Book Birthday Blog with Jack Cheng

 

Welcome to SCBWI-MI's Book Birthday Blog!

Where we celebrate new books from Michigan's authors, illustrators and translators.

 

Congratulations to Jack Cheng on the release of The Many Masks of Andy Zhou

 

Cover Art: Yuta Onoda

The idea for your first middle grade novel, See You in the Cosmos, came from hanging out in your younger brother’s room and spotting a Carl Sagan book. How did you come up with the idea for your new book? 

I don’t know if there was a singular moment for this book like there was for Cosmos. I originally wanted to write about my experience moving back to Detroit in 2014, and often finding myself in situations where I was the only Asian American in either majority-Black or majority-white spaces. I wanted to see if there was anything my outside perspective had to say about intergroup dialogue. But as I dug into that idea, I realized that I hadn’t reckoned enough with my own Chinese-ness and my Midwestern upbringing. What you see on the page is a result of many false starts—a lot of overwriting and then cutting back. 

What is something you hope your readers will take away from your book?

 

The power of art in helping a kid define, for themselves, who they are and who they want to be. I’ve always had lots of creative hobbies, and as I enter into the fortieth year of my life I appreciate, more than ever, how much art has come to help me understand who I am and what I’m all about.

 

According to your website, you’ve traveled all over the world presenting to students about your path to becoming an author. What advice do you have for a budding creative?

 

To follow your weird interests. And not get ahead of yourself—take it one step at a time. I think this is actually an area where a lot of students are less inhibited and self-censoring than we adults are. This was certainly my case when I was a kid—I would pursue my different interests simply because it was fun to do so, not because I saw a career path. A lot of times, I wasn’t even aware that a particular hobby was a full-on vocation until I’d already been doing it for years. By then, I’d developed enough skill to pursue that hobby full-time.

 

You worked in technology and marketing before writing your first book. What inspired you to start writing?

 

I owe the writing of my first book to the Morning Pages exercise from Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. I tried to sit down every morning and fill three pages in my journal, and after a few weeks, I found myself writing scenes that would eventually form the basis for that first book. But thinking back, I often wrote short stories and entered essay contests as a kid just for the fun of it, or just because I was moved by something I read and wanted to emulate it.

 

What's next for you?

 

I’ve been co-writing my first picture book manuscript with my partner Julia. We’ve taken it on as part of this season’s Picture Book Challenge for BookSmitten, a kid lit podcast I co-host with fellow Michigan-based authors Kelly J. Baptist, Heather Shumaker, and Patrick Flores-Scott. I’m also finishing an online post-graduate architecture program called Building Beauty, which I’ve sharing lessons from in my weekly newsletter. I'm not an architect, and don't plan to become a full-time architect anytime soon. But I guess it's just another example of following my interests without knowing where they'll lead!

 

A little bit about the book . . . 

 

Creative and brave sixth grader Andy Zhou faces big changes at school and at home in this new novel by the award-winning author of See You in the Cosmos.
 
Andy Zhou is used to being what people need him to be: the good kid for his parents and now grandparents visiting from Shanghai, or the helpful sidekick to his best friend Cindy’s rebellious plans and schemes.
 
So when Cindy decides they should try out for Movement at school on the first day of sixth grade, how can Andy say no? But between feeling out of place with the dancers, being hassled by his new science partner Jameel, and sensing tension between his dad and grandfather, Andy feels all kinds of weird.
 
Then, over anime, Hi-Chews, and Andy’s lizard-inspired artwork, things shift between him and Jameel, opening up new doors—and also new complications.
 
No matter how much Andy cares about his friends and family, it’s hard not to feel pulled between all the ways he’s meant to be, all the different faces he wears, and harder still to figure out if any of these masks is the real him.

 

Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers

A little bit about the author . . .

Jack Cheng is a Shanghai-born, Detroit-based author of critically acclaimed fiction for young readers. His debut children’s novel, See You in the Cosmos, won the Golden Kite and Great Lakes, Great Reads awards for Best Middle Grade Fiction. He has visited schools across the globe speaking with students about finding their paths as writers and artists. He is a 2019 Kresge Artist Fellow.

Instagram: @jackcheng
Mastodon: @jackcheng@indieweb.social

Website: https://www.jackcheng.com/

 

Photo Credit: Jarod Lew

 

BookSmitten Podcast Enters Season Two

We’re excited for the new season of BookSmitten, the podcast dedicated to children’s books. BookSmitten is hosted by four Michigan SCBWI authors: Kelly J. Baptist, Jack Cheng, Patrick Flores-Scott, and Heather Shumaker. We see a hopeful, human world through children’s literature, and hope you’ll join us.

This season: We’re writing picture books!

We’ve launched the Picture Book Challenge. Listeners can learn along with us as we uncover the craft of picture book writing. As novelists, we’re used to writing much longer works. There’s so much to learn about what actually goes in to writing a child-worthy picture book. We hope you’ll take the #booksmittenchallenge and create your own publishable picture book.

It’s quite a challenge for a novelist to distill a story idea into a picture book. It’s all new territory for us. We’re primarily Middle Grade and YA authors, and only Kelly has published a picture book before. To help us out, we’ve invited some wonderful guests to join the show. Guests like:

          Shutta Crum, author

          Darnell Johnson, illustrator

          Yuyi Morales, author and illustrator

          Betsy Bird, from Fuse 8 ‘N Kate, all-star children’s librarian

          Lisa Wheeler, author (check out her episode on rhyme)

       

We’re using Ann Whitford Paul’s book “Writing Picture Books” to guide us through the process, and even brought Ann on the show to give us extra insights.

Whatever kind of books your write, you can find fun, friendship, and fellowship here with the BookSmitten crew as we learn together and push our creative boundaries.  

We hope you’ll join us! Or if picture books aren’t your focus, delve into past episodes where we cover a wide range of children’s book topics, including BookSmitten interviews with YA authors Angeline Boulley and Paula Yoo.

 

Interested? Check out the 5-minute Season 2 teaser.

We hope you become BookSmitten! Listen through Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google, or Overcast. Find out more at booksmitten.us. Add a review! Or write to us with ideas for new episodes you’d love to hear hello@booksmitten.us.

BookSmitten is on Twitter @booksmittenpod. You can use the tag #booksmittenchallenge this season.

Podcast webpage:  https://booksmitten.us/

 

Bios

Kelly J. Baptist hails from Berrien Springs, MI. She’s the author of three Middle Grade books ISAIAH DUNN IS MY HERO, ISAIAH DUNN SAVES THE DAY, and THE SWAG IS IN THE SOCKS, plus the picture book THE ELECTRIC SLIDE AND KAI. Kelly is also the author of a short story in the Middle Grade collection FLYING LESSONS AND OTHER STORIES.

Jack Cheng lives in Detroit, MI. He’s the author of the Golden Kite award-winning Middle Grade novel SEE YOU IN THE COSMOS and THE MANY MASKS OF ANDY ZHOU, forthcoming in June 2023.

Patrick Flores-Scott is from Ann Arbor, MI. Patrick is the author of two Young Adult novels: JUMPED IN and AMERICAN ROAD TRIP.

Heather Shumaker lives in Traverse City, MI. She’s the author of three books for adults, plus the Middle Grade adventure THE GRIFFINS OF CASTLE CARY.

BookSmitten Producers: 

Josie and Corey Schneider, Kansas City, MO

Music by Duck, Duck Chicken

 

 

Becoming BookSmitten: Creating a Collaborative KidLit Podcast

 

BookSmitten is a brand-new podcast focused on children’s books, co-hosted by four Michigan authors and SCBWI members: Kelly J. Baptist, Jack Cheng, Patrick Flores-Scott, and Heather Shumaker. The first episode launched in February 2021, and I tuned in. It made me wistful for our pre-pandemic days of gathering with writer friends at a coffee shop, and I found myself nodding and smiling and wanting to join in their discussion. I even jotted down some notes, including this quote, "The pain of discipline or the pain of regret. You're going to have either one. Which one do you want?"

Read on for my interview with Heather, and then experience the podcast for yourself. Look for new episodes on your favorite podcast site every other Wednesday. It's guaranteed to lift your mood!

~ Kristin Lenz

Tell us how the idea for the podcast began and then took shape.

I’d met Kelly, Jack, and Patrick at various SCBWI events and conferences and was immediately impressed. Basically, these were people I wanted to keep talking to. I remember heading home, thinking “I wish she lived in my home town.” or “I wish we could keep talking about books together.” With this podcast, we can! Both Jack and I had hosted podcasts before, and knew how fun they could be. So we gathered together by Zoom during 2020 and discussed the idea for the pod. Everyone was enthusiastic. We discovered the four of us shared a big-hearted, hopeful view of the world. Fueled by Jack’s prior knowledge of pods, and Kelly’s contagious enthusiasm, we launched into our opening episode of BookSmitten: “We’re here, we’re happy, we’re human, and we’re BookSmitten!”

Are there a lot children’s book podcasts out there?

Not that many! We were surprised, especially given how many people love children’s books. A few children’s book podcasts have come and gone, and several focus on reading to children. BookSmitten really fills a niche, and although we’re all from Michigan, it’s intended for a national audience of librarians, parents, teachers, grandparents, book lovers, children’s book writers, and interested kids.

What can we expect from the upcoming episodes? 

Oh gosh, we have a growing list of topics. We’ve already recorded four episodes and will be diving into topics surrounding “all things kid lit.” Kelly has a new picture book out in March, THE ELECTRIC SLIDE AND KAI (Lee & Low Books), so an episode in March looks at her creative process. Jack and Patrick both wrote road trip novels, so we’re focusing an episode on road trip / journey stories. Other topics on the brainstorm list are: exploring non-white heroes in fantasy / sci-fi books, books that bridge differences, how we got serious about writing, the connection of sports and writing, portrayals of grandparents, encouraging child writers, short stories in kid lit, and so much more. We also plan to feature guest authors and amazing librarians from time to time, as well as invite child writers on to the show.

One wonderful development is that all four of us bring a unique perspective. We’re sharing from our family backgrounds, sharing our voices, and learning together. It’s a journey we’re excited to share with listeners.

What’s the format? Will each of the authors take turns or will you all be talking together?

So far we’ve been co-hosting together. There’s a nice balance of voices, with two male and two female hosts, so it’s easy to tell who’s talking. Going forward into the future, we may have episodes where just two or three of us host, especially given deadlines and busy schedules, but for now, no one wants to be left out. We’re having too much fun creating camaraderie in this new kidlit space! We hope it’s a space where everyone will feel welcome.

What have you already learned from the process?

Creating the podcast has reinforced just how creative and thoughtful my fellow authors are. Being together adds a dash of goodness into the world, and keeps us - and hopefully our listeners - buoyed up. We even recorded one episode on Jan. 6th, the day of the U.S Capitol attacks. Being together helps. It’s also continually inspiring - seeing Kelly’s prodigious output (two new books out in 2021!), Jack’s creative process, and Patrick’s goal of reaching struggling readers. We have something to share with anyone who loves children’s books.

We also learned how time-intensive bringing a podcast to life can be. Thankfully, we’ve teamed up with children’s librarian Josie Schneider, from Missouri, to produce the show for us. She shares our passion for children’s books and volunteered to do the back-end editing and technical stuff. We’re so grateful to have Josie! She makes us shine.

Anything else you'd like us to know?

For people in Michigan, you’ll see there’s a Mitten hiding in the BookSmitten name. A nod to our Michigan connection. And, if you look closely, you’ll find another Mitten hiding in the logo Jack designed for us. 

Where can you find the BookSmitten podcast?

You can listen to BookSmitten through Apple podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Google podcasts and hopefully everywhere you get your pods. If you like it, leave a rating on Apple. We hope you become BookSmitten! Join us and suggest new episodes at hello@booksmitten.us.

Here are some helpful links:

The booksmitten.us landing page: https://booksmitten.us/

Jack Cheng’s recent blog post introducing the podcast. 

Heather Shumaker's recent 5 minute YouTube video below:

Learn more about each of the podcast authors:

Kelly J. Baptist hails from Berrien Springs, MI. She’s the author of the Middle Grade book ISAIAH DUNN IS MY HERO and a new picture book THE ELECTRIC SLIDE AND KAI. Kelly is also the author of a short story in the Middle Grade collection FLYING LESSONS AND OTHER STORIES.

Jack Cheng lives in Detroit, MI. He’s the author of the Golden Kite award-winning Middle Grade novel SEE YOU IN THE COSMOS.

Patrick Flores-Scott is from Ann Arbor, MI. Patrick is the author of two Young Adult novels: JUMPED IN and AMERICAN ROAD TRIP.

Heather Shumaker lives in Traverse City, MI. She’s the author of three books for adults, plus the Middle Grade adventure THE GRIFFINS OF CASTLE CARY.

BookSmitten Producers: 

Josie and Corey Schneider, Kansas City, MO

Music by Duck, Duck Chicken

Coming up on the Mitten Blog:

Hugs and Hurrahs! We want to trumpet your good news. Please send your writing/illustrating/publishing news to Sarah LoCascio by Tuesday March 16th to be included.

Registration is open for the SCBWI-MI Spring (Virtual) Conference and critique slots are going fast. Don't delay! Register today for this jam-packed yet flexible conference where you can participate in real time via Zoom or watch recorded sessions later at your convenience. Everything you need to know is here: https://michigan.scbwi.org/2020/05/01/spring-conference-2021/

Equity & Inclusion Corner: Arcs of Justice by Jack Cheng

The Equity & Inclusion Corner welcomes author, Jack Cheng, for the third of our 2020 quarterly posts. In his call to action for substantive and meaningful change in our communities and society, Jack exhorts us to be agents of change at a deeper level.  

Stay tuned for our final 2020 blog post in October. Equity & Inclusion Team member, Debbie Taylor, shares the highlights of her conversation with Dr. Ashlelin Currie, Co-Chair of the Literacy Committee for the Books for Barbers organization. Dr. Currie serves as Early Literacy Consultant for Oakland Schools and was former president of BCDI-Detroit. Look for upcoming announcements on our Books for Barbers book drive to promote our collaborative efforts that will foster stronger community connections.

 

Be well and take care,

Isabel Estrada O’Hagin

Arcs of Justice

By Jack Cheng

I can’t wait for everything to go back to normal. This is a sentiment I’ve felt and expressed a number of times over the past months. I imagine that you’ve felt it too. To say that 2020 has been an unusual year so far would be a gross understatement.

But I want to challenge you—and myself—to resist the urge for normalcy. I want to challenge us to recognize that normal is the racist systems and policies that killed George Floyd in Minnesota and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky. That killed Malice Green and Aiyana Stanley-Jones in Detroit, Theo Gray in St. Clair Shores, and Cornelius Fredericks in Kalamazoo. Normal is racism that blames Asians for the pandemic and causes it to disproportionally kill Black and Brown bodies. Normal is, in other words, what got us here.

The purpose of daily marches and demonstrations in cities across the world isn’t only to highlight these injustices, but to interrupt the very sense of normalcy—as a means of effecting change. We, as storytellers, know that this interruption is an essential part of almost every story, almost every major character arc. Change doesn’t happen out of comfort; change must be incited. When our characters are shaken out of their “life as usual”—that’s when the story starts.

We know, too, that real change can’t be superficial. In the middles of our stories, our characters might attempt to soothe their surface problems and go back to the way things were, only to discover that these fixes are no substitute for the deeper inner transformation they must, through toil, trial, and error, discover. Likewise, our own transformations must involve more than just retweets and bail fund donations. They must involve more than just supporting authors and illustrators of color, and LGBTQIA+ creators, more than frequenting Black-owned bookstores. Those are all important, yes—but we must also do the far more difficult and uncomfortable work of reckoning with ways we personally, as a community, and as a society, have perpetuated racist ideas and policies, often without realizing it.

I believe that on every level, we can all—myself included—do better.

On a personal level, we can educate ourselves, and work to uncover our own biases. There are countless anti-racism reading lists available right now; we need only look at the bestseller lists or do a simple search to find them. The Brown Bookshelf, for one, has put together a collection of anti-racist resources off the heels of their KidLit Rally for Black Lives. Classes from Writing the Other are also an applied way to engage in that same education—through learning how to more sensitively write characters who are different than ourselves.

From within our communities, we can speak up when we see our friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues perpetuating racist ideas. But we must also work to identify and replace the racist policies in these same communities. The conclusion from surveys like Lee and Low’s 2019 Diversity Baseline Survey shouldn’t only be that we need individually to be more sensitive and inclusive, but that we also need to rethink the systems of publishing, agenting, and hiring that place disproportionately fewer people of color in industry roles, that offer smaller advances to Black authors over white authors, and that put disproportionately fewer books by marginalized authors into readers’ hands.

And here’s where our reality diverges from a simple three-act structure: We might have our moments of personal epiphany; we might have breakthroughs with our loved ones; we might effect policy changes in our industry; but unlike the stories in our books, the story of racial justice in this country is not going to be wrapped up with a neat denouement. The deeper we reach within ourselves and communities, and the farther we follow the symptoms to their root causes, the more we also start to see that we can’t achieve equity and justice in our local and professional communities without also addressing broader societal issues relating to housing, policing, healthcare, clean water, immigration, and education. The deeper we reach, the more we’ll see that this is not a single story but a multitude—an ongoing saga, already four hundred years old.

It’s a tall order, at times overwhelming to even grasp—how much work we still have to do. But we can always start with that desire for normalcy. We can learn to recognize it now, and whenever it appears in the future, for what it is: a call for action. A call for deep, meaningful change.

Jack Cheng is a Shanghai-born, Detroit-based author of critically acclaimed fiction for young readers. His debut children’s novel, See You in the Cosmos, is winner of the 2017 Golden Kite and Great Lakes, Great Reads awards for Best Middle Grade Fiction. Jack has visited schools around the world speaking with students about finding their paths as writers and artists, and he volunteers with 826michigan on in-class writing projects in Detroit public schools. He is a 2019 Kresge Artist Fellow.

Learn more at jackcheng.com.

Your voice matters. We invite you to comment on Jack’s post to keep the dialogue going.

Hugs and Hurrahs!

Sarah Perry aka S.J. Lomas is celebrating the release of DREAM FREQUENCY, the sequel and conclusion to the DREAM GIRL duology. What a gorgeous cover! 

Neal Levin's poem BROTHER FOR SALE was published in the April 2017 issue of SPIDER. Cheers, Neal!

Monica Harris continues her steady sales (16 pieces!) to Data Recognition Corporation in various states which provide content for school state wide assessments. The specific topics are confidential, but here's a sample from her Wisconsin work:
*  Grade 4 Listening assessment - kids listen to the passage and then answer questions concerning the topic.

*  Grade 3 Informational assessment - students read about the nonfiction topic and then answer questions concerning their understanding. 
Congrats on your steady work, Monica!

Rebecca Grabil signed a contract with Eerdmans Books for Young Readers for the picture book, MAMA EARTH'S NEW YEAR, to be published early 2019.

Plus, her picture book with Atheneum, HALLOWEEN GOOD NIGHT, will be released July 25th! AND, it earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly!

Jean Alicia Elster has been selected to receive a 2017 Kresge Artist Fellowship in Literary Arts, awarded by Kresge Arts in Detroit, a program of The Kresge Foundation. We're so proud of you, Jean Alicia!

Shutta Crum, Jean Alicia Elster, Jack Cheng

On May 3rd, SCBWI-MI members Shutta Crum, Jean Alicia Elster and Jack Cheng joined fellow-author Ruth Behar at Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor for a special Children’s Book Week middle-grade authors panel. Shutta served as panel moderator and guided the authors in a discussion on a wide range of topics from diversity to character motivation. What a great event!

Buffy Silverman wrote four titles for Lerner Publishing's SHARK WORLD series. TIGER SHARKS IN ACTION, ANGELS SHARKS IN ACTION, GREAT WHITE SHARKS IN ACTION, and MAKO SHARKS IN ACTION are swimming out this month. Way to go, Buffy!

On June 24th, Kazoo Books in Kalamazoo hosted a reception for the Oakwood Neighborhood Association’s annual Oakwood Neighborhood Reunion. Local writers attending this reunion and autographing their books for children included SCBWI-MI members Janet Ruth Heller and Kate Seifert.  

Plus, Janet Ruth Heller was interviewed about her books and advice for writers on author Mindy McGinnis's website. 

Mary Vee's junior fiction book for elementary readers, WILLIAM WORTHINGTON WATKINS III, featuring a boy main character, veterans, and mystery with humor was published in May and is available on Amazon.

Amy Nielander

Amy Nielander's picture book THE LADYBUG RACE earned a Bronze Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards, Children's Picture Books category. See all of the winners here. We're thrilled to see your book and artwork continuing to earn accolades!

Kristin Bartley Lenz's article, THE POWER OF CONTESTS: CREATE YOUR OWN LUCK, was published on the Writer's Digest Guide to Literary Agents Blog.

YARN (Young Adult Review Network) published Heather Smith Meloche's short story, TRIFLES, about complicated sisterly love and tough choices. Bravo, Heather! Read the story HERE.


Kirbi Fagan won the Jack Gaughan Award for Best Emerging Artist 2017 (Presented by the New England Science Fiction Association) and she's a Muddy Color Rising Star 2017! She's also our 2017-2018 SCBWI-MI Illustrator Mentor!

And we saved the best news for last: Charlie Barshaw has officially joined the Mitten blog team! Charlie has been a frequent contributor for some time, and now he's taking over the quarterly Writer Spotlight feature for Patti Richards. Stay tuned - he might be reaching out to interview YOU!

Coming up on the Mitten Blog: Nina Goebel unveils our new summer blog banner and introduces our next Featured Illustrator!

Success Story: See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng

A few months ago I received a message from Jack Cheng. He found my book at Pages Bookshop in Detroit and wanted to tell me how much the story resonated with him. I was delighted that he took the time to reach out. 

I discovered that he lived nearby in Detroit, grew up in Troy, and his first middle grade novel was about to be published. I loved the premise of the story and wanted to know more. He's had all kinds of interesting experiences like living in a yurt, but I'll save those stories for a time when you meet him in person. He recently joined SCBWI-MI, so hopefully we'll see him at one of our events soon. Until then, here's a brief introduction:

KL: Your middle grade novel, See You in the Cosmos, is off to a great start with starred reviews from Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly. Congrats! Tell us a little about the story and where your ideas came from.

J

JC: Thanks! The story’s about Alex, an eleven-year-old trying to launch his iPod into space. Alex’s father passed away when he was three, and there’s something mysterious and not quite right about his mother’s role in his life. He also has an older brother living in another state and a dog named Carl Sagan, after his hero—the real-life astronomer. Alex embarks on this mission of his, I think, as a way of trying to understand—and cope with—everything that is happening in his life.

I had the idea for the story when I was back at my parents’ house over Thanksgiving, in 2012. I was hanging out in my younger brother’s room and saw that he had a copy of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot, and remembered an episode of the NPR show Radiolab that I’d heard years before, in which Sagan’s widow Ann Druyan talked about how the two fell in love as they worked to gather sounds for the Voyager Golden Record. When I woke up the next morning, the basic premise just popped into my head: A boy and his dog; an iPod bound for space.

See You in the Cosmos is your first novel for kids, but you’ve already had some experience in the adult literary world. Tell us more.

I self-published my first novel, These Days, in 2013. I was living in New York and working in tech at the time (I’ve since moved back to Michigan where I grew up, and currently live in Detroit). These Days originated from a daily journaling practice, and after a couple years working on it in my spare time I found that I enjoyed writing so much that I’d rather do that than stay at my day job. I sent the manuscript around to agents but wasn’t getting much of a response, and I decided, You know what, this is my first novel and I plan to write more; I’m going to self-publish it and treat the whole thing as a learning experience—as a way to understand how to write and publish a novel, from start to finish. I successfully funded a Kickstarter campaign and did a small print run of 650 hardcovers.

Who is your agent and how did you connect with him/her?

My agent is Jessica Craig, and she’s based in Barcelona. We actually connected because of the funding campaign for my first book. These Days was featured in the Kickstarter weekly newsletter and caught Jessica's eye, and she reached out asking to read the manuscript. I interviewed Jessica about it for a podcast I’ve been doing about the making See You in the Cosmos, so if you’re interested, you can hear more of the backstory here.

How have your experiences differed between self-publishing vs traditional publishing, and adult vs children’s writing/publishing?

Self-publishing was a very solitary experience for me, even though I did hire freelance editors and copyeditors for the book. One thing that’s really surprised me about traditional publishing is the sheer number of people involved in making a book and getting it out into the hands of readers. I think, also, everyone at every stage is much more invested in the project; they kind of have to be to want to publish it in the first place. And because of everyone involved, it ends up being a slower process than self-publishing, but there also an intentionality behind all the steps. My friend Robin Sloan, who has also both self-published a book and had one published traditionally, describes the latter as deliberate. I think that’s the perfect word.

As for adult vs children’s, I didn’t start out writing this book as a children’s book. I didn’t even know there was a category called Middle Grade at the time; I was more trying to tell a story about Alex and the other characters. Once the book was acquired (jointly by Dial in the US and Puffin in the UK) a lot of the work I did with my editors was to make it more squarely for young readers, and move some of the adult themes and issues more into the background. That way, the story would work primarily for kids but still retain that depth and richness for adults. 

I found it to be a really interesting challenge because it forced me to know my material and the characters better in some ways—to be able to express these perhaps-more-complex adult concepts in a manner that wouldn’t go over the head of a ten-year-old. It reminds me of what the physicist Richard Feynman said about teaching—that if you can't explain a subject in plain English, then maybe you yourself don't understand it well enough. I think there’s something akin to that happening here, too.

What’s next for you?

In the immediate term I’m visiting schools across the country to talk with students and meet with booksellers and librarians, and after I come back from tour I’m going to begin work in earnest on the next book. A few things I know at this point: it’ll take place in Detroit and its suburbs; it’ll once again be for young readers; and it’ll be more directly about my experience as a Chinese American. 

My identity as a Chinese American is an area of my own life that I’ve just begun to explore recently, and I’ve come to see fiction-writing as one of the best vehicles for this kind of self-examination.

Fun fact: Jack's book launch party at Pages Bookshop was on Fat Tuesday, otherwise known as Paczki Day, and he had spaced- themed jelly donuts! This picture does not do them justice; they were quite delectable in person. 😋

Thanks, Jack!

Coming up on the Mitten blog: Nina Goebel is coordinating with our new Featured Illustrator. We'll introduce her and unveil our new blog banner soon. Plus, more Michigan KidLit Advocates, a Writer's Toolbox, an interview with a publicist, and another Writer's Spotlight - it could be you!

Have a great weekend!

Kristin Lenz