Welcome to
Book Dreams!
Book Dreams is a podcast for everyone who loves books and misses English class. In each episode co-hosts Julie Sternberg and Eve Yohalem explore a book-related topic they can’t stop thinking about, everything from the genius of your favorite picture books to books bound in human skin. Julie and Eve are both award-winning authors, which allows them to come at interviews with an insider’s knowledge as well as all the wonder associated with storytelling.
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Co-Host & Co-Founder Julie Sternberg
Julie Sternberg is the award-winning author of the best-selling Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie; its sequels Like Bug Juice on a Burger and Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake; The Top-Secret Diary of Celie Valentine series; and the picture books Puppy Puppy Puppy and Bedtime at Bessie and Lil's. Her ninth book, the middle-grade novel Summer of Stolen Secrets, was published by Viking Children's Books in 2021. Before becoming a writer, Julie worked as a public interest lawyer. As a kid all she wanted to do was read, and as an adult all she really wants to do is read, and it's nothing short of a miracle that her family still loves her, given how many times she's looked up from a book to discover that they've been trying to get her attention for at least an hour. You can learn more about Julie and the books she’s written at juliesternberg.com. You can learn about the two nonprofit organizations she and Eve have co-founded, to support the community of people who love books, at www.bookdreamsinc.org and www.bookdreamscanada.ca.
Co-Host & Co-Founder Eve Yohalem
Eve Yohalem is the author of middle grade novels The Truth According to Blue, Cast Off: The Strange Adventures of Petra de Winter and Bram Broen, and the award-winning Escape Under the Forever Sky. She also wrote the Grandpa Hates the Bird series for younger readers, about which one Amazon reviewer said, “Please report to the FBI this author and other authors who publish books that contaminate our children and groom them to be future criminals.” Eve especially likes doing research for her books, which is why she knows a surprising amount about great apes, peregrine falcons, and 17th century slang. (She hopes everyone reading this bio will help make “kiss my blind cheeks” and “break my teeth” go viral.)
Before becoming a writer, Eve sang opera, then did some businessy things and some teaching. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and a few other things too. But mostly reading. You can learn more about Eve and the books she’s written at eveyohalem.com. You can learn about the two nonprofit organizations she and Julie have co-founded, to support the community of people who love books, at www.bookdreamsinc.org and www.bookdreamscanada.ca.
Producer Gianfranco Lentini
Gianfranco Lentini is a New York-based LGBTQ+ journalist and playwright. Journalistically, he’s written for Grindr, Time Out New York, LGBTQ Nation, Backstage, Broadway Spin, Samuel French, TheatreMania, and NYTheatre. Artistically, his work has been developed and produced by Torrent Theatre, UNDER St. Marks Theatre, A Night of Play, Theatrical Response Team, and inspiraTO Festival, Canada’s largest short play festival. He has worked on Broadway as a production assistant for a number of shows including Disney’s Frozen, Hello, Dolly!, and Springsteen on Broadway. Off-Broadway he has been the associate director on many developmental shows with companies including Nederlander Worldwide, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and York Theatre Company. He is a long-standing member of the not-starving-artist but will-always-order-Seamless playwright group, The Nomads. When he’s not podcasting or writing, Gianfranco can be found in pursuit of the latest Wizarding World news, wand in hand, as a reporter for The Leaky Cauldron, one of the oldest online news sources for all-things Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts, and Cursed Child. You can learn more about Gianfranco’s work at heygianfranco.com and on Instagram and Twitter.