WRITERS' RUMPUS

Interview with debut picture book author Laura De La Cruz … and a giveaway of LOWRIDER FOR SALE!

September 8, 2026 Laura Fineberg Cooper

Happy Book Birthday to LOWRIDER FOR SALE, the heartwarming picture book debut by talented and gracious author Laura De La Cruz. Laura has impressed me with her positive and supportive comments on our blog, so when she inquired about an interview, it was my honor and pleasure to enthusiastically say yes!

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Cool off on Winter Solstice Hill with Cathy Stefanec Ogren!

September 4, 2026 Marcia Strykowski

I’m excited to have talented author Cathy Stefanec Ogren here on the blog today! Her latest picture book releases on October 20, 2026, and I

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Cats, Chess, and Finding Your People: An Interview with CAT TAKES QUEEN Author Ilona Bray (and a Giveway!!)

September 1, 2026 Hilary Elizabeth Margitich

I first connected with Ilona Bray through social media and its vibrant online kidlit community. Right away, I was drawn to her warmth, thoughfulness, and

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#Kidlit Interview with the Effervescent Children’s Author Kelly Swemba

August 26, 2026 Monica Acker

Friendship is a special, wondrous thing. Great thinkers and creatives throughout time have shared their thoughts about how special friendship is: Kelly Swemba and illustrator

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Meet #kidlit Debut Author Evgenia Mantikas

August 18, 2026 Carol Gordon Ekster

CAROL GORDON EKSTER: I met Evgenia at the Kindling Words East retreat in 2026. What sweet and contagious energy she has! I am so excited

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Researching and Writing Nonfiction

August 11, 2026 Alumni & Guests

Guest Post by Lauren H. Kerstein I am beyond thrilled to be here. I’ve long enjoyed reading Writers’ Rumpus posts and am excited to share

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Teen Book Review: I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver

May 7, 2019 Rebecca Moody

I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST by debut author Mason Deaver is a contemporary coming of age that’s out from Scholastic/Push in May 2019. *I

Interview: Susan Kaplan Carlton, author of IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF TRUE

May 3, 2019 Joyce Audy Zarins

This is more than an interview with a young adult author about her newest book. Recent events in the news reveal that antisemitism has not

Survival Guide for #NESCBWI

April 30, 2019 Alumni & Guests

By Dana Nuenighoff The annual spring conference for NESCBWI is coming this weekend! That means a weekend full of workshops and keynote speakers, of being

B is for Books! Two Wonderful Surprises

April 26, 2019 Laura Fineberg Cooper

I thought I missed my chance to review these March debuts, so imagine my surprise when I opened a big box (filled with the nicest

YA Book Review: To Best The Boys by Mary Weber

April 23, 2019 Rebecca Moody

TO BEST THE BOYS features lush world-building, a spunky, dynamic heroine with a mile-a-minute mind and voice reminiscent of Felicity Montague of Mackenzi Lee’s Petticoats & Piracy, and a plot as nail-bitingly intense as Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games.