Kidlit Happy Hour

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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”

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