Websites and Blogs for Children's Writers

There are some great resources available online for children’s writers. These sites can be a great way to find out about the trends in children’s publishing, the likes and dislikes of editors and agents and are great for networking.

Editor Sites:

http://www.cherylklein.com/; I’ve mentioned how wonderful Cheryl’s site is in a previous post so I’ll keep it brief. She also blogs at http://chavelaque.blogspot.com/

http://www.bloomabilities.blogspot.com/ : Alvina Ling of Little, Brown and Co.. It’s a mix of personal posts and ones dedicated to publishing.

http://editorialanonymous.blogspot.com/: A super blog from an editor who remains anonymous but works in kids books. She answers questions and has some great insight into the business. Check out her archives for some awesome information on publishing terms and the whole editing process.

Agent Sites:

http://www.bowenpress.blogspot.com/ : Brenda Bowen’s Bunny Eat Bunny World blog. She was an editor in the biz for a long time and recently made the move to agenting. She’s at the Stanford Greenburger Assoc.

http://www.greenhouseliterary.com/: Website by Sarah Davies, a literary agent focusing on kids books.

http://www.upstartcrowliterary.com/ : New literary agency headed up by Michael Stearns, who was an editor at Harcourt for a long time.

Author Sites:

http://www.janeyolen.com/: Jane Yolen’s website. Her journal gives great insight what it’s really like to be a working writer. She also answers questions and has transcripts of some of her speeches on the site.

http://www.lindasuepark.com/: Newbery winner, Linda Sue Park includes some great writing advice on the site.

http://www.robinfriedman.com/: Robin Friedman’s site includes some great interviews with kid book editors.

http://www.writingforchildrenandteens.com/: Cynthea Liu promotes other author’s books on her site, includes information on writing and holds some great contests where she’ll usually give away a free critique.

http://www.verlakay.com/: Verla Kay’s site not only includes information on writing but also includes the “blue boards” forums for writers to ask questions of other writers, list response times for agents and editors. If you want to write for kids, this is the site you need to bookmark and go back to often.

http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/: Cynthia Leitch Smith includes some great writing resources and interviews of industry professionals

Miscellaneous:

http://www.write4kids.com/: A site dedicated to helping children’s writers achieve that allusive goal of getting published.

http://www.cwim.blogspot.com/: Great blog kept by Children’s Writers and Illustrators Market editor, Alice Pope. She includes updates on the market listings on her site and often includes interviews with writers.

http://www.underdown.org/: Harold Underdown’s The Purple Crayon site includes some great information on getting published, which editors have moved where and other writing tips. If you are submitting directly to publishers this is a great reference.

http://www.scbwi.org/: The website of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the site includes forums and publishing information and information on local meetings and events.

Anon,

Nancy