Ep. 28: Setting: Grace Lin on Writing Where You Want to Be and the Myth of the "Real Writers"

Highlights from our episode with the bestselling, awards-winning, queen herself, Grace Lin:

• Picking a setting where you *want* to spend time
• Identifying as a storyteller vs. a writer
• Why she is the 1% of writers who do NOT start their story with character
• Her pals persistence and doggedness
• The role of faith in writing
• How publishing has shape-shifted over the past 30 years

Grace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” and the Theodor Geisel Honor for “Ling and Ting.” Her novel “When the Sea Turned to Silver” was a National Book Award Finalist and her picture book, “A Big Mooncake for Little Star” was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is also an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio, a reviewer for the NY Times, a video essayist for PBS NewsHour, and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, “The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf,” as well as the co-host of the Book Friends Forever podcast.  In 2016, Grace’s art was displayed at the White House where Grace, herself, was recognized by President Obama’s office as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling. In 2022, Grace was awarded the Children’s Literature Legacy Award from the American Library Association.