Links Galore

Lots of links I’ve been saving:

• Query critiques, signed books, Skype visits and more for Hurricane Harvey relief.
• An awesome post on Mary Sues and the pressure we put on female characters.
• The witty, wise, and whimsical E.B. White.
• On addiction and library services.
• As if Porter Square Books wasn’t already awesome enough, now they’re inviting you to a bookstore sleepover.
• A real plaque for a fictional person.
• Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these librarians from their patrons.
• How Harry Potter changed publishing.
• Revising the summer reading list.
• And speaking of summer reading lists, check out Lin-Manuel Miranda’s.
• Cultural appropriation is never appropriate.
• The miraculous act of reading.
• Take a literary road trip across the United States.
• Getting objective and creative with your revision.
• From one of my dearest friends, thoughts on growing up with Harry Potter.
• Twenty-five easy steps to be a contemporary writer.
• Margaret Atwood and Junot Diaz on dystopian societies and the contemporary landscape.
• Reason #482 why you should adopt a pet: to name it something inspired from literature.
• Love and lemonade.
• The calendar of book launch marketing.

Links Galore

Lots of links I’ve been saving:

• The YA book community should always prioritize young adults.
• The first Harry Potter covers around the world.
• I’d also like to go to a wizarding pub.
• Setting an artistic intention.
• Upping the game on commuter reading.
• Fictional bookstores are almost as awesome as real bookstores.
• Blueprinting your first pages.
• A hilarious glimpse into the writing process.
• I will read whatever Miyazaki recommends.
• Fascinating look at the history of The Joy Luck Club’s movie adaptation.
• Swanky school summer reading.
• As if I didn’t already have way too many podcasts to catch up on.
• Helpful info on fair use, permissions, and what you can quote in your own writing.
• I was just talking about first-page anxiety with a friend.
• Be patient with yourself.
• And keep going.
• Even when you don’t feel inspired.
• A fun character Q&A.
• Great tips for researching literary agents.
• Keeping your real life safe when you have an online persona.
• Outlining for non-outliners.
• Real teens don’t live in YA novels.

Links Galore

Lots of  links I’ve been saving:

• On Buffy the Vampire Slayer turning 20 and the Scooby Gang fanfic
• Changing your story’s core question to boost your writing.
• Or maybe try these other tricks to help you move forward when your story’s stuck.
• Quitting is the only thing that makes you a failure.
• I have major card catalog love.
• I also have major love for these reasons why adults read YA.
• These Velveteen Rabbit illustrations are so gorgeous and evocative.
• Beyond excited for this Little Women adaptation (yay Masterpiece!).
• If you’re querying, some interesting stats and helpful tips.
• Helpful advice for attending conferences while dealing with a chronic illness.
• The secret world of celebrity ghostwriters.
• Querying cheat sheet.
• YES MORE MISS FISHER!
• Supporting authors even when you can’t afford every new book you want to buy.
• Being a professional vs. being an amateur.

Links Galore

Lots of links I’ve been saving:

• Librarians resist. And now libraries matter more than ever.
• I am so excited about another book in the His Dark Materials universe.
• Ian McKellen, Shakespeare, and immigration.
• One of my favorite college professors on turning to poetry in times when words otherwise fail us.
• Gender identity and sexuality and the next generation.
• A win for Team Oxford Comma.
• But sometimes it’s okay to bend the grammar rules.
• Death and Jane Austen’s unfinished novel.
• And then the murders began.
• They’re making the future.
• Pixar, tell me your secrets.
• Why we need national support for the arts and humanities.
• Great list of YA books about refugees.
• Maybe it’s time to break up with your agent.
• Parsing the helpful feedback from the not-so-helpful.
• What it actually looks like to write (and finish) a novel.
• Great suggestions for writing through the middle.

Links Galore

The links I’ve been saving for a snowy day:

• In the latest episode of Crossover Appeal, I talk about my new bookish obsession, The Wee Free Men and the rest of the Discworld series.
• Wahoowa for Margot Shetterly, author of Hidden Figures!
• Because as fun as buying books is, giving books away can feel really good.
• The Penderwicks and bibliotherapy.
• Langston Hughes feels particularly necessary these days.
• Famous writers on revision.
• Playing around with writing exercises.
• On sharing banned books with your kids.
• Rita Dove speaks the truth.
• Psyched feels like the wrong word for how I feel about The Handmaid’s Tale adaptation.
• Finding the balance between writing and life, and how little actions build up.
• I need all of these bookish puzzles.
• Be gentle with yourself.
• And to keep calm, take a few tips from to a bomb disposal expert.

Links Galore

Lots of links I’ve been saving:

• If we ever need books that inspire social change, it’s now.
• March: Book Three makes National Book Award history.
• Take your own walking tour of New York Jewish literary history.
• Don’t rush the revision. And maybe keep some of these revision questions in mind.
• Teen Vogue is doing some awesome work, including their new book club!
• The Healthy Library Initiative sounds like a fascinating and potentially life-saving program.
• Emma Watson shares some books.
• On the problem of the hero’s journey and marginalization in trans YA books.
• Because we can never forget.
• I definitely need this audio version of Anne of Green Gables.
• An old post by Jacqueline Woodson, but ever as important, about who can tell particular stories.
• The business behind opening a bookstore.
• Love this list of realistic middle grade novels.
• What to ask before signing with a small press.
• I continue to be psyched for the Series of Unfortunate Events TV series.
• How to put together a writer’s mission statement.
• Because lots of teens don’t fall in love.
• How to make your title work for you.
• The delightful Betsy Devany is hosting a blog series about childhood loveys in honor of her adorable picture book, Lucy’s Lovey, and this week I’m sharing my story of Pillows #1 and #2!
• And in case you need some podcast-y distraction for the end of the year, check out all 11 episodes of Crossover Appeal. Looking forward to lots more in 2017!

Translating Hagrid’s Accent

I love this fascinating look at the complications of translating Harry Potter into an international bestseller and maintain its sense of British-ness and wordplay.

Also, I totally didn’t realize that that was how Quidditch got its name.

No matter where you may live and what languages you may speak, we can all feel part of the wizarding world.

Friday Fifteen

Happy Friday, guys! It’s appropriately fall-y here in New England, and all I want to do is wear hoodies, see all the turning leaves, drink tea, curl up with a few good books, and bake all the baked goods. Hopefully I’ll get a least a couple of those in over the weekend. Let’s kick things off with a look at what I’ve been reading and writing.

Reading: Life Without Envy: Ego Management for Creative People by Camille DeAngelis
If you liked Big Magic, get Life Without Envy immediately. Must-read for writers.

Writing: …I thought, maybe it’s true—maybe this will be an adventure.
New projects are always an adventure.

 

Links Galore

All the links I’ve been saving:

• There’s a new episode of Crossover Appeal up, and this one has my favorite book rec list so far.
• Beautiful photographs inspired by fictional meals.
• It’s been fifty years of staying gold.
• This is so far beyond my scarf budget, but I love this Amelia Earhart scarf!
• Fascinating article about editor extraordinaire Ursula Nordstrom and the queer history of publishing.
• And the problematic “acceptance” narrative for stories featuring trans characters.
• I am so anti-Max, sorry not sorry.
• Questioning stereotypes about disabilities in fiction.
• I need to check out this mural inspired by Rita Dove’s poetry the next time I’m in Charlottesville.
• Love seeing teens with jobs in YA novels.
• Readers on printed books and ebooks. (Me? I love both!)
• Magical learning in all its forms.
• On writing, day jobs, and the labor movement.
• And yep, writing is work.
• Major love for Pura Belpré, librarian extraordinaire. And maybe check out the book award that bears her name!
• I’ll take a good boarding school book any day.
• Also, fairy tale retellings.
• Book conservators: keeping books in tact, one page at a time.
• “Sometimes I miss the “newness” of [being a teen]. There were many new things that I was experiencing. Discoveries about myself and others and life. I try very hard to keep that newness going even now in my old age.” Love this interview with Francisco X. Stork!
• On approaching problematic books as a white reader.
• Some words to work into your regular conversation.
• Jane Austen knows about building suspense.
• Multicultural readers deserve to see themselves in books.
• Using technology to save a dying language.
• In college and looking for an awesome summer job? Apply to be a counselor at Young Writers Workshop!
• Fighting the writing fear.
• Judging books like Mary Berry judges cakes.
• Need to add these graphic novels to my reading list.

Where Are Your Mirrors? Diversity in Children’s Books 2015 Infographic

It’s one thing to read stats, and it’s another thing to see them. Based on information compiled by the the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC), David Huyck created the infographic below:

image by David Huyck

How sad is it to see actual kids with less representation than animals and inanimate objects? Publishing as a whole needs to provide diverse young readers with way more mirrors.

The good news is that David has made his infographic available for general use, so you can share this around your own blog/social media networks. Because the more we see and talk about problems like this, the harder it is to ignore.