By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Robin Galbraith, Gayleen Rabukukk, and Stephani Eaton for Cynsations
Author/Illustrator Insights
Q&A: Isabel Quintero & Zeke Peña by Antonia Saxon from Publishers Weekly. Peek:
“Quintero: My situation with Zeke is unique in that [unlike most author-illustrator collaborators] we communicate throughout the whole process.
Laura Creedle and Lucia DiStefano
In June, Laura Creedle‘s debut novel, The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017) won the Writers’ League of Texas Book Award in the Middle Grade/Young Adult Category.
Lucia DiStefano‘s debut novel,
Continue Reading New Voices: Laura Creedle & Lucia DiStefano, Debut YA Book Award Winners »
By Cynthia Leitich Smith,
Robin Galbraith, Stephani Eaton & Gayleen Rabukukk
Author/Illustrator Insights
Interview with Ibi Zoboi from Goodreads. Peek: “Elizabeth Bennet was the hero and love interest I didn’t know I needed. I wanted to update her so she could be relatable to teens.
HEARTS UNBROKEN by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Candlewick, 2018, 2020). Ages 14-up. Also published by Sooriya Books (Sri Lanka), Thorndike Press (large-print edition), and Walker Australia and New Zealand.
When Louise Wolfe’s first real boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off immediately and dumps him.
It’s her senior year, anyway,
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Robin Galbraith,
Gayleen Rabukukk & Kate Pentecost
Author/ Illustrator Insights
How Speak Became a Graphic Novel: Three Questions with Laurie Halse Anderson by Travis Jonker from School Library Journal.
Kendra Levin
By Patti Buff
Note: SCBWI Germany & Austria Regional Advisor Patti Buff interviewed Kendra Levin and Natalie Doherty about the upcoming SCBWI Europolitan Conference. This is the third in a series of six articles.
Kendra Levin is an Executive Editor at Viking Children’s Books,
Esther, welcome back to Cynsations! What’s new in your writing-teacher life?
I’m happy to report: the teaching part of my teaching-author life is taking off in all sorts of new directions this year, literally and figuratively. I continue to teach writing for children workshops at both the University of Chicago’s Graham School’s Writer’s Studio and Chicago’s Newberry Library,
Continue Reading Author-Teacher Interview: Esther Hershenhorn »
B.J. Stone is the author of OLA’S WAKE (Yearling, 2002) and GIRL ON THE BLUFF (Eakin, 1999). This interview was conducted via email in May 2000.
OLA’S WAKE is dedicated to your mother for having inspired the book. Can you share with us a bit more about the history behind that dedication and your inspiration?
In her later years,
The best way to promote your children’s-YA book is to get the next one written. Prioritize your rest, creativity, and embrace marketing activities that are a fit for your personality and availability.
Compiled by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Where Books Meet Disaster: A Brief Reading List About Kids and Migration from Meg Medina. Peek: “The difficult story of migration is the Latino story, and it is the human story since time began.” See also Eleven Books on Latin American Immigration and Migration from Lee &
