The Weekly 411 (9/19/25)

Sept. 19, 2025 vol. 38

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 Erin Niehenke.

Kid Lit News

Middle Grade is Down but Never Out

Picture Book Giveaway

We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, Once Upon a Kwanzaa by Nyasha Williams and Sidney Rose McCall, illustrated by Sawyer Cloud (Running Press Kids) out on Sept. 30. Enter to win a copy via the widget below or through this link.

About the Book: Kwanzaa is a holiday steeped in ancestral traditions collected over generations of people across the Black Diaspora. Once Upon a Kwanzaa introduces communities of all colors to the interwoven history and lived experiences connected to this time of year when families and loved ones gather to celebrate, share, and reimagine the past, present, and future. Sawyer Cloud’s stunning artwork showcases seven different BIPOC families and highlights how different peoples of the Diaspora can celebrate in their communities, from setting the table and lighting the Kinara to sharing meals and gathering at events

About the Author: Nyasha Williams is a creator dedicated to healing, indigenizing, and liberation through creativity. With a profound commitment to storytelling, Nyasha advocates for diverse works of art, media, and literature that amplify unheard voices. With fifteen pieces of work published or in the publishing process, Nyasha's impact on literature is profound. Her tarot and oracle deck, "Black Tarot: An Ancestral Awakening" and "Elemental Alchemist," are testaments to her transformative artistry. Based in Colorado, Nyasha invites collaborators to join her in creating a more just and liberated society. With a deep-rooted passion for writing and a commitment to sharing her process with community, Nyasha is on a mission to usher in an era of unapologetic, diverse works of art, media, and literature. Nyasha is the founder and creative director of Fire + Honey, a creative honeycomb created toward collective liberation. You can find her on her website https://www.nyashawilliams.online/, Instagram at @writingtochangethenarrative and on The Creative Playground with Nyasha Williams on Substack. She lives on the stolen land of the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes in Colorado with her husband.

Sidney Rose McCall is a Florida-raised folklorist and public historian who studies Black ecologies, southern cultures and foodways, and the many underground railroads both in the American South and beyond. After serving as a student-docentat the Hurston Museum in Historic Eatonville, the hometown of Zora Neale Hurston, author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, she now serves as an Academic Committee member for the ZORA! Festival of the Arts and Humanities. Although she is currently writing and researching in Virginia, Orlando remains her hometown where she enjoys spending time with her extended family and the many furbabies inbewteen.

About the Illustrator: Sawyer Cloud is a freelance artist from Madagascar. Her passion for kids’ literature pushed her to turn it into a living. Sawyer loves sunny days and music. She dreams of owning a small cottage and traveling the world. She still lives in her native country, Madagascar, with her family and her two pets, Arya the dog and Potter the cat.

Picture Book Giveaway

We are pleased to host a giveaway of the picture book, Number Mania: A Visual Exploration of 0 to 100, by Scott Lape, illustrated by Victor Medina (Odd Dot/Macmillan). Enter to win a copy via the widget below or through this link.

About the Book: Dive into the realm of numbers like never before! This illustrated, explorative guide to 0-100 is a numerical journey. Kids will learn about numbers in a brand new way, like the historical significance of the number three, how to write the number seven in Egyptian, which alphabets are made up of exactly 46 letters, and so much more. From history to language to science, you’ll discover that numbers are used for more than just math!

About the Author: Scott Lape really, really loves numbers. He has over 30 years of experience as a mathematics writer and editor, and even more years of experience counting to 100. He lives in Northern California with his wife and a cat named Lucy.

About the Illustrator: Víctor Medina is a freelance illustrator who lives surrounded by books in Madrid, where he graduated in Design at Universidad Complutense. His work combines the use of rhythmic color palettes with his main influences: Art Deco, the Victorian era, and the design and illustration of the 50s.

All About the Kid Lit Industry

Oct. 14, 16, 7 p.m. ET Publishing Trends, Market Shifts & Opportunities: A Two-Night Mini In this comprehensive but digestible workshop, Editor Harold Underdown will guide you through the different kinds of change in the publishing world, and help you best position yourself to respond to them.

Blogs to Follow

Keep Writing Kid Lit - uplifting writers on their journey toward agenting and publication

Freelance Editors and Critiques

Catherine Frank Editorial Services

Marketing & Creating a Platform

If You're Just Starting on Substack, Don't Make the Same Dumb Mistake I Did

Sept. 23, 8 pm ET Joyful Book Marketing with Julie Hedlund Does the idea of promoting your book make you want to hide under your desk? You’re not alone! But it doesn’t have to be scary or sleazy. In this webinar, we’ll ditch the “marketing musts” and focus on creative, joy-filled strategies that highlight your strengths and make marketing authentic, fun—and yes—joyful. By the end, you’ll see book marketing not as a chore, but as a natural extension of your creativity. ($25)

Revisions

Desmond Drops: The Reverse Outline

Picture Books

Creating Memorable Main Characters in Less than 500 Words

Indie Publishing

Publishing in Creative Ways (Kickstarter)

Everything I've Learned About Independent Publishing