A Gallery of LEGO Book Launches
I describe my process for using LEGO minifigures and settings to launch new books for children and teens.
The Violence in Missouri: Writers and Artists Respond
Writers and artists respond to the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the ensuing violence with works that encourage empathy.
“We’ve Lost a Library”: Walter Dean Myers, 1937-2014
A tribute to African-American author Walter Dean Myers, with reflection on his writing and leadership on behalf of diverse books.
Grown-Up Things: On Adults and YA Fiction
A defense of adult readers of YA fiction along with a call for more diverse, rule-breaking, and intellectually challenging writing and subject matter.
Promoting Diverse Books for Every Reader: The “Cheat Sheet” and More
Building on Grace Lin's "Cheat Sheet for Selling Diversity," I offer alternative ways of presenting small press and less heralded diverse titles.
The #WeNeedDiverseBooks Panel at BookCon
A report on the #WeNeedDiverseBooks panel and the multicultural small press panel at the 2014 BookCon in New York City.
How to Make Friends with the New Kid: Advice for Kiara from the New Kids
My presentation to ELL students at Manchester, CT's high school and middle school explored insights gained from being a newcomer from a different culture.
Rulebreakers
A report on a panel at the Cambridge Public Library featuring the YA essay anthology Break These Rules and thoughts on success and rulebreaking.
Patricio Has Writer’s Block, But I Don’t: My Writing Process Blog Tour
My contribution to the My Writing Process Blog Tour, where I talk about the fun of revision and why I write about social and political struggles.
Diversity in Publishing with Quill Shift
Profile of a new literary agency, Quill Shift, that seeks to bring writers of color into traditional publishing and prove their market viability.