Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog
December 22, 2009
Michelle Markel is the author of Tyrannosaurus Math (Tricycle/Random House, 2009).What's the most fun you've ever had working on a book? Why?
Tyrannosaurus Math was a pleasure for many reasons. It was a quick and easy conception. I was substituting in a second grade classroom, we'd run out of math activities, we'd covered a very dry dinosaur story in the morning, and the classroom library books were uninspired. We were all pretty bored.
I invented some word problems using dinos that the kids l...
December 21, 2009
Penny Blubaugh is the first-time author of Serendipity Market (HarperTeen, 2009). From the promotional copy:When Toby breathes on Mama Inez's bird-shaped invitations, giving them the power to fly, plans for the Serendipity Market begin. Soon, eleven honored guests travel from afar and make their way to the storytellers' tent to share their stories.
Each tale proves what Mama Inez knows—that magic is everywhere. Sometimes it shows itself subtly—a ray of sun glinting on a gold coin, or a girl...
December 18, 2009
Saundra Mitchell is the first-time author of Shadowed Summer (Delacorte, 2009). From the promotional copy:Iris is ready for another hot, routine summer in her small Louisiana town, hanging around the Red Stripe grocery with her best friend, Collette, and traipsing through the cemetery telling each other spooky stories and pretending to cast spells. Except this summer, Iris doesn't have to make up a story. This summer, one falls right in her lap.
Years ago, before Iris was born, a local boy...
Enter to win a copy of The 2010 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market, edited by Alice Pope (Writer's Digest, 2008)(22nd Annual Edition)!From the promotional copy:
The 2010 Children's Writer's & Illustrators Market is the most trusted source for children's publishing information, offering more than 700 listings for book publishers, agents, magazines, and art representatives.
It also contains exclusive interviews with and articles by well-respected and award-winning authors, illustrators a...
December 17, 2009
Learn about Carolyn Crimi, and visit her team blog, Three Silly Chicks.Carolyn's latest book is Henry and the Crazed Chicken Pirates, illustrated by John Manders (Candlewick, 2009).
When and where do you write? Why does that time and space work for you?
One of the joys of being a writer is being able to write wherever you want. Most days I write while sitting on the big red sofa in my living room.
In fact, I'm writing this from that very spot. I usually have my pug Emerson snoring by my side. I ...
By Cynthia Leitich Smith
Lisa Firke of Hit Those Keys: Creative Encouragement, Copy Editing, Web Design specializes in the design of children's and young adult book author sites.What do you think makes a good author site? What elements are essential?
Perhaps the most important thing is something the average site visitor never sees—the underlying markup and coding. (The most engaging content in the world won't be appreciated if it shows up mangled or not at all.)
Second, the purpose of the site s...
December 16, 2009
Bonny Becker is the award-winning author of 12 children's books, including picture books and novels. Her book A Visitor for Bear, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton (Candlewick, 2008) was a New York Times Bestseller, Amazon's Best Picture Book of 2008, and winner of the Golden Kite Award and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award.She has two new books out: A Birthday for Bear, illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton, (Candlewick, 2009), and a middle-grade novel The Magical Ms. Plum, illustrated by Am...
By Cynthia Leitich Smith
Your website can help sell you as a speaker to school groups.
Publicist Susan Raab of Raab Associates says, "For many authors and illustrators, schools have a significant impact on their careers because they offer opportunities for doing school visits, workshops, and other events that provide substantial income separate from the revenue any given book brings in."
You may want to create a separate "events" page, which includes information on your school visits and young a...
December 15, 2009
Learn about Kimberley Griffiths Little.In the photo, she signs a three-book contract for The Healing Spell (Scholastic, summer 2010), Secret Rites of the Goddess (Scholastic, fall 2010), and The Traiteur's Daughter (Scholastic, summer 2011)!
Visit Kimberley's Wanderings: Thoughts, Musings, and the Writing Life of YA Author Kimberley Griffiths Little.
What is the one craft book that you refer to again and again? Why?
I've got shelves full of writing books, probably 50 of them, but one book that I...
By Cynthia Leitich SmithWho will visit your author or illustrator website?
Young readers may be your ultimate target audience, but educators—teachers, university professors of youth literature, and school librarians—are on the forefront of efforts to connect books and kids. What's more, they're using the Internet more than ever to help them make purchasing decisions.
"It is professional librarians and educators who are most likely to specifically seek out information about authors and illustrat...
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