Part 1: Independent Bookstores & Diversity in Kids Lit w/ Jonathan Pope

In part one of this two part episode, Jonathan Pope, english teacher and bookseller at Prologue Books in Columbus, OH, talks to Leann about what he looks for when choosing books to stock in the store. He answers questions about how to get your book into an indie bookstore, if he puts value in reviews, and how he discovers the books he recommends. Leann and Jonathan also discuss what the landscape of diverse books looks like in children's books and what he hopes to see out of the publishing industry in the future.

Julian is a Mermaid, By Jessica Love, (Illustrator) recommendation

Langston Dances, By Kaija Langley, Keith Mallett (Illustrator) recommendation

 

Find Jonathan:

IG: beblackbeloved

Twitter: beblackbeloved

Website: https://www.youtube.com/tobeblackandloved

 

Find Prologue Bookshop:

https://store.prologuebookshop.com/

https://www.instagram.com/prologuebookshop/

 

Sambasivan & Parikh

IG: @sambasivan&parikh

www.sambasivanandparikh.com

 

If you have any questions, comments, ideas for future episodes, or just want to say hi, email leann@modernmarigoldbooks.com

 

 

Time stamps

1:15: intro

2:20: jonathan says hello

3:10: how are books chosen for the store? how do you find books? How do you get your book in an indie bookstore?

5:04: curating the shelves in a small indie bookstore and balancing sales

6:53: how much do you rely on reviews like Kirkus?

8:06: what limits what books you’re able to buy?

9:25: do you think Indies are more willing to take a risk on books like self-published?

10:39: diversity in children’s books, do you think there’s been progress? what’s missing?

12:55: trends in the type of diverse books that are available and what we want to see in the future

15:02: future of diversity in children’s books

17:27: what type of books do you want to see more of?

19:20: a lot of books recently have been very trauma heavy

20:00 outro