I recently chatted with Austin author Carmen Oliver about her latest release—Building an Orchestra of Hope: How Favio Chavez Taught Children to Make Music from Trash, illustrated by Luisa Uribe (Eerdmans, 2022)—and finding balance, given the many hats she wears. In the photo above,
Editor’s note: Today we’re sharing a snapshot of the conversation from Cynsations Intern Suma Subramaniam‘s recent book launch for She Sang For India: How M.S. Subbulakshmi Used Her Voice For Change, illustrated by Shreya Gupta (Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR, 2022). The chat was led by student writer Suniti Srinivasan and included author and illustrator Vikram Madan celebrating his new titles Owl and Penguin (Holiday House,
Spotlight image: Patricia Newman signs a book for Bebe, the narrator of A River’s Gifts book trailer.
I’m excited to celebrate an amazing new book by Sibert Honor award winning author Patricia Newman and acclaimed illustrator Natasha Donovan. I’ve been lucky to be in a critique group with Patricia for over a dozen years—she’s one of the best critique partners ever.
I’m thrilled to welcome two Austin/VCFA authors with debut middle grade novels. I met Jacquetta Nammar Feldman at an intensive at The Writing Barn, and Sean Petrie and I were Vermont College of Fine Arts students at the same time. It’s very exciting when passages you’ve read in a workshop become a published book!
Continue Reading New Voices: Jacquetta Nammar Feldman & Sean Petrie: From Poetry to MG Novels »
Critique partners can play a huge role in taking a manuscript to the next level. Today we’re chatting with critique partners Candy Wellins and Philip Hoelzel about their picture book biographies.
Candy’s book is The Stars Beckoned: Edward White’s Amazing Walk in Space,
By Kate Hosford
A little over four years ago, my husband Chris and I were reading the Sunday New York Times, when he noticed a tribute to the astronomer Vera Rubin, who had died the day before. He suggested that I write a picture book about her. Although I was fascinated by Vera, I had a feeling that the perfect author for this project was my friend,
By Kim Rogers
Today, I’m excited to introduce you to debut author Andrea L. Rogers.
I met Andrea at Kweli’s Color of Children’s Literature Conference in New York City in 2018. Andrea is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.
Her debut middle grade book is Mary and the Trail of Tears: A Cherokee Survival Story (Capstone,
Continue Reading Native Voice: Andrea L. Rogers on Writing about the Trail of Tears »
Sometimes a book can take you back to a particular time or place. When I read All of a Sudden and Forever: Help and Healing after the Oklahoma City Bombing by Chris Barton, illustrated by Nicole Xu (Carolrhoda, February 2020), I remembered a day that book would’ve made a big difference.
Continue Reading Author Interview: Chris Barton on Writing Stories That Heal »
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.
Learn more about Erin Cashman
By Erin Cashman
Recently, someone commented to me that writing fantasy must be easy, since I can just make up what I need to fit my plot.
I wish! As Lloyd Alexander said,
“Once committed to his imaginary kingdom, the writer is not a monarch but a subject.”
Continue Reading Guest Post: Erin Cashman on The Role of Research in Writing Fantasy »
