Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, page 4
May 14, 2025
Author Interview: Anita Fitch Pazner Discusses Lyrical Storytelling & Selling Book Manuscripts Without an Agent
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...
May 13, 2025
Author Interview: Marcella Pixley on the Power of Verse Novels & Weaving In Folk Traditions
We welcome Marcella Pixley to Cynsations. In this interview, Marcella talks about her writing process, including her habit of art journaling while drafting novels. She generously shares her behind-the-scenes work that goes into bringing a book to life. Her middle grade verse novel Neshama deals with family trauma and healing, and it releases on May 13, 2025.
What inspired you to write for this age group, and why did you choose to tell this story in verse?
Neshama is my second b...
April 9, 2025
Wayback Wednesday: Author Nikki Grimes on The Power of Words & Advice for Writers
Congratulations to Nikki Grimes on the upcoming publication of A Cup of Quiet, illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson (Bloomsbury, April 15, 2025). From the publisher:
When the squeal of tires and thrum of Grandpa’s hammer fill the air, Grandma gets thirsty for a cup of quiet.
“That’s silly, Grandma,” her granddaughter says. “Quiet can’t fit in a cup and you can’t drink it.”
But together, they venture into the garden to collect the calming sounds of nature, and their cup grows and grows.
A bee’s buzz...
February 24, 2025
Cynsations Hiatus
Thank you for your ongoing support and enthusiasm for Cynsations!
Effective immediately, the Cynsations digital magazine is on hiatus. Find links to posts from our latest issue below:
Native Voices: Author-Illustrator Cameron Mukwa on Learning & Growing as an ArtistAuthor Interview: Padma Venkatraman on Poetry, Publishing & Diverse VerseGuest Post: Deb Gonzales: Beyond Pins & Boards: Building a Legacy on PinterestThrowback Thursday: Carole Boston Weatherford Discusses th...February 21, 2025
Cynsational News
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Gayleen Rabakukk, Suma Subramaniam, A.J. Eversole, Mitu Malhotra, and Gail Vannelli for Cynsations
Spotlight Image: Dream a Dress, Dream a Poem: Dressmaker and Poet, Myra Viola Wilds by Nancy Johnson James, illustrated by Diana Ejaita (Harry N. Abrams, 2024).
Author/Illustrator InsightsFive questions for Jason Reynolds from The Horn Book. Peek: “[We] like to tell stories about young people in this strange way where we…find ways to erase the parents and adults….[I]t’s ...
February 20, 2025
Author Interview: Sue Ganz-Schmitt & Maureen Charles on Infusing Emotion into Nonfiction Books for Kids
Cynsations welcomes two outstanding children’s book authors, Sue Ganz-Schmitt and Maureen Charles, whose newest books are nonfiction biographies. Sue’s nonfiction picture book, Skybound!: Starring Mary Myers as Carlotta, Daredevil Aeronaut and Scientist, illustrated by Iacopo Bruno (Calkin Creek, 2024) is about a courageous and determined female aeronaut/scientist/inventor who designed and built gas balloons, and flew them solo. Maureen’s nonfiction middle grade book, M...
February 19, 2025
In Memory: Author Marta Crisp, Author- Illustrator Jules Feiffer, Author Carole Gerber & Author John Marsden
Spotlight image: Author Marta Crisp
Author Marta Crisp
Marta M Crisp (Marty), a well-known children’s author, died from complications of the flu on Dec. 29, 2024, according to the Hampton Cove Funeral Home. Marty worked for many years as a journalist at the Lancaster Sunday News in Lancaster, Penn., along with writing children’s books.
Per her website, she left the newspaper in 2008 to return to school and earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont C...
February 18, 2025
Author Interview: Donna Janell Bowman on Collaborating with Olympian Billy Mills
Spotlight image: Illustrator S.D. Nelson and co-authors Donna Janell Bowman and Billy Mills at a 2024 event.
I’m thrilled to welcome fellow Austin author and Vermont College alumnx Donna Janell Bowman to discuss collaborating with Olympian Billy Mills on Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills, illustrated by S.D. Nelson (Little, Brown BYR). The book recently received the Robert F. Siebert Informational Book Medal Honor award from the American Library Associa...
February 17, 2025
Authors Interview: Helen Kampion & Reneé Critcher Lyons on their Publishing Journey
Spotlight image: Co-Authors Reneé Critcher Lyons and Helen Kampion at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center bookstore.
Today I’m pleased to welcome two fellow Vermont College alumni, Helen Kampion and Reneé Critcher Lyons to Cynsations to discuss their recent picture book biography, Rollin’ On Down The Line: Lady Bird Johnson’s 1964 Whistle-Stop Tour for Civil Rights, illustrated by Erin McGuire (Sleeping Bear Press, 2024).
From the publisher’s description:
The late summe...
February 14, 2025
Cover Reveal & Author Interview: Maria Marianayagam On Her Upcoming Picture Book & Her Writing Life
Maria Marianayagam and I connected on social media over our common love for children’s books and South Asian children’s literature a few years ago. I’ve been a fan of her writing for a while now. Although we live miles apart from each other, she is fun to interact with. I’m so thrilled to welcome Maria to Cynsations and to reveal the cover of her forthcoming picture book, Wait ‘Til You’re Older, illustrated by Irina Avgustinovich (Sourcebooks, June 3, 2025).
Could you tell ...
