News and Views
Writing Mentorships Available (Giveaway!)
GIVEAWAY ALERT! Enter to win one manuscript critique with me (either a picture book or the first ten pages of a middle-grade or young-adult novel). To enter, leave a comment below or on one of my giveaway posts on social media before January 31, 2023. I’ll announce the winner on February 2.
One of the reasons I completed an MFA in Writing for Children and Youth was to improve my mentorship skills. In the three years since I graduated, I’ve connected with a wonderful new agent and signed six new book contracts with fabulous publishers. Now I feel ready to offer creative mentorships to writers of fiction and nonfiction for children and youth, and I’m celebrating with a giveaway!
My mentoring is informed by my background as an editor and writing workshop leader as well as my MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. My own published works include fiction and nonfiction picture books, middle-grade and young-adult novels, and short stories for teens.
I see my role as a writing coach who listens to and supports writers in expressing their stories in their way. For me, mentorship is a way to give back, pay it forward, and promote community with the goal of helping all voices in our world feel worthy, heard, and valued. I want to share my writing craft knowledge and experience to help you to write the best book you can.
If you’re looking for a manuscript critique or a long-term mentorship, please check out my Mentoring page or email me to chat about options.
UPDATE: And the lucky winner of my giveaway manuscript critique is Andrea Mack! I’ll message you, Andrea, so we can get started! Thanks to everyone who entered and for those who contacted me about my mentorship services!
Cover Reveal: Monster vs. Boy
It’s cover reveal day! I’m thrilled to share Markia Jenia‘s cover art for my upcoming middle-grade novel Monster vs. Boy! Markia has perfectly captured the characters and mood of this story, and I can’t wait to share this book with you. It’ll be published by Charlesbridge Publishing in July 2023, and it’s available for pre-sale now!
Will you laugh if I tell you that Monster vs. Boy feels like it’s autobiographical? I have sometimes felt like the monster in the closet, and I’ve also been terrified that a monster might be living in my closet. Here’s an intro to the book:
No one in the ramshackle house knew that a monster—who was smaller than a bear cub—lived in Dawz’s bedroom closet. She called herself Mim.
Dawz wants to practice Recipes of Extreme Greatness for the Bakers’ Brawl competition and forget about his mom, who left him and his sister, Jayla, years ago. He does not want to see a monster that no one else can see.
Mim wants to explore her closet’s nooks and crannies, and listen to stories through the door. She does not want to share her space with the horrible boy outside the closet.
When Mim leaves Dawz’s closet for the first time, the two learn they’re connected in ways neither can explain. While Mim searches the wide world for a friend, Dawz searches for a way to get rid of her so that he can be normal. Can the two find a way to break their connection without losing who they are?
This moving middle-grade novel is about found family, facing our fears, and mental health. It asks the question: What if the monsters that haunt us aren’t monsters at all?
One Tiny Bubble a Best Informational Book from the Chicago Public Library!
Today is Evolution Day, which marks the anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, published on 24 November, 1859. So it’s a great day to share that my evolution-themed book with Dawn Lo – One Tiny Bubble – is included as one of the Chicago Public Library’s Best Informational Books for Younger Readers in 2022. Thanks, CPL!
Canadian Children’s Book Week 2023
I’m happy to announce that I’ve been selected for Canadian Children’s Book Week 2023! From April 30 to May 6, 2023, I’ll be touring along with many other talented creators (25 authors, 6 illustrators, and 1 storyteller in total), sharing our love of reading with young people in schools, libraries, and homes across Canada. Here’s the full list of touring creators, including where each will be. I’ll be touring in person in Ontario, and I can’t wait!
Applications to host readings are now open. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Canadian Children’s Book Centre’s newsletter for monthly updates.
Nonfiction Book Launch and Panel Talk
Local book friends: Please save the date! You’re invited to an in-person book launch with Heather Camlot, Mireille Messier, and me. Please join us for readings and book sales by Mabel’s Fables Children’s Bookstore. Plus, we’re thrilled to announce that our nonfiction panel discussion will be moderated by award-winning author and editor Mary Beth Leatherdale.
Guest Post: Sparking Connections With One Tiny Bubble
Today on L.E. Carmichael‘s Cantastic Authorpalooza blog, I talk about my childhood love for science, which grew into my first nonfiction STEM book One Tiny Bubble, illustrated by Dawn Lo. I discuss:
- how I saw my role as a translator of high-level scientific concepts into child-centred language and experiences.
- how I used my fiction-writing skills to craft nonfiction.
- how I helped to connect the child reader to the content.
To check it out, go to “Karen Krossing: Sparking Connections With One Tiny Bubble.” Also, please check out L.E. Carmichael’s fantastic books!
National Science Reading Day
September 21 is National Science Reading Day! Owlkids Books helped me make this video about why I love to read and write about science, including two book recommendations. What science books do you love to read?
Creator Chat: One Tiny Bubble
Today on the Picture Books, Eh! blog, I chat with illustrator Dawn Lo about our upcoming nonfiction picture book One Tiny Bubble and reveal a sneak peak!
To check it out, go to Creator chat: ONE TINY BUBBLE!
Creating Compelling Nonfiction
Want to learn more about creating compelling nonfiction for kids? Check out my panel chat with illustrator Dawn Lo, author Etta Kaner, and illustrator Brittany Lane. We are in conversation about our upcoming books One Tiny Bubble and Rock? Plant? Animal? Thanks to Taylor Lytle-Hewlett of Owlkids for moderating!
Both books will be available on September 15.
Expert Review: One Tiny Bubble
What do you do when your fantastic editor, Stacey Roderick of Owlkids Books, asks you for photo references of a one-celled life-form that lived over 3.5 billion years ago? You turn to an expert.
I’d like to thank Dr. William F. Martin of the Institute of Molecular Evolution at Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf for generously sharing his time and expertise to review the text and advise me when I needed to provide photo references for LUCA – our Last Universal Common Ancestor. LUCA is the one-and-only organism that every living being on Earth can be traced back to. It’s also the subject of One Tiny Bubble – my upcoming picture book with illustrator Dawn Lo, published by Owlkids Books.
Dr. Martin was also generous enough to provide an expert review of the finished book. Here’s what he had to say:
I can’t wait to share LUCA’s inspirational story and Dawn’s vibrant illustrations with our whole Earth family in September.