A Conversation with NY Times Bestselling Author Livia Blackburne and Illustrator and Author Julia Kuo the Creators of Bings Cherries

Welcome to Season 6, Episode 25! Our guests today are Livia Blackburne and Julia Kuo, the author and illustrator of Bing's Cherries… A modern American tall tale woven by a girl and her father about Ah Bing, the Chinese immigrant behind the Pacific Northwest's most delicious cherries. The book was released on March 10, 2026. Julia Kuo is the author and illustrator of several books including Home Is a Wish, Let's Do Everything and Nothing, and Luminous: Living Things That Light Up the Night. She is also the illustrator of several notable picture books including When Love Is More Than Words by Jocelyn Chung, I Am an American: The Wong Kim Ark Story by Martha Brockenbrough and Grace Lin, and one of our favorites, I Dream of Popo by Livia Blackburne. Additionally, Julia has created editorial illustrations for publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Economist.  New York Times bestselling author Livia Blackburne wrote her first novel while researching the neuroscience of reading at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Since then, she's switched to full-time writing, which also involves getting into people's heads but without the help of a three tesla MRI scanner.  Her YA books include Rosemarked (A YALSA Teens Top Ten Nominee), Disney's Feather and Flame, and Clementine and Danny Save the World (And Each Other) [A Junior Library Guild selection], as well as the picture books Dreams to Ashes (An Orbis Pictus Honor Book) and I Dream of Popo, which received three starred reviews and was on numerous Best of Year lists. We love how they intentionally mixed in some elements of Chinese mythology with actual history and the American tall tales genre. In our conversation, we talk about the inspiration for the story, what it's like working with familiar collaborators, their individual journeys, and so much more.  To learn more about Julia, you can visit juliakuo.com or follower her on instagram @juliaskuo. To learn more about Livia, you can visit liviablackburne.com or follow her on instagram at @lkblackburne. If you like what we do, please share, follow, and like us in your podcast directory of choice or on Instagram @AAHistory101. For previous episodes and resources, please visit our site at https://asianamericanhistory101.libsyn.com or our links at http://castpie.com/AAHistory101. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, email us at [email protected].