To all my followers - a big apology. I was experimenting with moving my older posts over to wordpress and accidentally sent everyone a whole lot of emails. Please forgive me and do please stay in touch via my newsletter! I will be temporarily turning off my email feature to make sure you don't get [...]
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YAL Summit and More
This morning, 27 Feb 2026, in a few minutes, I'll be zooming off to speak about "Creating Place Conscious Pathways: Identity and Belonging Across Borders in YA Literature" along with Maggie Tregre-Richoux, Rene Saldaña Jr. and Leilya Pitre at #YALSummit2026, organized by Gretchen Rumor and Michelle Falter. Here are some of the resources I will be [...]
Many reasons to be thankful this November
As Thanksgiving approaches this year, I'm counting the things I'm thankful for and looking forward to. First, I was invited to share a few brief remarks after NewportFILM's screening of THE LIBRARIANS starring Becky Calzada (whom I've been honored to do panels with in the past), Amanda Jones and other librarians - it was wonderful [...]
Making RI a Safe Harbor for Authors
These past few months have been incredibly hectic for me, and I've hardly been able to celebrate the release of SAFE HARBOR - a novel that I, as a child who loved animals and had a special ability to communicate with them, would have added to my favorites shelf, though I say so myself! One [...]
Safe Harbor Activities, Author Events, Essays and Podcasts!
It's launch week for Safe Harbor! If you've already got your copy of the novel and are a teacher or librarian, please check out this Safe Harbor Bingo activity game on the Diverse Verse website. The blogpost also has a writing prompt and a sneak peek at one of the poems in Safe Harbor. And [...]
Starred Review from *SLJ and NCTE ARC giveaway!
Wanted to share the depth of my gratitude for the wonderful starred review SAFE HARBOR received in School Library Journal. Here's a link to the review in its entirety: https://www.slj.com/review/safe-harbor The sincere appreciation this review expressed made me feel deeply, deeply seen, as did the marvelous blurbs the book has received from Margarita Engle, Newbery [...]
Banned Book Week – Early This Year
My brilliant speaking agent, author Phil Bildner, often says there's nothing to celebrate about Banned Books Week. I agree. Last year, in October, during banned book week, just as I was about to fly to an event, I was asked, by a school in Texas, to stay home. They decided my talk was inappropriate, because [...]
Poetry Month 2024
April is almost gone already! But if you are a young writer or an educator, parent or guardian of a young writer, there are 5 days left for you to answer Diverse Verse's call for poetry. Details can be found on the diverse verse website. It is hard, sometimes, to feel hopeful, especially when I [...]
Women’s History Month 2024
We often say we're speechless. I probably have said that before. But the first time I truly felt that way was when I saw this montage created by @readwithmalcom. I was immensely and deeply grateful when THE BRIDGE HOME was selected to be featured by Malcom Mitchell's Share The Magic Foundation because I respect his [...]
Fighting Against Book Bans as 2024 Begins
PEN America and SCBWI honored me with an invitation to speak about one of the most important issues facing authors in America today: Book Bans and their aftershocks. In a few minutes, I will join fellow panelists Authors Adib Khorram and Abdi Nazemian, and moderator Phil Bildner. We will discuss how authors can navigate a [...]