By Carol McAfee
I am delighted today to speak with author Jasmine Warga, whose books have always deeply moved me, from her very first book, My Heart and Other Black Holes (HarperCollins, 2015) to her recent Other Words For Home (HarperCollins, 2021). As recent events unfold and we feel we swim in a choppy and dehumanizing sea,
By Carol McAfee
I am delighted today to speak with author Martine Leavitt whose books always make me cry in the way a sunset can make you cry, for the sheer beauty of it.
Martine, please tell us about you as a writer. Your aesthetic. What do you care most about that you want to share with the world?
Arnold Adoff—noted anthologist, poet, and author—died on May 7 at home in Yellow Springs, Ohio surrounded by family after a brief illness. He was 85.
Obituary: Arnold Adoff from Publishers Weekly by Shannon Maughan. Peek: “Children’s poet, author, and anthologist Arnold Adoff, widely noted for his inventive poetry style and for depicting African American experiences in his work,
By Mark Karlins and Nicole Wong
Kiyoshi’s Walk, written by Mark Karlins and illustrated by Nicole Wong (Lee & Low, March 2021) is the story of a Japanese-American boy who wants to learn how to write poetry and of his relationship with his grandfather.
Both of us found great joy in creating this book.
Continue Reading Guest Post: Mark Karlins & Nicole Wong on the Creation of Kiyoshi’s Walk »
By Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell
Janet: More than a year ago, back in February 2020 (although it seems like 2010…) we had an open call for poems for HOP TO IT: Poems to Get You Moving (Pomelo Books, 2020). Our plan was to curate an anthology of 75 poems that encourage movement—short poems to help “get the wiggles out.”
We first thought about doing a movement-themed book at the end of 2015,
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 »
I’m an author and poet and recently retired clinical social worker who loves to explore the writer’s emotional and spiritual journey, and more recently, how that journey intertwines with our characters’ journeys.
I’ve long been particularly interested in the many facets of emotional resilience—the behaviors and beliefs that fuel and flow from it,
Continue Reading Heart & Spirit Author Interview: Eileen Meyer on Persistence »
Author Kate Hosford‘s latest book, A Songbird Dreams of Singing: Poems About Sleeping Animals, illustrated by Jennifer M. Potter (Running Press, 2019), explores the sleeping habits of 17 different animals through poetry and exposition. The book piqued my curiosity, and I’m very exited to share a peek at Kate’s process with Cynsations readers.
By Traci Sorell
Memoir is one of my favorite genres to read. When Nikki Grimes shared some poems from hers last summer, I knew I must read Ordinary Hazards (Boyds Mills & Kane, 2019), the entire book.
Written in verse, her words captivated me much as the act of writing did her at an early age.
Continue Reading Author Interview: Nikki Grimes on The Power of Words »
Margarita Engle 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?