Michael Leali UPDATES ONLY is one of my critique partners and his feedback is GOLD. If you need someone to help your book get into shape, this is the guy!

Project 2025. This is from Page 5 of the Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership. This is a sample of how they view transgender humans. This is what they intend to do to educators and public librarians.

Michael is a truly gifted author and educator and his enthusiasm for writing and storytelling is infectious!! Cannot recommend him enough to any author/aspiring author looking for feedback and coaching. <3

The Spanish version of The Mythics—called Míticas—has been out in Spain since February… But TODAY these editions release in the US too!!!! Happy book birthday to this girl gang again! 🥳🎉

Cover reveal!!! My next MG novel, TEAR THIS DOWN (Aladdin/S&S, Feb 25, 2025) is about women’s rights and voting rights—topics that will remain hot no matter what happens in November. Powerful cover art is by Jacqueline Li. Read more about TEAR THIS DOWN over on Nerdy Book Club!

★ “Combining humor, suspense, and a quiet reverence for one’s ancestry, Smith examines how the power of community can affect emotional and physical healing, and the strength it takes to do both.” PW, starred: publishersweekly.com/9780062870001 HarperKids HarperStacks 📚 We Need Diverse Books

LOVED this beautiful and vulnerable essay by Michael Leali UPDATES ONLY in Teen Librarian Toolbox! Highly recommend giving it a read. teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2024/07/22/gro…

Name it for what it is. Note: My dad always said: you can't trust a person who can't laugh. At themselves.

They’re not just weird. They’re creepy weird. They’re creepy and weird.

Let’s do this. #kidlitforkamala

Crushing It comes out Tuesday. If the US women’s soccer team wins the quarterfinals, we’ll be playing in the Olympic semifinals Tuesday. 🤞🏻🌟⚽️😱 Is it fate?! Is it a sign?! I don’t know, but they’ve been AMAZING so far and I can’t wait to cheer them on again! Let’s gooooo

Thrilled to have my essay about why we need more upper MG romance on Teen Librarian Toolbox today alongside an essay by Erin Becker, whose debut, CRUSHING IT, I’m loving! ABRAMS Kids Teen Librarian Toolbox Thx to Steve *It's TAY-tro* Tetreault for the term “developmentally relevant!” teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2024/08/09/why…

And authors, don't forget that we need #MGLit books from BOYS' POVs that deal with romance as well, like Dan Richards STU TRULY, Tommy Greenwald CHARLIE JOE, and Michael Leali UPDATES ONLY THE TRUTH ABOUT TRIANGLES.

Author Michael Leali UPDATES ONLY reflects on how play is essential to storytelling. Read KidLit Craft's interview with Michael here: kidlitcraft.com/writing-lived-… #kidlit #kidlitwriters #amwriting

I use this mostly for revision! On each card, I write the chapter title, key characters, and a basic summary of events. I try to keep it to just a couple sentences. I use sticky notes to plan out changes I want to make.

If you’re on submission to editors with middle grade novels you know how much trouble the kidlit industry is in right now. But I want to reiterate again that this is not just a problem for kidlit authors. This is going to become a problem for publishing as a whole:

We’re excited to introduce Kekla Magoon, an acclaimed author whose latest middle-grade novel, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺, takes readers on a thrilling fantasy adventure through time, family secrets, and self-discovery. 🌟📖 Candlewick Press