The news has been a lot lately. All these laws,Restricting Abortion access and taking away women’s control of their bodiesTax incentives for straight couples to have more and more children Banning Drag shows for kidsBlocking Gender affirming care for minors (and even...
Homophobia Smackdown
What It’s Really Like to Have Your Book Banned as an Author
Highest highs: Me and a room full of middle schoolers at a school visit in November 2022, organized by We Need Diverse Books and Writers and Artists Across the Country. Every student in the photo is holding their own copy of my nonfiction book for readers age 11 and...
STRONG – A Stereotype-Breaking Picture Book I Wish Had Been Read to Me When I was a Little Kid
Strong by Rob Kearney and Eric Rosswood, Illustrated by Nidhi Chanani Rob dreams of becoming a champion strongman. He wants to flip huge tires, lug boulders, and haul trucks -- and someday be the strongest man in the world! But he feels like he can't fit in with his...
Small Town Pride – A Gay 13 Year Old Finds Himself, His Voice, and Maybe… Community
Small Town Pride by Phil Stamper Jake is just starting to enjoy life as his school’s first openly gay kid. While his family and friends are accepting and supportive, the same can’t be said about everyone in their small town of Barton Springs, Ohio. When Jake’s dad...
The Political Theater of Book Banning Continues…
Two new developments - One absurdist, the other about the kid lit community standing together in solidarity. 1) As reported at Book Riot by Kelly Jensen, "Barnes & Noble Being Sued in Virginia Beach Over Gender Queer, Court of Mist and Fury," "No longer is this...
Pride, Prejudice, and Creating a Safe Space at My Day Job
So over at the Independent Book Publishers Association, we're having our annual IBPA Publishing University conference this month in Orlando, Florida. We'd actually planned to be in Orlando for the conference back in 2020, but had to cancel due to the pandemic. 2021...