middle grade – A Bookish Home Podcast

It’s an honor to have Amina Luqman-Dawson on this week, the 2023 Newbery Medal and Corretta Scott King award winner for Freewater, a lyrical, accessible historical middle-grade novel about two enslaved children’s escape from a plantation and the many ways they find freedom.

In Freewater, Amina Luqman Dawson shines a bright light on a little-known piece of history. Set against a forbidding landscape, the bright promise of freedom is illuminated in all its myriad shapes and forms. And it couldn’t be more timely. Solidly researched and beautifully written, this is storytelling at its finest. Dawson’s voice and the voices of her cast will linger long after the last page is closed.―Kathi Appelt, National Book Award Finalist and Newbery Honor Winner

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Amina Luqman-Dawson is the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning and bestselling author of Freewater and the pictorial history book Images of America: African Americans of Petersburg. Her op-eds on race and popular culture have appeared in The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, and more. She, her husband, and her son reside in Arlington, VA. Visit her online at aminaluqman-dawson.com.

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

Links:

Thoughts from a Page Podcast

Macmillan Audio

AudiobookSYNC

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.

This week, I’m excited to share an interview with author, actor, and activist Maulik Pancholy. Pancholy’s debut middle grade novel, The Best At It, was a Stonewall Honor Award winner and is in development for television at HBO Max. His second novel, Nikhil Out Loud is available now and is a Junior Library Guild gold selection.

“Pancholy’s sophomore effort is a layered coming-of-age tale, melding puberty’s woes with familial expectations and grief…. The sweet, peck-on-the-cheek–level romance is delightfully middle school—as is the squeeworthy joy alongside more difficult moments. A timely affirmation that hate has no place in school.”

— ★ Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

You can also listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app.

About the Author:

Maulik Pancholy is an award-winning actor whose career has spanned hit television shows (Only Murders in the Building and 30 Rock), animated favorites (Phineas and Ferb, Sanjay and Craig, and Mira, Royal Detective), the Broadway stage, and films. He served on President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and he is the cofounder of the antibullying campaign Act To Change. Maulik lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his husband, Ryan, and their dog, Arlo. His debut novel, The Best at It, was a Stonewall Honor Award winner. Learn more: https://www.maulikpancholy.com/

Browse Books Mentioned On This Episode:

Looking for a book mentioned on the podcast? Want to browse books by past guests? Visit A Bookish Home Podcast’s Bookshop.org page.

Happy Reading and Listening,

Laura Szaro Kopinski

ABookishHome.com

*A Bookish Home is now an affiliate of Bookshop.org. At no extra cost to you, we receive a small commission if you purchase something through the Bookshop.org links provided.