Enter to win an author-signed copy of Hibernation Station by Michelle Meadows, illustrated by Kurt Cyrus (Simon & Schuster, 2010). Personalization of the signing is optional to the winner! From the promotional copy:
Everybody to the Station!
Time for Winter Hibernation!
With room for all kinds of critters from big burly bears and clamoring chipmunks to grumpy groundhogs and fidgety frogs, this train is filled to capacity and ready to go!
The final destination?
Sleep!
To enter, email me (scroll and click envelope) with your name and type “Hibernation Station” in the subject line. LiveJournal, Facebook, JacketFlap, MySpace, and Twitter readers are welcome to just privately message or comment me with the name in the header/post; I’ll write you for contact information, if you win. Deadline: Oct. 19. Sponsored by the author; U.S. entries only. Read a Cynsations guest post about the book by Michelle.
More News
Congratulations to the finalists in the Young People’s Literature category of the National Book Award: Paolo Bacigalupi, Ship Breaker (Little, Brown); Kathryn Erskine, Mockingbird (Philomel); Laura McNeal, Dark Water (Knopf); Walter Dean Myers, Lockdown (Amistad/HarperCollins); Rita Williams-Garcia, One Crazy Summer (Amistad/HarperCollins).Note: click links from author names for more information about them and their books. Young People’s Literature Judges: Laban Carrick Hill, Kelly Link, Tor Seidler, Hope Anita Smith, Sara Zarr.
In It for the Long Haul by Rachelle Gardner from Rants & Ramblings on Life as a Literary Agent. Peek: “…what helps a writer accomplish this goal – and what can sabotage their efforts.”
Canadian Awards from ACHOCKABLOG. Note: finalists for the 2010 Information Book Award and winner of the Inaugural Lane Andersen Award in the young reader category.
When You Discover Your Agent’s Not That Into You by Brodi Ashton from Nathan Bransford – Literary Agent. Peek: “I’m still friends with my first agent, and I admit I learned so much from him. But I would rather be in the query pool, collecting a thousand rejections, than be with an agent whose reaction to my book was, ‘Meh.'” See also The All-Important First Chapter by Valerie Kemp from Nathan.
Babybaby Pie of the Month – Amy Schwartz from Heather Vogel Frederick. Peek: “I wanted to tie the pie theme into the story as much as possible. I interwove a little side story involving a freshly baked pie, and I also tried to use a palette reminiscent of a berry pie, purples and blues and lavenders. I used berry patterns, and tried to use round and pie-like shapes. I personified my moon, hoping to reinforce the dreamy quality of the story.”
Writing Fight Scenes by Leah Cypress, featuring insights from Jenny Moss, Ellen Oh, Malinda Lo, Dawn Metcalf, Lia Keyes, and Caroline Hooton, from The Enchanted Inkpot. Peek from Ellen: “We have to know that in a fight, the brain doesn’t completely go blank. Capturing the heightened intensity of the character’s emotions is what makes a fight scene really come alive.”
Literary Conversations: What Can You Add? by Darcy Pattison from Fiction Notes. Peek: “…our writing doesn’t stand alone. It stands in the stream of novels and fiction written by our generation. But it also stands in the context of the time line of our culture and the canon of literature of our culture.” Read a Cynsations guest post by Darcy on Creating Book Trailers.
Will I Make a Lot of Money Writing? by Saundra Mitchell from Making Up Stuff for a Living. Peek: “There’s no quick buck in writing- not even for the much-envied lead title people with their glorious six figure advances.” Note: perhaps not the answer writers long to hear, but good for perspective. Saundra breaks it down. Read a Cynsations interview with Saundra.
Playing Ourselves into Wide Open Spaces by Olugbemisola Rhuday Perkovich from Spilling Ink: A Young Writer’s Handbook Creativity Blog. Peek: “Remember when you were told to ‘Go play?’ When it was the right thing to do?” Don’t miss part two. Read a Cynsations interview with Olugbemisola.
How to Fire Your Agent by Rachel Gardner from Rants and Ramblings on Life as a Literary Agent. Peek: “It takes maturity to try and repair the relationship before ending it. There’s a lot of fear involved in telling someone that we’re not satisfied and asking if there’s a way to fix the problems.”
Cynsational Blogger Tip: if you’re doing a giveaway, be sure to include geographic eligibility (U.S. only? U.S.-Canada? U.K. only? Worldwide?) and the deadline for entries. I’ve had to pass on linking to several giveaways because I wasn’t sure if my round-up would be after the deadline.
Cobwebs Got Your Story? by Carolyn Kaufman from QueryTracker. Peek: “Unsettled, I peer around the corners into the nooks and crannies of the story only to find sheets of lacy cobwebs and the mummified remains of plot bunnies that didn’t quiet make it out to the green pasture before I tucked the story away. Dust coats nearly everything, giving my story a surreal, fuzzy feeling.”
Native American Youth Literature Widget from JacketFlap. Peek: “This widget highlights children’s and young adult books by Native American authors and illustrators. While hundreds of books about American Indians are published every year, Native youth literature creators are among the most underrepresented groups in publishing today.” Note: raise awareness and show your support!
Inside the Author’s Studio with Andrew Auseon by Bethany Hegedus from Writer Friendly; Bookshelf Approved. Peek: “I am very aware that if I didn’t sit down and pound through my pages, or stay up all hours of the night to finish a deadline, then my books would not exist. That’s about as cut-and-dry a situation as I can imagine, and it can cause incredible anxiety. But most days, I am thrilled to have that time to myself…” Note: Congratulations to Bethany on the release of Truth with a Capital T (Delacorte, 2010)! See her related posts, Third Time’s the Charm, and that article continued.
When You’re in This for the Career by Jan Fields from the Institute of Children’s Literature. Peek: “If you’re going to stick with short fiction for teens, you’re going to have to hone your craft until you’re the cream of the short fiction crop. And you’re going to have to write what teens want to read instead of what you think they ought to read. In other words, your short fiction will have to entertain a whole lot more than it educates.”
Master List of YA Literary Magazines and Journals by S.E. Sinkhorn from maybe genius. Peek: “These are mostly magazines that are on a paying scale, which means they’re pro or semi-pro. Some of them don’t pay, but are still of a high quality. I’m going to list the magazine/journal along with a link, the age group it’s aimed at, and a short description.” Source: Alice Pope’s SCBWI Market Guide.
Cynsational Author Blogger Tip: make sure visitors to your blog can readily tell who you are and how to find out more about your books. Note: In putting together attributions for weekly links, I’ve been known to click up to five or six times, trying to figure out whom to credit.
Inkys Awards Short List Announced from Readings Books Music Film. Note: “shortlists for the [Australian] Inky Awards – the teenage-choice YA book awards run by the Centre for Youth Literature and www.insideadog.com.au.” Honored authors include Justine Larbalestier, Libba Bray, Scott Westerfeld, Maggie Stiefvater, John Green, David Levithan, and Jandy Nelson; see the whole list.
New Agent Interview: John Rudolph, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management by Alice Pope from Alice Pope’s SCBWI Market Guide. Peek: “Right now, I’m open to pretty much anything and everything, though I will say that I’m not actively looking for picture book manuscripts unless they’re by author/illustrators.”
Congratulations Texas Sweethearts & Scoundrels
Congratulations to the latest members of the Texas Sweethearts and Scoundrels—K.A. Holt, Jeanette Larson, Don Tate, and Emma Virjan!
The Crossroads Blog Tour
I’m not involved as a blogger or author, but I look forward to reading the Crossroads Blog Tour.
Cynsational Screening Room
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer (Philomel, Oct. 19, 2010) ARC giveaway from P.J. Hoover at Roots in Myth. Deadline: midnight Oct. 22. Check out the book trailer below.
Check out the book trailer for Losing Faith by Denise Jaden (Simon Pulse, 2010).
Jennifer Donnelly tells the story behind Revolution from Random House.
Cynsational Giveaway Reminder
Enter to win a copy of The Wish Stealers by Tracy Trivas (Aladdin, 2010)! To enter, email me (scroll and click envelope) with your name and type “The Wish Stealers” in the subject line LiveJournal, Facebook, JacketFlap, MySpace, and Twitter readers are also welcome to just privately message or comment me with the name in the header/post. I’ll write you for contact information, if you win. Deadline: Oct. 31. Sponsored by Simon & Schuster; U.S. entries only. Read a Cynsations interview with Tracy.
Note: the email link was broken on previous announcements of this giveaway. It should work now. Please try again. My apologies for the inconvenience.
More Personally
Hooray! One of my stories is featured in Girl Meets Boy, a YA anthology, edited by Kelly Milner Halls, which literary agent Jill Cocoran sold this week to Chronicle for spring 2012 release! My story is a companion to one by Joseph Bruchac! I’m especially jazzed because this will be my next piece of Native-themed fiction to reach young readers.
Here’s the full scoop from Jill! Additional contributing authors: Chris Cruther, Terry Davis, Rebecca Fjelland Davis, Kelly Milner Halls, James Howe, Randy Powell, Sara Ryan, Terry Trueman, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Ellen Wittlinger.
Cynthia Leitich Smith — Team Werewolf from David and Kelly at YA Book Reads. Peek: “Did it all start with that little girl in the red hood? I can’t say for sure. But werewolves get a bum rap. Ditto werecats and other werepredators. When I decided to write shape shifters, they first thing I did was my homework.” Note: check out the worldwide giveaway and the whole line-up for Book Wars: Vampires Versus Werewolves.”
Reminder: want to leave a comment at Cynsations? You can do so at the LiveJournal or MySpace versions of this blog as well as at my facebook author page. I’m also online at Twitter and YouTube.
Reminder: I make an effort to confirm receipt of all interview answers/guest posts. If you did not receive a confirmation from me, please follow up to check status.
Two Chances to Win Blessed ARC
Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith Review and ARC Giveaway by Insert Book Title Here. Peek: “The world of Tantalize and Eternal combine in Blessed (PDF) to create an amazing story that is captivating. I loved both of the previous novels, but Blessed has blown them both out of the water. This is Cynthia at her best.” Note: U.S. and Canadian citizens are eligible to win. Deadline: midnight Oct. 31. Enter here.
Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith ARC Giveaway by P.J. Hoover from Roots in Myth. Deadline: midnight Oct. 15. Note: P.J. is also giving away an ARC of her upcoming novel, The Necropolis (CBAY, 2010) and Truth with a Capital T by Bethany Hegedus (Delacorte, 2010). Click titles for details!
On a related note, I was honored to see the cover art for Blessed featured by Amy from A Simple Love of Reading.
Cynsational Events
Check out the schedule for Texas Book Festival on Oct. 16 and Oct. 17 in Austin. Cynthia Leitich Smith will be reading Holler Loudly, illustrated by Barry Gott (Dutton, 2010) from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Oct. 17 in the Children’s Read Me a Story Tent. Her signing will follow immediately afterward at the Children’s Signing Tent (13th and Colorado). Note: In a limited early release, Holler Loudly will premier at this event.
“Beyond Feathers and Fangs: Crossing Borders in Realistic and Fantasy Fiction, with Cynthia Leitich Smith” at The 33rd Annual Mary Calletto Rife Youth Literature Seminar – Kalamazoo Public Library. The seminar costs $40 (lower student rates are available) and is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 4 p.m Nov. 5. Note: Maria Perez-Stable and Beth Amidon will also present a book talk, and additional speakers are Gillian Engberg, Booklist editor, and Debbie Reese, UIUC professor. See more on the speakers. Note: I’ll also be speaking on Nov. 4 in a public event at the Kalamazoo Public Library!