The Weekly 411 (8/8/25)

© Heli Pohjoisaho

 Aug. 8, 2025 vol. 32

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 Heli Pohjoisaho.

Publishing News

Return of the Nigerian Prince: A New Twist on Book Marketing Scams

 

What Kid Lit Booksellers are "Actually" Looking For with Melissa LeSalle

Picture Book Giveaway

We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, My Love For You is Like the Night Sky, written and illustrated by Laura Smetana (Flying Cardinal Press 2025). Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below.

About the Book: Say "I love you" at bedtime or anytime with this lyrical story that celebrates love with bold, colorful illustrations of stars, planets, and galaxies. As they look up at the stars, a child's mother explains that her love is like the night sky. It glows with pride like the full moon, is as radiant as a meteor shower, and as vast as our solar system.  Readers of all ages will be inspired to step outside to marvel at the wonders of the night sky together-and maybe even spot a shooting star. Children will delight in learning the names of the planets in our solar system, the phases of the moon, and more in the glossary.  

 

About the Author-Illustrator: Laura Smetana is an award-winning author and illustrator. She loves creating bright, joyful cut-paper watercolor collages inspired by nature. Her author-illustrated book, My Love for You Is Like a Garden, was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2023, received a starred Kirkus review, and numerous other awards. She is also the author of Ice Cream with Grandpa: A Loving Story for Kids About Alzheimer's & Dementia, (illustrated by Elisabete B. P. de Moraes), which won a Northern Lights Book Award. When she isn't writing or painting, Laura can be found inspiring kids to create their own books at school author visits, teaching collage art to adults and children, stargazing, and going on walks to find the moon with her family. Laura lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and son. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, the Downers Grove Artists' Guild, and the Nature Artists' Guild of The Morton Arboretum. You can visit her online at www.laurasmetana.com.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Picture Book Giveaway

We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, Jinx! by Evelyn Bookless, illustrated by Anna Seussbauer (Reycraft Books), out now. Enter to win a copy via the Rafflecopter below.

Jinx! is a playful, interactive story inspired by the classic childhood game that dares you to stay silent—no matter how much you want to speak! Jinx! tempts you to squirm, screech and giggle... But don’t let it, because if you do, you lose! Or maybe you can stay as silent as a mouse and win the game. It won’t be easy. You’re up against one clever character with sneaky skills to make you scream!

 

About the Author: Evelyn Bookless grew up in the west of Ireland and with only two TV channels at the time, and no internet, she played JINX... a lot! She was eventually released from a particularly long jinx, so that she could study English at university and later became a teacher. Evelyn now lives in Spain and her favorite place to be is in the sea, dreaming up silly stuff. Evelyn has two previous published books, Captain Green and the Plastic Scene (Marshall Cavendish, 2018) and Captain Green and the Tree Machine (Marshall Cavendish 2021). The latter won 'Best Picture Book' at the Singapore National Book Awards.

 

About the Illustrator: Anna Seussbauer grew up in Cologne, Germany and loved drawing and reading since she was a little child. Coming from a creative family she was surrounded by art books, picture books, comics and her father's typewriter on which she used to type her own stories to illustrate them. Her illustrations are humorous, original, and characterized by bright colors and expressive textures. Anna has illustrated over 20 children’s books. She lives and works in Cologne with her daughter and two dogs.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

   

Picture Books

Formatting Picture Books the Right Way

Diversity in Kid Lit

The Sneaky Gender Bias in Picture Books

For Writers

The 5 Types of Scene Endings Every Writer Must Master

Contests & Awards

Oct. 15 Kidlit411 Website Banner Contest

• What: design a website banner for use during one month in 2026
• Who: anyone over 13 years old
• Prizes: cash prizes ($175/ $125/ $75), display of banner for a month on Kidlit411 website and Facebook group, and an Illustrator Spotlight

Marketing & Creating a Platform

PBMix26 - picture books debuting in 2026

Aug 20, 2-3pm ET - DIY Book Promotion: Finding What Works

After the euphoria of selling a manuscript has subsided, we have to face the cold, hard reality of book promotion. Most writers don’t have the kind of background to deal with this part of an author’s career. But even if you have a sales or marketing background, hawking your own book and making sure it gets as many eyes on it as possible is a special challenge. Having published seven books traditionally, Teresa Robeson has tried a number of different approaches to promotion, including hiring a publicity firm (her bank account is still reeling), blog tours, and networking opportunities. In this talk, she will go over the methods she has used and share her experiences with, and verdicts on, each. There will be a handout with presentation notes and prompts to help you determine what might work best for you. ($20 non Inked Voices members; free to members)

Inspirational Things

When Structure is the Enemy and Also a Lifeline: A Neurodivergent Writer's Survival Guide

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