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photo credit: Cait Malilay Emily Shan is a New York City public school teacher, stay-at-home mom and author and creator of Jojo Adventure Books , a bilingual children’s board book series that’s written in Cantonese and English. Launched in September 2022, the series is based on real adventures, both big and small, of her daughter Jojo. “At the same time, I’m creating the resources for ourselves as well as families who want to be able to pass down that Cantonese language to the next generation and hopefully future generations beyond that,” Shan said.  What inspired her to launch this project is that while she was shopping for children's books, she noticed that a lot of them were more catered toward Mandarin-speaking families. Mandarin and Cantonese are tone languages. "Cantonese has six to nine tones, whereas Mandarin has four to five. You’ll see Cantonese written as traditional Chinese characters, whereas Mandarin will typically be written in simplified Chinese characters,...

Did you know that August is Women in Translation Month?  According to WomenInTranslation.org, this movement is "a global effort centered around the idea that women who write in languages other than English deserve to be widely read and appreciated."  While I was at Reimagine Asian Fest in New York City, I had the pleasure of meeting Emily Shan. She is the author and creator of "Jojo Adventure Books," a children’s board book series that’s written in both Cantonese and English.  What inspired her to launch this project is that while she was shopping for books for her daughter, Jojo, she had trouble finding bilingual books for a Cantonese audience.  In this very special 10th edition of "Conversations With Cait," Shan shares with us the story behind Jojo Adventure Books, her personal journey with the Cantonese language, and the importance of preserving our heritage.  Be sure to check out her Instagram page below to learn more about the series.  When you sup...

Donus Roberts, the owner of DDR Books, stands next to his wife Lovila Roberts, who is seated in a chair. photo courtesy: @DonusRoberts / Twitter WATERTOWN, S.D. — Donus Roberts is the owner of DDR Books , a bookstore in a city that sits along the   Big Sioux River. Named after the Roman form of the Greek god, "Adonis," Roberts collected books all his life. He estimates that he owns about 14,000.  In the early 80s, Roberts began collecting first edition authors and began selling books online. A retired high school English teacher of nearly 40 years, he decided to open up a bookstore of his own.  Originally called ABC Books, he changed the name to Books from Donus Roberts until finally settling on  DDR Books in 2007.  Afterall, everyone called him DDR during his teaching days at Watertown Public Schools , which began in 1960. In fact, a love for literature and teaching runs in the family. Not only is his wife, Lovila Roberts, a retired high school English tea...

"'Conversations With Cait' ep. 9: Book Talk! with South Dakota indie bookstore owner Donus D. Roberts" is the very first Book Talk! edition of "Conversations With Cait." In this episode, Donus D. Roberts, joins us from Watertown, South Dakota.  He is the owner and founder of DDR Books and is a retired high school English teacher.  He shares with us the story behind DDR Books, his favorite titles and South Dakota literature recommendations.  A former teacher of nearly 40 years, he also shares his thoughts on book bans and the recent edits made on classic books by publishers, including Agatha Christie and Roald Dahl's novels. For updates on future articles, follow @cait_malilay_writes on Instagram. For more book-related content, follow @cait_malilay_reads.

Local 2110 of United Auto Workers held a rally at 195 Broadway at 12:30 p.m. on Friday as part of their strike for higher wages, a more diverse workplace and better union security for HarperCollins Publishers employees.  The union represents over 250 employees in the editorial, sales, publicity, design, legal and marketing departments. The rally was co-hosted by R.F. Kuang , Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of “Babel: An Arcane History,” and Molly McGhee, the author of the upcoming novel, “Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind.” “We are asking for other ways to make compensation better for people of color, and make it a more secure place for people of color to work,” said Carly Katz, an audio coordinator at HarperCollins Publishers, in an interview with “Conversations With Cait.” Lee and Low Books found in a 2019 baseline survey that the publishing industry overall is 76% white and 74% are cis women. Katz, who has been with the company for five years, makes about $5...

HarperCollins Publishers employees are striking for wage increases, a better commitment to diversifying the staff and union security. In this episode, we have Carly Katz, an audio coordinator at HarperCollins Publishers, to tell us more. In October, over 95% of unionized employees voted to strike, according to a press release.  The union, Local 2110 of the United Auto Workers, represents over 250 employees in the editorial, sales, publicity, design, legal and marketing departments.  HarperCollins is the only unionized Big Five publishing house. The majority of workers are women and the average salary is $55,000 with a starting salary of $45,000.  You don't need to do the math to understand that that's clearly not enough to survive in New York City!  Negotiations began in December of last year, yet unionized employees have been working without a contract since April.  A rally is going to be held this Friday, Dec. 16 at 12:30 p.m. led by R.F. Kuang , Sunday Times ...

Airing today at 5 p.m. on 91.3 WBNY-FM and with all the discussion with Roe v. Wade , you won’t want to miss this episode about  “She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry,”  a 2014 documentary film  produced and directed by Mary Dore, which showcases the leaders behind the women’s liberation movement from 1966 to 1971. This episode features Jennifer Ryan-Bryant, an English professor at the State University of New York College at Buffalo and former director of the women gender and sexuality studies interdisciplinary unit, who discusses further about the ways the women’s movement used language to promote equality for women in the workplace and their personal lives. This ranges from slogans they developed, speeches they delivered and an outpouring of creative works including poetry, comics and pamphlets. Ryan-Bryant, who is also the graduate coordinator for the Master of Arts program, teaches courses in American Poetry, the American novel, women and gender studies, Gender and ...

“‘Conversations With Cait’ ep. 5: The Salem Witch Trials” is set to air on 91.3 WBNY-FM on Monday and April 4 at 5 p.m. This episode is on the depiction of women witches beginning with the historical 1692 Salem Witch Trials to Hollywood. A discussion with Rachel Christ, the Salem Witch Museum director of education, also touches on how capitalism takes advantage of the trend of modern-day witchcraft from crystal-healing to natural herbs. “Conversations With Cait” is a new podcast centered on the arts, culture and race and gender politics. Stay tuned for the episode recap! To stay up to date on articles and future episodes, follow @cait_malilay_writes on Instagram.

One of the GOP’s main focuses lately has been on education. They’re on the hunt to ban books in an attempt to put a stop to critical race theory despite the fact there is little to no evidence that it’s taught in K-12 schools. In Tennessee, a school board banned “Maus,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the Holocaust. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin photo credit: AP Photo/Steve Helber Most recently, Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin had an email hotline set up specifically for parents to address their concerns of what he called, “divisive concepts ,” including critical race theory. Democrats argue that this is an attack on education and that they are attempting to erase history. Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis showed his support for the Parents Rights In Education , also known as the Don’t Say Gay Bill, which essentially prohibits “a school district from encouraging classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels.” Florida Go...

Josiah Henson, photographed in Boston, 1876 Saladin Allah , the third-great grandson of the Underground Railroad freedom seeker whom Harriet Beecher Stowe used as the primary narrative for her famous 19th century novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin, ” joined “Conversations With Cait,” where he shared his ancestor’s history. A bestselling novel, Stowe received a lot of criticism from the public as it was one of the first books that addressed the horrors of slavery. In fact, what most people don’t know, according to Allah, is that she wrote a second book called, “A Key To Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” which lists all of the references that she used, and it is in this book where she mentions Josiah Henson’s name. “He was a forerunner for the Underground Railroad, which essentially means when he made his journey from the South to the North. Harriet Tubman, her name was Araminta at the time, she was still a child on a plantation,” Allah said. “He left the south of Kentucky in about 1830 and he made that jour...

photo credit: Atlantis Build / Twitter  Tune in tomorrow at 5 p.m. on 91.3 WBNY-FM for “Conversations With Cait,” for a discussion with Saladin Allah, the third-great grandson of underground railroad Freedom Seeker Josiah Henson whom Harriet Beecher Stowe used as the primary narrative for her famous 19th century novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” In this episode, he shares the story of his third-great grandfather and as an educator, discusses the importance of acknowledging our histories, the future of the youth and education getting mixed up in the game of politics. Stay tuned for the recap article! For updates, follow @cait_malilay_writes on Instagram.

Islamophobia is nothing new and it is especially apparent today in Congress. In November, a video surfaced of Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado making anti-Muslim remarks about Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minn. at a Conservative party in September.  She referred to Omar as a member of the “Jihad Squad,” and said that she felt safe since Omar didn’t have a backpack with her, referring to her as a suicide bomber. In mid-December, The House approved the Combating International Islamophobia Act , which addresses the rise in incidents of Islamophobia.  This bill “requires the U.S. State Department to create a Special Envoy for monitoring and combating Islamophobia and include state-sponsored Islamophobic violence and impunity in the Department's annual human rights reports,” according to a press release. It will also “help policymakers better understand the interconnected, global problem of anti-Muslim bigotry” and initiate "a comprehensive strategy for establishing U....

“‘Conversations With Cait’ ep. 2: Texas book bans” is set to air on 91.3 WBNY-FM  tomorrow at 7:30 a.m.   This episode’s discussion will be about Gov. Greg Abbott and Matt Krause’s call to hunt down books that center on people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and sexual health, which Abbott described as “pornographic or obscene material.” Guest speakers include Emma Kaplan, a leading representative of New York City Revolution Club , and Jacob Quinn, a Snowbelt region representative of Turning Point USA . "Conversations With Cait" is a new podcast centered on the arts, culture and race and gender politics. Check out the article and full interview here! To stay up to date on articles and future episodes, follow @cait_malilay_writes  on Instagram.

Texas Republican lawmakers are on the hunt to take down books in school libraries that center on race, the LGBTQ+ community and sexual health. In a letter to the executive director of the Texas Association of School Boards, Gov. Greg Abbott urged them to be on the lookout for any books that he described as containing "pornographic or obscene material,” arguing that parents have a right to be concerned. photo credit: REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo Matt Krause, chair of the Texas House's General Investigating Committee, created a list and in a letter to the Texas Education Agency's deputy commissioner of school programs and school superintendents, encouraged them to keep an eye out for any books that might generate “discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress because of [a student’s] race or sex.” New Kid  by Jerry Craft is one of the 850 books on Matt Krause's list In response , a group of librarians started the grassroots initiative, #F...

"Conversations With Cait," a new podcast that centers on the arts, culture and race and gender politics, is set to air on  91.3 WBNY-FM  on Monday at 7:30 a.m. Don't have time to tune in? "Conversations With Cait" is now available on YouTube  and SoundCloud . Here's a recap of episode one. For the first episode, published fiction and poetry author Kayla King  shared with listeners her journey as a writer and more about her two collectives, “Pages Penned In Pandemic,” and “The Elpis Pages,” both of which are collections of poetry, short stories, flash fiction, essays and more.  All proceeds from “The Elpis Pages,” according to King, will be donated to Planned Parenthood Action Fund , an organization which helps protect access to safe, legal abortion and reproductive rights. What's the story behind these two collectives? For “Pages Penned in Pandemic,” she began a featured interview series in summer 2020. photo credit: Golden Rose Creative “I was really...

  graphic courtesy of: Elijah Robinson "Conversations With Cait" is a new podcast centered on the arts, culture, and race and gender politics. For the first episode, our first guest speaker will be published fiction and poetry author Kayla King. King’s work made the Backlash Best Book Award shortlist, and most recently she was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is the author of These Are the Women We Write About , and is a 2013 Buffalo State College alumna.  Go Bengals!  She will share with us her journey as a writer, her process behind putting together collectives, and tell us more about   The Elpis Pages , which was launched just this month!  She is the founder and editor-in-chief of this collective along with Pages Penned in Pandemic .   All proceeds from The Elpis Pages , according to King, will be donated to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, an organization which helps protect access to safe, legal abortion and reproductive rights. Foll...