By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, A.J. Eversole, Mitu Malhotra, and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations

Spotlight Image: The Night Market by Seina Wedlick, illustrated by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu (Random House Studio, 2024).

Author/Illustrator Insights

Five Questions for Tracey Baptiste by Horn Book Editors from The Horn Book. Peek: “The page-turning parts are fun…Sometimes I can hardly wait to get to those parts. But a book can’t be all thrill with no substance. The human aspects of a story are really where the story lives. I find that if I’m too hyped, I need to slow down and give characters a chance to just be.”

Try a Little Tenderness: PW Talks With Jason Reynolds by Iyana Jones from Publishers Weekly. Peek: “[W]hat seems to be lacking in most [love stories] is spaces for boys to be vulnerable. This is the reason why…my books are sort of similar…I really am working to try to create as many spaces as possible for young men to be able to express vulnerability, and…be able to be seen as vulnerable human beings.”

Grief and Loss in Middle Grade: An Interview With Debbie Fong by Amanda MacGregor from Teen Librarian Toolbox. Peek: “I think the best stories are a reflection of life, with all of its messiness, pain, and beauty. I was one of those kids who loved the books that made me cry, and I think I learned the biggest lessons of empathy and acceptance from the books that challenged me the most.”

Q&A: Randi Pink, Author of “Under The Heron’s Light” by Elise Dumpleton from The Nerd Daily. Peek: “I’m inspired by the magic of untouched nature and the hidden history that resides within it. I bathe in nature, and I wholeheartedly believe in its magic. I’ll say that natural things inspire me the most, but hidden history drives me forward. To write a full-length novel…I needed both inspiration and force.”

Equity & Inclusion

Interview With Cameron Mukwa, Creator of The Ribbon Skirt by Michele Kirichanskaya from Geeks Out. Peek: “[The book] is primarily based on concerns I remember having growing up, such as worries about what would happen if I didn’t fit into my assigned gender. I…didn’t have the words to describe myself as nonbinary or Two-Spirit…and so I remember feeling quite lost when it didn’t feel like I easily fit into male or female categories.”

Q&A: K.A. Cobell, Author of “Looking for Smoke” by Elise Dumpleton from The Nerd Daily. Peek: “I wanted to write a story featuring Blackfeet teens because that is something I never saw growing up. Because I’m a thriller writer, I knew…I would need to bring in the very real issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women….I hoped that through this story…I could help shine a light on the issue and raise awareness.”

In Conversation With Mel Hammond, Teghan Hammond, and Magdalene Visaggio from Publishers Weekly. Peek: [Magdalene Visaggio:] “I got scared off writing trans characters entirely for a hot second there, because I got a lot of people telling me I was a diversity hire with no other interests…Over time, I’ve returned to embracing it, especially as I’ve gotten deeper into a post-transition life and started reading fiction by other trans writers.”

Author Guest Post: “Why I Write About Messy Teens—And Why We Should Honor the Mess Inside of Us All” by Jen Ferguson from Unleashing Readers. Peek: “I want to return to the idea that the characters I write about aren’t always able to handle the world…[and] this is not their fault….This is a critical perspective for activists who fight for a world where BIPOC and queer and trans people’s lives are full and rich and unencumbered by systems…that tell us we are less….”

Meriam Metoui on Writing MENA [Middle Eastern and North African] Representation in A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui from We Need Diverse Books. Peek: “[T]he few MENA authors…getting traditionally published when I was a teenager felt the weight of representing an entire group….[T]hey were told that there is only one story the world wanted to hear, and it didn’t include chaotic queer brown girls…It’s a difficult box to step out of when you’ve only just been, finally, invited inside.”

Positive Growth and Positive Mental Health: TikTok Star Tony Weaver Jr. Discusses His Latest Comic for Kids, Weirdo by Betsy Bird from School Library Journal. Peek: “Everybody says that representation is important, but I don’t think it can be said enough…And for a graphic novel where we’re talking about mental health, specifically from the perspective of a young black boy, we get to do this cool thing where black readers get the opportunity to see a character that looks like them….”

Writing Craft

Anishinaabe Author, Antioch Speaker: “As Long as You’re Creating, You Can’t Be Destroying” by Adriana Martinez-Smiley from WYSO. Peek: “I’ve tried to write things that have nothing to do with Native-ness and failed because it always kind of seeps in there in some kind of way…[T]hey tell you to write what you know, and what you know is who you are. So I don’t separate myself from the things that I create or write.”

On a Wing and a Tear: Author Interview With Cynthia Leitich Smith with Rosemary Brosnan from Harper Stacks. Peek: [Cynthia Leitich Smith:] “Interconnected storytelling [when characters who have appeared in previous books reappear] clicks with Indigenous sensibilities in terms of characters and content as well as how narratives are framed….Kids are, in a sense, rewarded as they advance from, say, chapter books to middle-grade novels when they’re reunited with characters they already love.”

Five Questions for Nathalie Alonso and Rudy Gutierrez by Horn Book editors and Charlize Guerra from The Horn Book. Peek: [Rudy Gutierrez:] “My visual language is the blend of abstraction and realism which can manifest itself into a sort of gumbo. It can be made up of different approaches such as flat and tonal, also inclusive of different mediums with varying spontaneity and looseness, as well as tight realistic areas. I…look at it as elements of realism and spirit.”

Q&A: Cheryl Isaacs, Author of “The Unfinished” by Elise Dumpleton from The Nerd Daily. Peek: “I wrote for a long time with no aim to be published, which…served me well in the end. Once I decided to try I was lucky that my book sold pretty quickly. Still, the length of time that the average book takes to get from selling to publication has been both eye-opening and frustrating at times.”

A Q&A With Jesús Trejo & Eliza Kinkz About Mamá’s Magnificent Dancing Plantitas by Betsy Bird from School Library Journal. Peek: [Eliza Kinkz:] “The amount of work I do beforehand explains why I’ve been so happy with all my character designs for ALL my books!…[I]t’s seriously like birth, except the labor lasts months sometimes! AHHHHHHH! I just draw each character sooooooo many different ways, until they finally start emerging. But once the character arrives, they are ready to PARTY!”

Illustrator Spotlight: Lisa Wee Eng Cheng from KidLit411. Peek: “The joy of creating illustrations on my iPad Pro with Procreate is unparalleled, granting me the freedom to seamlessly blend art with nature during my hiking journeys. The portability of iPad allows me to capture the essence of my surroundings in real time, infusing my illustrations with the energy and inspiration drawn from diverse landscapes.”

Publishing

YA Romantasy: True Love or Passing Fancy? by by Joanne O’Sullivan from Publishers Weekly. Peek: “[YA romantasy] has generated a level of excitement on par with the dystopian and paranormal romance days more than a decade ago. It’s…selling at a staggering volume….[Katherine Harrison, Knopf for Young Readers:] ‘Romantasy…has the wind in its sails at the moment, but I wouldn’t point to that as a cause for softening demand in any other category….’”

Going the Distance: The State of Children’s Publishing in Translation by Emma Kantor from Publishers Weekly. Peek: “Just 3%: that’s the number of books published in the U.S. that are works in translation. And only a fraction…are fiction titles. Even fewer are books for children and teens….Kathleen Merz, editorial director at Eerdmans, believes ‘there’s still a decent amount of resistance to books that are perceived as too strange, too dark, too quirky…too foreign.’”

How to Make Reading Fun Again by Joanne O’Sullivan from Publishers Weekly. Peek: “According to the research, print unit sales for middle grade books in the first half of 2024 slid by 5% compared to the same period in 2023….[Meg Medina, national ambassador for young people literature:]  ‘[R]eading is cast as a task—something that you have to do, leaving out the major purposes of reading: fun, self-reflection, imagination.’”

Booksellers

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators’ BookStop is now open to the public through Dec. 3. Bookstop is SCBWI’s annual promotion that enables its members to promote and sell their traditionally published or independently self-published books on its website. You can “design a custom book promotional page, where you can showcase the unique aspects of your book and attract more readers.”

The Future of Children’s Bookselling by Judith Rosen from Publishers Weekly. Peek: “Children’s Book World & CBW Teens & Adults in Los Angeles is one of the few stores that began holding virtual events before the pandemic—since there are only so many in-person school visits an author or illustrator can make in a day—and it’s…one of the rare bookstores that has continued to make virtual events work.”

Riding on Romance and Romantasy, Print Book Sales Edge into Positive Territory by Jim Milliot and John Maher from Publishers Weekly. Peek: “Unit sales of print books managed to edge ever so slightly into positive territory for the first nine months of 2024 at outlets that report to Circana BookScan….[The] young adult nonfiction category had a quarterly increase of 14.4%, enough to bring its year-to-date sales up 3.2% over 2023….In juvenile fiction, sales fell slightly, 0.7%….”

Applications for Binc’s National Bookstore Business Incubator Open from Binc Foundation. Peek: “The Book Industry Charitable (Binc) Foundation will accept applications for the second cohort of BincTank, its business incubator pilot program to support BIPOC-owned retail bookselling businesses that are physically located in their community, [until] Nov. 3.” The application is available here.

Marketing

November Book Promotion Opportunities: 28 Unusual, Unexpected, and Irreverent Holidays by Sandra Beckwith from Build Book Buzz. Peek: Here’s a partial list of the November marketing opportunities you can add to next month’s book promotion calendar. Get the full list on the Holiday Insights site. Nov. 2 Plan Your Epitaph Day…, Nov. 3 Cliché Day, Nov. 4 Use Your Common Sense Day, Nov. 7 Men Make Dinner Day, Nov. 8 Cook Something Bold Day….”

Libraries

California Makes It Harder To Ban Books in Public Libraries by Diana Lambert from EdSource. Peek: “California is the latest state to pass a law making it…difficult to ban books in all public libraries….[The law] prohibits banning books because of the race, nationality, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, social economic status or political affiliation of a book’s subject, author or intended audience….4,240 book titles were targeted for censorship nationwide in 2023….”

Education/Other Resources/Events

The New York Public Library  presents KidsLIVE! In-Branch Livestream With Nathalie Alonso! for Nathalie’s new picture book Old Clothes for Dinner?!, illustrated by Natalia Rojas Castro (Barefoot Books, 2024). “There will be a Q&A with the author and the audience, then we will do a coloring activity together!” The event, which will be both in person at the Tremont Library, 1866 Washington Ave., Bronx, NY, and live streamed via Zoom, will take place Oct. 29 at 12:30 p.m. pacific, 2:30 p.m. central, 3:30 p.m. eastern. Register here to receive the Zoom link.

The free 2024 Texas Book Festival takes place Nov. 16 to Nov. 17 in downtown Austin, in and around the State Capitol. The festival lineup is featuring “over 250 authors  of the year’s best books.” Some of the many children’s/YA authors and illustrators include Cate Berry, Liz Garton Scanlon, Kwame Mbalia, Charlene Bowles, Cynthia Leitich Smith and Don Tate. See schedule here.

Children’s Book Week, a beloved program that continues to grow and adapt each year with new resources and ideas, takes place Nov. 4 to Nov. 9. Find free resources, public event listings, participation ideas, and FAQ here.

Penguin Random House, Library Journal, and School Library Journal present their free virtual Winter Book & Author Festival 2024. “Enjoy a day packed with author panels and interviews, book buzzes, virtual shelf browsing, and adding to your TBR pile. You’ll hear from many of your favorite authors, whose work runs the gamut from Picture Books to Young Adult titles to the best new Fiction and Nonfiction for adults.” The event takes place Dec. 10 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. pacific, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. central, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern. Register here.

Join Library Journal and School Library Journal for LibraryCon Live! 2024 that celebrates “fandom, spotlighting genre fiction for adults and teens with panels devoted to comics and graphic novels, horror, sf/fantasy, and more.” This free virtual event takes place Nov. 14 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. pacific, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. central, 10 a.m.to 5 p.m. eastern. Register here.

Bookelicious presents Virtual Author Event With Cynthia Leitich Smith on Nov. 6 at 10 a.m. pacific, 12 p.m. central, 1 p.m. eastern. The $149 program fee includes five hardcover copies of her book On a Wing and a Tear (Heartdrum, 2024), a student activity guide, and admission to the author event for your whole school. Register here.

Awards

Congratulations to the 2024 Carle Honors Honorees. The honors recognize individuals and organizations in the picture book field for their dedication and creative vision. Four honorees were selected in the categories of Artist (Uri Sheuveitz), Angel (We Need Diverse Books), Bridge (KidLit TV), and Mentor (The Horn Book). They were celebrated at the 17th Annual Carle Honors gala on Sept. 26.

Congratulations to the 2024 winners of the Whippoorwill Award for Young Adult and Middle Grades Literature for books published in 2023. The award is given to the best books written for young readers that authentically and complexly represent rural people and places. This year, the award structure shifted from ten winners to one winner and nine honor books. The complete 2024 award and honor list is as follows—Winner: Gather by Kenneth M. Cadow (Penguin Random House) and Honor Books: Fault Lines by Nora Shalaway Carpenter (RP Teens/Hachette); A Long Stretch of Bad Days by Mindy McGinnis (Katherine Tegen Books); Saints of the Household by Ari Tison (FSG); Gay Poems for Red States by Willie Edward Taylor Carver, Jr. (University Press of Kentucky); Rez Ball by Byron Graves (Heartdrum); Those Pink Mountain Nights by Jen Ferguson (Heartdrum); Northranger by Ray Tercieo and Bre Indigo (Harper Alley); Fire from the Sky by Moa Backe Astot (Levine Querido); and Once in a Blue Moon by Sharon G. Flake (Penguin Random House).

Congratulations to the finalists of the 2024 Governor General’s Literary Awards, especially in the categories of Young People’s Literature—Text Books, and Young People’s Literature—Illustrated Books. The awards recognize Canada’s best English-language and French-language books. The winners will be announced Nov. 13.

Congratulations to the winner of the Goddard Riverside CBC Youth Book Prize for Social Justice: Just One Pebble. One Boy’s Quest To End Hunger by Dianna Wilson Sirkovsky, illustrated by Sara Casilda (Clavis Publishing, 2023). Goddard Riverside strives toward a fair and just society where all people can make choices that lead to better lives for themselves and their families.

Congratulations to the Publishers Weekly 2024 Star Watch Superstar and Star Watch Finalists. Peek: “The class of 2024 is stronger than ever and features some of the best young professionals from all corners of industry—publicists, editors, agents, booksellers, marketers, and everything in-between—bright, energetic people who will drive and change the book business in the coming years.” See also, PW Star Watch 2024 Honorees. The Star Watch program is dedicated “to recognizing and honoring rising talent in the publishing and bookselling business.”

Congratulations to the nominees of the 2025 Forest of Reading Awards, especially in the Program for Kids: the Blue Spruce Award, the Silver Birch Express Award, the Silver Birch Fiction Award, the Yellow Cedar Award, the Red Maple Award, the White Pine Award, the Poplar Prize, the Larch Prize, and the Tamarac Prize. The Forest of Reading initiative “offers ten reading programs to encourage a love of reading in people of all ages.”

Congratulations to the five finalists for the 2024 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature: Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2024), The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky by Josh Galarza (Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2024), The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly (Greenwillow Books, 2024), Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2024), and The Unboxing of a Black Girl by Angela Shanté (Page Street YA, 2024).

Congratulations to the winners and honorees of the Massachusetts Center for the Book’s 24th Annual Massachusetts Book Awards. The Middle Grade/Young Adult Literature winner is The Fall of Whit Rivera by Crystal Maldonado (Holiday House, 2023). The Picture Book/Early Reader winner is Once Upon a Book by Grace Lin and Kate Messner (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2023).

Congratulations to the winner of the 2024 Massachusetts Teen Choice Book Award, chosen by students in grades 7-12: Blue Lock by Muneyuki Kaneshiro, illustrated by Yusuke Nomura (Kodansha Comics, 2022). The runner-up is Rez Ball by Byron Graves (Ojibwe), cover art by Natasha Donovan (Métis) (Heartdrum, 2023), and the third-place book is Just Do This One Thing for Me by Laura Zimmermann (Dutton Books for Young Readers, 2024).

Congratulations to the winners of the Diverse Book Awards 2024, and especially to the children’s and young adult winners: To The Other Side by Erika Meza (Hodder Children’s Books, 2023)(Best Picture Book); Steady For This by Nathanael Lessore (Hot Key Books, 2023)​(Best Children’s Book); and The First Move by Jenny Ireland (Penguin Random House Children’s UK, 2023)(Best Young Adult Book).

Congratulations to Desira B. Stewart and Yumiko Kamie, this year’s winners of the SCBWI Emerging Voices Award, which was created to foster the emergence of diverse and underrepresented voices in children’s books. Desira B. Stewart won for the picture book manuscript “My Hair Belongs Everywhere: A Celebration of the CROWN Act,” and Yumiko Kamie won for “Ichi’s List,” a young adult manuscript set in Kazusa, Japan in the year 1235.

Scholarships & Grants

Penguin Random House, in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, is presenting Creative Writing Awards in the form of college scholarships of up to $10,000 each to six public U.S. high school seniors, nationwide. See Guidelines here and apply here by Jan. 15 at 1 p.m. pacific, 3 p.m. central, 4 p.m. eastern, or when 1,000 applications have been received.

From This Cynsations Series

• Author Interview: Uma Krishnaswami on Writing Sequels, The Use of Italics & When It’s Time to Listen to Your Inner Critic
• Author & Editor Interview: Cynthia Leitich Smith & Rosemary Brosnan on Heartdrum & Successful Author-Editor Relationships
• Throwback Thursday: Sally J. Pla Discusses the Importance of Honest Depictions of Autism & Mental Health

• Success Strategies Guest Post: Candice Ransom Writes Across Age Categories & Genres
• In Memory: Author-Illustrators Derek Anderson & Nonny Hogrogian
• Authors Interview: Texas Authors Against Book Bans Champions Freedom to Read
• Author Interview: Jill Tew On Writing Dystopian For A New Generation
• Throwback Thursday: Alicia D. Williams Shares How Children Inspire Her Writing
• Author Interview: K.A. Cobell on the Fine Line of Fiction Inspired by Tragic Facts
• In Memory: Picture Book Authors Katey Howes & Florence Minor

• Author Interview: Doan Phuong Nguyen on Immigration, Assimilation & Writing
• Author Interview: Andrea Rogers Celebrates Tradition with When We Gather
• Throwback Thursday: Author Dawn Quigley on Humor, Chapter Books & Decolonizing Grading
• Career Achievers: Janet Nolan Focuses on Positives to Build a Picture Book Career
• In Memory: Authors Cynthia DeFelice & Francine Pascal

• Author Interview: Hena Khan on Learning New Techniques to Reach Readers Across Age Categories & in Various Formats
• Author & Illustrator Interview: Creative Team Mary Tony & Pyrce Raphael Share Their Alaska Native Heritage in Windswept
• Throwback Thursday: Author Jen Ferguson on What She Has Learned As A Writer
• Author & Editor Interview: Author Debbie Zapata & Editor Kristine Enderle on Addressing Tough Topics in Picture Books
• In Memory: Author-Agent Dilys Evans & Author- Illustrator James Proimos
• Author Interview: Sher Lee on Recreating Classics with a Queer Twist
• Throw Back Thursday: Margaret Peterson Haddix on Thriving as a Long-Time, Actively Publishing Children’s-YA Author

• Author Interview: Zetta Elliott on Prequels, Decolonizing Imagination & Creative Responses to Book Challenges
• New Voice: Ginger Reno on Believing in Yourself & Debut Novel, Find Her
• In Memory: Author Lore Segal
• Reflections on Craft: Using Specific Details to Draw Readers into a Story
• Throwback Thursday: Author Byron Graves Talks About the Importance of Connection

• Author Interview: Stacy Wells Weaves Tradition into Chapter Book Series
• Author Interview: Danielle Burbank On Sharing Family Legacies
• Author-Illustrator Interview: Azadeh Westergaard Reveals Her Creative Process

More Personally – Cynthia

Mvto/thank you to editor-in-chief Gayleen Rabakukk, Gail Vannelli, the Cynterns AJ Eversole, Mitu Malhotra, Suma Subramaniam, and the Cynsational reporters for all of their hard work on our fall series of posts! Gratitude to the interviewees, guest contributors, and all of you who’ve joined us in celebration of books for young readers!

As for me, I’m honored (and stunned) to report that I’m now a 2024 Texas Literary Hall of Fame inductee and 2025 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award candidate.

I’ve also been busy with the recent release of my middle-grade, road-trip, modern folklore novel, On a Wing and a Tear (Heartdrum, 2024), which so far has received three starred reviews.

★ “A unique and noteworthy tale that weaves together past and present with humor through stellar, multilayered writing.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ “Combining humor, suspense, and a quiet reverence for one’s ancestry, Smith examines how the power of community can affect emotional and physical healing, and the strength it takes to do both.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ “Incorporating exceptional Native American representation throughout…, this book will appeal to fans of road-trip novels and character-driven stories.” —Booklist, starred review

The book was also named among Kirkus Reviews Most Anticipated Books for Fall.

Plus, my Indigenous ghost YA novel Harvest House (Candlewick Press) is now available in paperback.

My bookish events have included traveling with Blue Stars co-author Kekla Magoon to Kwame Alexander Writers’ Lab & Conference in June in Chautauqua, New York; LITapalooza: Literacy Love Fest and YA Midwest (YAM): A Bookfest for YA Readers in July with Anderson’s Bookshops in Naperville, Illinois; the Adirondack Family Book Festival in August in Lake Placid, New York; WORDBridge Now online as well as school and library visits with Second Star to the Right, joined by Dawn Quigley and Byron Graves, in September in the Denver area. Huge gratitude to Candlewick Press, HarperChildren’s, the event hosts, and readers!

I look forward to Tweens Read Book Festival on Oct. 26 in Houston, Texas Book Festival on Nov. 16 and Nov. 17 in Austin, and the Miami Book Fair on Nov. 23 and Nov. 24.

Online, students can join me at 1 p.m. EST Nov. 6 for On a Wing and Tear and Sisters of the Neversea from Bookelicious Presents (recommended for students in fourth through sixth grades) and educators/literary professionals are encouraged to check out NWOK Book Club: Hearts Unbroken, Jingle Dancer, and Sisters of the Neversea with Cynthia Leitch Smith from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. PST Dec. 19 from San Diego County Office of Education.

Heartdrum News – Cynthia

A Constellation of Minor Bears by Jen Ferguson is now available, hit the USA Today Bestseller List, and has received numerous rave reviews.

School Library Journal: “With the PCT as the backdrop, and almost a character itself, readers will want to go on their own adventure. No matter who reads this book, they will find something in each character that will ring true. VERDICT A must-buy for YA collections.”

Jo Jo Makoons: Rule School by Dawn Quigley and Tara Audibert is now available. It’s the fourth book in the popular Jo Jo Makoons chapter book series.

School Library Journal: “An adorable, easy chapter book reminiscent of “Junie B. Jones” that cherishes the curiosity and learning curves that come with change.”

Red Bird Danced by Dawn Quigley is now available and has received starred reviews from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews.

Looking for Smoke by KA Cobell is now available and has been named among Publishers Weekly Flying Starts, Best Teen Books of 2024 by !ndigo, and Reese’s Book Club picks. The novel has also received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews.

The Uninvited by Cheryl Isaacs is now available was named among Kirkus Reviews Most Anticipated Books for Fall.Plus, Cheryl was named among 30 Writers to Watch in 2024 by CBC Books.

In addition, Those Pink Mountain Nights by Jen Ferguson and Rez Ball by Byron Graves are now available in paperback, and both were named honor books for the Whippoorwill Book Award.

Be sure to pre-order: To Walk the Sky: How Iroquois Steelworkers Helped Build Towering Cities, written by Patricia Morris Buckley, illustrated by E.B. Lewis (Heartdrum. 2025); Yáadilá! Good Grief! written by Laurel Goodluck, illustrated by Jonathan Nelson (Heartdrum, 2025); and Stitches of Tradition (Gashkigwaaso Tradition), written by Marcie R. Rendon, illustrated by Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Heartdrum, 2024).

★ Kirkus Reviews (starred) for Stitches of Tradition: “…sturdy, stylized characters sporting brilliantly textured garments that pop with color; readers will feel welcomed into the community alongside Nookomis and her granddaughter. Rendon expertly works information about Ojibwe culture…explains that ribbon skirts are a ‘sacred, spiritual, and political’ symbol of Indigenous resilience, passed down by generations of women.”

More Personally – Gayleen

I’m very excited to be represented by Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management.
And, I’ve been accepted for the masters in library science program at the University of North Texas and will start classes this winter.

More Personally – Suma

So happy to share that my older chapterbook/ early middle grade book, V. Malar – Greatest Host Of All Time, written by me and illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan (Candlewick Press), releases on November 5th, 2024.

It is available to preorder wherever books are sold. Thank you for checking it out and for your support!

Here are some of my upcoming events. Hope to see new and old friends.

More Personally – AJ

I had a baby in March! Which has left this year in such a whirlwind. I blinked and it went from February to October. Much of my free time has been spent adjusting to being a mother of two.

That said, I’ve got a few lovely secrets I hope to share with the world soon. I’m working as steadily as I can on revising both a MG and YA project that I feel so proud of.

It’s a season of patience for me and I find myself bucking against that, but I am grateful for my community of writers, who have always been by my side.

More Personally – Gail

Many congratulations to my Vermont College of Fine Arts friends who had book birthdays last month: Doan Phuong Nguyen, for her fictionalized middle grade memoir-in-verse A Two-Placed Heart, illustrated by Olga Lee (Tu Books, 2024); Maureen Charles, for her middle grade nonfiction book now in paperback Music Mavens: 15 Women of Note in the Industry, co-written with Ashley Walker (Chicago Review Press, 2024), and Sue Ganz-Schmitt, for her nonfiction picture book biography Skybound!: Starring Mary Myers as Carlotta, Daredevil Aeronaut and Scientist, illustrated by Iacopo Bruno (Calkin Creek, 2024). These are children’s books you won’t want to miss!