WRITERS' RUMPUS

SKIPSHOCK by Caroline O’Donoghue: A Master Class in World Building

July 14, 2026 Laura Fineberg Cooper

Published by Candlewick/Walker Brothers Books in June 2025, this incredible YA novel by best-selling Irish novelist Caroline O-Donoghue is sure to garner many well deserved awards for its immersive, jaw-dropping, highly inventive world building. For writers of fantasy, science fiction, and romance, this genre-bending novel is a master class in how to create details and imagery that pull readers into the plot and keep them riveted from first page to last, and importantly, leave them eager for more.

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Writing Side by Side: Adriana Mather and James Bird on Books, Family, and Finding the Magic

July 7, 2026 Hilary Elizabeth Margitich

Writing is often described as a solitary pursuit. Most of us spend our days alone with our thoughts, our characters, and a blinking cursor. Yet

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Celebrating America’s Birthday with a talented author/illustrator team!

July 3, 2026 Marcia Strykowski

We’re just in time to celebrate America’s 250th birthday with Roxanne Troup and Jennifer Doehring. They have a beautiful new picture book, Happy Birthday America,

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#kidlit Interview with the Awesome and Talented Caroline Perry

June 30, 2026 Carol Gordon Ekster

Carol Gordon Ekster: Welcome, Caroline! I’m so excited to highlight you here at Writers’ Rumpus. Can you tell us about your journey into becoming a

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Ooh! Ahhh! Whoaa! Interview and Giveaway with Chana Stiefel and Susan Gal, the AWEsomely Creative Team Behind AWE!

June 16, 2026 Laura Fineberg Cooper

Yes, the title of this post borrows from this gloriously AWEsome picture book (published March 3, 2026 by Scholastic Press), but I totally couldn’t resist! Both a visual treat (thank you, Susan) and an inspiring read (thank you, Chana), what makes AWE! vault into being one of the best picture books I’ve ever read is how the words and pictures meld together to create a memorable, soul stirring, heart lifting experience.

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Interview with #Kidlit Coauthor of Unbreakable – Jolene Gutiérrez

June 9, 2026 Monica Acker

Storytelling unites generations, preserves culture, and shares the human experience. It can connect us to the past in the hope of a better future. This

When Narration and Puzzles Intertwine: Creating Storified Puzzle Books

June 5, 2026 Alumni & Guests

Guest Post by Derek Reid I’ve always dealt in the truth and glory of the real universe. When I was five or six years old,

Picture Book Review: In The World of Whales

June 2, 2026 Genevieve Rossi

In The World of Whales, written by Michelle Cusolito and illustrated by Jessica Lanan, was published by Neal Porter books on June 17, 2025. Upon

I Wish I Didn’t Have To Tell You This

May 26, 2026 Marti Johnson

I WISH I DIDN’T HAVE TO TELL YOU THIS was written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin, a Russian-born American author and an artist of many

Dinosaur Picture Books Will Never Go Extinct!!

May 19, 2026 Laura Fineberg Cooper

These books, all engaging and unique, delightfully demonstrate that even if dinosaurs have been extinct for Millenia, a world of interpretation remains alive and roaring at our creative fingertips.

Interview with Lois Brandt — Talented Picture Book Author of Maddi’s Fridge

May 12, 2026 Keri Demers

Yes, that’s Jennifer Garner on Storyline Online reading Maddi’s Fridge (Flashlight Press, 2014, 2022) by Award-Winning Author Lois Brandt. And the video (which you should