One definite perk of being the web master for WriteOnCon has been reading all about the upcoming releases in 2017 and 2018. So this year, my TBR list already has some books that have yet to be released! I thought I’d share my list with you guys, in case any of them perk your interest, too. The Book Jumper by Mechthild Gläser Amy Lennox doesn’t know quite what to expect when she and her mother pick up and leave Germany for Scotland, heading to her mother’s childhood home of Lennox House on the island of Stormsay. Amy’s grandmother, Lady Mairead,...
After an enormous flop in my reading habits throughout 2015, I’m finally starting to get on top of things again! In 2016, I read 62 books (out of a 50-book goal). Disclaimer: A lot of these were children’s fiction (even picture books), but I’ll take what I can get. Below I’ve listed some of my favorite discoveries from 2014, along with publishers’ descriptions. Enjoy! Best Picture Books The Journey by Francesca Sanna (Illustrations) With haunting echoes of the current refugee crisis this beautifully illustrated book explores the unimaginable decisions made as a family leave their home and everything they know to escape...
Things have been a little scarce here recently. Why? Among numerous other reasons (the topics of future posts!), I’ve also been helping plan, set up, and coordinate the fabulous online kidlit conference: WriteOnCon! We’ve been doing an Indiegogo campaign to help cover website costs, etc., and there’s just about a week left. Of course, it’s only now that I remember I haven’t actually talked about it here at all. *facepalm* SO HERE WE GO. (EDIT: The campaign is over, but you can still register here!) What is WriteOnCon? WriteOnCon is a three-day online children’s book conference from February 2-February 4, 2017 for writers...
I’ve just completed my master’s degree in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University, and MAWYP has also just celebrated its 10th birthday. Yay! Below are some of the questions I asked myself when I first started thinking about getting my master’s, and some of the questions (now that I’m at the end) I wish I would’ve asked. I hope this post isn’t a running advertisement for BSU, but I am biased. Master’s programs are very different depending on where you go and who you’re with and what you want, so I only have my own (and my classmates’) experience to...
Last year I used Goodreads to set a goal of 100 books in 2011, and I made it! This year I gave myself a bit of slack and aimed for 75 books. I wanted to focus more on non-fiction, but… didn’t quite do as well as I would have liked. Non-fiction and I are still learning how to get along. Out of my 75 books, I present: My best reads of 2012! (more…)
