Mike Jung's Blog, page 16
February 19, 2015
http://rklipman.tumblr.com/post/11151...
elloellenoh:“Actual question received about the WNDB short story contest:
“I came across your anthology contest this evening. It was posted on of the boards for my M.F.A. program. I must say, at…
February 18, 2015
"Readers May Be Surprised": Perceptions of Diversity in Book Reviews, Part 4
This post is part of a series on Perceptions of Diversity in Book Reviews. Find them all here.By Malinda Lo
Every so often I encounter a line in a book review that makes me pause and think: What?…
February 13, 2015
"So Many (Too Many?) Issues": Perceptions of Diversity in Book Reviews, Part 2
This post is part of a series on Perceptions of Diversity in Book Reviews. Find them all here.
By Malinda Lo
Realistic young adult novels, especially those that portray nonwhite, LGBT, and/or disabled characters, face a unique burden when it comes to being reviewed. They are always forced…
February 12, 2015
Perceptions of Diversity in Book Reviews, Part 1: "Scarcely Plausible"
By Malinda Lo
For the past few years, I’ve read hundreds of reviews for Diversity in YA. I read them to determine whether a young adult book has a main character who is of color, LGBTQ, and/or disabled, and thus is appropriate to include on DiYA. Sometimes the book’s cover copy reveals this,…
It Is Once Again Time to Release the Winged Pigs of Joy
I think luck plays a role in the publication process - a limited role, but a real one. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve invested massive amounts of time, money, thought, and energy into developing my craft and learning about the industry, and I know we can’t take advantage of opportunities that come along if we don’t make ourselves ready for them. I’ve done that. Doing the work is far and away the most important thing; the importance of luck doesn’t come close to e...
January 19, 2015
Doug
A few of you already know 's a Hollywood screenwriter - his very first script (Confidence, starring Edward Burns, Rachel Wiesz, and Dustin Hoffman) actually made it into theaters, which is literally a one-in-a-million thing and put him squarely on the map of working screenwriters. I have been and continue to be immensely proud of him for all his accomplishments, and have also successfully avoided being completely eaten up by feelings of envy and inadequacy at my own lac...
January 17, 2015
melissamarr:
I’ve always been VERY cautious about asking people...
I’ve always been VERY cautious about asking people to pre-order or buy my books. I announce my releases & provide links, but in the 9 years since I’ve sold my first novel, I’ve never outright asked you to buy a single book I wrote OR one I blurbed.
Today, though. I’m asking you to buy a book: THE THIRD TWIN by CJ Omololu (see the picture for the visual & a few quotes).
The author, Cynthia, is a treasure. When we met, I had one of those rare moments when I could SWEAR to you that pas...
January 14, 2015
A Letter of Gratitude to Walter Dean Myers
In a letter addressed to the late Walter Dean Myers, Andrea Davis Pinkney — VP and Executive Editor of Trade at Scholastic — introduces next week’s “It’s Possible” series, where five inspiring publishing professionals will share a little bit of their experience with Walter and how working with him helped push his goal of more diverse literature forward. Check back every day next week for new posts.
Dear Walter:
You always had a story to tell. One of my favorites was about the time...
January 11, 2015
Hiking Shoes
I, er, haven’t actually read the Marie Kondo book about how decluttering your home leads to magic carpets, pet dragons, and the ability to transmogrify lima beans into doughnuts, but my half-assed, not even semi-informed attempt at following its approach is definitely a good thing, even if it’s causing 35% more damage to my already messed-up rotator cuff. Today I finally dug deep and got rid of a pair of hiking shoes I’ve had sitting in my closet for over a decade without ev...
January 1, 2015
The New Year
Years and years ago I spent a late December night with a couple of friends, having a few beers and watching TV or some such thing, and at some point in the evening one of them made a pretty caustic and disillusioned comment about the approaching new year, something to the effect of how we’ll wake up on New Year’s Day and not actually start anything fresh or do anything new, that it’s a day like any other day.
There is truth to that, of course - as human beings we assign signi...
