Have Fun with Your Grown-up Game of Make Believe by Susan Beth Pfeffer from Adventures in YA Publishing.Peek: “You can take all the classes in the world to learn how to be better and you can absorb all the excellent advice in the world to learn how to be better and you can write write write until, with practice you become better, but there’s no point in doing any of that if the very act of writing isn’t fun.”
Transformation Through Writing from Marion Dane Bauer. Peek: “If we are choosing well when we climb into a story idea, we are asking questions that still have urgency for us, not giving answers we’ve already found.”
When Research Turns Up Nothing, and It’s a Good Thing by Dianne Salerni from Crowe’s Nest. Peek: “There’s no credible evidence for a historical King Arthur. In fact there’s a lot of evidence that weighs against him. Most notably: no historians from his time period mention him at all.”
Agents vs. Editors by Mary Kole from Kidlit.com. Peek: “Before you think that I’m calling agents mercenary art-killers and editors starry-eyed idealists, though, here’s another layer of complexity: In the real world, it is very difficult for either party to get what it wants.”
Listening with Our Pens: Narrative Humility for Writers by Sayantani DasGupta from Uma Krishnaswami at Writing with a Broken Tusk. Peek: “Narrative Humility is not about gaining any sense of competence or mastery over our patients, or their stories. Rather, it is about paying attention to our own inner workings – our expectations, our prejudices, our own cadre of personal stories that impact how we react to the stories of others.”
Processing Contradictory Advice on Query Writing from Shelli Cornelison. Peek: “When I was first trying to learn how to write a query letter, all that opposing advice freaked me out, to put it mildly.”
Giveaways
Reality Boy by A.S. King (Little, Brown, 2013) from Adventures in YA Publishing.
National Book Award Finalists
- Kathi Appelt, The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp (Atheneum)
- Cynthia Kadohata, The Thing About Luck (Atheneum)
- Tom McNeal, Far Far Away (Knopf)
- Meg Rosoff, Picture Me Gone (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
- Gene Luen Yang, Boxers & Saints (First Second)
This Week at Cynsations
- Kerri Majors on This is Not a Writing Manual: Notes for the Young Writers in the Real World by Shelli Cornelison
- Caroline Carlson on The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates
- Book Trailer: When the Butterflies Came by Kimberley Griffiths Little
- Book Trailer: Wise Young Fool by Sean Beaudoin
- BlogTalkRadio: GregLeitichSmith on the Peshtigo School novels
- “Glee” Celebrates Finn Hudson
- In Memory: Sonia Lynn Sadler
More Personally
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| Audio: Greg Leitich Smith on the Peshtigo School novels |
Hey, San Diego! I’m winging your way next week. Check out the full scoop below, and plan to come see me Monday evening at the central library!
Thank you librarian Julie Salvato and everyone at Lampasas ISD for yesterday’s school visit at Lampasas (TX) High School! Pics to come!
- Feeling Spooky? How do YA & MG Writers (Including Cyn) Get Creepy? from Ink & Angst.
Personal Links
Cynsational Events
Cynthia Leitich Smith will offer several presentations the week of Oct. 20 in conjunction with Jingle Dancer (Morrow, 2000) being the featured title for children as part of the 2013 One Book, One San Diego campaign, sponsored by KBPS. Kickoff event: 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 21 at Central Public Library-San Diego (9th floor)(330 Park Boulevard, San Diego).
Cynthia Leitich Smith joins featured authors at the Texas Book Festival Oct. 26 and Oct. 27 at the State Capitol Building in Austin. She will speak at the “Girl Power(s)” session with Kami Garcia and Jessica Khoury from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Oct. 26 in Capitol Extension Room E2.014, with a book signing immediately following.
Join Cynthia Leitich Smith at the Illumine Award Nov. 8 at the downtown Hilton in Austin, Texas.
Join Cynthia Leitich Smith at the Kidlitosphere Conference Nov. 9 in Austin, Texas.
Cynthia Leitich Smith (Feral Nights) and P.J. Hoover (Solstice) will sign their new releases from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Barnes & Noble in Round Rock, Texas.
Cynthia and Greg Leitich Smith will speak at the Florida Association for Media in Education Conference Nov. 20 to Nov. 22 in Orlando.
The Craft & Business of Writing: Everything You wanted to Know About Writing,
a fundraiser featuring C.C. Hunter, Miranda James and Lori Wilde for
the Montgomery County Book Festival, on Nov. 16 at Lone Star College
Montgomery Campus in Houston. Fee: $100. Registration deadline: Nov. 10.
See more information. Register here.
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| See more information! |