Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, page 42

Cynsational News

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

Spotlight Image: Magic Like That by Samara Cole Doyon (Lee & Low Books, 2021).

Author/Illustrator Insights

Remembering the Pioneers: Arnold Adoff, Floyd Cooper, Eloise Greenfield, and Bernette G. Ford by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson from School Library Journal. Peek: “As children’s book publishers and authors, we are always thinking about the stories we tell, the ch...

Rita Williams-Garcia Weaves Truth with Imagination in A Sitting in St. James

By Stephani Martinell Eaton

I am excited to welcome Rita Williams-Garcia back to Cynsations. Rita is the celebrated author of One Crazy Summer (HarperCollins, 2010), Clayton Byrd Goes Underground (HarperCollins, 2017), and Jumped (HarperCollins, 2009). Welcome, Rita.

Tell us a little bit about your newest release, A Sitting in St. James (Quill Tree Books, 2021).

A Sitting in St. James is a necessary broken promise. Early in my career I told a group of girls I would never write about slavery, t...

In Memory: Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton

By Bree Bender

Award-winning children’s book author Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton (Inuvialuit) died on April 21, 2021. She was 85 years old.

Remembering Margaret-Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton, children’s book author and residential school survivor from Quill and Quire. Peek: “Born on Baillie Island in the Arctic Ocean, the author of Fatty Legs: A True Story, published by Annick Press in 2010, introduced young readers to the devastating reality of residential schools and gave Pokiak-Fenton the opportun...

Cynsations Reporter: AJ Eversole on Inspiration & the WNDB Native Children’s-YA Writing Intensive

By Gayleen Rabakukk

Above image: AJ Eversole with her well-read copy of Buffalo Gal by Bill Wallace (Holiday House, 1992).

It’s my pleasure to introduce our newest Cynsational reporter, AJ Eversole, who will cover children’s-YA writing, illustration, publishing and other book news from Indigenous authors and illustrators. And like me, she grew up in rural Oklahoma and now lives in Texas.

Welcome to Cynsations! Could you tell us about your vision for Native voices coverage here at the blog? Why ...

Guest Post: Lisa Katzenberger: Goes Behind the Book with the Courage to Create

By Lisa Katzenberger

As a member of the Courage to Create community, Bethany Hegedus invited me to do a Behind the Book webinar on my picture book It Will Be Okay, illustrated by Jaclyn Sinquett (Sourcebook Kids, 2021).

The Courage to Create is a program run by Bethany, who is the owner and director of The Writing Barn. The Writing Barn is a creative writing studio based in Austin, Texas and provides classes and writing intensives both in-person and online. But when the pandemic hit, and every...

Cynsational News

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

Spotlight Image: The First Blade of Sweetgrass by Suzanne Greenlaw and Gabriel Frey, illustrated by Nancy Baker (Tilbury House Publishers, 2021).

Author/Illustrator Insights

Book of the Month: Healer of the Water Monster: An Interview With Brian Young on Native America Calling. Peek: “As Young says, his [main character’s] kindness makes him the true hero of the story inspir...

Guest Interview: Uma Krishnaswami & Vaunda Micheaux Nelson Reflect on Writing’s Journey

By Uma Krishnaswami

I have been a fan of Vaunda Micheaux Nelson’s work for decades now. We’ve been together in a writing group since 1997. I can’t imagine letting a manuscript go to my agent without having this amazing writer and friend cast her eyes on it first. I feel so fortunate that she is in my writing circle—my life circle. So I thought I’d ask Vaunda a few questions that we don’t have time for in the group, questions I’ve wanted to ask her before but never quite got to.

Here’s our conve...

Guest Interview: Uma Krishnaswami & Aimee Sicuro Explore Creative Pathways

By Uma Krishnaswami

Aimee Sicuro’s illustrations for my picture book, Bright Sky, Starry City (Groundwood Books, 2015), blew me away. There were so many elements that just opened up the universe of my story about a girl who loves the sky. When I saw the illustrations, I became convinced that Aimee had read my mind. She’d referenced details that were nowhere in my text but had been part of my thinking. You can find more about this in this interview on The Light of the Road. I’m delighted that Ai...

Guest Post: Uma Krishnaswami Reflects on the Power of Design in Narrative Nonfiction Books

By Uma Krishnaswami

Threads of Peace: How Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Changed the World (Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 2021) took me all of nine years from contract to publication. When I began writing my first draft, I knew I’d need to look for photos.

I had decided to use a combination of archival images and photographs that my husband and I had taken in India and the United States in places important to the lives of both Mahatma Gandhi and Reverend King. I had my mother’s autograph bo...

Cynsations Summer Hiatus

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

Thank you to everyone who joined us over the 2020-2021 academic year!

We dearly appreciate the authors, illustrators, gatekeepers and industry pros who shared their insights and inspirations. We’re so grateful to our readers, signal boosters, and of course our wonderful reporters⁠— Carol Coven Grannick, Kim Rogers, Rebecca Kirshenbaum, Elisabeth Norton, and Linda Joy Singl...