CBC Unscripted Videos

CBC Unscritped is a series of monthly virtual lunchtime panels featuring CBC staff in unscripted conversations with leading figures in the book and literacy community. Topics to be covered include diversity, book access, free speech and the fight against book bans, the media, nonprofits, and more. The videos below are available exclusively to CBC members. If you are a member and have forgotten the login, please email cbc.info@cbcbooks.org.

Not a member? Watch diversity award videos, children’s book read-alouds, awesome book trailers, authors & illustrators at work, and more on our YouTube channel.

UNSCRIPTED: CHIWONISO KAITANO (2025)

The next guest in the CBC Unscripted virtual panel series is Chiwoniso Kaitano. Join Carl Lennertz and Chiwoniso as they discuss MacDowell’s decades of vital work supporting authors and artists across many, many disciplines.

Chiwoniso Kaitano Bio

Chiwoniso Kaitano is the executive director of MacDowell, overseeing the creative mission and financial well-being of the nation’s first multidisciplinary arts residency program. “Chi” previously has led similar efforts at Girl Be Heard (GBH) as well as Ifetayo Cultural Arts Academy, a 30-year-old Brooklyn-based arts and culture organization. She holds a law degree from the London School of Economics and a master’s in international affairs from Columbia University. She also serves on the boards of New York’s International Contemporary Ensemble, The Center for Fiction, and The Jazz Leaders Fellowship of Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.

UNSCRIPTED: BOBBIE COMBS (2025)

The next guest in the CBC Unscripted virtual panel series was Bobbie Combs. Carl Lennertz and Bobbie talked about life as a children’s bookseller, book marketer, website developer, publisher, her work at the Highlights Foundation, and about Floyd Cooper.

Bobbie Combs Bio

Bobbie Combs has spent 40 years vocationally exploring every corner of the children’s book publishing industry. She has been the manager of several independent children’s bookstores, the children’s buyer/sales/marketing director at Koen Book Distributors, the co-founder of indie publisher Two Lives Publishing, and a website and marketing consultant for kidlit authors, illustrators, publishers and industry trade groups. These days, she has a small roster of website clients, creates educator guides for publishers, and serves on the marketing team at the Highlights Foundation.

UNSCRIPTED: JULIE GRIBBLE (2025)

The next guest in the CBC Unscripted virtual panel series was Julie Gribble, who talked with Shaina Birkhead about her work founding and running KidLit TV, making creative content for young readers, and how her background led her to where she is today, championing books and book creators.

Julie Gribble Bio

KidLit TV, founded by Julie Gribble, is a creative multimedia company committed to connecting children’s books and their authors with kids around the globe. The platform provides access to author and artist interviews, captivating read-alouds, interactive drawing tutorials, and other book-inspired activities.

KidLit TV is an Eric Carle Honor recipient, an American Association of School Librarians’ Best Digital Tool for Teaching and Learning, and a Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner.

Julie is an award-winning writer, screenwriter, filmmaker, and producer who has been nominated for two Emmy Awards.

She received the Norton Juster Award for Devotion to Literacy from Reader to Reader.

UNSCRIPTED: MANUELA SOARES (2025)

The next guest in the new CBC Unscripted virtual panel series was Manuela Soares, who talked with Carl Lennertz about her work at Pace University, guiding the work of the Master of Science in Publishing program, as well as her own journey in publishing.

Manuela Soares Bio

Manuela is the Director of the MS in Publishing Program at Pace University and Director of Pace University Press. Prior to being named as Director in 2018, Soares had been a full-time faculty member in the MS in Publishing program since 2004. The courses she has taught include General Interest Books, Children’s Book Publishing, Marketing Principles and Practices, Entrepreneurship, and Ethics in Publishing. She also taught the Graduate Seminar, in which students write their Master’s theses. She is on the Editorial Board of Publishing Research Quarterly, where many of the program’s thesis papers have been published in abbreviated form.

Soares is also the Director of Pace University Press, overseeing the publication of journals and books. In her over thirty-year career, Soares worked in both magazine and book publishing as a writer and editor, most recently as the Managing Editor at Scholastic. Prior to that, she was a Senior Editor at Rizzoli International, acquiring books in a variety of disciplines (fashion, design, cooking) but focusing mainly on art and photography. She has written several books, including One Hand Clapping and The Joy Within.

UNSCRIPTED: RAAKHEE MIRCHANDANI (2025)

The first guest in the new CBC Unscripted virtual panel series was Raakhee Mirchandani, who talked with Carl Lennertz about her life as an author, community advocate, and her long-time involvement with CBC’s Every Child a Reader.

Raakhee Mirchandani Bio

Previously a feature writer and columnist for the New York Post, a managing editor at the New York Daily News, and associate editor at the Boston Herald, Raakhee Mirchandani’s work has also appeared in Elle, Glamour, the Wall Street Journal, Redbook, and HuffPO.

The New Jersey-born daughter of immigrants, Raakhee is a proud supporter of many nonprofits, serving on the boards of the Tomorrows Children’s Fund, the Hoboken Public Library, Stevens Cooperative School, and Every Child a Reader.

In 2020, Raakhee launched her podcast, “Brown Mom,” where she chats with friends and notables about being brown in America.

When she isn’t writing or working on her podcast, Raakhee is either organizing her bookshelves, running races to raise money for the fight against pediatric cancer — or styling her very curly hair with new oils and potions. She lives in Hoboken, N.J., with her husband and daughter, the inspirations for Hair Twins and Super Satya Saves the Day.