The Official SCBWI Blog

A lot of people think that writing may be the hardest part of the KidLit industry. For some, they may be right. But for others, it’s the rejection. There is SO MUCH rejection in this industry. Agent rejections, losing a contest, editor passes, the list...

Book Banning continues to impact young readers, their adult allies, and all of us who create books for kids and teens.
The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom tracks challenges to books, and once again has released their "top 10" list of the most challenged books of the previous year. Here's the link to read up about the Top 10 Most Challenged...

Whether you are a new writer or a seasoned expert, it’s likely that you have experienced or will soon endure the dreaded writer’s block. Writer’s block is, according to Author Anne Lamott, not a block at all. If you are having trouble writing, she believes...

This past weekend I had the opportunity to be in dialog with middle grade author Chris Baron at the San Diego Writers Festival, in a session sponsored by Anatasia Zadeik called "Middle Grade vs. YA, What's the Difference?"
Using Chris's most recent middle grade novel The Gray, and my own recently published young adult novel A Different Kind of Brave we covered so many things that come into play, and that are different, between the two age categories, including:...