The Cynsational Books of 2022 were selected by Cynthia Leitich Smith from nominations by Cynsations Team members.
The selections:
Berry Song by Michaela Goade (Tlingit/Haida) (Little, Brown, 2022) From the promotional copy:
On an island at the edge of a wide, wild sea, a girl and her grandmother gather gifts from the earth.
Happy Holidays, Cynsational readers!
Effective immediately, Cynsations is on winter hiatus. We’ll return after the ALA Midwinter Conference with more inspiration, insights, and info on children’s-YA writing, illustration, literature, and publishing. In the meantime, you’re welcome keep up on those topics with me at Facebook,
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, A.J. Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Magic: Once Upon a Faraway Land by Mirelle Ortega (Harry N. Abrams, 2022).
Author/Illustrator Insights
STEM Tuesday—The Science of Art—Author Interview With Karen Latchana Kenney by Mary Kay Carson from From The Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors.
Editor’s note: Today we’re sharing a snapshot of the conversation from Cynsations Intern Suma Subramaniam‘s recent book launch for She Sang For India: How M.S. Subbulakshmi Used Her Voice For Change, illustrated by Shreya Gupta (Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR, 2022). The chat was led by student writer Suniti Srinivasan and included author and illustrator Vikram Madan celebrating his new titles Owl and Penguin (Holiday House,
Featured image: Arthur Levine and Levine Querido crew celebrate 100 starred reviews.
Most of us think that agents and editors just do agenting or editing. But what if they are also writers? Does this make a difference how our work is viewed? Evaluated? This three-part series asks agents and editors to share their thoughts and experiences on wearing two hats.
Spotlight image: Irene Vázquez & Levine Querido Marketing Director Antonio Gonzalez Cerna
Most of us think that agents and editors just do agenting or editing. But what if they are also writers? Does this make a difference how our work is viewed? Evaluated? This three-part series asks agents and editors to share their thoughts and experiences on wearing two hats.
Spotlight image: agent John Cusick signing a contract
Most of us think that agents and editors just do agenting or editing. But what if they are also writers? Does this make a difference how our work is viewed? Evaluated? This three-part series asks agents and editors to share their thoughts and experiences on wearing two hats.
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, A.J. Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Beautiful You, Beautiful Me by Tasha Spillett-Sumner, illustrated by Salini Perera (Owlkids, 2022).
Author/Illustrator Insights
Alexandra Alessandri on Multicultural Children’s Book Day IG Live with Mia Wenjen from YouTube.
By Suniti Srinivasan
Editor’s note: Today we’re sharing a snapshot of the conversation from Cynsations Intern Suma Subramaniam‘s recent book launch for Namaste Is A Greeting, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat (Candlewick, 2022). The chat was led by student writer Suniti Srinivasan and included author and illustrator Ellie Peterson;
As we close out 2022, I’m thrilled that we can learn from a few more fantastic young adult debut authors’ experiences. Featured in this article are Charity Alyse, Susan Azim Boyer, Anna Gracia, Elizabeth Kilcoyne, Keely Parrack,
Continue Reading Perspectives from 2022 Debuts, Young Adult Edition, Part 2 »