Meet Cynthia Levinson, a #kidlit Talent

CAROL GORDON EKSTER: I met Cynthia Levinson at Kindling Words East and wanted to share her work with those of you who do not as yet know her. She’s amazing!

Cynthia, can you tell us how you found your way into writing for children?

CYNTHIA LEVINSON: Do you know of the cellist Yo-Yo Ma? In 2000, he left his beloved (and practically priceless) cello in a taxi in New York. I decided that the story, which had a happy ending, needed to be a picture book. MR. BELLOW LOST HIS CELLO won a national picture-book writing contest and was nearly published twice but never actually appeared in print. Nevertheless, I got hooked.

CGE: I know you write mostly nonfiction? Why nonfiction?

CL: As evidenced by MR. BELLOW never seeing the light of day, I realized—dozens of a drafts of that story and of others, not to mention an entire novel—that I’m better at finding stories than creating them. Also characters. Same for settings. I need to interact with real people and see actual places to write about them convincingly.

Beyond that, there are many true stories that you wouldn’t believe except that they really happened. Audrey Faye Hendricks—a nine-year-old girl who spent a week in jail in 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting segregation—is a good example. People do amazing things!

Still, I have written one historical fiction book—FREE TO LEARN: HOW ALFREDO LOPEZ FOUGHT FOR THE RIGHT TO GO TO SCHOOL, illustrated by Mirelle Ortega, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2024. I tried to write the story of the families who, at great personal risk, sued the Tyler Independent School District for the right to send their undocumented children to public school, as nonfiction but I couldn’t get it to work. The children were necessarily kept in the dark to protect the identities of the families; so, agency, which drives Audrey’s story, was not an option with Alfredo. The history is crucial, though, since that law suit went to the US Supreme Court, which ruled in 1982 that public schools must accept undocumented children. Can you imagine where we’d be if the Court had decided otherwise?

CGE: You got wonderful reviews for that book. Congrats!

A few of your published books are biographies. Can you tell us your inspiration for choosing to write about Ben Shahn and Audrey Faye Hendricks?

CL: I’ve loved Shahn’s art and political courage for decades. I learned about Audrey while researching and writing my first book, WE’VE GOT A JOB: THE 1963 BIRMINGHAM CHILDREN’S MARCH, Peachtree, 2015, which focuses on four young people who protested race laws. Audrey needed her own book!

CGE: What have been some of your ups and downs in this business of publishing for children?

despite the downs! When they ask me how many books I’ve written, I say that I’ve written dozens but published only about eight or nine. That’s a downer. And children’s book publishing takes foreeeeeveeeer.

CGE: How do you balance writing and promotion?

CL: I’m not sure how much choice I have. By that, I don’t mean that anyone is pushing me either to write (except when there are deadlines, of course!) or to promote. In regard to both, I tend to follow where my brain and my energy and creativity take me.

CGE: What are your top tips for our #kidlit #amwriting audience?

CL: Read—like a writer. Then, write. Take classes. Join a community of writers.

CGE: What does the future hold for Cynthia Levinson?

The third edition of a book my husband and I co-write, FAULT LINES IN THE CONSTITUTION, will be out in July 2025. I’m sharing WHO OWNS THE MOON? AND OTHER CONUNDRUMS OF EXPLORING AND USING SPACE, which I co-write with Jennifer Swanson, Margaret Quinlin Books, 2025, with kids and with other writers. And there are some picture books on the horizon.

You can connect with Cynthia here:

Facebook: Cynthia.levinson.7

Bluesky: @cylev

Instagram: cylevinson

Email: clevinson@austin.rr.com