The Weekly 411 (8/27/21)

© Polina Poluektova

 August 27, 2021 vol. 35

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 Polina Poluektova.

Author Spotlights

We are excited to feature author Anya Josephs and her young adult debut,  Queen of All (‎ Zenith Publishing, June 2021). Enter to win a copy!

Cover credit: L. Austen Johnson

We are excited to feature author Kate Foster and her middle-grade debut, Paws (‎Walker Books, April 2021) Enter to win a copy!

Cover design by Sarah Davis

We are pleased to feature picture book author Caroline Kusin Pritchard and her debut picture book, Gitty and Kvetch, illustrated by Ariel Landy (Atheneum Books for Young Readers), coming out on Aug. 31. Enter to win a copy!

Picture Book Giveaway

We are pleased to host a giveaway of Chameleon Can Be, written and illustrated by Carolina Farías (Yeehoo Press), coming out on Sept. 7! Enter to win a copy using the Rafflecopter below.

About the Book: An adventure of guessing riddles, learning about animals, and discovering the importance of being true to yourself.
What will I be if I’m someone other than me? Chameleon is curious about becoming someone new–a dazzling peacock? A powerful rhino? A fluffy koala? With encouragement from friends, chameleon camouflages as various animals within these colorfully clever pages. But, he can’t seem to find the right fit. Join chameleon on his adventure while guessing riddles, learning about animals, and discovering the importance of being true to yourself.

About the Author-Illustrator:  Carolina Farías is an award-winning author and illustrator of over 40 books. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in art, she began teaching at the University of Graphic Design and Visual Communication in La Plata. Her artwork is created using a variety of mediums with traditional and digital techniques. Carolina is part of the White Ravens 2007 list for the Bologna Book Fair, where she has also been selected to represent Argentina. She currently lives in La Plata, Argentina, with her husband and their two beautiful children. You can visit her online at https://carolinafarias.com.ar/

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For Writers

What is Purple Prose? A Guide for Writers

Don’t Compare Yourself to Other Writers

6 Tips to Help You Finish Your Book

Marketing & Creating a Platform

2023 Debuts: traditionally-published authors debuting in 2023

10 Low- or No-Budget Ways to Promote Your Book

9 Tips to Tastefully Promote Your Book During Tough Times

What is an author platform?

Query Letters

The "Voice of God" from Movie Trailers is Killing Your Query Letter

How To Write A Query Letter That Wows Literary Agents

How to Write a Query Letter: All the Do's and Don’ts

Writing Courses

Sept 18 Writing the Graphic Novel with Drew Brokington. We will examine how a comic page works and how to use pages and panels for pacing. We will walk through the entire graphic novel process, from manuscript and thumbnail layouts to publication. 

Sept. 1 8-9:30 pm ET The Possibility of Poetry: Considering Verse in Fiction, with Megan E. Freeman, at Inked Voices Have you experimented with poetry or contemplated writing a novel in verse? Megan E. Freeman (Alone) will help us explore differences between writing in verse and prose and play with possibilities for using poetry in your own work. A variety of middle grade and young adult works will be used as mentor texts.

Sept. 27-Nov 1 Verse Novels Intensive, with Rajani LaRocca and Chris Baron, at Inked Voices Dive into verse novel craft with two acclaimed authors. In Part 1, Rajani LaRocca (Red,White, and Whole) will talk about how to approach drafting your verse novel. In Part 2, Chris Baron (All of Me, The Magical Imperfect) will dig into the challenge of revision. The class includes two live sessions on September 27th and October 18th, plus weekly exercises for you to try on your own and weekly asynchronous office hours to answer your questions. 

Sept 9, 8-9:15pm ET Crafting Character Voice Webinar, with Leah Henderson, at Inked Voices Tap into the way your characters experience the world with Leah Henderson (The Magic in Changing Your Stars, Together We March). Through lecture and exercises, you'll explore your characters and their motivations, so you can convey their unique voices in your writing.