WRITERS' RUMPUS

HOW TO MIDDLE GRADE

Hi! My name’s James Ponti, and I write Middle Grade book series such as City Spies and The Sherlock Society. I’m excited to share some pointers with you, but only with a major caveat. I know a bunch of writers and we all do it differently. I’m not talking plotting vs. pantsing, but radically different approaches.

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

For writers of fantasy, science fiction, and romance, this genre-blending 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.

MY DOG IS NOT A SCIENTIST – Review & Interview with author Betsy Ellor

April 4, 2023 Marianne Knowles

Today on Writers’ Rumpus we’re talking with Betsy Ellor, author of MY DOG IS NOT A SCIENTIST, illustrated by Luisa Vera, available April 18 from

APRIL Middle Grade and Young Adult Opportunities

March 31, 2023 Lexi Donahue

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.

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

March 24, 2023 DrZatHome

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

March 21, 2023 Laura Fineberg Cooper

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!)

March 17, 2023 Keri Demers

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.