Hey there Word Nerds! I’m so glad you can join me for today’s interview with YA and middle grade author Jen Calonita. In this episode, she and I talk about writing what you know (and what you don’t know) and also how to make the shift from one writing niche to another. We dig into the… Read more »
Hey there word nerds! I’m so excited to share today’s episode with you. It’s not often that I have an author on the show where I’ve read almost their entire body of work. Carolyn Mackler is one of those rare authors. As an MFA student, I wrote a term paper for my YALit class examining… Read more »
Hello and welcome to another exciting episode of DIY MFA Radio! Today I’m interviewing Calee Lee, the founder and CEO of Xist Publishing, the largest independent digital-first children’s publisher. She is also the author of more than 15 books for children. Dedicated to helping kids develop a lifetime love of reading, she founded Xist Publishing in… Read more »
You may have heard of a little movie coming out today about a dystopian America and a most disloyal band of subjects.Or perhaps you’ve been living under a rock for the past five years?The Hunger Games has become a worldwide phenomenon. It’s brought untold attention to YA literature, and with good reason. It’s an un-put-downable… Read more »
BookExpo America is an exciting event that brings together industry professionals, book bloggers and reading fanatics to discuss what the next big thing will be in publishing. While it’s a wonderful weekend, it’s not as welcoming to casual readers as some other conventions. Which is why Bookcon was introduced. For a greatly reduced price, book… Read more »
If you’ve been a bookstore recently, there’s one thing you’re sure to have noticed. Young adult literature is on the rise. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green, made waves when it topped the New York Times Bestseller list for 40 weeks, and it’s not alone. The Divergent series by Veronica Roth occupied spots… Read more »
Have you ever read a book that changed the course of your very existence? If the answer is yes, chances are it was a book you read as a child or teenager. The books we read when we’re young tend to leave a profound mark on us. Even if these books aren’t strictly children’s books… Read more »
Whether you love children’s books or you haven’t read a kid’s book since you we’re a kid yourself, , we writers have one thing in common: we were all kids once. At some point in our lives, we all had that experience of finding a book that captured us in a profound way and chances… Read more »
We end our week-long celebration of Teen Literature with an interview today with the charming Elana Johnson. I began following Elana’s blog when I first started exploring the blogsphere for fellow writers. Immediately it became one of my go-to writing blogs because of her honest, no-nonsense advice and her generosity to other writers. She’s one… Read more »
Of all the books I read in a given year, I’d estimate 90% of it is young adult literature (YA). This hasn’t always been the case. In fact, I only started reading it a few years ago, when I was well past my teen years. The truth is, YA wasn’t very popular when I was… Read more »
