The Latest Trend: Beautifully Illustrated Nonfiction Picture Books by Vicki Cobb from The Huffington Post. Peek: “Great illustration should have a balance – a reduction to the essence, as well as visual interest and a seductive charm – dare I even say, beauty?”
The Book Monster: When Writing Gets Hard by Kate Moretti from Writer Unboxed. Peek: “I was pushed to finish this book because of a contract and a deadline. If I’d been on my own, I might have put it away.” See also Finding Confidence as a Writer by Allie Larkin.
Giving Characters (& Readers) Too Little Information by Mary Kole from Kidlit.com. Peek: “They don’t want to simply unload all of the necessary information all at once when the protagonist lands in the new world. The downside of this approach, however, is that it leaves the protagonist in limbo.”
Trimmer Named Head of Holt Books for Young Readers; Godwin to Get Imprint by Diane Roback from Publishers Weekly. Peek: “Christian Trimmer has been named editorial director of the imprint; he is currently executive editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers…. Laura Godwin, v-p and publisher, will launch her own imprint, called Godwin Books.”
SMP Launching Crossover Imprint, Wednesday Books by Rachel Deahl from Publishers Weekly. Peek: “…will publish YA and adult titles focused on coming-of-age themes. SMP said the line will focus on ‘bold, diverse, and commercial voices in fiction and nonfiction who speak to readers looking for stories in and beyond the YA category.'”
The History That’s Not In Textbooks by Guadalupe Garcia McCall from Lee & Low. Peek: “No one can ever do justice to the retelling of the extent of the horrific atrocities committed during that time with complete accuracy and authenticity because so much of it was concealed, poorly recorded, or swept under the proverbial rug.”
Out and Proud vs. Hiding In Plain Sight by Tirzah Price from Book Riot. Peek: “This new consideration inspired me to take a closer look at the lesbian hand cover trend, and some of the considerations that authors and publishers (but mostly publishers) have when creating these covers. How are they approaching these covers, and what, if anything, has changed in the last two years?”
Steve Matin: A “Wild and Crazy” Role Model by Sarah Callender from Writer Unboxed. Peek: “A writer’s professional road is long and unpredictable, quite simply because we writers don’t have full control over how our work is received in the world.”
Interview With MG Authors Audrey Vernick and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich by Darlene Beck Jacobson from Smack Dab in the Middle. Peek: “I think I base just about all of my characters on people I know or have met, a lot of the time I don’t do it consciously.”
YA Authors Turn Advocates by Sarah J. Robbins from Publishers Weekly. Peek: “…we speak with authors of recent books about what motivated each of them to take on an especially tough topic. We asked them to talk about the challenges and responsibilities of walking the line between artistry and advocacy, both during the writing process and after publication, once their work reaches its audience.”
Congratulations to VCFA WCYA alum Stephen Baker, the Karen Cushman Late Bloomer Award winner, from SCBWI! Stephen graduated in summer 2016.
Creating Unforgettable Settings: Choosing the Right Setting by Becca Puglisi from Writers Helping Writers. Peek: “…there should be places within that setting that are important to the character. Melinda’s janitorial closet in Speak. Or the forest outside District 12 for Katniss in The Hunger Games.”
This Week at Cynsations
 |
| Book Giveaway! |
- New Voice: Donna Janell Bowman on Step Right Up
- Election Reflections & Caring for Your Creative Heart
- M.T. Anderson on the Premier of “The Great Gilly Hopkins”
- Carol Lynch Williams on Grief, Courage, Writing & In Memory of Rick Walton
- Book Trailer: Three Truths and a Lie by Brent Hartinger
- Book Trailer: Teen Frankenstein by Chandler Baker
More Personally
A quiet week of teaching here, as I’ve reviewed the third-round packets from my students at the VCFA MFA program in Writing for Children & Young Adults.
However, I did take a break to reward myself for turning in my manuscript with a detoxifying mud wrap at Ann Web Skin Clinic.
(Austinites! Ann Webb is a school, so treatments are substantially less expensive than you’d pay at a traditional spa. But the services are excellent, and it feels like spa experience.)
 |
| Ready for a mud wrap! |
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the importance of self-care, hence my post this week (Election Reflections & Caring for Your Creative Heart).
It’s not selfish to look after your own physical and especially your own mental health. If our glass is empty, we have nothing to give. Nothing to give our friends and families, nothing to give our communities and our literary art. Nothing to give ourselves. Fill the well, book lovers! Fill the well!
On another note, my official facebook author page has been liked more than 6,000 people. Please feel free to join me there if you haven’t already. Much like Cynsations, the focus includes but goes well beyond my own work to children’s-YA writing, illustration, literature, education and publishing more globally. Along the same lines, please consider yourself invited to join my nearly 18,000 followers @CynLeitichSmith on Twitter.
Personal Links
- Bald Eagle Rescued from Car Grille
- Horseless Carriages In Austin
- Let’s Go to Mars!
- Love Tea, Love Books (The Novel Tea) Kickstarter for a New Independent Bookstore in Sacramento, California
- Jennifer Hudson, Kelvin Harrison Jr. to Star in the Drama “Monster”
- Excerpt & Cover Reveal for The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- VCFA New Paperback Releases
- President Obama Signs BABIES Act
Thank you, Cynthia! Always inspirational and helpful information!
Brandon Marie Miller