The Cynsations team is thankful to have you as a reader!
Cynsations blog is on hiatus for the week. We’ll return on November 29 with more inspiration, insights, and information related to the children’s-YA publishing community.
In the meantime, keep up with Cynthia Leitich Smith on Facebook,
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: I Am the Subway by Kim Hyo-eun, translated by Deborah Smith (Scribble US, 2021).
Author/Illustrator Insights
Today I’m talking with Nick Thomas, Senior Editor at Levine Querido, an independent publisher of books for young readers that was founded by Arthur A. Levine in 2019.
Nick, thank you for joining me!
Thank you for having me! Cynsations is one of my favorite websites—I use it as a resource all the time to learn from creators and publishing people I respect.
Continue Reading Editor Interview: Levine Querido’s Nick Thomas on Perspectives & Accessibility »
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: What Will My Story Be? by Nidhi Chanani (Viking Books for Young Readers, 2021).
Author/Illustrator Insights
Ana Crespo is an assistant agent for the East West Literary Agency. She is also the author of many amazing picture books. I had the pleasure of meeting her at a library conference when we were both signing books for Albert Whitman.
Continue Reading Agent Interview: Ana Crespo, Author, Agent, Booklover »
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Room for Everyone by Naaz Khan, illustrated by Mercè López (Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 2021).
By Bree Bender
Newbery award-winning author and children’s literature icon, Gary Paulsen has passed away. He was 82 years old.
Beloved Author Gary Paulsen has Died Aged 82 via MacMillan. Peek: “It was Paulsen’s overwhelming belief in young people that drove him to write. His desire to tap deeply into the human spirit and encourage readers to observe and care about the world around them brought him both enormous popularity with young people and critical acclaim from the children’s book community.”
Obituary: Gary Paulsen by Shannon Maughan from Publishers Weekly.
We’re pleased to welcome the author-illustrator team of Isobel Adds It Up (Penguin Random House, 2021), Kristy Everington, and AG Ford to Cynsations.
In this lovely picture book, Isobel is a problem solver . . . addition, subtraction, multiplication, division! But trying to figure out who is causing all the noise next door is one problem she can’t quite work out.
Continue Reading Kristy Everington and AG Ford Talk About Writing, Art, and Isobel Adds It Up »
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Where Three Oceans Meet by Rajani LaRocca, illustrated by Archana Sreenivasan (Harry N. Abrams,
We’re wrapping up our picture book biography series with two more Austin authors, Gloria Amescua, author of Child Of The Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter Of The Nahua, illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh (Abrams, 2021) and Carol Kim, author of King Sejong Invents an Alphabet,