The Weekly 411 (3/7/25)
 |
| © Melissa Mwai |
March 7, 2025 vol. 10
The Weekly 411 gathers all the links added to Kidlit411 each week. To receive this post by email, sign up for our email updates. Are you on Facebook? Join our Kidlit411 group for conversations and camaraderie. We can also be found on Bluesky. This week's illustration is by Melissa Mwai.
We are pleased to host a giveaway of the young adult novel, The Scorpion and the Night Blossom, by Amélie Wen Zhao (Delacorte Press), out now. Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below! (US & Canada addresses only).
 |
| cover designer Liz Dresser |
About the Book: In a world at war with demons, one girl will face the ultimate test when she is forced to enter into an ancient, deadly competition for the chance to save her mother's soul… before she loses her forever. Nine years ago, the war between the Kingdom of Night and the Kingdom of Rivers tore Àn’yīng’s family apart, leaving her mother barely alive and a baby sister to fend for. Now the mortal realm is falling into eternal night, and mó—beautiful, ravenous demons—roam the land, feasting on the flesh of humans and drinking their souls.
Àn’yīng is no longer a helpless child, though. Armed with her crescent blades and trained in the ancient art of practitioning, she has decided to enter the Immortality Trials, which are open to any mortal who can survive the journey to the immortal realm. Those who complete the Trials are granted a pill of eternal life—the one thing Àn’yīng knows can heal her dying mother. But to attain the prize, she must survive the competition. Death is common in the Trials. Yet oddly, Àn’yīng finds that someone is helping her stay alive. A rival contestant. Powerful and handsome, Yù’chén is as secretive about his past as he is about his motives for protecting Àn’yīng.
The longer she survives the Trials, the clearer it becomes that all is not right in the immortal realm. To save her mother and herself, Àn’yīng will need to figure out whether she can truly trust the stranger she’s falling for or if he’s the most dangerous player of all . . . for herself and for all the realms.
About the Author: Amélie Wen Zhao was born in Paris and grew up in Beijing, where she spent her days reenacting tales of legendary heroes, ancient kingdoms, and lost magic at her grandmother’s courtyard house. She attended college in the United States and now resides in New York City, working as a finance professional by day and fantasy author by night. In her spare time, she loves to travel and spend time with her family in China, where she’s determined to walk the rivers and lakes of old just like the practitioners in her novels do. Amélie is the Acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of the Blood Heir trilogy (Blood Heir, Red Tigress, and Crimson Reign) and the Song of the Last Kingdom duology (Song of Silver, Flame Like Night and Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White).
Picture Book Giveaway
We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, Barnaby and the Runaway Sheep, by Maria Antonia, illustrated by Sayani Mukherjee (Paraclete Press), out now. Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below!
About the Book: Barnaby loves life on the farm, except for when his shepherds want to snip, snip, snip away his wool. He escapes to his own little cave, only to discover he just wants to go home. But first, Barnaby has to learn how to trust his shepherds.
About the Author: Maria Antonia learned to write her name at five years old and tried typing with an old manual typewriter at age eight. However, it was when she met the computer that she never turned back. Many years later, she still clickety-taps out her stories onto the screen, stories that have turned into picture books like The Christmas Elephant and Barnaby the Runaway Sheep. In addition to writing, Maria also enjoys sipping a nice cup of hot tea and capturing the world with her camera. She has lived in Sunny Spain, Busy New York City, and currently resides in the Great White North of Canada. Check out MariaAntoniaWrites.com for free downloadable activities to go with her books.
About the Illustrator: Sayani Mukherjee is an Indian illustrator based in Dublin, Ireland. Sayani embarked on her artistic journey with a passion to observe and recreate children’s expressions and activities in a whimsical art form. Her love for children's literature combined with her artistic prowess led her to specialize in illustrating books for young readers. With a growing portfolio of acclaimed projects and awards, Sayani's work continues to brighten bookshelves and inspire young readers worldwide. Her website is: sayanikoyelartistic.com
Finding Your Voice (9 Mechanical Components of Narrative Voice)
To Quote or Not to Quote: How to Use Quotes Effectively in Nonfiction Picture Book Biographies
Marketing & Creating a Platform
Seven Things About Book Promotion I Wish I'd Known (and Acted on) Sooner!
- What: submit your WIP in one of 4 categories: picture book text; chapter books/early readers/middle grade; young adult fiction; nonfiction; plus ability to submit to underrepresented fiction/nonfiction and Karen Cushman Late Bloomer award
- Who: SCBWI member
- Award: selected works will be presented to select editors in a secure webpage
- What: same submission as the SCBWI Work-in-Progress Grant
- Who: SCBWI members, unpublished authors over the age of 50
- Award: $500 plus tuition to any SCBWI conference in the world
- What: submit a rough picture book dummy (if published illustrator), or a rough dummy or ten finished illustrations (if unpublished)
- Who: SCBWI members
- Award: Two $1,000 grants
- What: a 3-month mentorship with an agented picture book author or agent, exclusive workshops from industry professionals, publishing business intensives, community building, more
- Who: un-agented picture book authors, illustrators, and author-illustrators, plus agented PB creators without agented-represented picture book deals
- When: apply for mentorship March 7-21
Mar. 18, 2 p.m .ET Self Publishing Your Children's Book with Author Darcy Pattison: How to Find (Surprising) Success Darcy Pattison has found surprising success self-publishing her children’s books (plus a few traditional books now and then), earning over $100K/year for the past four years. In 2014, Darcy Pattison started her publishing company, Mims House Books. Pattison's story is a big case study in how to successfully self-publish in spite of failures. In this webinar, Darcy will share her publishing journey and answer questions about how you can find success too! (cost $10)
When Inspiration Strikes: What to Do Next
Support our Work
We run this site on a shoestring, but even shoestrings cost money. If you have found our weekly updates helpful and would like to contribute, we would be very grateful (any amount is appreciated, $24 is equivalent to $2 a month).
Thanks for the opportunity!!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read The Scorpion and the Night Blossom!
ReplyDeleteKeeping us on our toes, Kidlit411? I expected a MG title and a picture book, but was happily surprised to see and learn about a YA book.
ReplyDeleteThe Scorpion and the Night Blossom has me intrigued. Thanks for the chance.
ReplyDeleteVery vibrant & tantalizing reads.
ReplyDeleteWonderful newsletter as always! Thanks for the chance to win new books. Book mail is the best!
ReplyDeleteAhh I'm so excited about Scorpion and the Night Blossom 😍
ReplyDeleteBarnaby the Runaway Sheep is an awfully cute book. Thanks for all the links.
ReplyDeleteBarnaby the Runaway Sheep looks like a fun book for the little ones.
ReplyDeleteBarnaby the Runaway Sheep looks like a fun book for the little ones. It might even help those who are apprehensive about their first haircuts!
ReplyDelete