021 - Celebrating AANHPI Month with Carren Jao

Meet Carren Jao, one of the passionate co-leaders of the 12 x 12 Asian Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (ANHPI) Affinity Group. Ellen Lee was unable to join us for this conversation, but please visit her website, too. Together, these women have created a warm, welcoming, educational "community within the community" in 12 x 12. Not surprisingly, many incredible picture books have been published by members of this group.   Listen in to discover: The establishment and purpose of the 12 x 12 Affinity Groups The evolution of the ANHPI Affinity group name and why it's important Carren's background in the arts and journalism, and how that connects to picture book writing How Carren and Ellen came to offer Monthly Mixers to the ANHPI Affinity Group Learning from members about switching agents mid-career Tips on executing "scrappy" book promotion ideas members have shared Carren's upcoming debut picture book, The Shape of Love Books Carren and Julie love for AANHPI month--and every month! Fighting against book bans as a community and as individuals What's next for Carren Books mentioned in this episode: The Shape of Love, by Carren Jao and Corinne Caro When A Rhino Has to Wait, by Dazzle Ng and Estrela Lourenço Take a Picture of Me, James Van Der Zee, by Andrea J. Loney and Keith Mallett A Morning With Grandpa, by Sylvia Liu and Christina Forshay Sparkles For Sunny, by Sylvia Chen and Thai My Phuong  Bing's Cherries, by Julia Kuo and Livia Blackburne Unbreakable, by Minori Tonai and Jolene Gutiérrez, and Chris Sasaki Barbed Wire Between Us, by Mia Wenjen and Violete Encarnación Amah Faraway, by Margaret Chiu Greanias and Tracy Subisak Shell Song, by Sharon Fujimoto-Johnson The Legend of Ban-Dal, by Jessica Yoon and Seo Kim Sun, Moon, and Star, by Nancy So Miller The Moon Rabbit, by Eva Wong Nava and Jason Chuang Some of Us: A Story of Citizenship and The United States, by Rajani LaRocca and Huy Vuon Lee The Power of Your Name, by Jyoti Rajan Gopal and Olivia Sua Finding Papa, by Angela Pham Krans and Thi Bui Another Word for Neighbor, by Angela Pham Krans and Thai My Phuong At The Window, by Hope Lim and Qin Leng The First Girl On Stage, by Shruthi Rao and Devika Joglekar When Science Stood Still: How S. Chandrasekhar Predicted the Existence of Black Holes, by Shruthi Rao and Srinidhi Srinivasan Gwei The Hungry Ghost, by Emmeline Lee and Basia Tran Grab these books and more from the 12 x 12 Bookshop.org Podcast list here. And check out our full list of books by 12 x 12 ANHPI members here. If you enjoy the podcast, please like, subscribe, and review so other kidlit writers can find us!  Not a member of 12 x 12 yet? Join the wait list and get a free gift. Join here. Thank you for listening! #kidlit #booktok #author #AANHPImonth