Literaticast

Jennifer Laughran
  • 4.9 (227)
  • BOOKS

A literary agent and her friends dish about writing and publishing books for children and young adults.

  1. 12/06/2024

    68: The Great Big Holiday Gift Guide, 2024 Edition

    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 Folklore Bookshop opened just this September. We talk a bit about what it is like to open a bookstore and the special things she and her co-owners are doing to help make their store stand out. More importantly, we give out book recommendations for EVERYONE on your shopping list! If you want to know what it's like to live the dream of opening your own bookstore, start at the top. If you want to dive STRAIGHT into the gift guide, recommendations start around the 21:30 mark. Shownotes, including links to all the books we chatted about, can be found at www.jenniferlaughran.com/literaticast

    1h 18m

  2. 08/26/2024

    67: Authors Against Book Bans with guests David Levithan and Maggie Tokuda-Hall

    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 freedom to read are not coming just from fringe zealots -- they are being embedded into legislation across the country, and that's a BIG problem for anyone who values public libraries, public schools, education, books, and, yanno... FREEDOM. Authors Against Book Bans is a coalition of authors who are fighting the good fight to help change that, and YOU can help! Authors David Levithan and Maggie Tokuda-Hall are two of the founding members of AABB, and they join me to discuss what book banning even is, why and where the problem is blowing up, and what readers and authors can do about it. Show Notes can be found at: https://www.jenniferlaughran.com/literaticast

    1h 4m

  3. 06/19/2024

    66: Hallucinating AI Spider Robots with Martha Brockenbrough

    Author Martha Brockenbrough joins me to discuss her new book FUTURE TENSE: HOW WE MADE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE -- AND HOW IT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING. We're tackling your burning AI-related questions, such as: Should authors and illustrators be worried about AI? HOW worried? Are there ethical ways to utilize AI technology? How can AI help us, and how can it hurt? If Aunt Gladys won't stop posting weird AI images of big-eyed baby peacocks on her Facebook page, should you un-invite her to Thanksgiving dinner? Should we all throw our phones into the ocean and move to an underground bunker? MAYBE! Tune in to find out! Links to all the books we discussed, and more, can be found in the show notes: https://www.jenniferlaughran.com/literaticast

    1h 38m

  4. 05/27/2024

    65: Inside the Art Department, with Art Director Brian LaRossa

    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, and all-around mensch. We tackle a variety of topics, like what IS an Art Director, how does the Art Department work with illustrators, what role do they play in the acquisitions process, how do typography and design affect the reading experience, and a whole lot more. It was a fun conversation, I learned a ton, and I hope you will also have fun listening to it! For full show notes, visit: https://www.jenniferlaughran.com/literaticast

    1h 8m

  5. 01/07/2024

    64: Getting Inspired with Jami Attenberg

    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's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused and Productive All Year Round, as well as lots of other stuff: The differences between writing fiction and memoir, finding your writing compass, getting motivated when the creative well seems to have run dry, how to start writing again if you've been away from it for a while, the importance of building writerly community, plus the #1000wordsofsummer project, cult documentaries, and more! Links to all the books we chatted about are in the shownotes on my website: https://www.jenniferlaughran.com/literaticast

    59 min

  6. 12/23/2023

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

    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 Scholastic, and what it is like being a "mid-career" full-time author. From evolving editorial relationships, to finding a writing process that works, to building an author brand; how have things changed for Alex since their shiny debut era?   Show notes, along with links to all the books we chatted about, are available at https://www.jenniferlaughran.com/literaticast

    50 min

  7. 11/16/2023

    62: The Great Big Holiday Gift Guide, 2023 Edition

    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 for all the readers in your life, or for your own To Be Read pile.  Love these bookseller recs? Support your local independent bookstore! Or, visit Blue Willow Bookshop or Oblong Books! Or, click the links in the show notes to purchase from Bookshop.org and a percentage of the sales goes straight to supporting indie bookstores! Thanks, and happy shopping. :-) For the show notes and links to all the books we chat about in this episode, visit https://www.jenniferlaughran.com/literaticast

    1h 19m

  8. 09/11/2023

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

    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 Bestselling creative powerhouse team. We talk about how they got started, how they work together, and the many (MANY) projects they have out and cooking! Show notes, including links to all the books we talked about, can be found on my website:  https://www.jenniferlaughran.com/literaticast

    1h 6m
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4.9
out of 5
227 Ratings

About

A literary agent and her friends dish about writing and publishing books for children and young adults.

Information

  • Creator
    Jennifer Laughran
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2024
  • Episodes
    67
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Literaticast