Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, page 3

Throwback Thursday: Cynthia Leitich Smith Reflects on Craft, Career & Creativity

By Gayleen Rabakukk

Congratulations to our own Cynthia Leitich Smith on the publication of Firefly Season, illustrated by Kate Gardiner (Heartdrum, May 13, 2025)! From the publisher’s website:

Written by the award-winning, bestselling author of Jingle Dancer, Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee), and filled with tender illustrations by Kate Gardiner (Nipmuck), this unforgettable, warmhearted picture book is for family and the friends who become family.

Piper feels grateful for visits with her relat...

Authors Interview: Meredith Davis & Mari Mancusi on Book Series & Promotion

By Gayleen Rabakukk

I’m very excited to welcome two Austin authors who have both written middle grade books with a series second releasing this year. Meredith Davis is the author of The Minor Rescue (Waterbrook, May 2025), and Mari Mancusi wrote Dawn of the Dragons (Little Brown, Sept. 2, 2025), a prequel to New Dragon City (Little Brown, 2022), which made the Texas Bluebonnet and Florida Sunshine lists. They’re both authors who love creating stories for middle grade readers, and they generousl...

New Voice: Author Miriam Chernick’s Debut Inspired by Pets & Pandemic Reminiscences

By Mitu Malhotra

Today, I am excited to welcome Miriam Chernick to share her writing journey with Cynsations. Her debut The Zuzu Secret (Charlesbridge, 2025) is a heartwarming story about spunky Josie, her older brother Abe, and a bearded dragon. Two real life icons: James Herriot the British veterinary surgeon and author, and Manny Machado the American baseball player, are referenced throughout this novel.

I was immediately drawn to this story because like Josie, the protagonist, I grew up in ...

Authors Jane Houng, Heather Demetrios & Yvonne Ventresca Discuss Writing Through Trauma & Grief to Empower Readers

By Mitu Malhotra

Spotlight image: Authors A.S. King, Mitu Malhotra, Jane Houng and Heather Demetrios at the 2024 Highlights Retreat.

In the spring of 2024, I attended a Highlights Foundation In-Community Retreat organized by the Rebecca Dykes Writers. This transformative retreat, designed for authors crafting books for children and teens, helps writers find a way to write empowering stories on tough topics by channeling their own lived experiences.

Registration for the next Writing Through Trau...

New Voice: Rhonda DeChambeau on Writing a YA Verse Novel About Body Issues

By Gail Vannelli

Rhonda DeChambeau is a Massachusetts children’s author and poet, and also an experienced speaker and presenter. Her debut YA novel in verse, Top Heavy (Holiday House, 2025), is a beautifully written book about Esme, a fifteen-year-old talented dancer who is thrilled to make the Elite dance team. But her joy is tempered by the pain she endures from the physical weight of her large breasts and the negative attention, bullying, and even sexual assault she experiences because of th...

Author Interview: Sara Ryan Shares Library Love, Plus Craft, Career & Life Advice

By Gayleen Rabakukk

I’m thrilled to welcome Vermont College of Fine Arts faculty member and author Sara Ryan to Cynsations today. Their new book, Mountain Upside Down (Dutton, 2025) perfectly mixes the excitement of discovering one’s own identity, with the challenges of shifting family dynamics and outside forces beyond our control. Every note in this story rang true and I am delighted to delve into craft details with Sara.

Congratulations on Mountain Upside Down! A library, family secrets and ...

Editorial Director/Author Interview: David A. Robertson Talks Swift Water Books

By AJ Eversole

I’m so excited to chat with David about his new imprint, Swift Water! David A. Robertson is one of the most celebrated voices in Canadian literature today. He’s a two-time Governor General’s Literary Award winner, a national bestseller, and the author behind beloved books like The Barren Grounds (PRH Canada, 2021), When We Were Alone (Portage and Main, 2016), and Black Water: Family, Legacy, and Blood Memory (Harper Perinnial, 2021). Whether he’s writing for kids, teens, or adult...

Author Interview: Dr. Linda Weste Examines the Verse Novel Through Conversations with Middle Grade & Young Adult Authors

By Mitu Malhotra

Cynsations is excited to welcome Dr. Linda Weste to share the process behind her recent book, DiVERSE: Conversations with YA and Children’s Verse Novelists (Bloomsbury, 2025). Dr. Weste’s book featuring authors from the U.K., Australia and the United States is a wonderful reference text that expands our understanding of the verse-novel genre.

DiVERSE is an intriguing title. It signals the global stories and authors featured in this book as well as the prefix ‘di’, common in che...

Throwback Thursday: Margarita Engle Uses Verse to Convey Emotional Essence

Congratulations to Margarita Engle on Island Creatures (Atheneum, July 8, 2025), a young adult novel in verse about childhood friends, once lost and now reconnected, and their fight to protect endangered animals. From the publisher’s description:

Every day, Vida reads to the creatures at the wildlife rescue center and dreams of her childhood in Cuba, where she and her best friend Adán adventured through the island rescuing animals from harm. Unbeknownst to her, Adán has also moved to Florida an...

Author Interview: Anita Fitch Pazner Discusses Lyrical Storytelling & Selling Book Manuscripts Without an Agent

By Suma Subramaniam

Anita Fitch Pazner and I studied at the Vermont College Of Fine Arts together. I saw earlier drafts of this brand new book, and I’m thrilled for its release. Words Matter is coming to us from Groundwood Books in September 2025. It’s an honor to welcome Anita to the Cynsations blog.

Your forthcoming book, Words Matter, is about Hans and Sophie Scholl, who were instrumental members of the White Rose Resistance. What was your inspiration for this story?

I’ve always been drawn t...