Our ever-busy clients have more news than ever. Read on for awards, new books and appearances…
AWARDS AND HONORS
The FOCAL award committee (Friends of Children and Literature, the support group for the Children’s Literature Department of the Los Angeles Public Library) chose STEP UP TO THE PLATE, MARIA SINGH by Uma Krishnaswami as the FOCAL Award winner for 2018. Each year since 1970, the award has been given to a children’s book with significant California content. 2018 marks the 38th year!
THAT’S MY BOOK by Salina Yoon has been selected for the 2018-19 Great Lakes Great Books program for the K-1 category. The Michigan Reading Association annual program awards five books chosen by students in grades K-12.
A book by one of our clients has found a place on the Amelia Bloomer Project List, an annual booklist of the best feminist books for young readers, ages birth through 18: Mitali Perkins’ YOU BRING THE DISTANT NEAR.
NEW BOOKS
The cover for Cynthia Leitich Smith‘s next novel, HEARTS UNBROKEN, has been revealed! The young-adult novel will be released in October by Candlewick.
Cynthia Leitich Smith‘s on a roll with a three-book deal announced in Publishers Weekly: “Rosemary Brosnan at HarperCollins Children’s Books has bought Cynthia Leitich Smith’s untitled contemporary middle-grade powwow anthology, featuring a story by Smith and stories, poetry, and art by various Native/First Nations contributors. Brosnan has also acquired two untitled contemporary Native middle-grade novels by Smith. The anthology and the first novel will be published in summer 2020, and the second novel will be published in summer 2021. Ginger Knowlton at Curtis Brown, Ltd. negotiated the deals for world English rights.”
Classroom and event activity guides for Bethany Hegedus‘ latest picture book biography, ALABAMA SPITFIRE: THE STORY OF HARPER LEE AND TO KILL MOCKINGBIRD, are available for download on the Curious City DPW website. For grades 3-6, the downloadables include what it means to be a “spitfire,” spitfire biographies, a classroom guide for “Great Women in History” and a poster. The website also offers videos about the book and its author. Curious City DPW is giving away 22 copies of ALABAMA SPITFIRE to educators, librarians and literacy groups for Women’s History Month. Get the details and enter on the website.
APPEARANCES AND WORKSHOPS
Author Lamar Giles will be teaching a weekend intensive workshop “Mastering the Middle Grade” with Crown Books Publisher Phoebe Yeh at The Writing Barn in Austin from May 17 to May 20. Lamar also will be teaching the writing workshop “Plotting Fiction” at the Alabama Book Festival on April 21 in Montgomery, Alabama.
Author Kwame Alexander will be visiting a city near you in April and May promoting his latest novel in verse, REBOUND, the prequel to the Newbery Medal winner THE CROSSOVER. Look for the tour bus coming to a city near you!
And author Carmen Oliver has two teaching engagements coming up. She is part of the online course “Path to Promotion” May 14 to June 18 as well as teaching “Crafting Successful Author Visits 2018” April 29 to May 4 at the Highlights Foundation along with Jan Cheripko and Peter Jacobi. Author Leah Henderson was a student of the Highlights Foundation “Crafting Successful Author Visits” course in the past. She recently wrote this of her experience: “As I get ready for my first faculty gig at Highlights later this week, I was struck by just how far I have come—from hiding in shadows hardly able to breathe to stepping on stage again and again (and actually smiling the tiniest little smile while doing it). I can’t believe that in less than a year, I am no longer shying away from these opportunities and it’s due in large part to each of you (Peter Jacobi, Jan Cheripko, and Carmen Oliver). I am continuously utilizing all you taught us. And I know everyone else is as well. We were so fortunate to have come across your workshop. It has helped me in more ways than I can truly articulate. I cannot thank each of you enough for how throughly you prepared us to go out in the world to share our stories and thoughts with confidence, focus, and most importantly joy. So thank you, thank you, thank you!”