Welcome to the MG/YA Opportunities post! Find all of the monthly opportunities on the MG/YA support page! All opportunities are available to anyone with an internet connection.
Category: Writing
The Making of a Picture Book and the Convergence of Author and Illustrator Visions in A GOOD DEED CAN GROW by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman and Holly Hatam
I had the unique opportunity to interview author Jennifer Chambliss Bertman and illustrator Holly Hatam about their new picture book, A Good Deed Can Grow: a visually rich, engaging, and empowering picture book with separate stories in text and illustrations. It was such an honor to ask them about their process and journey together!
EVEN: JUST’S SNEAKY COUSIN
in literary terms, the four-letter word EVEN is primarily used to provide emphasis, and once invited into sentences, can infect multiple sentences without a writer’s conscious intention.
Q: What do you get when you cross a tennis ball with some prairie dogs? A: An award-winning picture book recipe. (Obviously!)
I don’t know about you, but I see a regular, old, green tennis ball in that dog’s mouth. Author/Illustrator Janet Stevens, on the other hand, saw a mysterious green, fuzzy object from the POV of a prairie dog. And when this mysterious object rolled down a prairie dog tunnel, it caused mayhem amongst prairie dogs far and wide.
JUST: Let it Stay or Hit Delete?
The subject of this post is JUST, a four-letter word that sneaks into sentences without invitation. Learn when to let it stay…and when to hit DELETE!
Interview With Debut Picture Book Author Cathy Stefanec Ogren
As I type out the words ‘Debut Picture Book Author’ in front of Cathy’s name, I feel a surge of excitement and pride course through
Following the Tracks of a Story Idea
Finding a tale or a topic that intrigues me is only the first step. Sometimes it takes years from my original inspiration to the final product.
MARCH Middle Grade and Young Adult Opportunities
Welcome to the MG/YA Opportunities post! Find all of the monthly opportunities on the MG/YA support page! All opportunities are available to anyone with an internet connection.
Library Girl: How NANCY PEARL Became America’s Most Celebrated Librarian by Karen Henry Clark
Library Girl (May 2022, Penguin Random House, Sasquatch Books) is an incredibly inspiring, well-crafted, true tale of unsung heroine Nancy Pearl and her lifelong commitment
Cybils Award Middle Grade Fiction Finalists
Those who know me even a little, know that I am positively NUTTY about good middle grade fiction. Nuttier than a squirrel stuffing her little cheeks full of acorns.
Meet the amazingly talented author/illustrator, Katie Mazeika!
Carol Gordon Ekster: Katie Mazeika is in my picture book marketing group, PBrockiteers22. When I read Annette Feels Free: The True Story of Annette Kellerman,
Examining the Personality Traits of Memorable Characters
Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Charlotte, Wilbur, and Fern. Winnie-the-Pooh, Tigger, and Christopher Robin. If you read and/or write kidlit, I’m sure you know these well-loved characters and the phenomenally popular books they inhabit. So how do we create characters as memorable as these?
FEBRUARY Middle Grade and Young Adult Opportunities
Welcome to the MG/YA Opportunities post! Find all of the monthly opportunities on the MG/YA support page! All opportunities listed are available to anyone with an
HOW AUTHORS AND ILLUSTRATORS INSPIRE EACH OTHER WITHOUT EVER TALKING!
Guest Post by Rebecca Gardyn Levington When I first started writing picture books, I was FLABBERGASTED to learn that authors don’t choose the illustrators of
WRITERS' RUMPUS 