Can a car company executive help you find your picture book writing why? Grace Lin thinks so! In a past Summit, Grace divulged an insightful (and relatively easy) way to find your why. She also challenges us to look at our picture book manuscripts and ask if those stories really want to be picture books or if they are served better in a different kidlit genre. If you’ve been fighting with a work-in-progress, Grace Lin is here to help!
Grace Lin, a NY Times bestselling author/ illustrator, won the Newbery Honor for “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” and the Theodor Geisel Honor for “Ling and Ting.” Her novel “When the Sea Turned to Silver” was a National Book Award Finalist and her picture book, “A Big Mooncake for Little Star” was awarded the Caldecott Honor. Grace is also an occasional commentator for New England Public Radio, a reviewer for the NY Times, a video essayist for PBS NewsHour, and the speaker of the popular TEDx talk, “The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf,” as well as the co-host of the Book Friends Forever podcast. In 2016, Grace’s art was displayed at the White House where Grace, herself, was recognized by President Obama’s office as a Champion of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling. In 2022, Grace was awarded the Children’s Literature Legacy Award from the American Library Association. In 2025, Grace received an honorary doctorate degree from her alma mater, the Rhode Island School of Design and exhibited a career retrospective of her work “The Art of Grace Lin: Meeting a Friend in an Unexpected Place” at the Eric Carle Museum of Picturebook Art.
