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Debbie’s Blog

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.



Misconceptions about writing picture books: why short does NOT mean easy

NOTE: This is an updated version of a post I made a while back. For those illustrate as well as write, you’re welcome to download and print my free picture book thumbnail templates. So many people think that short = easy, especially when it comes to picture books. And while yes, . . .



Interview with Kaz Windness, BITSY BAT SCHOOL STAR (Simon & Schuster, June 6/2023)

Kaz Windness loves to make her readers laugh. Kaz is an award-winning, genre-crossing illustrator and author of heart-warming books for young readers. Proudly autistic, Kaz specializes in character-driven books celebrating inclusivity, grit, and kindness. Her fifteen books include “Swim, Jim!” (Paula Wiseman Books/Simon & Schuster, May 2022), “Worm and Caterpillar . . .



Guest Post: PB Rising Stars Mentorship Announcement

by Ebony Lynn Mudd and Kailei Pew Year TWO of this picture book mentorship program is here, and it’s time to announce the 2023 Mentors! The PB Rising Stars Mentorship program started with a tweet, a huge response from the KidLit community, and two picture book authors looking for ways . . .






On Standing Up and Speaking Out About Injustice: Interview with Heather Camlot about THE PRISONER AND THE WRITER

Heather Camlot is an award-winning children’s author, journalist, editor and translator. Her two middle-grade novels, Clutch and The Other Side, received Skipping Stones Honor Awards and nominations for Forest of Reading, among other honors. Clutch was also named a 2017 Best Book from Kirkus Reviews and a finalist for the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical . . .