Novelists always know when to start writing. It’s when we get an idea—in the form of a voice, a setting, a conflict, or some other plot point. Inspiration strikes, and we create a new file titled something like “My Latest Greatest – Draft 1.”
But how do authors know when to stop writing?
Continue Reading Guest Post: Shirley Vernick on Drawing the Line »
Paint Me! (Sky Pony Press, 2014) is about a little girl who begins the day painting a portrait of her dog, but she quickly discovers the joy of colors and lots of messy paint.
At the end of the day, all is well after a bath and goodnight kiss.
Continue Reading Guest Post & Giveaway: Sarah Frances Hardy on Paint Me! »
Wow! This weekend’s highlight was Middle Grade Mayhem, a joint launch event featuring authors Varian Johnson (The Great Greene Heist (Arthur A. Levine Books)), Greg Leitich Smith (Little Green Men at the Mercury Inn (Roaring Brook)), and Jennifer (“Jenny”) Ziegler (Revenge of the Flower Girls (Scholastic)) at BookPeople in Austin!
Children’s book editor Frances Foster with author Barbara O’Connor
Compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Obituary: Frances Foster by Shannon Maughan from Publishers Weekly. Peek: “Editor Frances Foster, whose celebrated tutelage of numerous award-winning authors and illustrators earned her placement in the top echelon of children’s book industry luminaries, died on Sunday,
Compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Congratulations to Kathi Appelt on the release of Mogie: The Heart of the House, illustrated by Marc Rosenthal (Atheneum, 2014). From the promotional copy:
Mogie is a real-life Labradoodle with a special talent: he always knows just what a sick kid needs!
Are you aware that books can sing?
I learned this in the second grade when an aunt gave me a copy of Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories. That book sang to me–it was magic! Those musical words drew me back to read those stories over and over.
Growing up in the south,
Continue Reading Guest Post: Helen Ketteman on Making Picture Books Sing »
Adriana Brad Schanen is the first-time author of Quinny & Hopper (Hyperion, 2014). From the promotional copy:
Quinny and Hopper couldn’t be more different. They’re an unstoppable team. But when summer ends, things suddenly aren’t the same.
Can Quinny and Hopper stick together in the face of stylish bullies,
Continue Reading New Voice: Adriana Brad Schanen on Quinny & Hopper »
Greg at Hogwarts
Congratulations on the release of my favorite of your books, Little Green Men at the Mercury Inn (Roaring Brook, 2014)! What was your initial inspiration for the novel?
Broadly speaking, I drew on my childhood experiences of summer vacations in Florida.
Maria E. Andreu is the first-time author of The Secret Side of Empty (Running Press, 2014). From the promotional copy:
As a straight-A student with a budding romance and loyal best friend, M.T.’s life seems as apple-pie American as her blondish hair and pale skin.
Continue Reading New Voice: Maria E. Andreu on The Secret Side of Empty »
What a thrill it was yesterday to attend author Bethany Hegedus‘s launch of Grandfather Gandhi, co-authored by Arun Gandhi, illustrated by Evan Turk (Atheneum, 2014) at BookPeople in Austin!
Take a look at how reading, art, music,
Continue Reading Event Report: Bethany Hegedus & Grandfather Gandhi »
