Cynthia Leitich Smith: Celebrating Native Voices in Literature from Christopher Lau at Urban Coolies, Sept. 9, 2024.



The Authorial Voice in Today’s Discourse: The Page, Podium, Platform, Persona (And Nurturing Your Writer’s Heart) by VCFA WCYA inaugural Katherine Paterson chair, Cynthia Leitich Smith, May 1, 2022.

By Cynthia

Fighting for Libraries,

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Mvto for visiting my author site! I’m grateful for your enthusiasm and support. I’ve been publishing books, short stories, essays, and poetry for young readers since 2000, and it’s an honor to craft stories for such an important audience. As of 2024, you can find 20 of my books in bookstores and libraries, and I have six more in various stages of production.

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for Cynthia Leitich Smith

• Nominee, Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2025).
• Inductee, Texas Literary Hall of Fame (2024)
• Southern Miss Medallion, Fay B. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival (2024).
• 2021 Neustadt NSK Laureate (Winner of the NSK Prize for Children’s Literature)
• Austin chapter of SCBWI instituted the Cynthia Leitich Smith Mentor Award (2014)
• Spirit of Texas YA Author,

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Reading Group Guide for Blessed

BLESSED (Candlewick, 2011).

→ About BLESSED

→ Reading Group Guide: Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith: features introduction; excerpt; discussion questions; author biography; author interview; and acclaim. Quick-print format.

Reading Group Guide for Eternal

ETERNAL (Candlewick, 2008, 2010).

→ About ETERNAL

→ Reading Group Guide: Eternal by Cynthia Leitich Smith: features introduction;

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