At the library I borrowed two middle grade/ YA books, both of which are astonishing. One deals with a realistic cultural issue frequently in the news, the other with nature rendered in a Gothic style. Each portrays a boy main character who is involved in something seriously scary, but who acts in courageous ways. Imagine young […]
I’ve just returned home from Big Sur on Cape Cod, a wonderful mentoring weekend for children’s book authors and illustrators organized by Andrea Brown and her most-successful-in-the-US literary agency, in coordination with Lisa Rehfuss. This event is held annually in California, and for the first time was offered here in New England (lucky us). The […]
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
A while ago I posted an interview here with Miranda, a very special person to me. Recently, I asked her similar questions about her reading habits and those of kids she knows. The answers show a trajectory and are useful information for writers, so I also posted this on www.writersrumpus.com. Nine-year-old Miranda and I went […]
I originally posted this article on WritersRumpus.com. As one of my heroes, the Dalai Lama, once said…“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.â€Â Let’s each one of us be the mosquito!  —Lin Oliver This week Lin Oliver, co-founder and Executive Director of the international Society of […]
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 […]
The process of writing or illustrating a children’s has often been compared to having a baby. That gestation-to-birth time is partly the work of creating the story and pictures, but that’s just the beginning. Here is a fantastic explanation of the actual publication timeline, written by tween and teen author extraordinaire, Jen Malone. Bookmark
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 […]
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. […]
Today Kristine Carlson Asselin revealed the cover of her debut YA novel, Any Way You Slice It, about Penelope Spaulding, who uses hockey as a great escape from her parents’ restaurant. As her confidence on the ice and her commitment to the Rink Rats and someone named Jake Gomes grows, she finds it harder and […]
This article is a post I wrote for the fabulous Writers Rumpus blog today, September 30th. While recently reading John Green’s Looking for Alaska, I was surprised by the shape of the story. I’ll get to that in a minute, but it reminded me of other authors who played with the structure of their narratives. […]
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 […]
This article also appears at writersrumpus.com. While your book is percolating in your mind, in revisions or sketches, or under the scrutiny of your crit group buddies, you can explore ways to build your publishing credentials. Magazines and other media can be valuable, shorter-term ways to get your work seen. Here’s a more-or-less “out there†[…]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
What earnings can writers and illustrators of books for children today expect to receive from a publisher? The range of payment options has widened, sometimes not in your favor. If you would like to see whether the basics of the deal you now have is comparable to what others receive and help your colleagues too, […]
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, […]
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, […]
John Flanagan’s strengths are dramatic action, innovative conflict, and complex male characters who breathe and sweat. This fantasy adventure trilogy with a Middle Ages setting combines humor, intelligent language and complex characters to propagate a fast-paced, engaging tale awash with daring plot twists. Although mostly promoting good morals, the level of violence over these first […]