Last weekend, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators hosted their annual summer conference virtually. They dubbed it the Summer Spectacular and it earned that moniker. Normally three hundred people attend in person. This year, five thousand people from…
Take a look at all these wonderfully talented Austin authors and illustrators with books coming out this year!
Picture Books
RAD!, by Anne Bustard, ill. by Daniel Wiseman (Abrams, May 2020).
PERKIN’S PERFECT PURPLE, by Debbie Dunn, ill. by Tami…
Next week, Shelli Cornelison and I begin our fourth collaboration as teachers of our six-week short fiction workshop. Writers will share and revise as many stories as we can possibly read and critique during that time. Each time we teach,…
This week, my friend Shana Burg, author of A THOUSAND NEVER EVERS, launched her second book called LAUGH WITH THE MOON. Please welcome this new book into our lives.
Here is a trailer about the book:
If you want to…
My friend and author Kelly Bennett and illustrator Terri Murphy are launching their brand new book ONE DAY I WENT RAMBLING today. Folks all over the web are helping launch this book with a blog tour.
I have not held…
On April 30, El día de los niños/El día de los libros, Children’s Day/Book Day turned 16 years old. My congratulations go to Pat Mora and all those who supported her in bringing this ‘baby’ into the world. Celebrating children…
Once upon a time there was a poet and author named Pat Mora. She believed in fostering the love of books in children. She called it ‘book joy.’ One day, someone asked her about Children’s Day. Even though it had…
Tomorrow at Book People at 2 pm, my friend and fellow Austin author Greg Leitich Smith is launching his book CHRONAL ENGINE (Clarion). I am so excited for Greg. Book birthdays are as big a deal human birthdays.…
So I opened up my mail queue recently and there was a gift from Sara Hickman. A song from her newest cd The Best of Times. As Texas State Musician of the Year, Sara has dedicated her energy to raising…
True story: Last month, I hopped on my bike and joined thousands of Austinites on the East Austin Studio Tour. One studio where I stopped was a digital boutique which creates apps. Inside, a handwritten sign on the wall said,…
In a way, reading a writers’ blog is a bit like looking behind the wizard’s curtain. You get to see where my ideas come from, who inspires me, how I think and what I care about. If you want to know what I’m thinking about, please subscribe to my blog below.
A Tree grows in Sedona
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Writing Resources
Because we work by ourselves, writers and illustrators often feel alone. We aren’t but sometimes we need to be reminded of all the great resources around us. Here are a few that I rely on for classes, news and general good thinking: