Thank you, Cynsational readers, contributors, reporters, webmaster, and most of all, Cynterns, for your support, generosity and enthusiasm for our ongoing conversations!
Thsi blog is now officially on summer hiatus. We will return in the fall with more inspiration, insights and information on children’s-YA writing, illustration, literature and publishing.
In the meantime, keep up on all those topics with me on Facebook,
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabukukk, Robin Galbraith and Stephani Eaton for Cynsations
Cover Reveal
We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, illustrated by Michaela Goade (Roaring Brook, spring 2020). From the flap copy:
Water is the medicine. It affects and connects us all. When a black snake threatens to destroy the Earth and poison its people’s water,
By Traci Sorell
For those of us newer to the field of children’s literature, the numerous writing rules for various age groups and in different genres can feel overwhelming.
As one who appreciates the guidelines but also creatively breaks them when necessary, I am thrilled to welcome a group of rulebreakers to Cynsations.
Members of the Notable 19s, all débuting their first picture books this year,
Continue Reading New Voices: Creative Rulebreakers Among the Notable 19s »
By Traci Sorell
Today we’re chatting with picture book authors Viviane Elbee and Hannah Holt, both members of the Epic Eighteen debut group.
Viviane Elbee
Viviane Elbee, debut picture book author of Teach Your Giraffe to Ski (Albert Whitman, 2018), crafts a story that according to Kirkus Reviews “conceals a how-to for conquering one’s fears.”
Illustrated by Danni Gowdy and told in second person,
Continue Reading New Voices: Vivian Elbee & Hannah Holt on Persistence »
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Robin Galbraith, Gayleen Rabukukk, and Stephani Eaton for Cynsations
Author/Illustrator Insights
The Art of Breaking Things: Q & A With Laura Sibson from Elisa Zied. Peek:
[Libba Bray’s] “talk focused on writing as an extreme sport and at the end of the talk she invited the audience to join her in a year of writing dangerously…
What are we to make of the knowledge that we share DNA with a banana?
No, I’m not kidding. All life on earth evolved from a single-celled common ancestor—our genes and banana genes are over 60 percent identical.
I love thinking about this because stories are the same. The cellular structure that underlies the vast majority of fiction is descended from an ancient ancestor,
Continue Reading Guest Post: Lisa Papademetriou on Writing Tools »
By Traci Sorell
Today Cynsations features two debut picture book authors, Margaret Chiu Greanias and Melissa Stoller, both members of the Epic Eighteen group.
Margaret Chiu Grenias
Maximillian Villianous, the debut picture book of author Margaret Chiu Greanias, centers on Maximillian, a young monster who does not fit in with his ill-mannered family.
Continue Reading New Voices: Margaret Greanias & Melissa Stoller on Writing Craft Resources »
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Robin Galbraith, Gayleen Rabukukk, and Stephani Eaton for Cynsations
Author/Illustrator Insights
Q&A: Isabel Quintero & Zeke Peña by Antonia Saxon from Publishers Weekly. Peek:
“Quintero: My situation with Zeke is unique in that [unlike most author-illustrator collaborators] we communicate throughout the whole process. He’s a really amazing editor.”
My third middle grade novel, Lizzie Flying Solo (HarperCollins, 2019), came out a few weeks ago. It took me 13 years to get that book just right.
It was the manuscript my agent signed me for in 2010, but back in the heyday of Harry Potter [by J.K. Rowling, 1997-2007] and all things commercial,
Continue Reading Guest Post: Nanci Turner Steveson on Writing Mirrors »
By Traci Sorell
Today, we have two award-winning Epic Eighteen debut authors, Christy Mihaly, author of Hey, Hey, Hay: A Tale of Bales and the Machines that Make Them, illustrated by Joe Cepeda (Holiday House, 2018) and Jessie Oliveros, author of The Remember Balloons, illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte (Simon & Schuster, 2018).
Continue Reading New Voices: Christy Mihaly & Jessie Oliveros on Their Paths to Publication »