Promoting the freedom to read with tips and resources, plus our latest releases, cover reveals, new book deals, and fall events📖
NHooray for our two new September titles, El Carnaval de mi Bisabuela by Joana Pastor, illus. Carolina Coroa and Not All Sheep Are Boring by Bobby Moynihan, illus. Julie Rowan-Zach.
Kirkus Reviews called El Carnaval "joyous multigenerational fun" in a starred review (Note: Kirkus reviewed the English language version).
Publisher's Weekly said of Sheep: "Rowan-Zoch creates a fluffy mutton cast with amusing mannerisms and accoutrements for an effect that’s decidedly not boring."
Learn more (and buy the books) in the Soaring '20s Bookshop or wherever books are sold.
Affiliate disclosure: If you order the book from Bookshop using the link above, we receive a small commission at no cost to you.
September 18-24 is Banned Books Week, and this year is a biggie, with censorship and banned books lists continuing to pop up in school and public libraries all over the country. Rather celebrating individual banned books, we at the Soaring ‘20s want to remind readers that making a banned list is not a badge of honor. Instead, let’s use this week to take an active role in promoting intellectual freedom—a cornerstone of democracy and a lifeline for young readers of all creeds.
Click here for a few ways to get involved, plus links to learn more about preventing censorship.
Art work credit: Julie Rowan-Zoch
Welcome back to our series, 20 QUESTIONS!,
where we answer questions about writing, reading, and author life.
This month’s question:
What’s been the most surprising part of becoming a published author and/or illustrator?
Julie Rowan-Zoch
“The amazing strength of community - in every way thinkable! The community of my critique groups, my literary agency, the RMC-SCBWI chapter, the 12x12PB Challenge, my promotional groups, and the editorial and design community within the publishing houses. I feel incredibly and increasingly lucky to be a part of them all, and I hope I honor them with my efforts too!”
—Julie Rowan-Zoch, illustrator of NOT ALL SHEEP ARE BORING! (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2022)
Read more surprising parts of the author/illustrator journey here.
New Cover Reveals
New Book Deals
Mark your calendars...
Through Sept. 30 - Apply for the We Need Diverse Books mentorship program with Vicky Fang. Learn more here.
Oct 1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern (in person) - Valerie Bolling and Mindy Yuksel will appear at the Rye Children's Book Festival, Rye Free Reading Room, Rye, New York. Learn more here.
Oct 2 - Mindy Yuksel will present at the Maplewood South Orange Book Festival (in person). Get the full author line up here.
Oct 6 at 7 p.m. Eastern (virtual)- Join Valerie Bolling's RIDE, ROLL, RUN, TIME FOR FUN! book launch at the Multicultural Bookstore. Learn more here.
Oct 8 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern (in person) - Join Carrie Finison at the Princeton Book Festival. Full details here.
Oct 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern (in person) - Valerie Bolling is a featured author at the Warwick Children's Book Festival at Stanley-Deming Park. Learn more here.
Oct 15 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern (in person)- Rajani LaRocca and Valerie Bowling will appear at the Chappaqua Children's Book Festival. Learn more about this FREE event here.
Oct 21 at 7 p.m. Pacific (virtual) - Darshana Khiani will be part of the Featured Author Panel for the California Reading Association's 54th Annual Conference. Register for the conference here.
Oct 22 at 11 a.m. Eastern (in-person) - Join Valerie Bolling's RIDE, ROLL, RUN, TIME FOR FUN! book launch at the Harry Bennett Branch of the Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT. Register here.
Oct. 25 - Mindy Yuksel will read at the Neustadt Lit Festival. Learn more here.
Oct 29 - Rajani LaRocca will be at the Boston Book Festival. Stay tuned as more details are released.
Nov 5 at 2:15 Central (virtual) - Lindsay Metcalf will present "Write Like a Journalist" at the KS/MO SCBWI virtual fall conference. Learn more and register here.
Nov 5 (9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Pacific) - Margaret Greanias will appear at the Portland (Oregon) Book Festival (in-person event). Get schedule details and the full line up here.