Learn more about Louise Hawes.
In children’s-YA writing, maintaining an active publishing career is arguably an even bigger challenge than breaking into the field.
Reflecting on your personal journey (creatively, career-wise, and your writer’s heart), what bumps did you encounter and how have you managed to defy the odds to achieve continued success?
By N.H. Senzai
The reason I love writing for the middle grade audience is because at this age kids can still suspend belief and journey with you through a story as long as you create believable plots, authentic characters and dialogue that rings true.
However, you need to hook them in quickly,
Author, illustrator, and educator Jean Marzollo died April 10, 2018.
SCBWI Remembers Jean Marzollo 1942- 2018 from their website. Peek:
“…Marzollo served for 20 years as editor of Scholastic’s magazine for kindergartners, Let’s Find Out. …she wrote nearly 150 books,
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Robin Galbraith,
Gayleen Rabukukk & Kate Pentecost
Author/Illustrator Insights
South Asian Historical Fiction—Author Interview with Veera Hiranandani and Giveaway by Suma Subramaniam from From the Mixed-up Files of Middle-Grade Authors. Peek:
“I grew up hearing about partition [of India in 1947] from my father…I would hear parts of the story,
Jen Petro-Roy is the debut author of P.S. I Miss You (Feiwel & Friends, 2018). From the promotional copy:
Evie is heartbroken when her strict Catholic parents send her pregnant sister, Cilla, away to stay with a distant great aunt. All Evie wants is for her older sister to come back.
Continue Reading New Voice: Jen Petro-Roy on Epistolary Novels & P.S. I Miss You »
By Traci Sorell
I love a good picture book biography and read so many in elementary school, especially those featuring women.
So when I learned Patricia Valdez’s debut picture book would feature the work of Joan Proctor, a zoologist researching amphibians in the early twentieth century, I knew there’d be a great story there.
Continue Reading New Voice: Patricia Valdez on Joan Proctor, Dragon Doctor »
Learn more about Brent Hartinger.
In children’s YA writing, maintaining an active publishing career is arguably an even bigger challenge than breaking into the field.
Reflecting on your personal journey (creatively, career-wise, and your writer’s heart), what bumps did you encounter and how have you managed to defy the odds to achieve continued success?
Story beginnings are so important, it’s no wonder they get a lot of attention.
Writers not only have to come up with a fresh idea, they have to nail an opening hook that sets up the main character, grounds the reader in a specific setting, and gets a compelling story problem rolling.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Lori Mortensen on Writing Story Endings & If Wendell Had a Walrus »
Russell Freedman, 88, Writer of History for Young Readers, Dies by Neil Genzlinger from The New York Times. Peek:
“Russell Freedman, who brought readable, relatable history to young readers in dozens of well-researched, generously illustrated books, died on March 16 in Manhattan.”
“The prolific nonfiction author — winner of the 1988 Newbery Medal for Lincoln: A Photobiography (Clarion,
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Robin Galbraith,
Gayleen Rabukukk & Kate Pentecost
Author/ Illustrator Insights
Donna Janell Bowman and Abraham Lincoln’s Dueling Words! By Adi Rule from The Launch Pad. Peek:
“Initially, I was a bit nervous about shining a light on an event that Lincoln himself was ashamed of,
