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Hunkering down for the hurricane

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To catch you up, I was on vacation last week (went camping with a group of teen girls from church, got rained on a lot), we had an earthquake earlier this week, and this weekend we’re expecting a hurricane. So as you can imagine, between those things I’ve been mostly just working away at my … Read more

Diversity in YA Summer Reading Challenge

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I’m up to my gleezers, as Galaxy Games alien M’Frozza would say, in printer proofs for Fall books. I’ve been working on a post to expand the Examining Privilege section of the Beyond Orcs and Elves talk/posts, but haven’t quite found as succinct an approach as Scalzi’s Things I Don’t Have to Think about Today … Read more

Oh hey, look what I found

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Pictures from a recent visit to NYC by Cynthia Leitich Smith! These were taken in Feb. 2011, but I completely forgot to post them. What’s that? You don’t know Cyn? How could you miss this unyielding advocate for children’s literature? In fact, I’m surprised you somehow managed to make it to MY site if you … Read more

Beyond Orcs and Elves, part 3

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And finally, part 3. Read parts 1 and 2 here and here. So now let’s talk about writing cross-culturally! Writing Cross-culturally A few months ago, I answered a reader’s question on my website, in which she asked, basically, “Is my character ‘black enough’?” which prompted a wide variety of responses, some voices expressing why the … Read more

Beyond Orcs and Elves, part 2

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See here for part 1. Many authors have broken that mold & followed Ursula K. Le Guin’s admonition to write more of the “other.” But there’s still a strong British tradition—among the  biggest touchstones for kids from the 70s and 80s era are arguably Susan Cooper, Roald Dahl, Diana Wynne Jones, etc. All touchstones for … Read more

Beyond Orcs and Elves: Diversity in Science Fiction and Fantasy for Young Readers, part 1

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Here you go! The first installment. Note that this was written to be spoken, so sometimes the diction might seem a little weird for a blog post. But I’m just going to leave it as-is, because you’ll get the idea. Beyond Orcs and Elves: Diversity in Science Fiction and Fantasy for Young Readers Ursula Le … Read more

Street fair youth fundraiser

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I’m going to be out of town at NESCBWI this weekend, which means that I’m going to miss the street fair they do every year on the Upper East Side to raise money for the young women and young men in my church here in New York. The funds raised from the tag sale and … Read more

Workshop and conference miscellanea, other events

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Just got invited last minute to join a panel at ASJA on Saturday on “Perfecting Your Elevator Pitch” from 11 a.m. to noon this Saturday, April 30, at the Roosevelt Hotel in NYC. I believe it’s open to the public (not sure if there’s a cost) so if you’re going, see you there. Only a … Read more

Genealogy conference slides

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For those who were looking for the slides from my conference—including anyone who wanted to go but couldn’t make it, and those who are interested in starting their family history but aren’t sure where to start—here you go! These tips really apply to anyone–the basics of talking to your family, seeing what you already know, and using research principles to go from there work for anyone just starting out. It’s when you go further back that complications set in, whether that means trying to figure out how to read old German writing (and that’s HARD–it basically looks like a long string of loops), having to delve into the Freedman’s Bureau and Southern Claims Commission records to hopefully find an ancestor, or figuring out how to research your Asian ancestry if you don’t speak the language. But by the time you get there, hopefully you’ll be more of an expert!

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