Literaticast
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
68: The Great Big Holiday Gift Guide, 2024 Edition
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It's the best time of year - HOLIDAY BOOK SHOPPING TIME! I'm joined by author and newly minted bookstore owner Lindsey Leavitt, whose gorgeous store F...
67: Authors Against Book Bans with guests David Levithan and Maggie Tokuda-Hall
26 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The number of books being banned and challenged in schools and libraries has increased exponentially in the USA in recent years. These attacks on our ...
66: Hallucinating AI Spider Robots with Martha Brockenbrough
19 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Author Martha Brockenbrough joins me to discuss her new book FUTURE TENSE: HOW WE MADE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE -- AND HOW IT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING. W...
65: Inside the Art Department, with Art Director Brian LaRossa
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're back from hiatus with special guest Brian LaRossa, who in addition to being an Executive Art Director at Scholastic, is an educator, pizza-maker...
64: Getting Inspired with Jami Attenberg
07 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 wr...
63: End-of-the-Year and Mid-Career, with Alex Gino
23 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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? The...
62: The Great Big Holiday Gift Guide, 2023 Edition
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
61: The Dynamic Duo: Raúl the Third and Elaine Bay
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 artist...
60: From Picture Books to YA, with Phoebe Wahl
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
59: Predictions and prognostication with guest librarian Betsy Bird
18 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 g...
58: The Art of Being Present, with author-illustrator Cindy Derby
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator and author Cindy Derby joins me to discuss her unusual path to an illustration career, getting inspired, dealing w...
57: The Great Big Holiday Gift Guide, 2022
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 N...
56: Meet the Agent, with Jemiscoe Chambers-Black
08 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
55: Into the Creative Labyrinth with Sara Zarr
21 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ha...
54: Meet the Agent! With Associate Agent Paige Terlip
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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'...
53: Keeping it Honest, with guest author Maggie Tokuda-Hall
19 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
My guest today is author Maggie Tokuda-Hall, who writes picture books, graphic novels, YA, fiction, non-fiction... basically a little bit of everythin...
52: So... What'd We Miss? With Book Expert Alison Morris
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 p...
51: The Art of Graphic Novel Adaptation, with guest Gareth Hinds
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this month is graphic novelist Gareth Hinds. He's famous for doing amazing Graphic Novel reinterpretations of classics like the Odyssey, the ...
50: The Holiday Gift Guide, 2021 Edition, with guest bookseller Melissa Posten
30 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
49: World Kid Lit Month with Translator and Author Lawrence Schimel
13 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ab...
48: Two Times the Charm, with guest author-illustrator Grace Lin and guest editor Alvina Ling
24 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
My guests are award-winning author-illustrator Grace Lin and editor-in-chief of Little Brown Books for Young Readers Alvina Ling. Both are accomplishe...
47: Feeling Grateful (that 2020 is almost over), with guest agent Molly O'Neill
28 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
46: October is the New December, with Guest Bookseller Suzanna Hermans
12 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
45: Heroes, Villains, Sidekicks and Kryptonite with guest author Lamar Giles
14 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
44: Literaticast Live! Celebrating the Hudson Valley YA Society's 10th Birthday
21 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's a very special episode: Four amazing authors helped me celebrate the Hudson Valley YA Society's 10th Anniversary and launch Christine Heppermann'...
43: Shaking Up the "Supposed-To-Bes" with author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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" add...
42: Creativity in Crisis with guest author Rebecca Stead
06 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 a...
41: Marketing Mayhem with Hannah Moushabeck
23 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ab...
40: A Publicist Explains It All For You, with guest Tracy van Straaten
21 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 w...
39: Career Building with guest author Kate Messner
19 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
My guest this week is Kate Messner -- the perfect person to discuss Career Building! Over the past decade she's published over 30 children's books, an...
38: The Great Big Holiday Gift Guide, 2019
02 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We welcome the return of the Great Big Holiday Gift Guide, 2019 edition! I interview three independent booksellers from various parts of the country, ...
37: Nonfic November with guest editor Kandace Coston
24 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
36: Behind the Book: ROAR LIKE A DANDELION
17 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to an all-new feature on the Literaticast: BEHIND THE BOOK, in which we take a deep dive into the backstory behind the making of one fascinati...
35: Navigating the Pre-Debut Wilderness, with guest author Stephanie Lucianovic
06 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 know...
34: For the Littlest Littles, with guest editor Meredith Mundy
19 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
My guest is Executive Editor of the Abrams Appleseed imprint, Meredith Mundy. We chat about all things "little-kid" book related -- including the diff...
33. Ask the Agent Live! (kinda) with guest agent Jen Rofé
26 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It's a Summertime Bonus Episode! ABLA Senior Agent Jen Rofé joins me to answer burning listener questions about queries, submission strategies, worki...
32: Pride is NOT just for June, with guest Author and Blogger, Dahlia Adler
05 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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, ...
31: Launching a Fledgling Imprint with Guest Editor Namrata Tripathi
13 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
30: Drawing the Lines with guest Art Director Laurent Linn
27 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
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 Dir...
29: Meg Medina Changes Gears
13 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This episode, I'm pleased to welcome newly minted Newbery Medalist Meg Medina. We chat about world building in realistic fiction, writing large casts ...
28: Story Genius with guest author and writing coach Lisa Cron
23 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
I sit down with Lisa Cron, the author of STORY GENIUS and WIRED FOR STORY - she is chock full of advice to make your next novel truly unputdownable. A...
27: Midwinter Fever, with guest School-Library Marketing guru Jenny Choy
20 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
I'm getting ready to head to Seattle for ALA Midwinter. So what even IS that? In this episode, I speak to Jenny Choy, the Associate Director for Schoo...
26: The Great Big Holiday Gift Guide, 2018
30 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
I chat with four awesome booksellers about their top children's and YA book picks for holiday gift giving (and my own picks, too!) -- some you've prob...
25: Ms Martha goes to Washington, with guest author Martha Brockenbrough
22 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Martha Brockenbrough returns to discuss her latest book of YA Nonfiction, UNPRESIDENTED, a biography/documentary about the life and times of Donald Tr...
24: Ask an Editor, with Emma Dryden
18 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Editorial consultant Emma D. Dryden has a storied career in children's publishing. She sat down with me to talk about revision, as well as the differe...
23: Schmagents get a Schmackdown with guest agent Kelly Sonnack
13 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Guest agent Kelly Sonnack joins me to talk about best practices, agent-wise... and WTH are some bad agents even DOING? Also we answer listener questio...
22: Getting Biographical with Lesa Cline-Ransome
16 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Guest author Lesa Cline-Ransome gets into it about writing nonfiction (particularly biographical) picture books. Like, how does she choose subjects? H...
21: Mochi Pounding Madness with Guest Author Debbi Michiko Florence
22 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Author Debbi Michiko Florence joins us to chat about her winding path to publication, and her awesome chapter book series, JASMINE TOGUCHI, the fourth...
20: Burning the Candle at Both Ends, with Dan Santat
17 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Award-winning author-illustrator Dan Santat joins me to discuss time management, illustrating vs authoring, portfolio-making, the World Cup, killers f...
19: The 30,000 Foot View, with guest author Erin Dionne
24 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
I give some recommendations for my favorite books for writers. Then my guest, middle grade novelist and English professor Erin Dionne, chats with me a...
18: Buy the Book, with guest book buyer Suzanna Hermans
09 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
I'm joined by Suzanna Hermans, from Oblong Books & Music in New York's Hudson Valley. She talks about how she curates the selection at Oblong -- what ...
17: Double Trouble, with guest authors Amy Spalding and Justina Ireland
27 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It's a jam-packed double episode featuring two authors whose YA books are polar opposites... except for the fact that they are both TERRIFIC... and th...
16: Rights, Italian style, with guest agent Kathleen Ortiz
11 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Every year in Spring, children's agents descend on a small city in Italy for the largest international children's-only book fair in the world. But it'...
15: Going All Out with guest author / anthologist Saundra Mitchell
26 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
YA author Saundra Mitchell joins me to chat about her new anthology, ALL OUT: THE NO-LONGER SECRET STORIES OF QUEER TEENS THROUGHOUT THE AGES. ALL OUT...
14: Gold Star Gossip with guest librarian Lisa von Drasek
26 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Brilliant and opinionated Lisa von Drasek joins me to talk about Kerlan Collection, the Caldecott and Newbery Awards, and much more. Lisa tries not ...
13: Cuppa and a Catch-Up with guest agent, Molly Ker Hawn
13 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Superagent Molly Ker Hawn, head of the U.K. office of The Bent Agency, joins me for a proper chinwag about the U.K. vs U.S. book market. Along the wa...
12: The Great Big Holiday Gift Guide, 2017
16 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I spoke to four amazing children's booksellers across the country and got their top picks for holiday giving. Obviously this is for AFTER you've alrea...
11: The Hero is You. (Yeah, YOU!), with guest editor Kendra Levin
10 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I sit down with editor Kendra Levin, who is also a life-coach for writers, to talk NaNoWriMo, among other things. She uses the Hero's Journey as not j...
10: Getting Graphic with Guest Editor Cassandra Pelham Fulton and Guest Artist Nilah Magruder
27 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I chat with Scholastic/Graphix editor Cassandra Pelham Fulton about how graphic novels are created from the editorial POV... and then with creator Nil...
8: Be Careful What You Tell Yourself, with guest author Jess Keating
17 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
This week's show is jammed full of goodies. I explore the topic of Authenticity, then talk with guest author and self-marketing guru Jess Keating abou...
7: All for Love with guest author Martha Brockenbrough
03 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I talk about the qualities of my "ideal author" besides, like, writing awesome books. Author Martha Brockenbrough joins me to rap about such topics a...
6: So Poseidon Walks in to a Critique Group... with guest author David Elliott
21 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I rant a bit about "girl books" and "boy books", then I am joined by David Elliott, the brilliant author of BULL, the ORQ series, and much more. His b...
5. Agents vs Schmagents, with guest agent Kate Testerman
13 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I give the skinny on how to spot SCHMAGENTS in the wild - aka scammy and scummy fake "agents" who take naive writers for a ride. Then superagent Kate...
4: Scandals, Scoundrels, and Badass Broads, with guest YA author Mackenzi Lee
07 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
YA author Mackenzi Lee joins me to talk about, well, almost everything, from book deal depression to hitting milestones like the NYT Bestseller List. ...
3: Take Me Down to Publicity City, with guest publicist Saraciea Fennell
30 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I talk about what I like to see in an author's website. And Publicist Extraordinaire Saraciea Fennell talks to me about the Secret World of Publicists...
2: Conference Tips and Picture Book Tricks with editor Melissa Manlove
24 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
I share some of my top tips for writers attending big conferences. And Chronicle Books senior editor Melissa Manlove joins me to give advice about wr...
1: We Are All Imposters, with guest author Laurel Snyder
17 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I answer my most frequently asked question: What the heck is a literary agent, anyway? And author and professor Laurel Snyder is o...