First off, congrats! We adored Flutter and Hum. Can you tell us a bit about how you came up with the idea for the book?I started to learn Spanish when I was illustrating Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People which was written by Monica Brown. I illustrated that book with words and pictures and I fell in love with Spanish. …
Interview with MiniLab, Creators of Professor Astro Cat’s Solar System
First off, congrats! We adored Professor Astro Cat’s Solar System. Can you tell us a bit about how you came up with the idea for the app? Did one person take the lead, or was this a team effort? Thank you, we were so delighted to win a Cybils! The whole Professor Astro Cat story began with the book, Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers …
Interview with Matt de la Peña
First off, congrats!! We are all thrilled The Living won! Could you tell us a bit about how you came up with the idea for this book? MdlP: I’m so honored that The Living won! Thank you, thank you, thank you! The book was a bit of an experiment for me. First of all, I was coming off four much quieter novels, …
Interview with Brandy Colbert
First off, congrats! Pointe is a terrific first novel! Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration for it? BC: Thank you so much—I’m honored! Pointe was initially a kidnapping story. I was inspired by the abduction of Steven Stayner in the 1970s, whose experience was later told in a TV movie called I Know My First Name Is Steven. I …
Interview with Jen Wang
First off, congrats! In Real Life is a fantastic graphic novel. Could you tell us a bit about how the book came to be? JW: Sure! I’d previously done a book for First Second called KOKO BE GOOD, and sometime after that had come out and I was in between projects that weren’t working out, First Second approached me about …
Interview with Carrie Alexander (from Rocketwagon)
First off: congratulations!! Can you tell us what inspired you to tackle the app as a medium, rather than, say, a traditional book form? CA: My husband, Jon, is a freelance creative who has a background in graphic design, video game development, writing, and video editing. He had no app development experience, but because of these other pursuits was aware of …
Interview with Paul Durham
First off, congrats!! We all really enjoyed The Luck Uglies. Could you tell us a bit about how you came up with the idea for it? PD: Thank you so much for your kind words. It was a complete surprise and a total delight to learn that I had received the Cybils Award for MG Speculative Fiction. The Luck Uglies …
Interview with Dean Pitchford
First off, congrats! Can you tell us a bit about your inspiration for Nickel Bay Nick? DP: Thanks for your kind words of congratulations! My inspiration for NICKEL BAY NICK was actually two-fold: First — the protagonist in my story, Sam Brattle, is 11-years old, but at the age of four, he’d had a heart transplant. For years I had been …
Interview with J. Patrick Lewis and George Ella Lyon
First off, congrats! Voices from the March on Washington is fantastic! Can you tell us how you got the idea for this book? JPL: All credit goes to George Ella. When we first met at the Redlands (CA) conference a couple of years ago, I suggested to her that we might do a book together. She sweetly agreed and suggested the theme of …
Interview with Candace Fleming
First off, congrats! We were all quite excited that The Family Romanov won. Can you tell us a bit about how you came up with the idea for this book? CF: Thanks for the congrats, Melissa. I’m completely thrilled about The Family Romanov’s Cybils win. I’m also thrilled to be here talking about the book. To explain where the idea …