Jane Yolen's Blog, page 4
July 5, 2023
Wednesday Q & J: July 5, 2023
Q: What do you hope your legacy as a writer will be? What do you hope it will be?
J: I hope that some child somewhere will read a book of mine and fall in love with reading. Or turn his/her life around, or become a better, kinder person for it, or just plain enjoy my book and look for another. We writers do change the world for good or bad. Be on the side of good.
June 28, 2023
Wednesday Q & J: June 28, 2023
Q: Should writers have agents?
J: I wouldn’t do anything without my agent. First of all, she knows the names and emails of almost every editor working today
in my field(s). Second she understands contracts while I read thorough quickly and understand perhaps half. But also
she is someone I can talk to about important stuff–like advances or what editor is looking for a specific kind of book,
or whether a publishing company has been treating their authors badly. THAT sort of thing.
June 26, 2023
Kiki Kicks
with Ariel Stemple
Illustrated by John Ledda
Beaming Books (October 10, 2023)
ISBN: 1506485634
ISBN-13: 978-1506485638
KIKKI KICKS is my first book with grandchild Ari Stemple who also writes poetry, stories, comic books, song lyrics (and music).
The poem is mine, celebrating the martial arts, but the story itself was written by Ari and me, re-calling Ari’s trials when they were badly bullied in school and their wonderful parents took them to a dojo to learn martial arts. Oh–and took Ari out of that bad school and put them into a much better one. They are a college graduate, and they are also about to work on an MFA in writing at a nearby Minnesota University.
June 21, 2023
Wednesday Q & J: June 21, 2023
Q: What is your advice on writer’s block?
J: Sit down at the typewriter or computer or with a blank piece of paper.
Think of a word or a sentence.
Use it as a starting place.
Or an old story or book you love.
Play around with it.
I just wrote a Jewish version of Alice falling down the rabbit hole.
I often use lines from Emily Dickinson or other poets to get me started.
Or take headlines from your favorite newspaper.
Or go for a walk around the block.
All those things work for me.
June 14, 2023
The Last Robot Short-Listed for the Elgin Award
From the publisher:
We’re delighted to announce that The Last Robot, our chapbook collection of Jane Yolen’s science fiction poetry, has been nominated for the Elgin Awards. Many congratulations to Jane Yolen, and to Russell Jones who edited the collection.
The Last Robot is amongst some fine company, as you can see in the List of Nominations for the Elgin Awards 2023.
The Elgin Awards are managed by the Science Fiction Poetry Association; find out more at the SFPA Elgin Awards.
You can order a copy of The Last Robot from the Shoreline Shop in print or digital format at The Last Robot.
The Horseback Librarians
Illustrated by Alexandra Badiu
Albert Whitman & Company (June 22, 2023)
ISBN 10: 0807562912
ISBN 13: 978-0807562918
WPA’S BACK. HORSE LIBRARY PROJECT was a real thing in the early 1930s-and on in Appalachian. Librarians riding on horseback carrying library books to single homes and schools that were well off the beaten tracks. Often sleeping in tentsor barns, occasionally in the house of one of their library patrons, the (mostly) female librarians served their young readers (and occasional older readers) well. This is a storybook that follows one of the librarians (made up to stand for the many who were part of the project.
What reviewers have said:
“Yolen presents a slice of American library history with this day-in-the-life tale…” —Publisher’s Weekly“Educators will love reading it aloud to groups, and young readers will be fascinated to learn more.”―Kirkus Reviews“The topic and approach will engage and likely pique interests on many fronts while highlighting the joys and meaningfulness of connecting books with readers and listeners of all ages.”―BooklistWednesday Q & J: June 14, 2023
Q: How do you deal with rejection?
J: I consider any questions or statements the editor may have made in the rejection. If their rejection makes no sense, I/we send it on. Honestly, about twenty of the books I have most recently sold have been turned down by from one-to-ten or other editors for different reasons. Maybe it doesn’t suit their taste or fit their list. Maybe they are publishing something too similar. Maybe they had a bad reading day. Maybe they just don’t like my work. Etc.. Just say thank you for reading this–and move on. The editor who wants it is still out there. Or maybe hasn’t been born yet.
Follow up Q: Has your agent ever not liked one of your ideas?
J: Sure. And sometimes she is right. Other times I can salvage it, or put it away until I am smart enough to rewrite. And sometimes I pitch it to a new editor I have just met who asks to see it and they buy it!!!
June 7, 2023
Wednesday Q & J: June 7, 2023
Q: What do you do when you are working on a book and then someone else publishes a book on the same subject?
J: One of three things: 1: work harder to find a different angle and then pursue that. 2. Wait a few years and go back to it because time changes everything. 3. Write about the same thing but as a long poem instead.
Follow up Q: Is there a book you wish you had written (but that someone got to first)?
J: Not sure there is one, because my ideas and desires in the writing field are so broad, that even if someone else had written a book like mine, I know I could find a different way to tell it.
May 31, 2023
Wednesday Q & J: May 31, 2023
Q: What do you HAVE TO have on the desk with you when you’re writing?
J: Pens, pieces of unmarked paper, laptop, dictionary close by, any research material I am currently using, a box of tissues. And a piece of dark chocolate.
Only the laptop and the chocolate are absolutely necessary. The rest I can fiddle along without. But only for a bit.
May 24, 2023
Wednesday Q & J: May 24, 2023
Q: How do you know if your story should rhyme?
J: Try it. If it turns out bad, silly, or ugly, or if you have only a limited ability with good, interesting– even startling–rhymes, do not try it. And always…ALWAYS…get someone else to read it aloud to you, and you will know in a moment whether it is working or not.
Most people are fairly good at hearing end rhymes, but many stumble over the in-between. stuff, making it impossible to speak it out loud unless you are the author and have been practicing.
