2014 Arab American Book Award Winner:
A Kid’s Guide to Arab American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Maha Addasi (Chicago Review Press, 2013). Peek: “…dispels stereotypes and provides a look at the people and experiences that have shaped Arab American culture in a format enjoyable for elementary students. Each chapter focuses on a different group of Arab Americans including those of Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, Jordanian, Egyptian, Iraqi, and Yemeni descent.”
Honorable Mention: The Arab World Thought of It: Inventions, Innovations and Amazing Facts by Saima S. Hussain (Annick Press, 2013). Peek: “Saima Hussain, who was raised in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, presents the contributions of the Arab people in such fields as astronomy, medicine, architecture, food, education, and art.”
Source: Arab American National Museum; scroll for more information.
More News & Giveaways
I Want What She’s Got: The Disastrous Comparison Game by Emma Dryden from Our Stories, Ourselves. Peek: “There’s a thief among us in the writing community: this thief is insidious, harmful, and causing an enormous amount of heartache, pain, and angst. And worst of all, this thief is stealing writers’ ability to write. What is this thief?”
Inspiring the Next Architects: Children’s Books About Design, Building and Architecture by Jill Eisenberg from Lee & Low. Peek: “Ask students to imagine that they are architects assigned to design a new school. Describe the materials you will need and what the building will look like.”
Here I Am by Brian Pinkney from CBC Diversity. Peek: “As a renderer of images that affect children, it’s essential that I stick to my commitment of showing black kids in all their glory. By doing this, I hope to be able to bring power, change, healing, self-expression, and heart to children of every color.”
Five Lessons I Learned About Novel Writing from Watching “Orange Is The New Black” from Shelli Cornelison. Peek: “Torture has its place.”
Microtension by Jan O’Hara from Writer Unboxed. Peek: “Few assumptions are safe. We must constantly revisit the past in light of new information. We’re kept engaged by this sense of shifting reality.” See also The Secrets of Subtext by Stina Lindenblatt from QueryTracker.
How to Write Balanced and Compelling Backstory by Jeni Chappelle from Elizabeth Spann Craig. Peek: “…there’s a fine line between clarifying a character’s past and writing too much backstory. Readers don’t usually need to know much of the characters’ history in order to engage…”
How Image Systems Can Supercharge Your Novel by C.S. Lakin from Writers Helping Writers. Peek: “Great novelists know the power of motif and symbolism, often using something like a repeated word or phrase, or an object of importance to the character, to bring a richness to the story and to enhance the theme of their novel. In effect, they are creating something similar to an image system.”
Mini Trend: Grrrl Power Graphic Novels by Elissa Gershowitz from The Horn Book. Peek: “…excellent graphic novel memoirs (or fiction that feels an awful lot like) written by women about their adolescence.”
How Can I Make Readers Cry by Deborah Halverson from Dear Editor. Peek: “Examine your entire story to be sure every plot point amps up emotional tension. Since plot serves character arcs in romances, events should pierce the characters’ deepest fears and most passionate hopes repeatedly.”
We Need Diverse Books and School Library Journal Announce Collaboration from School Library Journal. Peek: “Content sharing and support for the We Need Diverse Books Diversity Festival to be held in summer 2016 in the Washington, DC, area.”
The Landscape of YA Lit: A State of the Union by Kristin Halbrook from YA Highway. Peek: “Honest and fearless. Innovative and different. Crossing all genres, and crossing over into different age groups.”
Writers on Writing: Dear Professor H. by Lesléa Newman from Passages North. Peek: “If you meant to intimidate us, Professor H., you certainly succeeded. You distributed the syllabus and launched into the course requirements without once explaining the phrase ‘serious pleasure’ which stared down at us like an angry gargoyle.”
Kidlit Con
A series of posts covering the event from Finding Wonderland.
- A Retrospective, Part I.
- Notepad Forum, Part I.
- Notepad Forum, Part II.: The Weekend Word, “Appropriation”
- Further Thoughts & Sketches
Cynsational Giveaways
The winners of Uncovered (An Autumn Covarrubias Mystery) by S.X. Bradley were Abby in Rhode Island and Elizabeth in Georgia.
The winners of ARCs of Backwards Moon by Mary Losure were Crystal in Wisconsin, Heidi in Utah, and Kelly in Pennsylvania.
This Week at Cynsations
- Guest Post & Interview: J.L. Powers & George Mendoza on Children’s Book Illustration and Colors of the Wind
- Author Interview: Susan Kuklin on Writing Nonfiction & Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out
- Carmen Oliver on Forming a Children’s-YA Author & Illustrator Booking Service
- New Voice David Zeltser on Lug: Dawn of the Ice Age
More Personally
Today Cynsations is posting from Washington, D.C. I’ve been here with R. Gregory Christie and Reading Is Fundamental, visiting with students at Andrews Air Force Base. Pics to come soon!
My link of the week is Everything I Know About Plot, I Learned from Buffy by Dave King from Writer Unboxed. Peek: “Whedon keeps this working because his morality, while always clear, is never simplistic. Good and evil are the sides, but characters sometimes switch sides or aren’t sure what side they’re on.”
Reminder: my e-edition of Blessed (Candlewick) is on sale this month for only $1.99. A perfect Halloween read–check it out! See also Blessed: A Conversation with Cynthia Leitich Smith.
Personal Links
- 14 Amazing Bookish Halloween Costumes for Children
- Walking & Talking with Jenni Holm
- “Avengers: Age of Ultron” Trailer
- Marvel Blames Hydra for Leaked “Avengers: Age of Ultron” Trailer
- 50 Best Films About Writers, Ranked
- Women Veterans Deserve Equal Care
- Do We Read Differently at Different Ages?
- Neanderthals and Humans First Mated 50,000 Years Ago, DNA Shows
- Giant Prehistoric Kangaroos Looked Like Rabbits, Walked Like Humans
- Why This Man Created a Typewriter in Comic Sans
- “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice” Trailer in Animated Form
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| Catch up with the Texas Sweethearts and Scoundrels! |
Cynsational Events
Cynthia Leitich Smith will speak on a panel “Where Are the Heroes of Color in Fantasy & Sci Fi Lit?” from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 15 at YALSA’s YA Literature Symposium in Austin.
