Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, page 29

Author Interview: Kellye Crocker Uses a Light Touch for a Serious Subject

By Gayleen Rabakukk

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, yet tension-filled story.

Your new book Dad’s Girlfriend and Other Anxieties features a main character who worries about nearly every...

In Memory: Jim Murphy

By Gayleen Rabakukk

Award-winning author Jim Murphy died in his Woodstock, New York home on May 1. He was 74 years old.

Shannon Maughan reported in Publishers Weekly that Jim enjoyed writing and illustrating his own comic books during his childhood, but didn’t become an avid reader until high school. When a teacher forbid the class from reading A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (Scribner, 1929), Jim took it as a challenge, and set out to read “any other book I could get a hold of that I fe...

Cynsational News

By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, AJ Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations

Spotlight Image: I Hope by Monique Gray Smith, illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard (Orca Book Publishers, 2022).

Author/Illustrator Insights

Q&A With Guadalupe García McCall, Echoes of Grace by Kaley Kiermayr from We Need Diverse Books. Peek: “[M]any don’t understand…how creatives can get lost in their own little world and be perfectly content there…[I]t takes courage to be a creative—to make...

Throwback Thursday: Varsha Bajaj on Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood

Congratulations to Varsha Bajaj on Thirst (Nancy Paulsen Books, July 2022), a New York Times Bestseller!

Take a look back at Varsha’s thoughts about her debut novel, Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood (Albert Whitman, 2014). This post originally appeared on Cynsations March 3, 2014.

By Cynthia Leitich Smith

Varsha Bajaj is the debut novelist behind Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood (Albert Whitman, 2014). From the promotional copy:

What thirteen-year-old Abby wants most is to meet her father. She jus...

Kidlit Caravan Authors Debbie Zapata, Donna Cangelosi, Margaret Aitken, Rebecca Gardyn Levington & Robyn McGrath Discuss Picture Book Journeys

By Suma Subramaniam

Today, I’m thrilled to welcome Kidlit Caravan authors Debbie Zapata, Donna Cangelosi, Margaret Aitken, Rebecca Gardyn Levington, and Robyn McGrath to Cynsations.

Kidlit Caravan is a troupe of authors and author-illustrators with debut picture books headed your way in 2022.

Could you tell us about your book?

Debbie: Up And Adam, illustrated by Yong Ling Kang (Kids Can Press, May 3, 2022), is an uplifting picture book about a boy with Down syndrome who helps his neighbors in ...

Author-Illustrator Interview: Ying-Hwa Hu Reflects on Inspiration & the Magic of Picture Books

By AJ Eversole

Today we welcome author-illustrator Ying-Hwa Hu to Cynsations to share insights on her craft and what fuels her creative spirit. We’re also highlighting her solo author-illustrator debut, Ten Blocks to the Big Wok (Lee & Low, 2022), a colorful celebration of Chinese culture.

When and where do you write? Why does that time and space work for you?

My senses come alive at night when all is quiet. Though there is no total silence in the city at any given moment, nighttime has its spe...

Cynsations Summer Hiatus

By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender, A.J. Eversole, and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations

Thank you to everyone who joined us over the 2021-2022 academic year!

We dearly appreciate the authors, illustrators, gatekeepers, and industry professionals who shared their insights and inspirations. We’re so grateful to our readers, signal boosters, and of course our wonderful reporters — Rebecca Kirshenbaum, Elisabeth Norton, Linda Joy Singleton, Clara H...

Cynsational News

By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender, AJ Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations

Spotlight Image: The World Belonged to Us by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Leo Espinosa (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2022).

Author/Illustrator Insights

Interview With Andrea Wang & Hyewon Yum: Review Luli and the Language of Tea from Maria Marshall. Peek: [Andrea Wang:] “[W]hat happened in the past can now help us to overcome and transcend our differences. I thin...

Native Voices: Jen Ferguson on What She Has Learned As A Writer

By AJ Eversole

Today we welcome debut author Jen Ferguson. Ferguson (she/her) is Métis and white, an activist, a feminist, an auntie, and an accomplice armed with a PhD. She believes writing, teaching and beading are political acts. Her debut YA novel, The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, arrived from Heartdrum / HarperCollins on May 10th, 2022.

The cover was illustrated by Reyna Hernandez with beading by Kim Stewart. The jacket was designed by Laura Mock.

What is the heart of The Summer of Bitter a...

Kidlit Caravan Authors Carrie Tillotson, Harshita Jerath, Kimberly Wilson, & Paula Cohen Discuss Picture Book Journeys

 

By Suma Subramaniam

Today, I’m thrilled to welcome Kidlit Caravan members, Harshita Jerath, Kimberly Wilson, Carrie Tillotson, and our dearest Paula Cohen who passed away in February a few days before her book launch. Kidlit Caravan is a troupe of authors and author/illustrators with debut picture books headed your way in 2022.

Could you tell us about your book? 

Paula: Big Dreams, Small Fish (Levine Querido, 2022)  is the story of Shirley, a little girl whose family lives over the small gr...