Congratulations to editors Nora Shalaway Carpenter and Rocky Callen on the release of their new anthology, Ab(solutely) Normal: Short Stories That Smash Mental Health Stereotypes (Candlewick, April 11, 2023). Contributors include: Mercedes Acosta, Karen Jialu Bao, James Bird, Rocky Callen, Nora Shalaway Carpenter,
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.
Today I am thrilled to welcome Laura Shovan to Cynsations in anticipation of National Poetry Month in April. Laura is a novelist, educator, and Pushcart Prize-nominated poet. She’s talking to us today about her writing and how with every project she tries to teach herself something new.
Continue Reading Author Interview: Laura Shovan on Learning Something New With Each Project »
By: AJ Eversole
I am happy to welcome Natasha Donovan to the blog today! Natasha is the illustrator of children’s books such as Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer by Traci Sorell (Lerner, 2021) and the forthcoming A River’s Gifts: The Might Elwha River Reborn by Patricia Newman (Lerner,
Continue Reading Native Voice: Natasha Donovan Talks About Her Artistic Journey »
Today we welcome Veeda Bybee to the Cynsations team as a reporter. With a background in journalism as well as someone who participates enthusiastically in conversations surrounding the kidlit community, she is well-suited in this role. Veeda has contributed to the anthologies Rural Voices, edited by Nora Shalaway Carpenter (Candlewick,
Two of the new voices authors of Foreshadow (Algonquin Young Readers, 2020), Joanna Truman and Flor Salcedo, introduce the anthology and answer questions about the process of answering a call for submissions and getting your work out there when you want to be part of an anthology!
By Kelly Jensen
It was mid-2014 when I got a rush of frantic messages on Twitter from a number of authors telling me to be in touch with Elise Howard at Algonquin Young Readers (AYR). She really wanted to talk with me.
One talk quickly led to a group call with Krestyna Lypen,
By Traci Sorell
I adore picture book poetry anthologies. The variety of poems and artwork inspire me every time. Thanku: Poems of Gratitude (Millbrook Press, Sept. 3, 2019) marks the debut of artist Marlena Myles as a picture book illustrator. Edited by the award-winning author Miranda Paul,
Continue Reading Poetry Anthology Editor & Illustrator Interview: Miranda Paul & Marlena Myles »
In 2015, I had an idea for an anthology. It would be a collection written by sexual violence survivors for teen readers.
It would be part documentary, part creative content, part informational resource. That anthology was published in March 2018 and was called Things We Haven’t Said: Sexual Violence Survivors Speak Out (Zest Books,
Continue Reading Guest Post: Erin E. Moulton on an Anthology Proposal Crash Course »
By Diane Telgen
Fans of young-adult short stories may have noticed the anthology format making a comeback in recent years. But other outlets for original YA fiction, like magazines and websites, are few and far between—especially if they pay their writers. The options can be even more limited for new voices trying to break into the market.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Diane Telgen on Stories of Foreshadow: A Serial YA Anthology »