Over on Book Riot this week…

• 52 incredible picture book biographies of Black creators and leaders.

 

• Update your home decor with this print-at-home bookish art, both free and paid.

 

On this week’s episode of Hey YA, Hannah and I dig into the settings we don’t see enough of in YA and highlight YA books set in rural places, as well as in lesser-represented places outside the US.

 

Over on Book Riot this week…

• A look at the best book covers of 2020.

 

• Awesome library tote bags, perfect for hauling your literary loot.

 

I’m solo on this week’s episode of Hey YA: Extra Credit, talking about why ghost stories are so great and highlighting a wide range of YA ghost stories (plus one middle grade title because I can!).

Super proud of this week’s writing over at Book Riot:

 

• A deep dive into the past, present, and future of Native and Indigenous children’s and YA literature.

 

• Fun, creepy, and eerie Halloween-y bookmarks to make and to buy.

 

• How Jessica Darling’s depression resonated with me as a teenager — and why the fact it’s never named mattered. (Bonus: some really fun news about Sloppy Firsts and the rest of the books in that series!).

 

And there’s a new episode of Hey YA! Meet Hannah Gomez, my new cohost, as we dive deep into girls in sports, as well as stand alone science fiction and fantasy reads.

 

I took a couple of much-needed weeks off work — here’s your reminder that if you’ve got a pile of paid time off days sitting around, USE them, even if it’s to do nothing for two weeks like me! — and that meant I didn’t do my weekly writing roundup here. Time for a little catch up!

 

• Here’s a look at a whole slew of fall 2020 YA books hitting shelves.

 

• Sweet literary pencils for your home or work office. I am obsessed with the book fair one.

 

• All of the Mary Oliver gifts you could want, from pillows to jewelry and more.

 

• I pulled together 30 of the best body positive books you can read, explaining what body positivity means and why it’s sometimes a loaded phrase.

 

• And last, but not least, all of the best spooky horror gifts for book lovers.

 

This week, I was back at Hey YA and in this Extra Credit episode, I had the honor of chatting with YA author Kristina Forest (go read her delightful rom coms!) all about a mutual favorite YA book, Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty.

If you weren’t able to attend the incredible event I did with Alice Wong and the Longmore Institute on Disability about editing anthologies and disability, you can catch the playback now.

 

Last, but not least, I was the guest on Sarah’s Bookshelves, wherein we discussed libraries during the time of COVID-19. Tune in!

Over on Book Riot this week…

• 60 YA books hitting shelves in paperback this fall.

 

• The ultimate guide to awesome book stickers.

 

 

Next week, I’m doing a REALLY exciting virtual event I hope you’ll pop over and enjoy. With the Longmore Institute and Disability Visibility, I’ll be in conversation with Alice Wong all about editing anthologies and about disability in publishing. Event is Monday, September 21 at 6 pm central time, and the registration for the free event is here.