Tag Archives: contemporary YA

Linda Sue Park: Ted talk

By JAZ | Published: January 25, 2016

In this terrific TedX talk, author Linda Sue Park talks about a path to changing the world. Life is not fair, but stories engage the minds of those who can develop empathy and act in heroic ways. Bookmark

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Prose Pointers: Stylistic Features

By JAZ | Published: April 22, 2015

  There are two aspects to each story— what it is about and how it is written. Three young adult novels I’ve read over a span of two weeks excel in certain intriguing elements of style – meaning the tools used to write them. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, I’ll Give You the Sun […]

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A Twisty Path to Publication–with Dragons

By JAZ | Published: January 30, 2015

This is a reblog from www.writersrumpus.com Post #5: Morris Award Finalist Blog Tour Week YALSA’s Morris Award honors the year’s best young adult novel by a debut author. The Morris Award winner for 2014 will be announced at the upcoming ALA 2015 Midwinter Meeting in Chicago. Writers’ Rumpus is honored to host a week of […]

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The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim by E.K. Johnston

By JAZ | Published: January 26, 2015

Post #1: Morris Award Finalist Blog Tour Week YALSA’s Morris Award honors the year’s best young adult novel by a debut author. The Morris Award winner for 2014 will be announced at the upcoming ALA 2015 Midwinter Meeting in Chicago. Writers’ Rumpus is honored to host a week of posts about the Morris Award Finalists. […]

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Naturalized Diversity

By JAZ | Published: June 27, 2014

By Joyce Audy Zarins Like daffodils naturalized in the woods, all Native Americans, immigrants from everywhere in the world, people with various abilities, talents, handicaps, and preferences populate our American nation. We are all in this cross-pollinated garden together. Our stories should reflect that biodiversity. By “naturalized diversity” I mean that the characters in our […]

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NESCBWI 14: Terrific Conference, Going Fast!

By JAZ | Published: February 5, 2014

Registration for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators New England regional conference opened today at 10:00 AM. Already two thirds of the slots are full. If you plan to attend, what are you waiting for? If you are a writer or illustrator of books for children and young adults, this conference will stimulate […]

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Blog Hop!

By JAZ | Published: October 12, 2013

When Paul Czajak invited me into Jody Jenson Shaffer‘s Children’s Writers’ Blog Hop I thought – why would I not? The plan, as you may already know, is that each author answers the same four questions on his/her own blog, then invites three others to do the same. Like the branching of a tree, the ideas […]

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This Star Won’t Go Out: Esther Grace Earl

By JAZ | Published: August 29, 2013

Dutton, the Publisher of This Star Won’t Go Out by Esther Earl, Lori Earl and Wayne Earl, wiht an introduction by John Green, has released a wonderful teaser which you can see here. On January 28, 2014 we can read the words of Esther Grace Earl the “star” who was the inspiration for  John Green’s […]

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Royalty Survey Results

By JAZ | Published: August 3, 2013

Recently I wrote a two-part article on royalty paradigms for a critique group blog called Writers’ Rumpus. In Part II I summarized the results of a survey showing responses by people who have current published books. It was an attempt at getting a pulse on the type of contract deals children’s authors are receiving. You […]

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Realistic Fiction: Hunt, Quick, and Green

By JAZ | Published: April 30, 2013

Three powerful books about kids dealing with major issues. Troubled kids, wise and compassionate kids. Be Someone’s Hero is the message on a sign that foster child Carley finds in her borrowed bedroom. She’s in need of a hero herself, having just been released from the hospital after being severely beaten by her mother’s boyfriend, […]

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Jennifer Malone: Agented Author, Free-lance Editor

By JAZ | Published: January 30, 2013

Jennifer Malone one of my critique group buddies, has gone from being the New England Head of Publicity and Promotion for 20th Century Fox and Miramax Films to writing for YA and MG. Jen is fun, fabulous at networking, and her stories are contemporary tales full of humor. Right after Hurricane Sandy did its thing, […]

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Guðríðarkirja – meaningful design

By JAZ | Published: January 22, 2012

For the past year I have been working on a YA novel about a Norse teen from 1,000 A.D. I read about Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir in two of the Icelandic sagas where she is shown to have had a truly amazing life. I’ve tried to show her in 3D in What Else is There? The story […]

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NYT article: Publishing Gives Hints of Revival, Data Show

By JAZ | Published: August 9, 2011

By JULIE BOSMAN Published in The New York Times: August 9, 2011 “The publishing industry has expanded in the past three years as Americans increasingly turned to e-books and juvenile and adult fiction, according to a new survey of thousands of Bookmark

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Critique Groups are Empowering

By JAZ | Published: May 12, 2011

You work alone developing something that has never before existed in the world. You see it from a unique perspective, but what about the rest of the world? Is this newly created entity ready for exposure? Is it balanced and complete? Does it say what you think it says? What you need is a good […]

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About Translations

By JAZ | Published: January 12, 2011

Currently I am working on a young adult novel based on an intriguing character and events set in 999 AD, Vikng era Iceland, Greenland and Vinland. It is based on two of the Icelandic sagas: The Greenlanders and Eirik the Red’s Saga. I had been using an anthology given to me by my son Eric […]

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NaNoWriMo over

By JAZ | Published: December 2, 2010

Like many other writers, I committed myself to the National Novel Writing Month website’s competition on November 2 and started a new young adult manuscript now titled What else is there?. The goal for each of the thousands of writers who also took the plunge was to write a 50,000 word novel between Nov. 1 […]

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What would you do?

By JAZ | Published: September 19, 2010

In May I bought a copy of Jump the Cracks by Stacy DeKeyser at the SCBW&I New England “Moments of Change” conference in Fitchburg, MA. Stacy DeKeyser is a writer who has her head in the right place. The book asks “what would you do?” if you were in Victoria’s shoes and saw a teen […]

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