Buried by Robin Merrow MacCready (Dutton, 2006) is the young adult winner of the Edgar Award, given by the Mystery Writers of America. Room One: A Mystery or Two by Andrew Clements (Simon & Schuster, 2006) won in the juvenile division. Read a Cynsations interview with Robin.

Coe Booth has won the LA Times Book Prize for Tyrell (Scholastic/Push, 2006).

The 2007 Jane Addams Children’s Book Awards from the Jane Addams Peace Association went to A Place Where Sunflowers Grow by Amy-Lee Tai, illustrated by Felicia Hoshino (Children’s Book Press), in the Books for Younger Children category and Weedflower by Cynthia Kadohata (Atheneum), won in the Books for Older Children category. Read a Cynsations interview with Cynthia. Source: Mitali’s Fire Escape.

Attention Illustrators! Surf over to A Fuse #8 Production to check out a historic opportunity related to the Cybils awards.

Author Mary Bowman-Kruhm also debuts a new blog, Writing a Book: the Winding Path. Mary is the author of more than thirty books for young readers.

Author Anjali Banerjee debuts a new blog! Read a Cynsations interview with Anjali on Looking for Bapu (Wendy Lamb, 2006). Download a short audio excerpt of chapter one of the novel.

Editor, Writer Lisa Graff Looks At Both Sides of Publishing: an exclusive Authorlink interview with Lisa Graff, author of The Thing About Georgie (HarperCollins, 2007) by Susan VanHecke.

Children’s Book Illustrator Phyllis Hornung Peacock: official site features art, books, merchandise, biography, links, blog, etc. Books include A Place for Zero (Charlesbridge, 2003), The New House (Mondo Publishing, 2004), Simon Can’t Say Hippopotamus (Mondo Publishing 2004), What’s Your Angle, Pythagoras? (Charlesbridge, 2004), Bubbe Isabella and the Sukkot Cake (Kar-Ben Publishing, 2005), The Princess Madison Trilogy (Baker Publishing Group, 2006-2007).

More Personally

“Cynsations:” an interview snapshot from Faye Likes Words: “a blog about writing, editing, publishing and associated blogs. I want to help other writers find good information using this ‘bloogle for writers’ blog.”

Going Goth: An Interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith from Suite101.com. Also check out the latest review of Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007).

Reminder: Vampress.net is giving away two autographed copies of the novel (see sidebar for information).

Thank you to librarian Debbie Leland as well as the administration, faculty, and staff of Forest Ridge Elementary in College Station, Texas. Last Thursday, Greg and I had the honor of speaking with Toni Simmons, Chris Espinoza, and Melanie Chrismer (author interview). Our focus was on our books for younger elementary readers and on getting to know a character.

Thanks to the self-proclaimed “Marian the Librarian” and her YA reading group at Cedar Park Public Library in Cedar Park, Texas. I enjoyed visiting with them on Saturday morning.

Thanks also to Topher and the YA reading group at BookPeople in Austin, Texas. On Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed a Sanguini’s-style feast (really! think: chocolate drops with M&M centers for eyes), and then discussed Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007). For giveaways, I provided bookmarks, copies of a bibliography of recommended gothic fantasy novels, a Sanguini’s cutting board, and a Sanguini’s T-shirt.