I recently read Lyn Miller-Lachmann‘s young adult historical novel, Torch (Carolrhoda Lab, 2022), and am eager for Lyn to share her insights on writing in multiple points of view with Cynsations readers. First, from the promotional copy:
Czechoslovakia, 1969
Seventeen-year-old Pavol has watched his country’s freedoms disappear in the wake of the Soviet Union’s invasion.
Continue Reading Author Interview: Lyn Miller-Lachmann on Multiple Point-of-View & Torch »
Congratulations to Melanie Crowder on her new young adult novel, Jumper (Viking, June 2022)! It received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews. Melanie recently joined the faculty of Vermont College of Fine Arts Writing for Children and Young Adults program.
Take a look back at Melanie’s thoughts on her debut novel,
Continue Reading Throwback Thursday: Melanie Crowder on Parched »
I’m thrilled to welcome author Kellye Crocker to Cynsations! Like me, she’s a Vermont College of Fine Arts alumnx more than a decade past graduation. Her debut middle grade novel, Dad’s Girlfriend and Other Anxieties (Albert Whitman & Company, October 2022) features practical tips on mindfulness and managing anxiety shared through a hilarious,
Continue Reading Author Interview: Kellye Crocker Uses a Light Touch for a Serious Subject »
Today I am excited to introduce our Cynsations readers to Maureen Charles and Ashley Walker who recently collaborated on a nonfiction project for older readers. Their book Music Mavens from Chicago Review Press comes out this fall as part of their Women of Power series.
Mark Karlins, author and poet, died Jan. 1, 2022. He was 74.
He was born Sept. 19, 1947. He was originally from New York City, and many of his picture books are set there. In a Children’s Book Review interview with Luisa LaFleur he said,
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 »
Today we welcome Veeda Bybee to the Cynsations team as a reporter. With a background in journalism as well as someone who participates enthusiastically in conversations surrounding the kidlit community, she is well-suited in this role. Veeda has contributed to the anthologies Rural Voices, edited by Nora Shalaway Carpenter (Candlewick,
I am thrilled to welcome Michael Leali to the Cynsations Team as a reporter. He brings such positivity to anything he does, I know our readers will love his contributions! Michael’s middle grade novel The Civil War of Amos Abernathy (HarperCollins) debuts this May and we are excited to celebrate with him.
I spent an informative and inspiring hour talking with authors A.S. (Amy) King, Jason Reynolds, Francisco X. Stork, Bill Konigsberg (not pictured), and Cory McCarthy about mental health. In the course of our conversation, we covered our own mental health,
Continue Reading Young Adult Authors on How Writing about Mental Health Saves Lives »
Stories are the work of a community, not a creator in isolation. I am struck by this truth every single time I hold my debut picture book, Gitty and Kvetch, illustrated by the phenomenal Ariel Landy (Atheneum, 2021), in my hands. Its pages carry the fingerprints of all the people who have poured into my life and this story.