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Author Interview: Mae Respicio

Happy Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! How are you all celebrating? As part of my celebration, I'm sharing my chat with author Mae Respicio . Her middle grade novel The House That Lou Built (Wendy Lamb Books, 2018) is about Lou Bulosan-Nelson and her dream to build a tiny house (only 100 square feet!) all on her own and on land that she inherited from her father. This Filipino American coming-of-age story is the recipient of the Asian Pacific American Library Association (APALA) 2019 Honor Award in Children’s Literature . Keep reading to discover more about Mae and the book! Congratulations, Mae! What inspired you to write The House That Lou Built ? There were many things that inspired this book such as my love of building, my desire to write a strong girl at the center of a coming-of-age adventure, and wanting to write a book set in the Bay Area! Although above any of these things what kept me inspired throughout the (sometimes grueling!) writin
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Martinez Bags 2019 PBBY Wordless Book Prize

The Philippine Board on Books for Young People (PBBY) declared Nina Patricia C. Martinez as the 2019 PBBY Wordless Book Prize winner. Martinez, a freelance graphic artist and illustrator, bagged the grand prize with her entry Ang Mga Sikreto ng Langit at Dagat. Martinez has a degree in Visual Communication from the University of the Philippines Diliman. She has illustrated and designed for NGOs and businesses, as well as for magazines and books. Martinez shall receive a medal and a cash prize worth twenty thousand pesos at the National Children’s Book Day ceremonies at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on July 16. For inquiries about the contest, contact the PBBY Secretariat at telephone number 352-6765 loc. 203 or e-mail secretariat@pbby.org.ph.

Foreshadow: A Serial YA Anthology

I'm excited to introduce you all to Foreshadow: A Serial YA Anthology , a unique new online venue for young adult short stories, with a commitment to showcasing underrepresented voices, boosting emerging writers, and highlighting the beauty and power of young adult fiction. Each month this year we will publish an issue featuring three stellar young adult stories -- original work from acclaimed writers and new voices who have been specially selected by your favorite authors. For example, this month we have stories from New York Times bestselling author Courtney Summers , award-winning author Brandy Colbert , and Maya Prasad (a new voice selected by New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith). Our next and final deadline for submissions is April 1, 2019 and we are especially looking for stories from people of color and Indigenous writers; LGBTQIA+ and gender diverse writers; writers with disabilities; and religious, ethnic, and cult

Author Interview: Jack Cheng

I still haven't gotten over See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng   (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2017). So after I reviewed the book  here and cooked up some classroom and book club activities for it, I just had to grill Jack about his influences and creative process. Read our interview below!  Jack with his dog Matisse Hi, Jack! What motivates and inspires you to write for young readers? Getting to meet kids (both in school and through my books) who are at a time in their life when they're really starting to form their values. It's a time when they're really starting to ask the big questions about life and the people around them—the same big questions that we keep asking, I think, even when we grow into adults. I was excited when I saw that the main character of See You in the Cosmos , Alex Petroski, was Filipino American. Is there a particular reason you made Alex Filipino American? To be honest, I thought about making Alex Chinese American but I fe

Call for Entries: The 2018 PBBY Wordless Book Prize

The Philippine Board on Books for Young People is now accepting entries for its Wordless Book Prize.  2018 will mark the first year that the PBBY will be awarding such a prize. The winner shall receive twenty thousand pesos and a medal. Prizes shall be awarded at an appropriate ceremony to be held on National Children's Book Day, July 17, 2018. CONTEST RULES The contest is open to all Filipino citizens except those who are related to any PBBY member up to the third degree of consanguinity. All entries must be e-mailed to pbbywordless@gmail.com. For this contest, all submissions must be in digital form, with each file clearly identifiable by a filename that is actually the pen name of the contestant. Entries may be in color or in black and white. They may be digitally rendered or traditionally done artwork that may or may not have been digitally enhanced. The submission format should be pdf. Entries should use the CMYK color space and should be at actual size fo