In this episode, Arthur A. Levine, Vice President and Publisher of Arthur A. Levine Books, joins us to talk about the authors, topics, and books that he has championed throughout his career. Authors Francisco Stork (Marcelo in the Real World, The Memory of Light) and Mike Jung (Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities, Unidentified Suburban Object) will also join us to talk about their new work.
Guests:
- Arthur A. Levine is Vice President and Publisher of Arthur A. Levine Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc. Throughout his career, Levine has edited and championed an exceptional and diverse group of writers and artists, including Emma Donoghue, J.K. Rowling, Lisa Yee, Jaclyn Moriarty, Shaun Tan, Sundee Frazier, and Dan Santat. The imprint publishes Varian Johnson, Francisco Stork, Eric Gansworth, Sarwat Chadda, and many others. Arthur is also a leading publisher of books-in-translation, introducing American children to such writers as Daniella Carmi (Israel), Josef Holub and Wolfgang Herrndorf (Germany), Luis Sepulveda (Chile), Laura Gallego Garcia (Spain), Silvana Gandolfi (Italy), Nahoko Uehashi and Komako Sakai (Japan), Sylvie Weil (France), Guus Kuijer, Karlijn Stoffels, and Marcel Prins (The Netherlands), and Anne Provoost (Belgium). Arthur A. Levine Books is also recognized for having brought out the first contemporary YA novel translated from the Russian, Playing a Part, an LGBT coming-of age-story by Daria Wilke. Follow @AALBooks on Twitter.
- Francisco X. Stork is the author of the acclaimed Marcelo in the Real World which received five starred reviews and won the Schneider Family Book Award for Teens; The Last Summer of the Death Warriors, which was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection; and Irises. His most recent young adult novel, The Memory of Light, was recently published and has already received four starred reviews. Francisco was born in Monterrey, Mexico, spent his teenage years in El Paso, Texas, and now lives outside Boston, Massachusetts, with his family.
- Mike Jung is the author of Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities and Unidentified Suburban Object. He has contributed to the anthologies Dear Teen Me, Break These Rules, and 59 Reasons to Write. Mike is a library professional by day, a writer by night, and a semi-competent ukulele player during all the times in between. He is proud to be a founding member of the #WeNeedDiverseBooks team. Mike lives in Oakland, California, with his wife and two young children. Find Mike at www.mikejung.com.
Additional resources:
- Learn more about Arthur A. Levine Books here.
- Learn more about We Need Diverse Books here.
- Read an excerpt of The Memory of Light.
Special thanks:
- Music composed by Lucas Elliot Eberl
- Sound mix and editing by Daniel Jordan
- Produced by Megan Kaesshaefer
