The 2007 Friends Medallion Book Award is chosen by the elementary students at Virginia Beach Friends School from twenty nominees. After more than a month of reading and critiquing each submission, the two books that the children felt best reflected the theme of friendship were:
Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend by Mélanie Watt (Kids Can Press).
Spooky Cyn-terview and Sanguini’s T-shirt Giveaway Contest from Liz Gallagher at Through the Tollbooth.
The focus is reading and writing with an emphasis on Gothic fantasy (with the obvious caveats that mileage–and approaches–may vary).
Peek: “Of course it’s okay for books to stretch the audience in a myriad of ways.
Continue Reading Spooky Cyn-terview and Sanguini’s T-shirt Giveaway Contest »
Enter to win Listening for Crickets by David Gifaldi (Henry Holt, 2008)!
From the promotional copy: “Can a ten-year-old protect his little sister from the harsh world around them?”
To enter the giveaway, email me (scroll and click on the envelope) with your name and snail/street mail address by 10 p.m.
I last featured an SCBWI Bologna series interview with you in 2006! Highlighting as you see fit, could you update us on your back list and writing life since that time?
Since that interview Magic’s Child (Razorbill, 2007), the final book in the Magic or Madness (Razorbill, 2005-2007) trilogy, was published.
Continue Reading Author Interview: Justine Larbalestier on How to Ditch Your Fairy »
Don Tate is a renowned children’s book illustrator, based in Austin, Texas. Read a previous Cynsations interview with Don and an interview about his efforts as a co-founder of The Brown Bookshelf.
How did you come to donate a painting to the raffle for the Texas Library Association Disaster Relief Fund?
Jeanette Larson is an Austin-based librarian and member of the Texas Library Association.
What is the TLA Disaster Relief Fund?
It is a fund maintained by the Texas Library Association to provide small grants to libraries in Texas that have been affected by natural disasters.
Funds help libraries during recovery efforts and can be used for replacement of materials,
P. J. Hoover on P. J. Hoover: “Basically, I grew up a cool nerd. I loved math, computers, and ‘Star Trek’ but also happened to be captain of the cheerleading squad.
“I opted out of AP English to take Astronomy instead. After all, at the time, I thought drawing planetary orbits was way more fun that reading As I Lay Dying [by William Faulkner (1930)].
The lovely Susan Gray (see photo!) interviews me today: “Cynsational Cynthia” at Gottawrite Girl: adventures in children’s literature * interviews * publishing news * musings on writing life.
Peek: “I have a passion for story itself, and young heroes are, to me, the most compelling—they’re dynamic, fresh to experiences,
Continue Reading Cynsational Cynthia: an Interview with Cynthia Leitich Smith from Gottawrite Girl »
In celebration of the ten year anniversary of www.cynthialeitichsmith.com, I asked some first-time authors the following question:
As a debut author, what are the most important lessons you’ve learned about your craft, the writing life, and/or publishing, and why?
Here’s the latest reply, this one from author Kristin O’Donnell Tubb:
I’ve been surprised to find that,
Continue Reading 10th Anniversary Feature: Kristin O’Donnell Tubb »
Last night Greg and I had the spooky fun of hosting an Austin Youth Lit Social for advanced writers of children’s and YA fiction and creative non-fiction.
First the stage was set…
And then the 65-70 guests arrived…
We served pizzas from Rounders Pizzeria on 6th Street (17 of them–sausage and mushroom,
