By Almitra Clay I’ve been on a personal journey for the past few months, doing something that I’ve needed to do for a long time:
Author: Alumni & Guests
Posts by guests, alumni, & infrequent bloggers
Animation, Illustration and Writing – Part 3: Observation
By Sarah Lynne Reul (This is the final entry in a three-part series – earlier posts here: Part 1: Iterations and Part 2: Planning) Finally, my favorite point
Animation, Illustration and Writing – Part 2: Planning
By Sarah Lynne Reul (This is part two of a three-part series – part one focused on Iterations, and part three is on Observation.) When starting a new
Animation, Illustration and Writing – Part 1: Iterations
By Sarah Lynne Reul Animation has been called the illusion of life. It’s the optical illusion of persistence of vision that creates the effect of
What’s the Deal With Lead Titles?
Using simple math here, rather than spend $100 to market 10 books evenly (allotting $10 to each) and risk having them all slip under the radar, it’s better business for the publishers to spend $90 on one book and divide the remaining $10 among the other 9 books. It increases the odds that the featured one will get noticed and, if it’s successful, the money it makes will cover any losses or (more typically) supplement the far more modest sales the other nine achieve. Plus, the attention it receives will possibly shine light on the rest of the publisher’s offerings.
Cover Reveal for THE SLEEPOVER!
Some of my favorite ideas come in the shower, waiting for the conditioner to work its magic. So there I was, trying to brainstorm new
The Complexities of Diversity
By Almitra Clay Let me guess: you’re white, right? For those of you who aren’t, I hope you can excuse me for addressing the white
‘Where Do Fairies Go When It Snows?’ Author and Illustrator Interview
Everyone knows fairies love spring flowers and summer sun, but what happens when autumn comes and the days get shorter and colder? Now, Liza Gardner
Interview with Author Susan Holt Kralovansky and Pelican Publishing’s Antoinette de Alteriis
By Liz LeSavoy I met Susan Holt Kralovansky though the 12 x 12 Picture Book Challenge. A talented author and a fiber artist, Susie is
One Story, Two Endings: A review of PAPER TOWNS book and movie
GUEST POST by Sarah Knowles Note: While technically spoiler-free, this review contains a quick description of the beginning of the story and speaks thematically of
The Picture Book Idea Syndrome
Guest Post by Rob Broder — President and Founder of Ripple Grove Press Rob Broder’s guest post, “You Can Judge a Book by Its Title,
Do You Share Any of These Offbeat Ways Authors Pick Character Names?
Today my “show biz insider-y” YA romance Map to the Stars releases (shameless sales plug: it’s only $1.99 right now for your e-reader!) and in honor of it being an unapologetically light and fun beach read, I thought I’d pick an equally frothy topic to explore today: cool and/or silly ways authors name characters.
YA: The Dark Place of Children’s Lit
By Almitra Clay “So what is your novel about?” This is the point where I go from smiling to my deer-in-the-headlights grimace. See, I’m not
A Teen’s Take on High School Literature Classes
Guest Post by Sarah Knowles In her post How to Build Better Readers: IMHO… Marti Johnson made the case that assigned reading of classics in
Adventures in Co-Writing
We’ve fielded questions of all varieties about how the heck we write something as personal as a novel alongside someone else. Well, we have answers.
Why Does it Take Sooooooo Long for a Book to Come Out?
There are two questions I get most often from well-intentioned family and friends. The first is “You must be so rich now that your book
