Reclaiming Authenticity With Varian Johnson

First Draft Episode #336: Varian Johnson

Varian Johnson, award-winning author of The Parker Inheritance,
Twins, The Great Greene Heist, joins us to talk about his most
recent middle-grade, Playing the Cards You’re Dealt.


The presenting sponsor for this episode is Sips By, a
multi-brand, personalized monthly tea subscription box. Use offer
code "draftsips” for 50% off your first Sips By box!


Links to Topics Mentioned In This Episode:




Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary




Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, Then Again Maybe I
Won’t, and Iggie’s House by Judy Blume




Motown and Didi by Walter Dean Myers




Virginia Hamilton, author of The People Could Fly: Black
American Folktales, Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush, and more




Sara Crowe, Varian’s literary agent at Pippin Properties




Andrew Karre, Executive editor at Dutton Books for Young
Readers




Cheryl Klein, editorial director at Lee & Low and
formerly at Scholastic, and author of The Magic Words:
Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults




The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin




Holes by Louis Sachar




Ally Carter, New York Times bestselling author of the
Gallagher Girls series, the Heist Society series, the Embassy
Row series, Not If I Save You First, Dear Ally: How Do You
Write a Book?, and a new middle grade series that kicks off
with Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor. (Hear her
First Draft interview here)




Kate Messner, author of Over and Under the Snow, All the
Answers, Capture the Flag, and many (MANY) more




The Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program




Sharon Darrow, author of Trash, The Painters of Lexieville
and more




Rita Williams-Garcia, author of One Crazy Summer, Clayton
Byrd Goes Underground, Like Sisters on the Homefront, and
more




Tim Wynne-Jones, author of Blink & Caution, The
Uninvited, and more




Nick Thomas, Varian’s editor at Scholastic, currently senior
editor at Levine Querido




Shannon Wright, illustrator of Twins




Jenne Abramowitz, executive editor at Scholastic




What Were the Negro Leagues? by Varian Johnson




Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson




One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia




️ Enjoy this episode? Check out…




Kate DiCamillo, one of six
people to win two Newbery Medals, for her novels The Tale of
Despereaux and Flora & Ulysses, and author of Newbery
Honor book Because of Winn-Dixie, National Book Award
finalist The Tiger Rising, as well as New York Times
bestselling novels The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,
The Magician’s Elephant, the Mercy Watson series, and more.
DiCamillo was the U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's
Literature for 2014 and 2015. Her most recent novel, Beverly,
Right Here completes the trilogy of Raymie Nightingale and
Louisiana’s Way Home. Listen to her First Draft episode here.




Angie Thomas, #1 New York
Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give and On the Come
Up talks about her latest book, Concrete Rose, as well as the
upcoming Blackout. Hear her First Draft interview here.




Chris Grabenstein, New York
Times bestselling author of the Lemoncello series, the
Wonderland series, the Haunted Mystery series, and The Island
of Dr. Libris. He is also the co-author, with James
Patterson, of the #1 Bestsellers I Funny, House of Robots,
Max Einstein and many others. He joins to talk about his
newest middle grade series, Dog Squad. Listen to his episode
of First Draft here.




Thanks for Listening!


Support the Show


Join the First Draft Patreon, or make a monthly or one-time
donation via PayPal or Venmo


Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni in
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.


Sign up for the First Draft Newsletter to hear
about news, recommendations, and upcoming events


Get First Draft merchandise


️ Track Changes Learn how the
traditional publishing industry works in the Track Changes
podcast mini-series.


Rate, Review, and Recommend


Take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in
Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest
and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank
you!