Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, page 118

Cynsational News & Giveaways

By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Congratulations to Brian Yansky on the release of Utopia, Iowa (Candlewick, 2015). From the promotional copy:

Utopia, Iowa is about a small town where the supernatural meets the natural. There's some murder and mystery and mayhem in this novel. Ghosts and other creatures and humans abound. 

Some funny moments. Some sad. 

At heart, it's a story about a boy who wants to write for the movies and his struggle with leaving all he knows (family, friends...

Book Trailer: Dreaming In Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices

By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Check out the book trailer for Dreaming In Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices, edited by Lisa Charleyboy (Tsilhqot’in) and Mary Beth Leatherdale (Annick Press, 2014). From the promotional copy:

A powerful and visually stunning anthology from some of the most groundbreaking Native artists working in North America today.

Truly universal in its themes, Dreaming In Indian will shatter commonly held stereotypes and challenge readers to rethink their own...

Guest Post & Critique Giveaway: Heather Demetrios on Becoming the Designated Typist

By Heather Demetrios
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations
 
For some people, starting a new novel is like that scene in "The Sound Of Music," where Maria’s tra-la-la-ing on a mountaintop, arms spread out, spinning in delirious joy.

If you’re like me, though, that blank white page isn’t cause for bursting into song.

Bursting into tears, yes. The endless possibilities are overwhelming, so many possible plots and characters to choose from—and what about voice, structure, tense and…and…and…

In...

In Memory: George M. Nicholson

Acquired Rights from Harper.By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

George McHugh Nicholson, 1937-1950 by Shannon Maughan from The Horn Book. Peek: "Esteemed literary agent and innovative publishing executive George Nicholson...died February 3 in New York City."

Remembering George McHugh Nicholson from Children's Book Council. Peek:

"Soon after Nicholson moved to New York City in 1959, he took on a position with friend Albert Leventhal, president of Artists and Writers Guild, which published Gold...

Giveaway: Kissing in America by Margo Rabb

By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Enter to win a signed advanced reader copy of Kissing in America by Margo Rabb (HarperCollins, 2015). From the promotional copy:

Acclaimed writer Margo Rabb's Kissing in America is "a wonderful novel about friendship, love, travel, life, hope, poetry, intelligence, and the inner lives of girls," raves internationally bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love).

In the two years since her father died, sixteen-year-old Eva has found comfort in read...

Cynsational News & Giveaways

Courtney with agent John Cusick at Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers.By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Congratulations to Courtney Alameda on the release of her debut novel, Shutter (Feiwell and Friends, 2015)(excerpt)! From the promotional copy:

Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat—a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum.

As one of the last descendants of the Van Helsing lineage, she has trained since childhood to destroy monsters both corporeal and spiritu...

Cynsational Awards

2014 Cynsational Book of the Year!By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

The height of awards season is upon us!

I watched the ALA Youth Media Awards via live stream while escorting a plumber around my master bath. He was amused that I could barely tear myself away long enough to wave at the shower.

He observed, "So, for you, this is like the Oscars!"

Yes, yes, it is.

I'm genuinely thrilled for all the winners and honorees! Shout outs below are directed at former workshop students, VCFA family, p...

In Memory: Bonnie Christensen

Bonnie ChristensenBy Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Farewell to Bonnie Christensen by Elizabeth Bluemle from Publishers Weekly. Peek:

"She radiated loveliness, both personally and in her work. She was a gifted and creative artist, author, illustrator, and print maker, active both locally and overseas in exhibitions and galleries."

Celebrated Authors and Illustrator Bonnie Christensen Dies at Age 63 by Mahnaz Dar from School Library Journal. Peek:

"'Bonnie was an extraordinary human being, fu...

Guest Post & Giveaway: Cory Putnam Oakes on The Ten Commandments of the Productive and Sane Writer

By Cory Putnam Oakes
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

As much as we would like to commit our entire lives to writing, most of us live in the real world. We can’t afford to spend our time at Walden Pond or in a permanent, never-ending, writer’s retreat.

We fit in writing amongst our day jobs, our kids, our other commitments, and our daily lives.

This past year, I was blessed with a large amount of writing work. I was doing revisions and copy edits for Dinosaur Boy (2015), writing Dinosaur Bo...

VCFA Winter Residency & Cynsational Return

By Cynthia Leitich Smith
for Cynsations

Welcome back to Cynsations! I'll be posting sporadically until I'm up to speed for 2015.

It's been a busy winter, highlighted by teaching at the winter residency of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults and speaking at ALA Midwinter in Chicago. Here a peek from VCFA:

Learn more about Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Writing for Children & YAs. Shelf shot at the campus bookstore in College Hall. Co-teachin...