Minorities in Publishing

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

For the 10th anniversary year of Minorities in Pub, Jenn welcomes recent Newbery honoree and Pura Belpré winning author/illustrator Pedro Martín! Pedro talks about his entry into books from creating greeting cards, how the Mexikid online comic expanded even more with his award-winning book, learning lots about publishing his debut and how to consider young ...

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

For the 10th anniversary year of Minorities in Pub, Jenn welcomes back best-selling & award-winning author Renée Watson for her fourth episode (in a year she has 4 books publishing)! We discussed Renée origins in storytelling as a poet and playwright when she started a performing arts company in high school, her new book of poetry BLACK GIRL YOU ARE ATLAS (...

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

For the 10th anniversary year of Minorities in Pub, Jenn speaks with author Matt Mendez about his new young adult novel, The Broke Hearts, a companion to his debut YA Barely Missing Everything. Jenn and Matt discuss the unrealistic expectations of knowing your path at a young age, male representation for young readers, and parental influence on young people...

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

Jenn speaks with editor and graphic novelist/author Elizabeth Agyemang (Fibbed) about her debut middle grade, finding space for her professional and creative life, how she's learned that incremental progress is still progress in all aspects of our work, and the inherent struggles creators of color face when the expectations are not balanced (or unbiased). 

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[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

Jenn speaks with Candlewick publicity manager Jamie Tan (a 2020 PW StarWatch honoree and CBC Diversity Achievement Awardee) and former Candlewick outreach manager Ally Russell (whose debut middle grade It Comes From Trees pubs in 2024). They discuss working outside of NYC in the publishing industry and the reality of what hybrid work has looked like for t...

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

Jenn speaks with debut novelist Namrata Poddar about her book Border Less (longlisted for the 2022 Center of Fiction First Novel Prize), pursuing publication with an small press versus a Big 5 publisher, the "classic" question of marketability versus craft that BIPOC writers especially face when publishing their work, and one's intentionality in not only th...

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

Jenn speaks with TV writer and journalist Kashana Cauley author of the debut novel The Survivalists out now from Soft Skull Press. Kashana talks about the many drafts before this novel came to fruition, how juggling several career paths helped her stay on the path to writing, and how this novel's themes apply to what she's seen and observed about New York C...

[This interview was conducted via Zoom with several participants, so there may be some audio variation.]

Ten days into the HarperCollins Union strike, four employees and union members--Doris, Genessee, Ahmunet, and Parrish--spoke to Jenn about the requests the union has made to HarperCollins, how to support those on strike, on why they believe in the work they do as both publishing professionals and in being vocal on pushing for a ...

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

Jenn speaks with associate production editor, Kaitlyn San Miguel, about her switch from editorial to production in children's lit, adapting to a white collar and white dominant work space, and why the production department spoke to her love of books. 

[Transcript of this episode can be found on the Episodes page of the podcast Tumblr. You can sign up for th...

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

Jenn speaks with production editor, Carla Benton, about the specifics of the role of the production editor in trade publishing, how more remote positions may help with representation in the publishing landscape, and how some may look into freelancing by using social media to connect with other production editors in the industry. 

[Transcript of this episode...

[This interview was conducted online and is an overseas conversation so there may be some audio variation.]

Jenn speaks with illustrator/author, Kate Gavino about her latest graphic novel A Career in Books will publish on August 2nd. Kate discusses how life imitated art--and was fictionalized--for her latest book, the experiences that led her to leave the industry and pursue life as an artist, inequality in the workplace economical...

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation. Please note there's also a dog in the background.]

Jenn speaks with former senior social media manager, In the Books IGLive host, and writer Zakiya Jamal about the role of social media depts at book publishers, her recent departure, and the importance of salary transparency in the workplace for establishing equity. 

[Transcript of this episode can be found o...

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

New York Times bestselling author, Samira Ahmed, speaks to Jenn about her new YA novel Hollow Fires, the reasons why diversity panels should always have been craft discussion panels, how her past experience dictates her approach to writing, and how much she loves engaging with young readers for pertinent discussions as they inherit the world we live in. 

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[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.] The many award-winning author/illustrator Erin Entrada Kelly author of the new middle grade novel, Those Kids From Fawn Creek. She discusses her new book, reading Goodreads reviews, what aspects of the business part of publishing makes her happy, productivity, and uplifting the writing community as a core tenet of an author's role.

[Transcript of this episo...

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

Bethany C. Morrow discusses her writing practice of prioritizing Black and Brown femmes, the ways that canonization can (and has) erased marginalized people and stories, and the ways in which stories develop for her in terms of knowing characters & audiences. 

[Transcript of this episode can be found on the Episodes page of the podcast Tumblr. You can sign ...

[This interview was conducted online so there may be some audio variation.]

Jenn speaks with debut author of the novel Brown Girls, Daphne Palasi Andreades about selling (and pubbing) a book during a pandemic, her MFA experience as a BIPOC, and tackling "unconventional" narratives in her novel. 

[Transcript of this episode can be found on the Episodes page of the podcast Tumblr. You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with j...

[This interview was conducted via Zoom so there may be some audio variation.]

Jenn speaks with Electric Literature EiC Denne Michele Norris and freelance development/copyeditor Jon Reyes about the travails of publishing over 2021 including continuous calls for true efforts of inclusion & equity, how lack of efforts leads to a sustainment of continually problematic & harmful systems, and we also delve into their respective current +...

This month, Jenn speaks with former colleague and Assistant Art Director for young adult covers, Regina Flath about the arduous and import work of design, creating & leading super helpful DEI initiatives in the workplace, and the discussions that have happened around BIPOC rep on covers.

[Transcript of this episode can be found on the Episodes page of the podcast Tumblr. You can sign up for the MiP monthly newsletter with job listi...

(Please note this interview was recorded via phone so audio quality may be muffled.)

Jenn speaks with Professor Anton Treuer about the young reader's edition of his well-known work Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask and his dedication to education and empathy in recognizing Indigenous history and society. The importance of understanding perspectives remains at the forefront of the work Prof. Treuer d...