Patricia Reilly Giff, beloved and prolific author, died June 22 at her home in Trumbull, Connecticut from cancer. She was 86.
Obituary: Patricia Reilly Giff by Shannon Maughan from Publishers Weekly. Peek:
“Patricia Reilly Giff [is] widely known for her Newbery Honor-winning novels Lily’s Crossing and Pictures of Hollis Woods,
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.
I’m talking today with Simona Ceccarelli, an illustrator based in Switzerland who has worked books for publishers in several countries, including the U.S. market.
Simona, it’s been so rewarding to watch your career take off! It wasn’t that long ago that the first book you illustrated came out,
Continue Reading Illustrator Interview: Simona Ceccarelli on Illustrating Internationally »
Starfish by Lisa Fipps (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2021) unfolds as eleven-year-old Ellie, who has been fat-shamed and bullied since childhood, begins to break away from “Fat Girl Rules” she’s been told are foundational to her life. Ellie’s loving friendships, close relationship with her father, and a growing positive connection with a fabulous therapist,
Continue Reading Heart and Spirit: Lisa Fipps Discusses Her Debut Middle-Grade Novel in Verse »
Today we extend a warm welcome to Lauren Wolk. She is the author of the Newbery Honor book Wolf Hollow (Dutton, 2016), Beyond the Bright Sea (Dutton, 2017), which won the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and her latest book,
Continue Reading Author Interview: Lauren Wolk on Staying True to Yourself »
As the parent of children on the autism spectrum and who also struggle with anxiety, I am a big fan of Sally J. Pla‘s books and their representations of neurodiversity. Her most recent middle grade novel Stanley Will Probably Be Fine illustrated by Steve Wolfhard (HarperCollins,
My chronicles explore the heart and spirit of writers, the emotional and psychological issues and strengths that stir our creativity and are stirred by our work and the obstacles that impact our processes.
What strengths does each writer have that create and maintain emotional resilience?
How does an author’s or illustrator’s own internal process and state of mind intertwine with the narrative arc of her work?
Continue Reading Heart and Spirit: An Interview with Ami Polonsky »
Today I am thrilled to welcome Christopher Paul Curtis to Cynsations. Christopher is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his debut novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963! (Delacorte, 1995), which was named both a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Honor book in 1996.
One thing writers struggle with is getting their work to measure up to publishing standards. I am pleased to introduce our Cynsations readers the debut authors Stacy Hackney, author of Forever Glimmer Creek (Simon & Schuster, 2020), and Lily LaMotte,
Today I am excited to introduce our readers to Carrie Firestone. Carrie is the author of two YA novels, The Loose Ends List (Little, Brown, 2016) and The Unlikelies (Little, Brown, 2017). Recently, her middle-grade novel Dress Coded (G.P. Putnam’s Sons,
Continue Reading Carrie Firestone on Youth Activism & Dress Coded, Her Debut Middle Grade Novel »