Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Cynthia Leitich Smith. Cynthia is a New York Times bestselling author known for her award-winning children’s and YA books. She writes both realistic contemporary stories and fantastical narratives, and most recently, she won the American Indian Youth Literature YA Award for Hearts Unbroken published by Candlewick. Today we’ll… Read more »
In today’s #OwnVoices interview, we pivot to a type of difference near and dear to me – neurodiversity. I spoke with Elizabeth Little about her novel Pretty as a Picture, which features a main character, film editor Marissa Dahl, who is autistic. Little herself is autistic and the mother of a son with autism, as… Read more »
[Editor’s Note: As a part of DIY MFA’s ongoing mission to promote unique voices, regular columnist, Sara Farmer, has been conducting a limited series of interviews featuring authors with unique and diverse voices. You can check out her past interviews of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Marcie Rendon, Ausma Zehanat Khan and Adam Smyer.] About Sheena Kamal Sheena… Read more »
[Editor’s Note: As a part of DIY MFA’s ongoing missions to promote unique voices, regular columnist, Sara Farmer, has been conducting a limited series of interviews featuring authors with unique and diverse voices. You can check out her past interviews of Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Marcie Rendon.] About Ausma Zehanat Khan Ausma Zehanat Khan is the… Read more »
Editor’s Note: Columnist, Sara Farmer, is writing a limited series for DIY MFA in which she interviews authors of color who write thrillers. She is kicking off the series with Silvia Moreno-Garcia, author of Mexican Gothic, Gods of Jade and Shadow, Certain Dark Things, Untamed Shore, and more. Check back in two weeks for the next installment!… Read more »
I’ve recently written about disparity in YA publishing and how it reflects broader trends in publishing generally in my column “Is this a YA thing?”: On Pay Rates, Racism, and Toxicity in Publishing. Now I am tackling a problem in kidlit. We need better DEI: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This problem is not unique to… Read more »
Have you read the new romantic comedy that flew off the shelves and sold out on its release day? It features a protagonist with multiple sclerosis attempting to find the love of her life. She needed a confidence boost and received hilarious dating advice from her friends and MS support group. It seems the biggest… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! Today I have the pleasure of hosting Lenore Appelhans on the show! Lenore is the author of several books for children and teens. Her work has received honors such as appearing on the Bank Street Best Books list, winning a SCBWI Crystal Kite award, and getting featured on boxes of Cheerios…. Read more »
Dear Editor, I’m writing a novel in the first-person perspective, and one of my critique partners just pointed out that they don’t know what my character looks like. Is character description important? If so, how do I describe a character from their own perspective without having them look in a mirror? Sincerely, Wondering Dear Wondering,… Read more »
Creating characters of color, especially when you yourself are not of that ethnic group, is an issue most writers will grapple with at some point in their careers. While we could debate the issues of cultural appropriation that occur when white authors produce diverse characters—or how those efforts impact writers of color attempting to share… Read more »
