Loan Stars is the readers’ advisory tool that allows library staff across Canada to collaboratively select their favourite forthcoming titles. Using CataList, the online catalogue service and order management tool available for free to libraries, library staff can endorse the Fiction, Non-Fiction, Juvenile, and Young Adult titles they want to recommend to their patrons. The titles with the most recommendations become Loan Stars picks!

But who are the authors and illustrators behind these great Loan Stars reads?

We find out in our series Meet the Loan Stars.

Meet Judy I. Lin 🍁

Judy I. Lin 🍁 was born in Taiwan and immigrated to Canada with her family at a young age. She grew up with her nose in a book and loved to escape to imaginary worlds. She now works as an occupational therapist and still spends her nights dreaming up imaginary worlds of her own. She lives on the Canadian prairies with her husband and daughter. A Magic Steeped in Poison is her debut novel.

And you can find Judy’s A Magic Steeped in Poison on the March & April 2022 Loan Stars Jr. list!

Read Judy’s interview below to learn all about her love for libraries, book recommendations, and more.

If you could visit any library in the world, where would you go?

I'd love to visit European libraries to see their beautiful architecture, like the Klementinum National Library in Prague or the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

Do you have a favourite librarian, real or fictional?

All the librarians I've met in school, at the public library and at university have all been wonderful and knowledgeable to their patrons!

Which book would you choose to recommend to library patrons?

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh is beautifully written.

Cover of Judy I. Lin's book A Magic Steeped in Poison

What does being a Loan Stars pick mean to you?

I'm so happy to be chosen as a Loan Stars pick since libraries were a safe and comforting place to me when I was growing up. I'm really thrilled that my book will be on library shelves, just like the authors I so admired when I was checking out books as a teen.

And we’re thrilled to have you as part of our list, Judy!

Are you a Loan Stars-recommended author or illustrator who wants to be featured on our blog? Get in touch with us to get started.

Until next time!