By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Magic Like That by Samara Cole Doyon (Lee & Low Books, 2021).
Author/Illustrator Insights
Rita Williams-Garcia Weaves Truth with Imagination in A Sitting in St. James
I am excited to welcome Rita Williams-Garcia back to Cynsations. Rita is the celebrated author of One Crazy Summer (HarperCollins, 2010), Clayton Byrd Goes Underground (HarperCollins, 2017), and Jumped (HarperCollins, 2009). Welcome, Rita.
Tell us a little bit about your newest release,
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In Memory: Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton
By Bree Bender
Award-winning children’s book author Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton (Inuvialuit) died on April 21, 2021. She was 85 years old.
Remembering Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton, children’s book author and residential school survivor from Quill and Quire. Peek: “Born on Baillie Island in the Arctic Ocean, the author of Fatty Legs: A True Story,
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Cynsations Reporter: AJ Eversole on Inspiration & the WNDB Native Children’s-YA Writing Intensive
Above image: AJ Eversole with her well-read copy of Buffalo Gal by Bill Wallace (Holiday House, 1992).
It’s my pleasure to introduce our newest Cynsational reporter, AJ Eversole, who will cover children’s-YA writing, illustration, publishing and other book news from Indigenous authors and illustrators. And like me,
Guest Post: Lisa Katzenberger: Goes Behind the Book with the Courage to Create
As a member of the Courage to Create community, Bethany Hegedus invited me to do a Behind the Book webinar on my picture book It Will Be Okay, illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett (Sourcebook Kids, 2021).
The Courage to Create is a program run by Bethany,
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Cynsational News
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: The First Blade of Sweetgrass by Suzanne Greenlaw and Gabriel Frey, illustrated by Nancy Baker (Tilbury House Publishers, 2021).
Guest Interview: Uma Krishnaswami & Vaunda Micheaux Nelson Reflect on Writing’s Journey
I have been a fan of Vaunda Micheaux Nelson’s work for decades now. We’ve been together in a writing group since 1997. I can’t imagine letting a manuscript go to my agent without having this amazing writer and friend cast her eyes on it first. I feel so fortunate that she is in my writing circle—my life circle.
Guest Interview: Uma Krishnaswami & Aimee Sicuro Explore Creative Pathways
Aimee Sicuro’s illustrations for my picture book, Bright Sky, Starry City (Groundwood Books, 2015), blew me away. There were so many elements that just opened up the universe of my story about a girl who loves the sky. When I saw the illustrations, I became convinced that Aimee had read my mind.
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Guest Post: Uma Krishnaswami Reflects on the Power of Design in Narrative Nonfiction Books
Threads of Peace: How Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Changed the World (Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 2021) took me all of nine years from contract to publication. When I began writing my first draft, I knew I’d need to look for photos.
I had decided to use a combination of archival images and photographs that my husband and I had taken in India and the United States in places important to the lives of both Mahatma Gandhi and Reverend King.
Cynsations Summer Hiatus
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender, and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Thank you to everyone who joined us over the 2020-2021 academic year!
We dearly appreciate the authors, illustrators, gatekeepers and industry pros who shared their insights and inspirations.