Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, page 32
April 26, 2022
WNDB Native Children’s – YA Writing Intensive Applications Open
A writing community can make all the difference in navigating the long and often frustrating journey of becoming a published author. Whether it’s sharing craft tips or submission opportunities, writing buddies provide the encouragement and support needed for going the distance. But connecting can be a challenge, especially if a given community represents a small percentage of the population.
Author Cynthia Leitich Smith (Photo by Christopher T. Assaf/ctassaf.com)Providing t...
April 25, 2022
Illustrator Interview: Ale Díaz Bouza on Publishing in Spain
Spotlight image: Ale Díaz Bouza at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in Italy.
Today I’m talking with Ale Díaz Bouza, an illustrator who also serves as the Regional Advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators chapter in Spain, about publishing for young readers there.
What is the children’s publishing market like in Spain? How popular are children’s books there?
Despite being considered “the little sister of literature,” in Spain, surprisingly, the boo...
April 22, 2022
Cynsational News
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender, AJ Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Kicks by Van G. Garrett, illustrated by Reggie Brown (Versify, 2022).
Author/Illustrator InsightsDhonielle Clayton and Julian Randall Want to Shake Up the Magical Middle Grade World from School Library Journal. Peek: [Dhonielle Clayton:] “I believe that the children of the world already possess magic…that’s deeply rooted in their respective fa...
April 21, 2022
The Power of Poetry: Carol McAfee Shares Five Cool Things about Poetry
By Carol McAfee
Spotlight image by Taha on Unsplash
Today I want to talk to you about poetry.
You may not consider yourself a poet. You may be scared of poetry in the way I am wary of numbers and higher math, so much so that I would join the witness protection program to avoid them. But numbers aren’t really scary, and neither is poetry. You just have to spend time with poems to feel more at home with them.
So I’m here to tell you five cool things about poetry. I might even tell you some poetic...
April 20, 2022
The Power of Poetry: Carol McAfee Talks to A.S. King About How Poems Are “The Truest Thing”
By Carol McAfee
I am excited to speak today with author A.S. King whose books about trauma and resilience are so powerful, they hit you like a lightning bolt.
Welcome here today, Amy. Please tell us about you as a writer. Your aesthetic.
I write weird-to-surrealist novels about young adults in order to help readers of all ages face and heal from their trauma. I also write poems.
Does where you live/work affect your writing? Choice of subject matter? Mood?
I work best at my desk, though I’ve wri...
April 19, 2022
The Power of Poetry: Carol McAfee Talks to Jasmine Warga About How Poetry Can Heighten Emotion
By Carol McAfee
I am delighted today to speak with author Jasmine Warga, whose books have always deeply moved me, from her very first book, My Heart and Other Black Holes (HarperCollins, 2015) to her recent Other Words For Home (HarperCollins, 2021). As recent events unfold and we feel we swim in a choppy and dehumanizing sea, Jasmine’s voice of empathy arrives like a lifeboat.
Jasmine, so wonderful to talk with you! Please tell us about you as a writer. Your aesthetic. What do you most care ab...
April 18, 2022
The Power of Poetry: Carol McAfee Talks to Martine Leavitt About How Poetry Can Improve Our Prose
By Carol McAfee
I am delighted today to speak with author Martine Leavitt whose books always make me cry in the way a sunset can make you cry, for the sheer beauty of it.
Martine, please tell us about you as a writer. Your aesthetic. What do you care most about that you want to share with the world? Or as memoirist Vivian Gornick asks, “What have you come here to say?”
Every one of my books is an attempt to peel back a corner of the universe and see what’s going on under there.
What time of da...
April 11, 2022
Spring Break
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender, Gail Vannelli, and AJ Eversole for Cynsations
Happy spring, Cynsational readers!
We’re taking a short break, and we hope that you can, too!
Our decision to embrace a winter hiatus, spring break and summer hiatus is a show of self-care, but it’s also our way of modeling that it’s okay to shift gears or hit PAUSE completely.
Take care, have fun, stay safe! We’ll be back in touch soon!
If you miss us, you’re...
April 8, 2022
Cynsational News
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Stephani Eaton, Suma Subramaniam, Bree Bender, AJ Eversole and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Show the World! by Angela Dalton, illustrated by Daria Peoples (Viking Books for Young Readers, 2022).
Author/Illustrator InsightsRoshani Chokshi Talks “Aru Shah and the Nectar of Immortality”…. by Karen Rought from Subjectify Media. Peek: “The idea that these stories will go on to have lives [is] beyond me….I can only control what I put on th...
April 7, 2022
Author Interview: Jennifer Ziegler on Word Play and Developing Characters
Today I’m thrilled to welcome fellow Austin author and friend Jennifer Ziegler to the Cynsations blog for a chat about writing and teaching. Her latest middle grade novel, Worser (Margaret Ferguson Books/Holiday House, 2022) has received several starred reviews and lots of positive buzz.
Tell us about your new release, Worser.
Gladly! The novel is about a twelve-year-old honor student and social misfit William Wyatt Orser (nicknamed “Worser”) who finds his home life turned u...
