First Draft With Sarah Enni

First Draft Episode #267: The Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From Team: Author Jennifer de Leon, Agent Faye Bender, and Editor Caitlyn Dlouhy A conversation between the entire team behind debut young adult novel Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From: author Jennifer de Leon, Literary agent Faye Bender, partner and founder of The Book Group, and Caitlyn Dlouhy, Vice President & Editorial Director–Caitlyn Dlouhy Books at Simon & Schuster. This conversation was held as part of A Mighty Blaze’s YA Weekend, and many thanks to Joseph Moldover (author of Every Last Breath) for all the help putting that entire celebration together. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Francisco X. Stork, author of Illegal, Marcelo in the Real World, and more Natalie C. Anderson, author of City of Saints and Thieves and Let’s Go Swimming on Doomsday Desmond Hall, debut author of forthcoming YA novel Your Corner Dark 2020–2021 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Jason Reynolds, whose many books include All American

First Draft Episode #266: Adele Griffin Adele Griffin, two-time National Book Award honoree and author of almost thirty books for Young Adult and middle grade readers, including The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone, The Becket List, and Sons of Liberty and Where I want to Be. Today’s episode is brought to you by Caveda, which leads group focus sessions for a worldwide community everyday on Zoom. First Draft listeners can try a free, three hour cave with promo code "FIRSTDRAFT" at caveday.org/firstdraft This episode is sponsored by Revision Season, a seven-week, virtual master class in revising your novel, led by Elana K. Arnold, author of Printz honor winner Damsel and National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and more. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Agatha Christie, author of Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, and more Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery OMG Book Festival Elizabeth Eulberg, author of The Great Shelby Holmes, Past

Arthur Levine is the legendary children’s book editor, including of series such as Harry Potter and The Golden Compass. He is founder of publishing house Levine Querido, and formerly President and Publisher at Arthur A. Levine Books at Scholastic, as well as author of picture books, most recently The Hanukkah Magic of Nate Gadol. I used portions of Arthur’s interview in the Track Changes: Inequality in Publishing episode, and I encourage you all to listen. This episode is brought to you by Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar, a debut YA novel that blends shades of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust and a breathtaking landscape of Hindu mythology into a radiant contemporary fantasy. Available wherever books are sold now! This episode is sponsored by Revision Season, a seven-week, virtual master class in revising your novel, led by Elana K. Arnold, author of Printz honor winner Damsel and National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and more. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Susan Hirschman, editor and fo

First Draft Episode #265: Christina Hammonds-Reed and Jason Reynolds Christina Hammonds-Reed, debut author of The Black Kids, is in conversation with 2020–2021 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Jason Reynolds, whose many books include All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely [listen to his First Draft interview here]), As Brave as You, For Every One, the Track series, Look Both Ways, Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode You can hear my previous conversation with Jason here I spoke with Morgan Jerkins, author of New York Times bestselling essay collection This Will Be My Undoing, about her recent history and memoir, Wandering in Strange Lands (listen to her First Draft interview here) Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give and On the Come Up Nic Stone, author of Dear Martin and its sequel, Dear Justyce, Odd One Out, Clean Getaway, and m

First Draft Episode #264: Morgan Jenkins Morgan Jerkins, author of essay collection This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America, talks about her new book, social history and memoir Wandering in Strange Lands: A Daughter of the Great Migration Reclaims Her Roots. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Lolita by Vladimir Nobokov Madame Bovary by Gustav Flaubert East of Eden by John Steinbeck City of God (movie) Morgan worked as an editorial assistant at independent publisher, online magazine, and writing class hub Catapult Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay Get Out (movie) I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet supersta

First Draft Episode #263: Opening the Mailbag with Brandy Colbert This week is a new mailbag episode, where I--along with a very special guest--will answer listener questions! Joining me today is Brandy Colbert, author of Pointe, Little & Lion, The Only Black Girls in Town, and more! Her latest book, The Voting Booth, is out now. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Brandy just announced her latest project, a nonfiction young adult book about the Tulsa race massacre of 1921, with Balzer + Bray Hear Brandy’s first two appearances on the podcast here and here!   I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and auth

First Draft Episode #262: Kim Johnson Kim Johnson, college administrator and mentor of student activists, on her debut author of This is My America, out now! This episode is sponsored by Revision Season, a seven-week, virtual master class in revising your novel, led by Elana K. Arnold, author of Printz honor winner Damsel and National Book Award finalist What Girls Are Made Of, and more. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol Nancy Drew by Carolyn Keene Zora Neale Hurston, author of Their Eyes Are Watching God Black Lives Matter We Need Diverse Books   I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Mirand

First Draft Episode #261: Alaya Dawn Johnson Alaya Dawn Johnson, Nebula-winning author of YA novels The Summer Prince, Love is the Drug, and more. Her new adult speculative fiction novel, Trouble the Saints, is out now! Be sure to check out A Mighty Blaze’s YA Weekend July 25-26, 2020! All events streamed live at Facebook.com/AMightyBlaze! Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury Charles Sheffield, science fiction writer Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Brown and Dave King Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin Colson Whitehead The Nickel Boys (which won the Pulitzer Prize) I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy

First Draft Episode #260: Hank Green Hank Green talks about A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, the sequel to his #1 New York Times bestselling debut, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. Hank is, along with his brother John Green, the CEO of Complexly, co-host of the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel and the Dear Hank and John podcast, and is also co-founder of VidCon, DFTBA Records, and Crash Course. Be sure to check out A Mighty Blaze’s YA Weekend July 25-26, 2020! All events streamed live at Facebook.com/AMightyBlaze! Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Lord of the Flies by William Golding Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton Sideways Stories From Wayside School by Louis Sachar The Mars Trilogy, which starts with Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson John Green, Printz-winning author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars There There by Tommy Orange Recursion by Blake Crouch Zurg Enterprises in The Fifth Element (movie) The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder House of Leaves by Mark Z. D

Track Changes: After the Book Deal Listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify Read the transcript

First Draft Episode #259: Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow are media mavens, co-hosts of the phenomenal CALL YOUR GIRLFRIEND podcast, and debut co-authors of friendship memoir BIG FRIENDSHIP. Today’s episode is brought to you by KEEP MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO, by Amelia Diane Coombs, out today from Simon & Schuster. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Voice of America and RFI (Radio France Internationale) Ann and Aminatou were set up by their mutual friend, Dayo Olopade. They talked to Dayo about their friendship origin story on a recent episode of Call Your Girlfriend Shine Theory (and the original article that popularized the term, published in The Cut) I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998. Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s

First Draft Episode #258: Ally Carter Ally Carter, New York Times bestselling author of the Gallagher Girls series, the Heist Society series, the Embassy Row series, Not If I Save You First, Dear Ally: How Do You Write a Book?, and a new middle grade series that kicks off with Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor. Today’s episode is brought to you by Hank Green’s A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, out July 7, the sequel and conclusion to Green’s debut novel, the New York Times bestselling An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Screenplay by Syd Field The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton The Romance Writers of America (RWA) Ally’s agent is Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency (who appeared on the Bonus Episode of Track Changes about Publishing During the Time of COVID) The Earth, My Butt, and Other Round Things by Carolyn Mackler Sarah Rees Brennan, author of Unspoken, The Demon’s Lexicon, and more Gordon Korman, author of Schooled, Ungifted, Swindle, and mo

Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair are comedians and actors, who created, wrote, and starred in Best Friends Forever and Playing House, This episode is brought to you by Highland 2, the writing software made by writers, for writers. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery Lois Duncan, author of I Know What You Did Last Summer, Stranger With My Face, and Who Killed My Daughter? The True Story of a Mother’s Search For Her Daughter’s Murderer Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George Emma and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen “The Ladies Who Lunch” and Elaine Stritch Actor, comedian, and screenwriter Jason Mantzoukas Poet and playwright Dan O’Brien Comedy writer Rodney Rothman The Upright Citizens Brigade Who’s Line is it Anyway (TV show) The Wild and Crazy Guys, starring Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd Coneheads (SNL skit and movie) Howard the Duck (movie) Odyssey of the Mind Actor

First Draft Episode #256: Elizabeth Acevedo Elizabeth Acevedo, New York Times bestselling author of The Poet X, winner of the 2018 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Fiction, the CILIP Carnegie Medal, and the Boston Globe-Hornbook Award. She is also the author of With the Fire on High and Clap When You Land, out now! This episode is brought to you by Highland 2, the writing software made by writers, for writers. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode The Nuyorican Poets Cafe A handful of Elizabeth’s viral poems Anna Deavere Smith and Sarah Jones are both poets who had one woman shows, which inspired Elizabeth in college Nikki Giovanni, Tupac, Lucille Clifton were some poets who shaped Elizabeth Jacqueline Woodson, author of Brown Girl Dreaming, I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This, and Red At the Bone Walter Dean Myers, author of Monster, Scorpions, and dozens more books Julia Alvarez, author of Before We Were Free, Return to Sender,

First Draft Episode #255: Robyn Schneider Robyn Schneider is the New York Times bestselling author of The Beginning of Everything, Extraordinary Means, Invisible Ghosts, and more. Her newest book, You Don’t Live Here, is out now! This episode is brought to you by Highland 2, the writing software made by writers, for writers. Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, author of Hawksong and In the Forests of Night, was first published at age 13 Jennifer Ung, now a Senior Editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, was one of the first people to read The Beginning of Everything Robyn knew John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska, from David Levithan’s YA author meet-ups in New York City Vlogbrothers, the YouTube channel that John Green started with his brother, Hank, in 2007 Hamilton (musical) The Great (TV series) A Knight’s Tale (movie) I want to hear from you! Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guest

This episode featuring Julian Winters, author of Running with Lions, first aired on July 31, 2018. Since then, Julian has released How to Be Remy Cameron, and his latest book, The Summer of Everything, is coming out September 8. Julian Winters Show Notes One Direction Felicity (TV show) Scandal (TV show) Scott Foley Kirsten Hubbard (listen to her First Draft podcast here) Sara Farizan (author of IF YOU COULD BE MINE and TELL ME AGAIN HOW A CRUSH SHOULD FEEL and the forthcoming HERE TO STAY - listen to her First Draft interview here) BOY MEETS BOY by David Levithan Robbie Rogers (out soccer player) Nic Stone (author of DEAR MARTIN and the forthcoming ODD ONE OUT - listen to her First Draft interview here) INTO THE BLUE by Pene Henson LUCHADOR by Erin Finnegan Becky Albertalli, author of SIMON VERSUS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA (listen to her First Draft podcast here) Patrice Caldwell Simon James Green, author of NOAH CAN’T EVEN Adam Silvera (listen to his First Draft interview here)   I want to hear from you! Ha

Let’s talk about money: how do authors get paid, how much do authors get paid, and what do they need to keep in mind when the checks roll in? We catch up with Jennifer de Leon as she prepares for the release of her debut young adult novel, Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, on August 4. (Hear her First Draft interview here.) Courtney Maum, author of Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book lays out the basics of book advances. Holly Root, founder of Root Literary and Seth Fishman, literary agent with The Gernert Company give a helpful overview of how much authors are paid across a variety of age categories and genres. And Sarah Burnes, literary agent with The Gernert Company, walks through what earning out means. Then, we get into #PublishingPaidMe with Tochi Onyebuchi, who, along with L.L. MicKinney, started the viral publishing industry pay transparency movement.