy in the writing process
Community as a necessary guide to story
How the rampant dehumanization during a certain presidential candidacy impacted her decision to write her own immigration story... and invite others to tell their own
Power plants and finding the story within

Yuyi Morales is the NYT bestselling, award-winning author and illustrator of beloved children's books, including Dreamers, Bright Star, Nino Wrestles the World, and so many more. She weaves artistic mediums with tenderness and heart, using everything from yarn to photography to ink drawings to animate her stories. Yuyi's groundbreaking work has received awards that include: the Jane Addams Book Award, the Christopher Award, and six prestigious Pura Belpre Medals. Yuyi was also the first Latina artist to ever receive the illustrious Caldecott honor in 2015 for Viva Frida.

IG: @yuyimorales

Ep 10: Finding Ways into Story: Christina Soontornvat on Listening to Songs 500 Times and Earning Endings Nov 14, 2023

Highlights from this episode with Christina Soontornvat include:

Crying on planes and the power of music to unlock stories
Giving ideas the time and space to gestate (like babies!)
Feeling a way through story with intuition
The tension between confidence, pressure, and a constant pull to make other people happy

Christina Soontornvat is the beloved author of over a dozen books for children of all ages. Among countless other awards, Christina has received three Newbery Honors. The first two were both in 2021 for her middle grade fantasy A Wish in the Dark as well as her non-fiction account of the cave rescue of the Thai boys' soccer team, All Thirteen. She earned her third Newbery honor just this past year for her dazzling fantasy adventure The Last Mapmaker. She is also a former mechanical engineer and educator, and an all-around brilliant human and activist.

IG: @csoontornvat

Ep 9: Writing Truth: Karla Souza on the Visceral Truths and an Asymmetry of Power Nov 01, 2023

Highlights from this episode with award-winning actress Karla Souza, who you may recognize from her starring roles in hit shows How to Get Away with Murder, Home Economics, or film La Caida (Dive) include:

Feeling visceral alarm bells of truth in the body
Coping with the backlash of truth-telling; her #metoo realities
Finding courage to continue telling the truth in the face of asymmetrical power systems
An overshare that will have you spitting out your drink in laughter

Karla Souza is an award-winning writer and actress with starring roles in How to Get Away with Murder, Home Economics, and Instructions Not Included, the highest grossing Spanish film to open in North America, and Nostros Los Nobles, one of the highest grossing Mexican films of all time! Her latest film, La Caida (Dive) is one of tthe msot watched movies on Amazon Prime and has been nominated for numerous Ariel Awards - the Mexican equivalent of the Oscars - including Best Picture and Best Actress.

IG: @karlasouza

Ep 8: Writing Truth: Carlos Andrés Gómez on Saying Things Everyone Else is Too Terrified to Say Oct 25, 2023

Highlights from this episode with award-winning poet, speaker, actor, and equity and inclusion strategist, Carlos Andrés Gómez include:

Being briefly broken and breaking through creative walls
Uncovering truth through writing
Wrestling constantly with self-deception and truth
Learning to get vulnerable

Carlos Andrés Gómez is a Colombian American poet, speaker, actor, and equity and inclusion strategist from New York City. He is the author of Fractures, winner of the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry, Hijito, winner of the Broken River Prize and a #1 SPD bestseller, and the memoir Man Up: Reimagining Modern Manhood, released by Penguin Random House. A star of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, TV One’s Verses and Flow, and Spike Lee’s #1 box office movie Inside Man with Denzel Washington, Carlos’ honors include the Sandy Crimmins National Prize for Poetry, Atlanta Review International Poetry Prize, Foreword INDIES Gold Medal, and the International Book Award. A genre-transcending multi-hyphenate, he partnered with John Legend on Senior Orientation, a program to counteract bullying and champion inclusive masculinity among high school students.

IG: @carlosaglive

Website: https://carloslive.com/

Ep 7: Writing Truth: Liz Kleinrock on Representation as Low-Hanging Fruit and Finding Our North Star Oct 18, 2023

Highlights from this episode with acclaimed educator, consultant, author, and antibias antiracist facilitator Liz Kleinrock include:

Distinguishing truth and fact, holding multiple truths, intersectionality, and nuance
Representation is the low-hanging fruit; moving toward affirmation
The consequences of speaking truth and holding on to our North Stars

Liz Kleinrock is an author, educator, consultant and antibias antiracist facilitator. She received the Learning for Justice’s Award for Excellence in 2018, delivered a TED Talk called “Education Everywhere” that’s been watched by millions, and released her bestselling Start Here Start Now: A Guide to Antibias and Antiracist Work In Your School Community that informs practice in schools all across the country. Liz is a force for good and has her fingerprints absolutely everywhere, from her platform @teachandtransform, to working with companies and organizations like North Face, the Smithsonian Museum of African America History and Culture and Central Synagogue in NYC.

IG: @teachandtransform

Website: https://www.teachandtransform.org/

Come and Join Us!: Liz's debut picture book!

Eyes that Weave the Worlds Wonders: Liz and Joanna's book (out 1/23/24)

What Jewish Looks Like: Liz and Caroline's book (out in 2024, stay tuned for link!)

Ep 6: Writing Truth: Maggie Tokuda-Hall on Trashing Drafts and Caping for the Giving Tree Oct 03, 2023

Highlights from this episode with acclaimed author Maggie Tokuda-Hall include:

Writing protagonists that are not role models
The magic of the 25k word count and refusing to string along dead writing and trashing drafts
Her thoughts on determining what are *her* stories to tell
Why telling truth to kids matters and untangling what "age appropriate" means
Mermaids, serial killers, and another perspective on The Giving Tree
An overshare that should empower us all to say NOPE!

Maggie Tokuda-Hall is the author of many books, including Love in the Library, and her debut young adult novel The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea, which was named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR, Kirkus, School Library Journal and Book Page. Maggie is relentlessly bold in her writing and her truth-telling, and is an absolute force in the world of kid lit and beyond.

IG and TikTok: @maggietokudahall

Website: https://www.prettyokmaggie.com/

Discussion around the Scholastic censorship controversy

Ep. 5: What is Story? Reflections with Joanna and Caroline Sep 26, 2023

It’s just the two us of us on today’s new episode!!! We are reflecting on the question that guided the first three interviews of the season: What is Story? Here are some highlights:

🎙️A few beloved, and perhaps distinguishing, qualities of kidlit creators

🎙️Wondering as a precursor to liberation

🎙️Showing (vs. telling) a story’s relevance

🎙️The beauty and challenges of podcasting so far

🎙️More overshares…!

🎙️Introducing our NEXT guiding question, which kicks off next Tuesday, October 3rd

Anddddd.... Joanna’s latest book SAY MY NAME, illustrated by Kha Le, is out in the world TODAY! We hope you’ll snag your own copy at your local indie or library, leave a review and share online.

Order your copy of SAY MY NAME!

Ep 4: What is Story? Michelle Li Says You Learn Something, You Feel Something, You Do Something Sep 19, 2023

Highlights from this episode with award-winning news anchor and founder of The Very Asian Foundation include:

Going viral for being "very Asian"
Relevance making a story AND stories making things relevant
Navigating the tension of truth-telling in the news

Michelle is a news anchor and reporter at KSDK, the NBC affiliate. Michelle’s reporting has been honored with a national Peabody Award, four national Murrows, and multiple regional Emmys– often for covering topics related to race or gender inequities. Her work has been on CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, and The Washington Post. Michelle's went viral in her response to a racist voicemail, which became a global movement that became The Very Asian Foundation, which focuses on shining a light on all walks of Asian life through advocacy and celebration.

IG: @michellelitv

Website: https://www.michellelitv.com/

The Very Asian Foundation

That viral video

Ep. 3: What is Story? Donna Barba Higuera and Drinking Every Time You Hear the Word ”Wonder” Sep 05, 2023

A few (of the many!) highlights from this episode with New York Times bestselling, Newbery Medal and Pura Belpré Award-winner Donna Barba Higuera include:

🎙️ The value of wondering, and whether being a "wonderer" is inherent or learned

🎙️ Writing for ourselves and other members of the “nerd herd” (not critics)

🎙️ Integrating emotional facets of oral storytelling into the written form

Donna Barba Higuera has created some of the most beloved characters and stories across age groups in recent years, including her Newbery Award winning THE LAST CUENTISTA, LUPE WONG WON'T DANCE, EL CUCUY IS SCARED, TOO and THE YELLOW HANDKERCHIEF. Her highly anticipated ALEBRIJES releases on October 3rd.

IG: @donnabarbahiguera

Website: www.dbhiguera.com

Ep 2: What is Story? Dan Santat on Holding Multiple Complexities and Harry Winkler Aug 22, 2023

Highlights from this episode with Caldecott medalist, Dan Santat include:

Name dropping gone wrong
Creating emotional resonance
The reality behind shiny medals

Dan Santat has published some of the most celebrated and influential and bestselling children's books including DRAWN TOGETHER, AFTER THE FALL, THE AQUANAUTS, and FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING, and Caldecott medal winner, THE ADVENTURES OF BEEKLE. He created the show, The Replacements for Disney Channel, has illustrated for clients like The Wall Street Journal.

IG: @dsantat

Website: https://sites.google.com/g.risd.org/dansantat/home

Ep 1: Introducing Kidlit Happy Hour Aug 07, 2023

Welcome to the very first episode of Kidlit Happy Hour. HUZZAH!!! In this episode, you'll learn more about our big, juicy vision for this podcast. Some highlights include…

How we became friends (Hint: donuts and sprinklers)
Our path to podcasting and where we hope it leads
The first overshares of the season (no happy hour is complete without one!)

We are so thrilled you are here and hope you will stay to build this space with us.

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