Welcome to our new home, Cynsational Readers! We have moved from Blogger to WordPress.
Anyone who’s ever relocated from one place to another knows that it can be one of life’s most stressful events. And while we weren’t packing physical boxes and loading up a moving truck during the Cynsations winter hiatus, there was much to prepare for our transition.
Samantha M. Clark and Melanie Sumrow
Today I’m excited to share the publishing journeys of two Texas middle grade authors, Samantha M. Clark and Melanie Sumrow.
Both are members of the Electric Eighteen debut author group and both are passionate about community involvement as a component of publishing success.
Samantha M.
Continue Reading New Voices: Samantha M. Clark & Melanie Sumrow on Writing Communities »
Part One: The Writer’s Heart
Many hard-working, committed, persistent, and resilient writers forge ahead with their writing journeys in spite of obstacles, disappointments, “almost-there” moments and plenty of what I call “Beautiful, buts.”
This two-part interview explores the experience of being a long-time, determined writer who has not yet had a book published.
Writers Lisa Bierman, Meredith Davis,
Stephani Eaton, photo by Tanya Odom
When I was in second grade, I wrote a poem about an impending storm that pleased my dad so much that he hung it in his office. It stayed there for years.
I recently asked if he remembered what it said and he rattled off: “This dark and rainy noon will soon pass the sunset of time.”
I had to laugh at the melodrama of my seven-year-old self.
Continue Reading Cynsations Intern: Stephani Eaton on The Joy of Writing »
Lin Oliver interviews Lois Lowry at SCBWI L.A. Conference
In August, I attended my very first SCBWI international summer conference. It was truly an amazing experience, but also a bit overwhelming with nearly 1,200 people in attendance.
Thankfully, we all share a love of children’s books, making it much easier to talk with people than typical social situations.
Continue Reading Intern Insights: Highlights of SCBWI LA 2018 »
By Tioka Tokedira
for SCBWI Bologna 2018 & Cynthia Leitich Smith‘s Cynsations
Note: To wrap up Cynsations coverage of the 2018 Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Tioka Tokedira, Regional Adviser for SCBWI France, talks with SCBWI co-founder Lin Oliver about trends in publishing for children and young adults.
In today’s digital world,
Continue Reading Guest Interview: Lin Oliver on the Global Future of Children’s Literature »
After years of writing you finally have your very first book deal! Now what? How do you promote your debut novel? I talked to four Maryland debut authors from the Electric Eighteens to get the inside scoop on how debut groups for young adult and middle grade authors work.
Deborah Schaumberg, J.H. Diehl, Lauren Abbey Greenberg, Continue Reading New Voices: Inside Scoop on Debut Author Groups with J.H. Diehl, Lauren Abbey Greenberg, Jonathan Roth & Deborah Schaumberg »
By Traci Sorell
Juana Martinez-Neal is a force of nature already this year.
Having won the 2018 Pura Belpré Award for her illustrations in La Princesa and the Pea, written by Susan Middleton Elya (Putnam, 2017), she now has her own debut picture book, Alma and How She Got Her Name (Candlewick, 2018).
Candlewick acquired the story in a seven-publisher auction and is releasing it simultaneously in Spanish and English.
By Traci Sorell
To say that I’m thrilled to feature Daria Peoples-Riley, fellow Epic Eighteen member, today on Cynsations is an understatement.
This Is It (Greenwillow, 2018), her debut picture book as an author-illustrator, follows a young girl of color getting ready for a ballet audition. Although she loves to dance, she doubts herself as she approaches the studio.
Jessie Janowitz is the debut author of The Doughnut Fix (Sourcebooks, April 2018). From the promotional copy:
Tristan isn’t Gifted or Talented like his sister Jeanine, and he’s always been okay with that because he can make a perfect chocolate chip cookie and he lives in the greatest city in the world.
But his life takes a turn for the worse when his parents decide to move to middle-of-nowhere Petersville–a town with one street and no restaurants.
Continue Reading New Voice: Jessie Janowitz on Finding a Literary Agent & The Doughnut Fix »
