Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, page 58
June 9, 2018
Cynsational Summer Hiatus
Photo by Fiona Rabakukk-LangthornBy Gayleen Rabakukkfor Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations
Cynsations is now officially on summer hiatus.
We will return in the fall with more inspiration, insights and information on children's-YA writing, illustration, literature and publishing.
In the meantime, keep up on all those topics with Cynthia Leitich Smith on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Happy summer reading and writing from the entire Cynsations team!
June 8, 2018
Cynsational News
Author-Mentor Jennifer ZieglerBy Cynthia Leitich Smith,Robin Galbraith, Gayleen Rabukukk
& Kate Pentecost for Cynsations
2018 Cynthia Leitich Smith Mentor Awards Chosen from Austin SCBWI. Peek:
"Congratulations to Aimee Thomas, who has won Austin SCBWI’s 2018 Cynthia Leitich Smith Writing Mentor Award!
"Plus, our mentor Jennifer Ziegler has decided to expand her mentorship to include an Honor recipient, Amy Bearce.
"Aimee receives a year’s mentorship with Jennife...
June 7, 2018
Guest Post: Barbara Dee on Keeping it Middle Grade: Handling Tough Topics in Fiction
Learn more about Barbara Dee.By Barbara Deefor Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations
About a year ago, on a NerdCamp panel called "Tough Topics in Middle Grade Fiction," we were talking about how middle grade was evolving, growing up, tackling subjects that used to be considered taboo—for example, sexuality, terrorism, refugeeism, and drug use.
I asked the educators in the room which underrepresented topics they'd like to see on their bookshelves.
A middle school principal raised her hand...
June 6, 2018
New Voice: Adrienne Kisner on Dear Rachel Maddow
By Robin Galbraithfor Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations
Adrienne Kisner is a Vermont College of Fine Arts alum and a hilarious fellow classmate, so I jumped at the chance to interview her about her funny and heart-wrenching debut YA novel, Dear Rachel Maddow (Feiwel & Friends, 2018). From the promotional copy:
Brynn Harper's life has one steadying force—Rachel Maddow. She watches her daily, and after writing to Rachel for a school project—and actually getting a respons...
June 5, 2018
Publisher Interview: KitaabWorld Expands from Bookseller to Children's Book Publisher
Guari ManglikBy Gayleen Rabakukkfor Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations
Last spring, I interviewed Gauri Manglik about KitaabWorld, an online bookseller focusing on South Asian and diverse children's titles.
Now Gauri and her co-founder, Sadaf Siddique have expanded the business by becoming an independent publisher.
Their first titles released earlier this year: Room in Your Heart by Kunzang Choden, illustrated by Pema Tshering, and Bhimrao Ambedkar: The Boy Who Asked Why by Sowmya Rajendran...
June 3, 2018
In Memory: Richard Peck
By Robin Galbraithfor Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Cynsations
Author Richard Peck died on May 23 in New York City. He was 84.
SCBWI Remembers Richard Peck. Peek:
“Mr. Peck was one of the giants of contemporary children’s literature. Among his many awards was the Newbery Medal in 2001 for A Year Down Yonder (Dial, 2000), a Newbery Honor in 1999 for A Long Way from Chicago (Dial,1998),…”Remembering Author Richard Peck by Gwen Glazer from the New York Public Library. Peek:
“In 2002, he became the first c...
June 2, 2018
In Memory: Ann Durell
By Gayleen Rabakukkfor Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations
Ann Durell (McCrory) "was a distinguished editor and publisher of children's books and a Vice President of E.P. Dutton until her retirement in 1987."
She died in her Manhattan home on May 6 at age 87.
From The New York Times, "Ann worked with many noted authors including Maurice Sendak, Ellen Raskin, Lloyd Alexander, Judy Blume, Norma Klein, Steven Kellogg, Daniel Pinkwater and Bill Sleator."
She began her career in children's literature b...
June 1, 2018
Cynsational News
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, Robin Galbraith,Gayleen Rabukukk & Kate Pentecost for Cynsations
Author/Illustrator Insights
Interview with Nisha Sharma, Author of My So Called Bollywood Life by Priya Sridhar from Book Riot. Peek:
“I wrote My So-Called Bollywood Life (Crown, 2018) for my M.F.A. thesis, and at the time, I wanted to address a few misconceptions that I’d seen in books with South Asian representation. The first is that Indian parents don’t get along...
May 31, 2018
Guest Post: Karen Kane on Analyzing Feedback
By Karen Kanefor Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations
How you use feedback can make or break your story.
Which feedback do you follow?
Which feedback do you ignore?
Most importantly, how can you make sure the feedback you do use deepens your writing, and not derails it?
Here’s what I know about feedback: you are in charge.
You are the gatekeeper for your stories. But to be a discerning gatekeeper—to know what feedback to use and what feedback to discard—you need to know yourself.
For me, knowing mysel...
May 30, 2018
Author Interview: Samantha M. Clark on Being a SCBWI Regional Advisor & the Austin Chapter
Learn more about Samantha M. Clark,photo by Sam Bond.By Gayleen Rabakukk
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations
Today we take a peek behind the curtain at the planning and preparation required to organize a successful Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators chapter.
I chatted with Austin's Regional Advisor, Samantha M. Clark to get the inside scoop.
How long have you been the Austin RA and what prompted you to take the position?
I’m now in my fifth year as the RA.
I really love do...
