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KidLit Crossing

How creative people manage the passage

Published in KidLit News by the SCBWI-LI on 7-2-2021 You’ve written a book for children, bounced it off your critique group, and revised it umpteen times, but the work isn’t yet where it needs to be. Let's call this manuscript a lemon with potential. Is it time to ripen the fruit by broadening your editing support? Fine options exist, including guidebooks, web applications, and live editors for hire. 1. Hit the Books: Guidebooks are excellent tutors. Since rewrites are vital to the revision process, many how-to books blend craft guidance with editing advice. Others focus closely on the mechanics of language.

Published by The Writing Cooperative on 3-31-2021 When pale green stems poke through the dirt, spring is just around the bend. And this season of renewal is the ideal time to refresh a passion for creating.  These five invigorating resources for kidlit creators can rev you up and spring you forward. The Children’s Bookshelf Newsletter The Children’s Bookshelf from Publishers Weekly is a free, digital newsletter reporting semi-weekly on upcoming children’s books; industry, library, and bookstore news; interviews with book creators, agents, and editors; kidlit conferences and book fairs; and children’s book markets around the world. Peruse a few articles from recent issues: “Spring 2021 Children’s

Published by Illumination on Medium, 2/23/2021 For tweet sake! If writing is your thing, have you thought about Twitter? Perhaps you dabbled on the platform but found the reception chilly. Were your tweets unloved? Were followers sparse? That’s what happened to me, till I returned, years later, to decipher the place. And here's what I learned during 40,000 tweets. Twitter boasts 340 million users tweeting day and night about whatever they’re into. Topics include news and politics – science and technology – health and the environment – marriage and dating – kids and education – food and fitness – beauty and fashion

"In January it's so nice while slipping on the sliding ice to sip hot chicken soup with rice!" So wrote masterful author-illustrator Maurice Sendak more than fifty years ag0. But January also brings a tasty list of freshly awarded children's books to feast upon. On January 25th, the American Library Association revealed the 2021 ALA Youth Media Awards, citing exemplary literature in book and digital formats for children and teens. These prestigious awards commend works published in the United States during the prior publishing year (November 1 – October 31). To make the content even easier to digest and access, explore

Published by The Writing Cooperative, on Medium, 12-26-2020 Writing and illustrating is a quiet job pretty much done at home, far from the buzz of the publishing houses and those who acquire children's books. But to keep in touch with hot topics (and enhance my craft), I follow kidlit blogs and newsletters. Most of these resources are free. A few require membership. All are immensely supportive. Decide which digital publications best suit you: A Fuse #8 Production This blog is by author and librarian Betsy Bird, perched beneath the School Library Journal (SLJ) umbrella, but opinions are her own. Betsy posts book reviews,

Published by The Writing Cooperative on 12-19-2020 Writers and illustrators! We are home but not alone! To hear fascinating people discuss their creative process, obstacles they face, and their hard-won literary achievements, connect to podcasts on your cellphone or computer and float away. These twelve podcasts, geared towards kidlit creators and aficionados, supply book reviews, interviews, and endless motivation to read and write on. The Children’s Book Podcast (Hosted by acclaimed librarian Matthew Winner)Enjoy engaging interviews with authors and illustrators about the origin of their children’s books and the impact on readers. Kidlit These Days (Hosted by Matthew Winner and author Karina Yan Glaser)This new

Published by the SCBWI Bulletin, winter 2021 Will you turn back time with me? Remember last fall, when we browsed our local bookstores, joined stimulating book talks, sipped hot java, and bought glossy magazines. We lingered at the help desk to learn about new releases, and picked up gifts for the holidays. We brought our children along to story hours and “Meet the author” events, and treated them to cherished, autographed books. Then COVID-19 came. American businesses shuttered for months, and some closed for good. And as we battle a virus with no end in sight and feed our needs through Amazon,

Published by the Writing Cooperative, a Medium publication, 9-29-20 Writing is a lonely business. Your only companion is a keyboard. But a good writing critique group can counter that isolation with guidance, support, motivation, and resources: Craft guidance, such as shared advice on books, workshops, seminars, retreats, and podcasts,Emotional support, like celebrating your wins and soothing your defeats after writing rejections, books going out of print, editors leaving, and publishers folding,Motivation for growth, meaning affording regularly scheduled meetings, and perhaps writing prompts, contests, and other incentives,Industry resources, including submission contacts, networking opportunities, and websites for navigating the industry. As an author of children’s

Published by The Writing Cooperative, a Medium Publication, October 22, 20202 A children's book conference inspires you. A monthly critique group enhances your craft. But with Internet access and a smartphone, kidlit writers and illustrators of board books, picture books, middle grade, and young adult can learn all year round on their own terms.  A wide web of enrichment awaits! Kidlit Podcasts: Are you listening to podcasts when you exercise? Tune in on the treadmill or when out for a walk. I adore Literaticast on Apple Podcasts, hosted by kidlit agent Jennifer Laughran of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Her guests are agents, editors,

Black Lives Matter, Me Too, Gay Pride and other civil rights movements, continue to beg the question: Are you part of the problem or part of the solution? So I turned to TED talks for answers. Nine inspiring speakers reveal our hidden biases—why they go unchecked, how they harm, and ways we can do better.   Without exception, everyone is biased. We have biases about race, religion, gender, sexuality and more. We might profess to feel one way but react otherwise. Do these sound familiar? Africans are poor. All Asians love martial arts. Jewish mothers are overbearing. White men