Here’s a funny thing about publishing (and anyone in the business can tell you their own story about it): it’s nothing if not surprising. After a couple of years with no new deal announcements, now I have three within a few weeks.
I’m very pleased to have two picture books on the way with Godwin Books and another middle grade coming from Capstone. I posted the announcement for GREEN MACHINE: THE FOOD ENERGY CYCLE earlier, and here are the announcements for the other two.
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I’m so happy to announce that my first nonfiction picture book, GREEN MACHINE: THE FOOD ENERGY CYCLE, illustrated by Christophe Jacques, will be published by Holt/Godwin Books in winter 2020. It’s a rhyming ode to anaerobic digestion, and if you don’t think that sounds like fun, then you haven’t been to visit a farm’s anaerobic digester in the middle of January in northern New York.
What is anaerobic digestion? Short answer: a great way to make energy from organic matter like food & manure. See–fun! I’ll post more as the book’s production progresses.
I can’t wait to see Christophe Jacques’s art for this book. You can see his portfolio here. Super fun retro-modern, super kid-friendly.
Casey Lyall, author of Howard Wallace, P.I. and member of the stupendous Kick-Butt Kidlit team, invited me (after I begged her to) to answer a few questions about How to Stage a Catastrophe and other butt-kicking subjects. Thanks, Casey!
My good friend and colleague Angela Newman interviews me about HOW TO STAGE A CATASTROPHE and other writerly things on her blog.
HOW TO STAGE A CATASTROPHE is a School Library Journal Spring/Summer 2017 Sneak Peek pick! Download the whole list to see over 150 anticipated children’s/YA titles in all categories.
We’re getting closer to April 1! If you’re hoping to get your hands on an advance copy of How to Stage a Catastrophe before the official publication date, here’s your chance: 10 ARCs are up for grabs on Goodreads.
On January 1st, I tweeted a list of 17 things to do to support your local library in 2017, and it seemed to strike a chord with people. Nothing I’ve ever tweeted has gotten that kind of attention–over 300 RTs & many more likes. I think it says something about the power of public libraries. I’ve seen people quote-tweet it, saying they learned to read because of the library, or they work for a library, and these are the things they most want people to know.
Not everything on the list works for every library, of course. I made the list from the perspective of a 10-year US public librarian, currently the director of a very small rural library, fully taxpayer-funded. And I definitely get the point people are making when they say, “Good list-but check your library’s donation policy!”
Libraries all over the US and the world are different, but we have this in common: there’s a massive amount of goodwill toward libraries. Thanks to everyone who liked, retweeted, or commented on this thread for showing me how much libraries matter.
Here’s a Storify of the thread. Please use it to support your local library!
https://storify.com/_becca_donnelly/17-things-to-support-your-local-library-in-2017
