By Rebecca Kirshenbaum
Two-time Schneider Award Winner and 2018 National Book Awards Finalist Leslie Connor talks about her new middle grade novel, Anybody Here Seen Frenchie? (Katherine Tegen, 2022), the power of research, and the beauty of symbiotic friendships.
Your newest novel, Anybody Here Seen Frenchie?,
I am excited to welcome Rita Williams-Garcia back to Cynsations. Rita is the celebrated author of One Crazy Summer (HarperCollins, 2010), Clayton Byrd Goes Underground (HarperCollins, 2017), and Jumped (HarperCollins, 2009). Welcome, Rita.
Tell us a little bit about your newest release,
Continue Reading Rita Williams-Garcia Weaves Truth with Imagination in A Sitting in St. James »
Beverly Cleary, beloved, iconic, award-winning author died on March 25 in Carmel, California. She was 104.
Obituary: Beverly Cleary from Publishers Weekly by Shannon Maughan. Peek: “Cleary’s desire to read funny stories about kids like herself is something that drove her as she eventually became an avid reader,
By Kim Rogers
Eric Gansworth (Onondaga) is a visual artist and a professor and Lowery Writer-in-Residence at Canisius College. (Photo credit on image above: Larry Plant.)
Eric’s young adult novel-in-verse Apple (Skin to the Core) (Levine Querido, 2020) has won many awards and accolades, including TIME’s 10 Best YA and Children’s Books of 2020,
Continue Reading Author Interview: Eric Gansworth on Apple (Skin to the Core) & Writing Insights »
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.
David Gale, talented and beloved editor, died Oct. 9 after a long illness. He was 65.
Obituary: David Gale from Publishers Weekly. Peek:
“Children’s book editor David Gale…shaped a distinguished roster of award-winning titles and proudly championed works of LGBTQ literature….”
Deborah Wiles is a successful children’s-YA author with a long, distinguished career.
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?
Representative John Lewis, Georgia congressman, icon of the civil rights movement, and award-winning author of the March trilogy (Top Shelf), died July 17. He was 80.
John Lewis, Towering Figure of Civil Rights Era, Dies at 80 by Katharine Q. Seelye from The New York Times.
Betsy Byars, award-winning and prolific author, died Feb. 26 in Seneca, South Carolina after complications from a fall. She was 91.
Obituary: Betsy Byars by Shannon Maughan from Publishers Weekly. Peek:
“Byars’s books were often lauded for their blend of humor,
Samantha Mabry is the author of All the Wind in the World (Algonguin Young Readers, 2017). It was longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. From the promotional copy:
Sarah Jac Crow and James Holt have fallen in love working in the endless fields that span a near-future,
Continue Reading Author Interview: Samantha Mabry on Being Unique & All the Wind in the World »
