Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, page 30

New Voices: Jacquetta Nammar Feldman & Sean Petrie: From Poetry to MG Novels

By Gayleen Rabakukk

I’m thrilled to welcome two Austin/VCFA authors with debut middle grade novels. I met Jacquetta Nammar Feldman at an intensive at The Writing Barn, and Sean Petrie and I were Vermont College of Fine Arts students at the same time. It’s very exciting when passages you’ve read in a workshop become a published book!

Jacquetta Feldman

Please describe your pre-publication craft apprenticeship. How did you take your writing from a beginner level to publishable?

I don’t have a back...

Author Interview: Alessandra Narváez Varela on Her Craft Journey

 

 

By AJ Eversole

Today on the blog we welcome Alessandra Narváez Varela to the blog. Narváez Varela speaks about her journey to write for young readers and how her experiences growing up shaped the story of her debut, Thirty Talks, Weird Love (Cinco Puntos Press, 2021). 

Illustrator Paulina Magos from Guadalajara. México gave the author’s debut book a beautiful, distinctive “face”

Could you tell us about your newest release?

Thirty Talks Weird Love, my debut book, is a young adult novel publi...

Cynsational News

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

Spotlight Image: Where Wonder Grows by Xelena González, illustrated by Adriana M. Garcia (Cinco Puntos Press, 2022).

Author/Illustrator Insights

Q&A With Nina Moreno, Join the Club, Maggie Diaz by Laia Feliu from We Need Diverse Books. Peek: “An important beat that I try to thread into all of my stories, whether they’re YA or MG, is to show young readers that t...

Guest Interview: Laura Sibson Talks to Katherine Locke About Approach to Craft

By Laura Sibson

When I first met Katherine Locke through a Philly author group, I was struck by the sheer number of ideas they have for stories and their ability to write across age groups. From picture books to middle grade anthologies to young adult novels with fantasy elements, Katherine can do it all. While I know Katherine has an incredible work ethic, I still wondered how they approach their writing projects. Today we will hear a bit about their process.

Thank you so much for joining us t...

Guest Interview: Laura Sibson Talks to Christine Kendall About How She Uses Bookmapping

By Laura Sibson

Last fall, Christine Kendall and I kept running into one another at book festivals in and around the Philadelphia area. Finally, I decided I needed to learn more about this delightful West Philly author so I’ve invited her to take part in our exploration of the writing process.

Thank you so much for joining us today to talk about your writing process and the ways it’s evolved. Your newest novel is full of Philly love and positive body image messages and wonderful intergeneration...

Guest Interview: Laura Sibson Talks to Rob Costello About Short Stories

By Laura Sibson

Today we welcome Rob Costello to share about his writing process. Rob and I attended VCFA together, and his writing has long impressed me. In fact, I use his short story “The Hole of Dark Kill Hollow” from Rural Voices: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions About Small-Town America, edited by Nora Shalaway Carpenter (Candlewick, 2020), in the university class I teach. I also deeply respect the level of compassion and insight he brings to his writing workshops.

Thank you so much for j...

Guest Post: Laura Sibson on Finding a Writing Process That Fits Each Book

By Laura Sibson

Hello! I am thrilled to be here as a guest reporter chatting with you about the writing process and how it changes for each book. I wondered if this was only true for me, but it turns out that lots of other authors experience the same phenomenon. In this post, I’ll share with you the distinctions in drafting my manuscripts and over the next few days, you’ll be treated to interviews with three additional authors of children’s literature who will share their experiences as well.

...

Cynsational News

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

Spotlight Image: Growing an Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and His Son by John Parra (Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Book, 2022).

Author/Illustrator Insights

Beyond the Kindness Curriculum by Elizabeth Bluemle from Publishers Weekly. Peek: “When we teach respect, we also teach tolerance….We may not initially understand someone very different from us, but by ...

Guest Post: Susan Tan on Navigating the Writing Life

By Helen Kampion

Susan Tan already is an author extraordinaire—unlike her character Cilla-Lee Jenkins Future Author Extraordinaire illustrated by Dana Wulfekotte (Roaring Brook Press, 2017). In all her books, Susan draws upon her own cultural identity and family dynamics to spin a funny and touching story that captures the reader and leaves them wanting more.

Being an author can be challenging, and sometimes overwhelming. What do you love most about the creative life you’ve chosen?

I still can’...

Guest Post: The Author-Librarian Life with Sara Ryan

By Sara Ryan

When I was invited to contribute a post about what it’s like to be an author and a librarian, I remembered I’d talked about it when I was interviewed at Cynsations about my book The Rules for Hearts (Penguin, 2007), quite some time back.

A few years after that, I wrote a short piece on a related topic: “Nobody’s A Full-Time Anything.” And a while after that, I began teaching writing, too – first in one-off sessions, then in longer workshops, and for the last few years as a faculty ...