WRITERS' RUMPUS

GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT WRITING A PICTURE BOOK SERIES OR SEQUEL

June 6, 2023 Alumni & Guests

It had been about a year since my debut picture book, Counting to Bananas (Flamingo Books, April 2022, illustrated by Estrela Lourenço) had been acquired. My editor, Cheryl Eissing, emailed to say her team was exploring the idea of Banana possibly carrying a picture book series. Was I interested? I had never thought about writing a sequel and, as a debut author, never imagined I would be asked to. But was I interested? Seriously? Of course I was bananas about it!

Interview: Accomplished Author Melissa Stewart

June 2, 2023 Joyce Audy Zarins

JAZ: Melissa, I am honored that you agreed to this interview. Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-floor Ecosystem is fascinating! Our readers are eager to learn

A Conversation with Lyn Miller-Lachmann, Author of TORCH: a YA Novel about Czechoslovakia, Resistance, and Hope

May 26, 2023 Alumni & Guests

Lyn Miller-Lachmann’s YA novel Torch brings 1969 Czechoslovakia to life, a time when the country is living under Soviet tyranny. The novel has won major book awards, most recently, Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature.

I have a suggestion…regarding Character Arcs.

May 23, 2023 Marti Johnson

A friend of mine, who also happens to be a writer, gave me a book called CREATING CHARACTER ARCS, The Masterful Author’s Guide to Uniting Story Structure, Plot, and Character Development, by K.M. Weiland, PenForASword Publishing, 2016. (Thank you Tina Oppici). Tina has been suggesting I read it for over two years. She finally handed me a copy and I’m glad she did.

THE LOUD LIBRARIAN: Written by Jenna Beatrice and Illustrated by Erika Lynne Jones

May 19, 2023 Keri Demers

Everyone knows that all CAPS = yelling. So, yes, I AM, in fact, yelling the title of Jenna Beatrice’s debut picture book THE LOUD LIBRARIAN at the top of my lungs. Please don’t shush me because this book (2023, Atheneum/Simon & Schuster) is just too darn cute to keep quiet about!