Welcome to my new blog, which now includes content from many of the blogs I’ve created over the years. You can now also access content via category from this one page instead of having to search for my individual blogs, which were scattered over various platforms and websites.
Sara Truuvert is the author of Mira and Baku, her debut picture book, published by Annick Press. Sara’s short fiction and poetry have appeared in publications like Ploughshares, the Chicago Quarterly Review, Witness, and PRISM international. She lives in Ontario. You can find her at saratruuvert.com. Michelle Theodore is an illustrator . . .
PLEASE NOTE: Much of the info in this post is outdated. Please see my updated post about the kidlit community and social media. (Last updated November 18, 2023 – I’m now at https://bsky.app/profile/debbieohi.com; here’s how and why I converted to a custom domain Bluesky handle. Also, Bluesky now has PUBLIC . . .
(Last updated September 19, 2023) This post is replaced by Debbie’s Unofficial Guide To Bluesky. (Older version below, see link above for my NEW AND UPDATED post) As the Platform-Formerly-Known-As-Twitter gradually continues to de-stabilize, I’ve been taking a harder look at alternatives….especially if Elon Musk goes through with his promise . . .
Benson Shum is a children’s book author and illustrator. He uses watercolor, ink and digital tools to create his illustrations. His books, Anzu the Great Listener and Anzu the Great Kaiju were selected as Kid’s Indie Next List Recommended by American Booksellers Association, and received a starred review from School . . .
By Julie Damerell Tyler Charlton is an illustrator and children’s book author living in northern Virginia with his wife and three children. He is a native of Southern California and grew up near the beach where he played in actual, real waves. That experience gave him a way to think . . .
By Julie Damerell Born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver, Jack Wong (黃雋喬) now calls Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada) home, where he works as a children’s author/illustrator. A self-declared actual Jack-of-all-trades, he’s also tried his hand at bridge engineering, psychology research, bookkeeping, and running his own bicycle repair shop—a . . .
As I mentioned in my keynote at SCBWI Florida last month, Substack is currently my happyplace online, more so than any other platform. Which is why I was SO EXCITED when I discovered that I was one of nine Substack newsletters in their Substack Reads recommendation list this week. Thanks . . .
By Julie Damerell Karen M. Greenwald hopes that the stories she tells about real heroes hidden by history inspire, educate, and delight. She co-founded #SunWriteFun, an annual online kidlit nonfiction writing contest, and raises money for need-based kidlit charities. She is also an international award-winning brand strategist. Her debut, A . . .
As I recently mentioned in my keynote at the SCBWI Florida conference, Substack is my current happyplace online. I’ll post more about Substack and how it can help children’s book creators later this year, but I wanted to let you all know about my new Picture Book 101 series on . . .
(The following was also included in my new Inkygirl newsletter on Substack.) On Dec. 19th, 2013, my editor at Simon & Schuster contacted me to see if I’d be interested in auditioning for a project “of great proportions.” I said sure. See this re-creation of my response. I had been . . .