Thank you, @areaderlymom.bsky.social for a Halloween newsletter chock-full of news. If you're not following the newsletters of @citycastnash.bsky.social , @tennesseelookout.com, @nashvillebanner.bsky.social, and #AxiosNashville yet, sign up! Great summaries to keep you informed about local news.

SNAP benefits are about to lapse. Wondering how to help our neighbors, or need food aid? Here are some local food banks that serve the Nashville community. nashville.citycast.fm/nashville-li...

Good morning. We are the Best Podcast in Nashville, according to YOU, the kind people who voted in the @nashvillescene.com Readers Poll!!! The Scene also honored us as "The Best Way To Keep Up With Local Politics." Thanks for listening, reading, and being part of the conversation, everybody! 😻

Check out @everylibrary.bsky.social's week of FREE events for #BannedBooksWeek! I chat with @katherinelocke.bsky.social and #GigiHoward on Tues. 7 PM Eastern. Here's to #FReadom #BooksNotBans #kidlit #lgbtqkidlit Sign up here: www.everylibrary.org/everylibrary...

Need some book recs for your fall reading? Here are 10 new releases by Nashville authors! nashville.citycast.fm/best/nashvil...

The Nashville Public Library also has a whole lot of streaming content awaiting your eyeballs:

My latest #KidLit reviews: children’s books by Palestinian creators. bookriot.com/childrens-bo...

For Choose Your Own Adventure fans, here are five other similar children's books, in my latest for Book Riot. bookriot.com/pick-your-pa...

Book Riot is hiring a digital content specialist based in Portland, Oregon. Consider applying and/or passing along to those who might be interested! bookriot.com/hiring-digit...

Listening to final mix now. Y’all. If you want to know EVERYTHING about the Elon Musk Tesla Tunnel that they’re planning to build in Nashville, you need to listen to tomorrow’s @citycastnash.bsky.social. (We cannot tell you where it’s gonna start or go or end, though, bc I don’t think THEY know.)

**Libraries & Mental Health Survey** I'm updating my research and subsequent talks related to mental health in the library. I'd love insight from library workers of all backgrounds + experiences, and I've got a handy survey. Please take & share widely. Thank you! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Looking for some excellent LGBTQ+ middle grade? Here are some of my recs! bookriot.com/new-lgbtq-mi...

Let the record reflect that @citycastnash.bsky.social newsletter editor @areaderlymom.bsky.social did indeed wear cat ears to morning meeting

Congrats to my friend, @laurabontje.bsky.social, on her newest picture book, WHEN THE AIR SANG, a beautiful, intergenerational celebration of cicadas! Perfect for curious kids. #KidLit

My daughter Marian joined me on the @citycastnash.bsky.social podcast recently to chat about things to do this summer! nashville.citycast.fm/podcasts/wha...

It's a BIG day at Picture Book Summit as we reveal the theme of this year's online #writingconference for #picturebook creators. Join us on Oct 4, 2025, for: BIG, BOLD, & BRAVE: SUPERCHARGE YOUR PICTURE BOOKS! Early Bird registration begins 6/12! #amwriting #kidlit #PBSummit #booksky

Could you pass the third grade TCAP test? Here are five questions from it. Let us know your score; very few people have gotten a 5/5! 👀 nashville.citycast.fm/explainers/n...

Here are my reviews of 8 new AANHPI middle grade books! What would you add to the list? #kidlit bookriot.com/new-middle-g...

Today on City Cast Nashville, Brenda Pérez from The ReMIX TN gives us her first-hand account of Sunday’s ICE/TN Highway Patrol detainment dragnet in South Nashville. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts:

Wondering what new laws are heading our way? Here's a summary of some of the most important bills that passed during this legislative session. nashville.citycast.fm/explainers/2...

Saturday is Independent Bookstore Day! Here are our favorite local indie bookstores. nashville.citycast.fm/best/indepen...

Y’all need to read @areaderlymom.bsky.social’s Nashville history through the story of her grandparents. We are so lucky to have her as part of the @citycastnash.bsky.social team. This is glorious:

You can still buy my mental health anthology, featuring 33 incredible essays, comics, and more from a wide range of voices, for $3.

I finished 18 books in March! 12 garden/farm-themed books for my ecosystem reading challenge, and 6 others. What good books did you read?

I’m chatting about old malls on the @citycastnash.bsky.social podcast! Give it a listen! Here I am with Ryan on a prom date. Nashville, do y’all know what mall this is? nashville.citycast.fm/podcasts/nas...

Here are my reviews of 5 middle grade graphic novels about first crushes, I'm honestly more than jealous about how sweet most of these crushes are, these books do not mirror my own experiences, and that's a good thing 🤣 bookriot.com/middle-grade...

Wow, this story I wrote in grad school is now ten years old! (Well, older than that, because I wrote it a year or two before I started submitting it!)

Our newsletter editor @areaderlymom.bsky.social writes one of these amazing articles about a different aspect of life in Nashville pretty much every day. Subscribe and get her great work straight to your inbox at nashville.citycast.fm.

I finished 17 books in February, including 12 for my ecosystem reading challenge. I’ve also included the books Marian (1st grade) read for Black History Month. What good books did you finish in February? Have you read any of these, or want to? #KidLit #BookSky

We are now accepting applications for Queer Kidlit Camp! sites.google.com/view/queerki...

I’m so excited to announce that I’m now represented by Rosa Frazier @theseymouragency.bsky.social ! I love Rosa’s passion for children’s books, and I can’t wait to see if we can get some books out into the world. Fingers crossed for some more good news soon! #KidLit #WriterSky

We are hiring! Orca is looking for a nonfiction editor with book-editing experience and an understanding of publishing for young readers. Sound like you or someone you know? Check out the posting! www.orcabook.com/Careers

Do you know the difference between a chapter book and middle grade? And what exactly are readers? I wrote this handy guide to children's book categories and age groupings for @bookriot.bsky.social to explain! #KidLit #PictureBooks #MiddleGrade bookriot.com/childrens-bo...

0° wind chills Thu & Fri mornings. Help a Nashvillian out: buy someone who needs it a coat or gloves or food. Open Table Nashville makes it quick and easy. These won’t be our last cold mornings. buff.ly/3dlCjxM.

Is middle grade Monday a thing here? ALL THE BLUES IN THE SKY by Renée Watson is a beautiful middle grade verse novel that I recently read & shed many tears while reading. It’s a novel about grief & friendship. The writing is gorgeous, & my favorite narrator, Bahni Turpin, reads the audiobook.

Shouting out this wonderful nonfiction graphic novel I recently read by @alexlcombs.bsky.social & Andrew Eakett that shows the myriad of ways gender has been expressed through the centuries & that trans people have always existed. Great for ages 10-100. Out in May, preorder link in comments!

Not to put something else on your plate, Nashville parents, but if you haven’t booked summer camp slots for your kiddos, time is running out. We’ve got a list of incredible options on today’s show, hosted by Hey Nashville newsletter editor @areaderlymom.bsky.social! Here or wherever you get le pods:

Kid's elementary school principle sent out an email about their ICE protocol with a list of resources for immigrant families. Pretty horrified that this is something that needs to be planned for. Maybe kids should just be able to attend school in peace.

I'm participating in this! 🍀🤞 Are you?

And if any Nashville area teachers or orgs are ever in need of some children’s books, send me a DM. I might be able to donate some!

I’ve been really bad about posting on here, but here’s everything I read in January. I finished 18 books, and I’m doing an ecosystem challenge each month. January was Polar/Arctic/Tundra. I kinda want to visit the Arctic now! February will be the sky & space. Already started a bird book!

Thanks Whitney! I'm an OTN board member and we have an Amazon wishlist for cold weather supplies that are desperately needed. They ship to OTN for immediate distribution! www.amazon.com/gp/registry/...

Deck the halls with these 5 children's books about Christmas, curated by @areaderlymom.bsky.social for Book Riot: bookriot.com/best-christm... #kidlit

So proud of the work City Cast Nashville 🦞 did this month. We talked to the Mayor and council members, shop owners and foodies, a local indigenous leader, a pastor, the NashSevereWx guys, and a freakin astronaut stuck in space! You should subscribe to our newsletter. We’re getting good at this.

Wonderful article by @areaderlymom.bsky.social

August is packed with excellent kidlit releases. Here are my reviews of 10 of them! bookriot.com/new-children...

If you're looking for some new SFF to read, here are my reviews of 10 July releases for IGN. www.ign.com/articles/bes...

Here are my reviews of 10 fabulous children's books releasing in July. Which ones do you want to read? bookriot.com/new-children...

For School Library Journal, I had the opportunity to chat with 8 phenomenal middle grade authors about disability and writing in verse. www.slj.com/story/Eight-...

I am having trouble keeping up with this profile, but I wanted to announce that I'm now the newsletter editor for Hey Nashville! Every weekday I'm rounding up local news stories and writing timely articles. If you're in Nashville, subscribe! nashville.citycast.fm