Many people spend the holiday season looking back at the current year, reflecting on what they achieved, and then making plans for the new year. This can be a helpful exercise in all aspects of life, including writing, especially if you focus on the positives! Rather than looking back and thinking about what you didn't achieve, focus on what you have done in the last year and the progress that has been made. I find the 12 Days of Christmas by Julie Hedlund a great help for t

I had so much fun coming up with the following entry to the Mighty KidLit Community Holiday competition! The prompt was to write 100 words or less on a holiday tradition and this is one tradition I have avoided like the plague with my kids... I was thrilled to have been awarded a Mighty KidLit Connections membership for 2026 for this entry - WOW! There were so many amazing entries highlighting a range of traditions. They are all available to view within the community - I ca

Diving into the kidlit community for the first time was daunting. There is a lingo and lexicon to learn, along with just understanding the ins and outs of this new world and the community within it. One term that jumped out at me everywhere I turned was critique groups . Authors I followed talked about theirs with awe and thanks. Everyone gushed about how amazing and helpful they were. It became a refrain I saw all over social media and all I could think was - what are they a

It has been a pleasure getting to talk with KG Mach and hear about her publishing journey and how her historical middle-grade novel came to life! Her book Present, Still Missing was published in September 2025 by Golden Bridges Publishing . She has amazing advice for new/aspiring writers - "Follow your heart" - and talks about how to know when advice and feedback rings true (or not!) for your story. She has generously offered a free, signed copy of her book as a giveaway! Th

When many people think of picture books, they automatically imagine a beautiful, lyrical rhyming story. Or maybe a rollicking, funny rhyme. Classics like Goodnight Moon or Dr. Seuss or more modern stories like The Gruffalo all have such a spot in our hearts and just FEEL like quintessential picture books. So when many people start writing picture books, it is natural to start in rhyme. It's lyrical, it rolls off the tongue, it's fun and can be fast-paced. It's incredibly easy

I am happy I had the chance to talk to Chris McGuire and hear about his unique route into children's publishing, as well as his slime-tastic chapter book Crooks and Nannies: A NAUGHTY Beginning (published on March 28, 2025 by Candy Jar Books ). Chris has generously offered a free, signed copy of his book as a giveaway! This is a fantastic opportunity to get your hands on this hilarious chapter book! To enter, either comment on this blog post or comment/follow/share on social

I know this is going to have to be Part 1 of ... some larger number... because there are just so many writing competitions out there!...

What a fun contest! This is a great community building event based on photo prompts with a 200 word count. Thank you Kaitlyn, Lydia and...

I had the pleasure of interviewing Darlene P. Campos and hearing her story about her new MG book The Center of the Earth (published Sept...

This post started off as a discussion about all the different online conferences I would recommend, but boy did that get long! I had no...

I was lucky enough to have a chance to interview Kathryn Clark whose debut YA novel, Things I Learned While I Was Dead , was published in...

When I first dipped my toe into writing, so many websites and resources jumped out at me: SCBWI, Reedsy, WriteMentor, KidLit 411, Authors...