Cynthia Leitich Smith's Blog, page 83

In Memory: Josanne La Valley

Compiled by Gayleen Rabakukk
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

Josanne La Valley obituary from The New York Times.

Peek: "Josanne received degrees from St. Lawrence University, Smith College and Vermont College of Fine Arts. She worked in arts management and as a professional musician before she turned to writing."

A few members of the children's literature community shared their thoughts about Josanne.

From Laurie Calkhoven:

I first met Josanne at a children’s writing class in 1998. We rode t...

Author Interview: Longy Han on Crowdfunding Books

By Gayleen Rabakukk
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

Longy Han is the author of two books, Gusto & Gecko Travel to Kenya, illustrated by Elinor Hagg (Longy Han, 2015) and Gusto & Gecko Travel to New Orleans, illustrated by Elinor Hagg (Longy Han, 2016).

Her publication journey began as a crowdfunding project, and the second book was recently picked up by Scholastic Reading Club.

What was the initial spark for your book?

My love for travel to exotic places, my appreciation for differe...

Bookseller Interview: Gauri Manglik on Connecting Children with South Asian Culture

By Gayleen Rabakukk Co-founders Gauri Manglik & Sadaf Siddique
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

KitaabWorld is a new online bookseller focusing exclusively on South Asian and diverse children's
titles. I interviewed founder Gauri Manglik about their unique niche, how the business got started and their Counter Islamophobia Through Stories campaign.

KitaabWorld is a great resource for finding children's books with South Asian connections. Tell us more about how it got started.

Like many...

Cynsational News

By Cynthia Leitich Smith & Gayleen Rabakukk
for Cynsations

Writing Past The White Gaze As A Black Author by L.J. Alonge from NPR Code Switch. Peek: "... I found a video of Toni Morrison talking about the white gaze — the assumption that the reader is white and the resulting self-consciousness in your thinking and writing. Stories you know to be true and interesting somehow become distorted and unfamiliar."

AICL's Best Books of 2016 by Debbie Reese from American Indians in Children's Literatu...

Guest Post: Susanna Reich & Gary Golio on Social Justice, Music & Picture Book Biographies

Susanna Reich and Gary Golio, photo by Laura GolioBy Susanna Reich and Gary Golio
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

From intern Gayleen Rabakukk

The power of music to inspire action is explored in two non-fiction picture books out this month: Stand Up and Sing! Pete Seger, Folk Music and the Path to Justice by Susanna Reich, illustrated by Adam Gustavson (Bloomsbury, March 2017) and Strange Fruit: Billie Holiday and the Power of a Protest Song by Gary Golio, illustrated by Charlotte Riley-W...

Author Interview: N. Griffin on Creativity, Mysteries and Writing a Series

By Gayleen Rabakukk
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

N. Griffin is the author of Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of the Missing Goop, illustrated by Kate Hindley (Candlewick, 2016). The cheerful middle grade mystery is the second in a series featuring a diverse pair of clever student detectives.

What do you love most about the creative life/being an author? Why?

My favorite thing about being an author is that I get to spend great hanks of time in my pajamas. I have discussed this before el...

Author Videos: Angie Thomas on The Hate U Give

Compiled by Gayleen Rabakukk
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

Check out these videos from debut author Angie Thomas on The Hate U Give (Balzer + Bray/Harper Collins, 2017). Peek: "I was inspired to write the novel in 2010, right after the Oscar Grant case...I wanted a way to find hope and I wanted to show the human side of all these cases. I look at books as being a form of activism because a lot of times, they show us a side of the world that we may not have known about."





Cynsational...

Guest Post: Carol Coven Grannick on "Into the Scary for the Sake of Joy"

By Carol Coven Grannick
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

I’ve been musing about what project I will work on next. Of my numerous ideas, which will take me into the challenging and blissful intellectual, emotional, psychological environment that I’ve been in for more than two years with my middle grade novel in verse, now on submission through my agent?

While I’ve written and revised it many, many times without having the thought of whether or not it would ever be published hovering close t...

Cynsational News

By Cynthia Leitich Smith & Gayleen Rabakukk
for Cynsations

Whoosh! Race and all Students from Chris Barton at Bartography. Peek: “I don’t think she expected your book to have a 'racial element' and when she got to the line:'where only five years earlier, African American students hadn’t even been allowed,' she made a quick decision to change it even though it makes no sense." See also: Chris' List of College-Sponsored Children’s Literature Conferences in the U.S.

We Need Diverse Books Annou...

Book Trailer: Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson

By Gayleen Rabakukk
for Cynthia Leitich Smith's Cynsations

Check out the new book trailer for Allegedly (HarperCollins, 2017) by Tiffany D. Jackson. From the promotional copy:

Orange Is the New Black meets Walter Dean Myer’s Monster (HarperCollins, 1999) in this gritty, twisty, and haunting debut by Tiffany D. Jackson about a girl convicted of murder seeking the truth while surviving life in a group home.

Mary B. Addison killed a baby.

Allegedly. She didn’t say much in that first interview with de...