In the foothills of the Himalayas, when the fireflies danced and the moon rose over the sharp silhouettes of the world’s tallest peaks, I listened to my grandfather and father recite Urdu poetry: ghazals, nazms and shers—songs, poems and couplets reminiscing about life. Those are indeed my favorite childhood memories. Those were the long summer holidays before electronic media invaded our lives.
Continue Reading Cynsations Intern: Mitu Malhotra Reflects on “Where I’m From” »
By Gail Vannelli and Gayleen Rabakukk
Spotlight image: Doan Phuong Nguyen celebrates the release of her new book.
Today Cynsations is excited to share the publishing journeys of two children’s authors, Doan Phuong Nguyen and Patricia Tanumihardja. Doan Phuong is the author of Mèo and Bé (Tu Books,
Spotlight image: Sarah Baker and Jess Racklyeft at the SCBWI booth at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
This year Bologna Children’s Book Fair celebrated its 60th fair. I asked three visitors to this year’s fair to share more about their experiences with the readers of Cynsations.
Continue Reading Bologna 2023: Visiting the Bologna Children’s Book Fair as it Celebrates 60 »
Spotlight image: Jess Racklyeft and Anden Wilder at Bologna Children’s Book Fair, photo courtesy Anden Wilder.
This year, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) was thrilled to be back at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair!
Continue Reading Bologna 2023: SCBWI Scholarship Winners Anden Wilder & Jess Racklyeft »
Spotlight image: Shachi Kaushik celebrating Diwali with her new book.
I love sharing the success stories of Austin authors with Cynsations readers. Today I’m interviewing two debut picture book authors, Shachi Kaushik and Susan Johnston Taylor, about their paths to publication and advice for aspiring writers.
Continue Reading New Voices: Shachi Kaushik & Susan Johnston Taylor Share Picture Book Advice »
Featured image: Melissa Coffey signing advance copies at the 2022 Texas Library Association Conference.
Today I’m pleased to welcome two Austin authors to Cynsations, Melissa Coffey and Kristin Wauson. Melissa is the debut author of Fridge-Opolis, illustrated by Josh Cleland (Little Bee Books,
Continue Reading New Voices: Melissa Coffey & Kristin Wauson on SCBWI’s Role in their Journeys »
By Gayleen Rabakukk and Stephani Martinell Eaton
We are thrilled to welcome Helen Kampion to Cynsations as a reporter covering the New England area.
Helen is very active in the children’s-YA literature community and we’re excited about the posts she will contribute!
Welcome, Helen! You’ll be covering the New England youth literary scene.
Continue Reading New Cynsations Reporter for New England Helen Kampion »
Editor critiques are invaluable in many ways. They offer insights and takeaways that if we’re open to receiving them, they can improve our stories and lead to publishing contracts in unexpected ways. Some of the best ways to meet editors who are actively looking to acquire new manuscripts are face-to-face or virtually at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrator (SCBWI) conferences,
Continue Reading Cover Reveal: Carmen Oliver on Turning Editor Critiques into Published Books »
I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Lynne Marie for a long time, after meeting at a SCBWI conference and later rooming together. Not only is she a talented writer, but she generously devotes most of her time to mentoring other authors. And many of them have gone on to publish picture books—a few of these authors writing for her imprint Dancing Flamingo Press.
Continue Reading Lynne Marie Talks About the Value of Writing Mentorships to the Writing Journey »
By AJ Eversole & Gayleen Rabakukk
We’re happy to welcome two debut Oklahoma YA authors to Cynsations today! Casie Bazay’s novel, Not Our Summer (Running Press Kids) released on May 11, 2021 and is a #1 Oklahoma Bestseller. Ginny Myers Sain‘s novel, Dark and Shallow Lies was published by Razorbill/Penguin on September 7,
Continue Reading New Voices: Casie Bazay & Ginny Myers Sain on Persistence »