The Weekly 411 (7/16/21)

© Julie Koon

 July 16, 2021 vol 29

The Weekly 411 gathers all the links added to Kidlit411 each week. To receive this post by email, sign up for our email updates. Are you on Facebook? Join our Kidlit411 group for conversations & camaraderie. This week's illustration is by Julie Koon.

Cover Reveal

We are excited to feature the cover reveal of The Struggle Bus, author-illustrator Julie Koon's debut picture book, coming out from Kind World Publishing on March 2022! 

Check out this awesome cover:

About the Book: Sometimes things are really tough. It's just too hard, you've had enough! Grumble, rumble, bump and roar, the Struggle Bus is at your door. When a child attempts what feels like a hopeless challenge, the Struggle Bus arrives to offer a ride. Rolling, rollicking rhymes take readers on a journey of perseverance, through winding roads, storms, and breakdowns. Challenges are faced and mountains are climbed. In the end, the child discovers that through all the ups and downs, they can do hard things.

About the Author-Illustrator: Julie Koon is an author-illustrator of books for children. She is also an elementary school counselor, where she helps kids learn how to navigate their feelings and the big wide world. She lives in Decatur, Georgia with her husband and three children. Julie has taken many rides on the Struggle Bus in making this book, and is excited to share it with the world.

Author Spotlights

We are excited to feature author Ally Malinenko and her debut middle grade novel, GHOST GIRL (Katherine Tegen Books) out on August 10! Enter to win a copy (to be delivered after Aug. 10)!

Illustration © Maike Plenzke, design by David DeWitt

We are excited to feature debut picture book author Sita Singh and Birds of a Feather, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman (Philomel Books, March 2021) . Enter to win a copy!

For Writers

An Intuitive 4-Step Process for Creating Vibrant Scene Structure

Young Adult

How to Write a Young Adult Novel

Social Media

Authors Belong on Goodreads, Too

Authors on Social Media: Choosing Platforms & Avoiding Burnout

Marketing and Creating a Platform

A Pre-Launch Playbook for Debut Authors

Should  Authors Review Books?

Conferences, Workshops and Retreats

Oct. 3 Picture Book Summit. Join the Picture Book Summit, headlined by Yuyi Morales (Caldecott Honoree and recipient of numerous other honors) and Jon Klassen (winner of the Caldecott Medal and bestselling author with more than 2.7 million copies); attend instructional workshops from Editor/Educator Laura Backes Rules Schmules: How to Break the Rules and Get Away with It; Authors Emma Walton Hamilton & Julie Hedlund: Pitch Perfect: Fine-Tuning the Voice in Your Pitch; Author Rob Sanders: Mind Mapping Your Way to Authentic Stories; and agent/editor panels with

Eileen Robinson, Executive Editor and Consultant to the Publisher, Reycraft Books; Helen H. Wu, Associate Publisher, Yeehoo Press; Naomi Krueger, Acquisitions Editor, Beaming Books; Adria Goetz, Martin Literary Management; Emily Forney, BookEnds Literary; Stefanie Molina, Ladderbird Literary Agency. Discounted Early Bird registration is now open at PictureBookSummit.com

SUPPORT KIDLIT411 BOOK GIVEAWAY

Have you found these email newsletters or our Facebook group helpful? If so, please consider donating a small amount to help us keep running. Our expenses are going up this month and we'd appreciate your support. Any amount is appreciated. Thank you! 

To celebrate those who have donated, we will give away this batch of picture books to one person who comments on this Facebook post (no donation required to win). Giveaway will end at noon EDT July 21, 2021, U.S. addresses only.