Good News!

2023

BOOK COVER REVEAL: for Melvina Whitmore (More or Less a Horror Story), Publishing September 5, 2023.

I am a recent PNCA graduate and my debut author/illustrator picture book Melvina Whitmoore is live for pre-orders! 

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DEBUT BOOK: My first picture book, The Smell of Spring, launched #1 on Amazon in several categories. Published Dec. 15, 2022. Blog tour March 24-April 6th with Celebrate Lit.

April, a blind girl, discovers the smells of spring along with her menagerie of pets. This rhyming book shows children how we experience the world around us through the sense of smell. Activities included at the end.

AGENTED: I signed with Jennifer Unter (The Unter Agency), for the YA Fantasy manuscript I pitched through Oregon SCBWI’s Pitch Perfect Event. I am so thankful for the opportunity to connect with agents and local authors.

DEBUT BOOK: My debut as a children’s book illustrator, I am the Thirsty Desert. Written by award-winning science writer Darcy Pattison.  

When a sudden downpour, a monsoon, falls in the desert, plants and animals explode with growth. Plants sprout, bloom, produce seeds and die within a couple days. Likewise, in a week, animals hatch, grow, mate, lay eggs, and return to hibernation or estivation. Available now through Mim’s House Books 

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BOOK RELEASE: Our Wish for You releases September 12, 2023 from Charlesbridge and is available for preorder.

This picture book, written by Dano Moreno and illustrated by Ryan O’Rourke, is a love letter to adoptees—as well as birth parents, adoptive parents, and LGBTQ parents.

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AWARD: The Walt Morey Young Readers Literary Legacy Award is presented to a person or organization in recognition of significant contributions that have enriched Oregon’s young readers. Past recipients include Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, SMART, and Children’s Book Bank. 

More INFORMATION

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DEBUT BOOK: My debut book, One More Jar of Jam, illustrated by Tracey Zhang, is now available for pre-order. Release date: August 1st.

One More Jar of Jam is a sparkling and deeply felt story of love, loss, renewal– and jam! –offering a gentle reminder of the cyclical nature of the world around us.

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Lauren Akazama Mendez 

Illustrator Lauren Akazawa Mendez’s newest book, “The ABC’s of Asian American History“, is available this March.

Pre-order today at www.littlelobo.com

Sheila Bailey illustrated Carla’s Sandwich, which was named one of the Washington Post’s 100 Must-Have Children’s Books in December.

Sheila is working in the sequel, Carla’s Glasses. It will be published by Flashlight Books in December.

Cassi Denari

CONGRATS! YOU GRADUATED! is a collection of fun illustrations, bits of wisdom, and sage advice. The perfect way to celebrate a new graduate.  Published January, 2023

Amy Seto Forrester’s new book, Search for a Giant Squid will be published by Chronicle books on April 25.

Illustrated by Forrest’s brother Andy Chu Musser, Search for a Giant Squid is a nonfiction adventure-style book for transitional readers.

Rachel HS Ginocchio’s book, Roads to Family: all the ways we come to be, is being published in April by Lerner Publishing Group.

Roads to Family is Ginocchio’s first book for middle to high school readers, about all the ways (assisted and unassisted) humans reproduce and form family. 

Ryann Jones signed with Bethany Jett of the C.Y.L.E. Agency in December.

Teresa Klepinger’s 10-book series Animal Showdowns has just been published by Kaleidoscope Books.

https://kscopebooks.com/shop/show/12310

Julie Mathison’s Elena the Brave won the YA Category in the Writer’s Digest ebook contest. The award came with a $1,000 prize.

Ryan Middaugh is now represented by Christie Megill at the Cat Agency.

Brian Pinaire signed a contract in August to have his first middle-grade novel published under the Belle Isle Books imprint of Brandylane Publishers. It’s the first installment in an anticipated trilogy, and should be available next summer.

Carrie Tillotson’s B Is for Bananas will be published on April 11 by Flamingo Books.

Tillotson’s first book, Counting to Bananas, was selected as a finalist for the 2023 Oregon Book Awards. Both books by Carrie Tillotson were published by Flamingo books and illustrated by Estrela Lourenço.