Cynsational News & Giveaways - Cynthia Leitich Smith

Congratulations to Emma J. Virján on the release of What This Story Needs Is A Pig In A Wig (HarperCollins, 2015). Peek:

What this story needs is a pig in a wig, on a boat in a moat with a frog, a dog, and a goat on a log. . . .

As a panda in a blouse, a skunk on a trunk, and more hop on board, it becomes clear that what this story really needs is a bigger boat Join Pig on an exciting boat ride as she discovers that life is more fun with friends in this fantastic funny read-aloud with cumulative text from author-illustrator Emma J. Virján.

Note: Central Texans! Join Emma in launching the book at 3 p.m. May 16 at BookPeople in Austin.

See also Interview: Author-Illustrator-Designer Emma J. Virján from Cynsations. Peek: “Community plays a huge, supportive role. I’m fortunate to live in Austin, where there is a fantastic, loving, talented kid lit community. I’m also a member of the Texas Sweethearts & Scoundrels and The Girllustrators.”

More News & Giveaways

The Emotional Wounds Thesaurus by Becca Puglisi from Writers Helping Writers. Peek: “Whatever the wound, the result is an all-consuming fear that if the character does not protect himself, this situation (and resulting emotional pain) will happen again.” See also How to Uncover Your Character’s Emotional Wound by Angela Ackerman from Writers Helping Writers.

Meeting People on Twitter: Hanging Out & Getting Found by Annie Neugebauer from Writer Unboxed. Peek: “…if you’re newer and/or interested in broadening your following, the most sure-fire way to get discovered is to find others and engage with them.”

Turning Prisons into Reading Centers by Deborah Jiang-Stein from CBC Diversity. Peek: “A baby’s early experiences shape his or her brain’s architecture, building either a strong or a fragile foundation for life, learning, and health. Adverse early experiences and deprivation can impact a baby’s brain development for an entire lifetime, and positive learning experiences can set the path for self-esteem and possibility.”

Author Alicia Potter & Miss Hazeltine’s Home for Shy and Fearful Cats by Adi Rule from VCFA Launchpad. Peek: “I had kittens who stayed under the bed for two weeks, kittens who’d run and hide whenever I moved, and one who growled the entire time he was eating. But their metamorphosis was so gratifying and poignant to me.”

What Are The Great Children’s Literature Writing Retreats? by Elizabeth Bird from A Fuse #8 Production. Peek: “…when I say “writing retreats” I mean places where authors, incipient and otherwise, pay a fixed amount to be inspired, edited, or taught by a knowledgeable staff. Bonus points if there’s pretty scenery. Extra added bonus points if you get good food.” See also Elizabeth on In Search of the Elusive Lesbian Mom.

What Are You? by Christian Trimmer from CBC Diversity. Peek: “With nine million Americans identifying as more than one race, with one in every seven marriages being between spouses of a different race or ethnicity, and with the number of mixed-race babies soaring, the demand for more of these stories is growing.”

New Literary Agent: Noah Ballard of Curtis Brown Ltd. in NYC from Writer’s Digest. Peek: “Noah mainly represents books geared toward adults, but is open to YA and middle grade that breaks the mold.”

Are They LGBTQIA? Let Your Characters Tell You by Karen Sandler from Gay YA. Peek: “I have yet to write a “gay character” during that initial process. Why not? Because I don’t know them that well. Most people don’t walk up to total strangers and blurt out, “So, are you gay, or straight?” I have to get to know my characters as I write my book just as I become acquainted with an actual person in real life.”

When Life Imitates Art…Or What Hurricane Irene Taught Me by Tamara Ellis Smith from Emu’s Debuts. Peek: “Am I more suited to tell a story about flood victims because I have experienced a flood? Yes. Am I still a middle class woman who could borrow money from my family when I lost so much in that flood? Yes.”

Writing After Major Losses by Kristi Holl from Writer’s First Aid. Peek: “I had symptoms of ‘writer’s burn-out’: by-products of prolonged stress. It can be treated. Each symptom stifles a writer’s creativity in a specific way and needs a specific remedy.”

Children’s & YA Book Awards

2015 Jane Addams Book Awards: Winners & Honorees by the Jane Addams Peace Association from Mitali Perkins at Mitali’s Fire Escape. Note: special congrats to pals Duncan Tonatiuh and Deborah Wiles.

The 2015 International Latino Book Awards Finalists from Latin@s in Kidlit. Peek: ” The Awards are produced by Latino Literacy Now, an organization co-founded by Edward James Olmos and Kirk Whisler, and co-presented by Las Comadres para las Americas and Reforma, the National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos. The Awards themselves will be June 27 in San Francisco as part of the ALA Conference.”

Cynsational Giveaways

The winner of Valiant by Sarah McGuire (Egmont/Lerner, 2015) is Donna in California.

See also Interview & Giveaway: W. Nikola-Lisa’s The Men Who Made The Yankees (Winner of the SPARK Award) by Lee Wind from The Official SCBWI Blog. Peek: “Before the crash of 2008, I had published 21 trade children’s books over a 25 year period. …everything stood still. …mid-career authors; they’re not always first in line: they often have to stand in line behind new talent, marquee authors, and celebrities.”

This Week at Cynsations

More Personally

Austin’s own Cate Berry has been admitted to the VCFA Writing for Children & YAs program.

Quiet but busy week! I finished my fourth round of packet grading for VCFA and began catching up on correspondence, blogging and event preparation. As you can see from my schedule below, it’s going to be a summer jam packed with travel, teaching and speaking!

Personal Links

Cover Reveal!

Cynsational Events

We Need Diverse Books YA Author Panel, moderated by Cynthia, will take place at 1 p.m. May 17 at BookPeople in Austin. Peek: “After the public event, the authors will host a writing workshop at BookPeople. Space for the workshop is limited.” RSVP ASAP.

Join Cynthia at 11 a.m. May 30 in conjunction with the YA Book Club at Cedar Park Public Library in Cedar Park, Texas.

Cynthia will serve as the master class faculty member from June 19 to June 21 at the VCFA Alumni Mini-Residency in Montpelier, Vermont.

Cynthia will speak from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. June 28 on an Association of
Library Service to Children (ALSC) program–“We Need Diverse Books: How
to Move from Talk to Action Panel”–at the 2015 Annual Conference of the American Library Association in San Francisco.

Learn more!

Cynthia will teach on the faculty of the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts from July 8 to July 19.

Join Cynthia from July 30 to Aug. 2 at GeekyCon in Orlando, Florida. See more information.

Cynthia Leitich Smith will lead a YA Writing Retreat for A Room of Her Own Foundation from Aug. 10 to Aug. 16 at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico.

Cynthia will lead a breakout session on “Diversity in Children’s and YA
Literature” Aug. 22 at East Texas Book Fest at the Harvey Hall
Convention Center in Tyler, Texas.

Cynthia will speak Sept. 19 at the Mansfield, Texas Book Festival.

Cynthia will speak Sept. 29 at Richardson Public Library in Richardson, Texas.