Were you thrilled & motivated by election results on Tuesday and want in on the next one? If you're a published writer, join us! We provide resources, connect each other to collective actions, and support each other!

#KidLitLaunches BANANA MENORAH celebrates creativity, a two dad family, and Hanukkah... feeling grateful I get to create #kidlit that would have changed my life if I read it as a kiddo!

Banana Menorah Launch Day! (And 8 ways to use a banana as a menorah!) Tip: You don't blow out Hanukkah candles, you just let them dance and enjoy the lights. Illustrated by Karl West, published by Apples & Honey Press. #lgbtq #kidlit #hanukkah #chanukah #launchday #bookbirthday

Banana Menorah Countdown: 1 day to go! Today I share about my picture book coming out TOMORROW… illustrated by Karl West and published by Apples & Honey Press BANANA MENORAH has four wonderful trade reviews, with Kirkus calling it “A Hanukkah tale sure to ignite kids’ creativity.” #lgbtq #kidlit

Banana Menorah Countdown: 2 days to go! Today, my third picture book, illustrated by Kelly Mangan and published by Cardinal Rule Press: LIKE THAT ELEANOR. Kirkus gave it a Starred Review and it was blurbed by Eleanor Roosevelt’s great-granddaughter! #lgbtq #kidlit #allies

Banana Menorah Countdown: 3 days to go! My second picture book: illustrated by @jietingchenart and published by @reycraft LOVE OF THE HALF-EATEN PEACH. It was an Lambda Literary Award Finalist and was called “stunning” by School Library Journal. #lgbtq #kidlit #lgbthistory

Banana Menorah Countdown: 4 days to go! Today, another nonfiction book for readers 11 and up, THE GENDER BINARY IS A BIG LIE, published by @lernerbooks.bsky.social. A SCBWI Golden Kite Award Finalist + Starred Kirkus Review. #lgbtq #kidlit #nonfiction #lgbthistory

Banana Menorah Countdown: 5 days to go! Today, my second YA novel (and start of a series), A DIFFERENT KIND OF BRAVE, published by Interlude Press/Duet/Chicago Review Press. It’s a gay teen action adventure romance, that Kirkus Reviews called “Thrilling. Positively thrilling.” #lgbtq #kidlit #ya

Banana Menorah Countdown: 6 days to go! Today, my first picture book, RED AND GREEN AND BLUE AND WHITE, illustrated by @paulozelinsky.com published by @levinequerido.bsky.social The NYT called it “Beautiful… It’s a message the world can use, throughout the year.” #kidlit #socialjustice

Our friends @weneeddiversebooks.bsky.social are gathering information about "soft censorship" happening in the US According to School Library Journal, soft censorship is a "quiet banishing that often comes without explanation." If you've seen it in your community, please respond to their survey

Love seeing a librarian I know with a new YA nonfiction book! This one sounds fascinating (and it's great to hear about Angelica's primary source research!)

Banana Menorah Countdown: 7 days to go! My first nonfiction book was NO WAY, THEY WERE GAY? published by Zest Books @lernerbooks.bsky.social - it would have changed my life had I read it as an 11 year old. And yes, it changed my life writing it, too. #lgbtq #kidlit #nonfiction #lgbthistory

Banana Menorah Countdown: 8 days to go! Today, my first YA novel, QUEER AS A FIVE-DOLLAR BILL. Crowdfunded via @kickstarter.com and we donated over 900 copies (with help from @bravetrails.bsky.social) to empower Queer and allied teens! #lgbtq #kidlit #ya

such a great example of how a backlist title can suddenly have a boost of interest and relevance!

On the blog today I have a question for you-- Beyond Banned Books Displays: How Did Your Library Celebrate Intellectual Freedom Earlier This Month? raforall.blogspot.com/2025/10/beyo...

a win for the freedom to read! (and yes, don't be silent in the face of book banning!)

A thought and Question for #letfreedomread day and #nationalcomingoutday - There's no such thing as a silent ally. So how are you helping make our world a safer place for #lgbtq+ & #bipoc & everyone to be their authentic selves? My answer is writing #kidlit

Tomorrow is Let Freedom Read Day, a day of action for communities to unite against book bans! Here’s a list of small actions you can take to defend the right to read: uniteagainstbookbans.org/let-freedom-... #FreedomToRead #BannedBooksWeek

#kidlit peeps - this cool thing is about to happen (at 10am Pacific, so in 22 min): I'm going to be live on the Self Publishing Insiders podcast talking about Banned Books Week and the "Freedom to Publish, Freedom to Read" - www.facebook.com/events/11297... hope you can join!

#kidlit peeps - how about we avoid saying "celebrate" #bannedbooksweek and instead say "observe" -- censorship is really not something to celebrate. I am open to changing the name to #freedomtoread week, though -- and then I'm all about the celebration! www.wearestrongerthancensorship.org

If your hashtag searching is not working for #DVpit we created a feed for the hashtag. Please always try to search the hashtag first, but this feed includes all posts under the hashtag as well. We will update during the day as we learn more from bsky bsky.app/profile/did:...

#kidlit peeps - want to help go on the offense against book banning this #bannedbooksweek ? Check out this interview I did with @wordsandmoney.bsky.social www.wordsandmoney.com/in-conversat...

Julian Eltinge was a famous female impersonator in the 1910s-1920s. Join me & Queer activists @yesterqueers and @angelsareintersex for an in-person event in L.A. on Oct 6 "Hollywood, Gender Boxes, and Beyond." Part of the circa Queer Histories festival. #kidlit www.circafestival.org/event/madame...

#kidlitchat going back to my favorites is really interesting to figure out what I loved so much about them. The amount of world-building accomplished by the chapter-opening quotes from 'historical' sources (for the people and worlds in the novel) in DUNE is impressive and inspiring...

#kidlitchat Favorites: Fantasy: Anne McCaffrey's Pern books like Dragon Quest, Science fiction: Dune by Frank Herbert... don't write either category, but maybe someday...

yeah, I think of @annelamott saying in Bird by Bird that lighthouse don't run all over an island looking for boats to save. They just stand there and shine. That's a metaphor that really helps me as I think of each book as another light on in my lighthouse...

#kidlit peeps: Join the offense against #bookbans! #wearestrongerthancensorship buys and donates 2 books to offest every 1 book challenge. We've already offset 1,250 book challenges, and together we can do more! Here's our Sep update: www.wearestrongerthancensorship.org/strongernews... #freadom

#kidlit peeps - if you're not up on the shenanigans of book banners, see this @publisherswkly.bsky.social article: www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/... #freadom #wearestrongerthancensorship #bookbanning 1/2

Sounds fun and fascinating -- and it's from Apples and Honey press, who are great! (They're publishing my picture book, BANANA MENORAH, this Nov)

cool #kidlit opportunity! (And the way it works, rule-wise, is clever)

true!

#kidlit inspiration on passionately creating: “You start with curiosity—being curious enough to make you try and do it badly. And then you think, ‘That was kind of fun to do.’ Interest builds interest, which gradually builds skills, and at some point it clicks...” - @brianlies.bsky.social in PW

Slightly diminish a book Oh, the Places You'll Stay!

Happy with this article on THE THREE MYTHS OF BOOK BANNING technicaeditorial.com/the-three-my... #kidlit #grateful #freedomtoread Thanks to the nice folks at Technica Editorial (new partners in We Are Stronger Than Censorship) for the opportunity!

Slightly diminish a book (mostly #kidlit edition) Is Your Step-Mama a Llama? The Prada Bag Princess A Wrinkle Free Time The I'm Just A Little Snacky Games Bonus: The Jingle of Patroclus

cool opportunity, #kidlit peeps!

Hi #kidlit peeps, a sneak peek at upcoming holiday joy! #grateful

helpful article for #kidlit peeps working on picture book manuscripts: How do you know if you've written a picture book? smart #craft tips! Thanks @darcypattison.bsky.social @lesliehelakoski.bsky.social and @highlightsfound.bsky.social www.highlightsfoundation.org/2018/03/08/h...

my #kidlit author newsletter for Aug emails out tomorrow. As the forces of chaos try to dim us, I aim to share the ways light from my lighthouse is shining, and light from other lighthouses is illuminating me, too…. If you'd like to be on the list, you can sign up here: mailchi.mp/fc7b55fc0636...

Hi #kidlit friends in the US, Canada, and Mexico - I encourage you to sign this pledge of friendship across and despite borders: www.friendsxborders.org/sign They attack our books b/c empathy is more powerful than fear. So let's be allies and friends!

#kidlit inspiration that's helping me right now: "You will always struggle with not feeling productive until you accept that your own joy can be something you produce." - @hankgreen.bsky.social

#kidlit peeps - great advice on promoting your book here on Bluesky from @debbieohi.com (off to explore deck.blue...)

Hi #kidlit peeps - I really enjoyed this essay on why we should still make our art right now, despite everything... countercraft.substack.com/p/why-you-sh... thanks @thelincoln.bsky.social

very cute piece

Yet another reason to love and appreciate print books -- their resistance to censorship post-printing. Sigh. I wanted to just love them as artful empathy machines... thanks @ellenhopkins.bsky.social

If you're going to author-publish (a.k.a. self-publish) your #kidlit book, this is a must-read (spoiler alert: don't print thousands of copies without a distribution and marketing plan) www.indiekidsbooks.com/p/10000-book... Thanks @darcypattison.bsky.social - it's great advice!

Cheering Canadian #kidlit friends fighting for the right to read! (And embarrassed at this US export)

Some #kidlit picture book folks think making characters animals solves a lot of gender issues... turns out that's wrong. Thanks to @mellymeldubs.bsky.social (curious about representation of genders outside the binary, if any...) www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

Excited to browse the #kidlit portfolios...

this is an excellent resource -- thanks for sharing, and let's spread it, #kidlit friends!