By Beth Bacon
This is the third post in a series honoring reluctant readers.
Writing conveys a full spectrum of experiences and emotions—but are there limits to what words alone can do? When digging deeper into the building blocks of literacy, you realize that letters and words are more than the ideas the represent.
Debut author Cate Berry interviews illustrator Charles Santoso about Penguin and Tiny Shrimp Don’t Do Bedtime! (Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins, May 2018)
Cate: Hi, Charles! I’m here with Penguin and Tiny Shrimp to talk about—
Penguin: Hey, Charles! Love the cover, but what’s with the pajamas?
Continue Reading Cover Reveal: Penguin & Tiny Shrimp Don’t Do Bedtime »
Learn more about Uma Krishnaswami.
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, what bumps did you encounter and how have you managed to defy the odds to achieve continued success?
Melanie J. Fishbane joins the Cynsations team as a reporter covering children’s-YA writing, illustration, publishing and other book news originating in Canada.
Melanie J. Fishbane holds an M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and an M.A.
Continue Reading New Cynsations Reporter: Melanie J. Fishbane »
Would-Be Kid Writer Robin
I tried to write my first story when I was in second grade. My family was gathered around the TV like every night. While “M*A*S*H” played in the background, I stared at my blank paper and dreamed up what I thought was a hilarious story of a girl who used every possible excuse to avoid going to bed—a subject I knew well.
Continue Reading Cynsations Intern: Robin Galbraith on Giving Yourself Permission to Write »
If I’d known how long and difficult the path to publication would be for my new young adult novel, Playing by Heart (Vinspire Publishing, 2017), I might never have started down this road. The journey began when I set out to write a picture book biography of a little-known 18th-century female mathematician.
By Cate Berry
Looking back on your undergraduate years, do you have remorse? What got away?
Mine is easy. I regret not spending a semester abroad.
Enter my grad school: Vermont College of Fine Arts. I graduated this July with an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults,
Continue Reading Guest Post: Cate Berry on VCFA at Bath Spa University »
Shenaaz Nanji is the author of Ghost Boys (Mawenzi House Publishers, September 2017). From the promotional copy:
Fifteen-year-old Munna lives with his Ma and sisters in a small town in India.
Determined to end his family’s misfortunes, he is lured into a dream job in the Middle East,
Continue Reading Author Interview: Shenaaz Nanji on Child Slavery & Ghost Boys »
Today we welcome author Clete Barrett Smith, discussing his new novel, Mr. 60% (Penguin Random House, 2017).
I heard Clete read the opening chapter several years ago for his graduate reading at Vermont College of Fine Arts. It gave me chills,
Continue Reading Author Interview: Clete Barrett Smith on Writing Challenging Stories & Mr. 60% »
Bonnie Pipkin is the debut author of Aftercare Instructions (Flatiron Books, 2017). From the promotional copy:
“Troubled.” That’s seventeen-year-old Genesis according to her small New Jersey town. She finds refuge and stability in her relationship with her boyfriend, Peter—until he abandons her at a Planned Parenthood clinic during their appointment to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.
Continue Reading New Voice: Bonnie Pipkin on Aftercare Instructions »
