Grace Lin and Alvina Ling: 26 Years of Making Beautiful Books

In this episode of The Growing Readers Podcast, host Bianca Schulze welcomes award-winning author-illustrator Grace Lin and her childhood friend turned editor, Alvina Ling, VP and Editor-in-Chief at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. The duo discusses Grace's return to middle grade fiction after nine years with The Gate, The Girl, and The Dragon, a stunning fantasy based on Chinese folklore. They explore the collaborative magic of their decades-long partnership, the balance between artistic vision and commercial publishing, the importance of creating diverse literature, and how patience and trust allow books to become exactly what they're meant to be.

Transcription: You can read the transcription on The Children's Book Review

Highlights:

• The Nine-Year Wait: Why Grace stepped away from middle grade to focus on picture books and how The Gate, The Girl, and The Dragon came together piece by piece since 2016

• The Shanghai Dragon Pillar: The urban legend that became a crucial puzzle piece—how construction workers appeased an angry dragon sleeping beneath a highway

• The Messy Middle: Why every book is a slog, even after 26 years of publishing, and how Grace and Alvina work through it together
• Publishing Beautiful Books: Behind the scenes of creating sprayed edges, gold foil, and full-color illustrations—and how the sales team championed the special treatment
• From Childhood Friends to Creative Partners: How Alvina and Grace's friendship since age 10 (captured in The Year of the Dog) shapes their editorial relationship
• Trying Your Best Makes You the Hero: Grace's philosophy of creating relatable characters who aren't "chosen ones" but ordinary kids earnestly doing the right thing

Notable Quotes:

"I wanted to make books that showed people how human Asians were...that Asians are just as human, just as part of the population as everyone else." —Grace Lin

"I feel like the audience is just excited with whatever you want to do next." —Alvina Ling on Grace's ability to move between genres

Books Mentioned:

• The Gate, The Girl, and The Dragon by Grace Lin: Amazon or Bookshop.org
• Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin: Amazon or Bookshop.org
• A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin: Amazon or Bookshop.org
• Chinese Menu by Grace Lin: Amazon or Bookshop.org
• The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin: Amazon or Bookshop.org
• Starry River of the Sky by Grace Lin: Amazon or Bookshop.org
• When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin: Amazon or Bookshop.org

About Grace Lin:Grace Lin is the award-winning and bestselling author and illustrator of Chinese Menu, When the Sea Turned to Silver, Starry River of the Sky, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (a Newbery Honor book), The Year of the Dog, The Year of the Rat, Dumpling Days, and Ling & Ting, as well as picture books such as The Ugly Vegetables, A Big Bed for Little Snow, and A Big Mooncake for Little Star. Grace is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and lives in Massachusetts.

About Alvina Ling:Alvina Ling is VP and Editor-in-Chief at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (a division of Hachette Book Group) where she has worked since 1999. She edits children's books for all ages, from picture books to young adult. She has edited such books as A Big Mooncake For Little Star by Grace Lin; Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown; Dave the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill, illustrated by Bryan Collier; Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin; The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer; The Candymakers by Wendy Mass; Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor; and The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.

Connect and Follow:Learn more about Grace Lin: https://www.gracelin.comFollow Alvina Ling on Twitter: @planetalvinaFollow Alvina Ling on Instagram: @alvinalingListen to Grace and Alvina's podcast: Book Friends Forever

Credits:

Host: Bianca Schulze

Guests: Grace Lin and Alvina Ling

Producer: Bianca Schulze

Episode Sponsor: https://www.claudiamillsauthor.com/books/66