Member News is a monthly feature on the EasternPennPoints blog. We want to celebrate our Eastern PA SCBWI members’ good news and help spread the word far and wide. Send us your children’s book–related news—book deals, releases, awards, author or illustrator events (signings, launch parties, appearances), etc. If you’d like your news to be included in next month’s column, please email Laura Parnum at epa-ra2@scbwi.org or fill out our “Good News Survey” before the 20th of the month.
Here’s some exciting news from our members this month!
Book Release
Author Andrea Denish’s newest picture book, The Way We Say Hello, illustrated by BlueBean released on February 7 from Starry Forest Books. A young child searches for the best way to welcome a new baby to their family as they ask, “A special day. A special place. How will you greet a special face?” With rhyming text, heartwarming art, and educational facts about cultures and customs around the world, The Way We Say Hello takes you as far as Tibet and as near as your front yard as you learn greeting after greeting. Along the way, you’ll also discover how to welcome the world into your heart in different languages, gestures, and places. You can say “namaste,” “howdy,” or “annyeong.” You can use a traditional greeting like the Māori hongi or European cheek kisses. You can use sign language to greet those who are hard of hearing, or send a card to someone far away. Perfect for new big siblings, baby showers, and kids curious about different cultures and languages. There are so many ways to greet someone new, no matter where they’re from or what language they speak—so how will YOU say hello?
Book Release
Author Katey Howes’s newest picture book, Woven of the World, with illustrations by Dinara Mirtalipova, released on February 7 from Chronicle Books. As rhythmic as the swish of a loom, and as vibrant as a skein of brightly dyed wool, this lyrical picture book shares the history and practice of weaving through the centuries and around the world, as imagined by a young weaver learning her craft. Her family’s weaving practice helps her feel connected to the past and hopeful for the future. It shows her that each of us is a tapestry: a unique, rich, and beautifully interwoven combination of traits and traditions, with a pattern that is still emerging. At once a celebration of a time-honored art and a meditation on the ways we are interconnected, this artfully woven narrative gathers the threads of weaving as a technical skill, a cultural tradition, and as a metaphor for how our lives are knit together, into a radiantly intertwined whole. Woven of the World was also recently awarded a special mention in nonfiction in the Regazzi Awards at the Bologna Book Fair.
Book Release
Author-illustrator Tim Canny recently wrote, illustrated, and self-published a mini-picture book titled Birb Goes Twerp (Jan 23, 2023) under his pen name, Francis S. Poesy. It is an all-ages mini-picture book that takes a humorous look at animal sounds based on the internet slang for “bird.” He calls it a mini-picture book, not only because of its size but also as it was inspired by the self-published/DIY comics popularly called mini-comics. An initial review called it “Simple, clean, and whimsical. A classic combination sure to please kids of all ages!” Copies of the book are available in physical, PDF, and EPUB format on Gumroad at https://mulberryandbliss.gumroad.com/. You can find out more on his website at http://www.mulberryandbliss.com and follow him on Twitter (@tcanny) and Instagram (@timcanny).
Upcoming Book Release
Author Stephanie Henson’s newest book, BeTween Now and Later, will release on March 15 from Buzgaga Books. A collection of Social Emotional Learning–inspired short stories for tweens meant to inspire, inform, empower, and entertain. Topics such as building confidence, maturity, responsibility, navigating friendships, and overcoming challenges are just a few elements of focus. There are also stories that are just meant to be enjoyed!
Upcoming Book Release and Launch Party
Author Jennifer Raudenbush’s debut picture book, In the Palm of My Hand, illustrated by Isabella Conti, releases from Running Press Kids (Hachette) on March 14, 2023, and is now available for preorder. On an ambling walk, a child discovers they hold the promise of larger worlds—forests and meadows—in the palm of their hand. An acorn becomes a tree within a woodland wonderland. A grain of sand becomes a sandcastle in a kingdom of imagination. By exploring nature’s tiniest details, they learn even small things, including them, contain infinite potential.
Eastern PA SCBWI members are invited to the book launch party for In the Palm of My Hand at the Orwigsburg Area Public Library on March 18, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. Preorder info, email sign up, and all of Jennifer’s links can be found here: https://linktr.ee/jenraudenbush.
Deal Announcement
Author-illustrator Meg Auchenbach’s debut picture book, If You Are an Artist, in which children are enouraged to daydream, wonder, create, imagine, and celebrate all that it means to be an artist, will be released in Spring of 2024 by Peter Pauper Press. John Rudolph of Dystel, Goderich, and Bourret negotiated the deal for world rights.
SCBWI 2023 Winter Conference Appearance
Author Kira Barrett was one of six participants selected by SCBWI to present her marketing plan for her board book, Avocado Mustache, at the SCBWI Piranha Pit event during the 2023 Winter Conference in New York. Avocado Mustache (Honey Hollow Press, January 2019) is inspired by the fun, messy foodie faces that babies and kids create during mealtime! This delightfully silly children’s book is perfect for all ages. Have you ever had an Avocado Mustache? Do you get Sweet Potato Sideburns? Or end up with Mac ‘n’ Cheese Mutton Chops? What’s your look? You can find out more about Kira and the book at https://www.avocadomustache.com.
Book Translation
Author Heather Pierce Stigall recently announced that her picture book, Paisley’s Big Birthday will be translated into Romanian. Paisley’s Big Birthday is being published by Clavis Publishing in 2023 and is illustrated by Natallia Bushuyeva. Today is Paisley’s birthday, right? Then why doesn’t she feel any older? She still has trouble reading, still has trouble jumping in the Hopstacle Course, and is still in Bunnygarten. When will she finally be big? A sweet story about having patience as we grow. For everyone ages 4 years and up.
Agent Signing
Author Jennie K. Brown recently signed with two agents! Lauren Spieller at Folio Lit will represent Jennie for her adult works and Uwe Stender at Triada US will represent Jennie for picture books, MG, and YA projects.
Upcoming Publication
Illustrator Rebecca Hoenig recently announced that she is one of fourteen illustrators who contributed to The House We Sheltered In and The Masks We Wore, two stories that start from each end of a flippable book written by poet Freeman Ng. This dual-volume picture book celebrates the joys of homebound life and the collective heroism of our fight against COVID-19. The book will be coming soon in spring 2023 through Three Daughters Press. For more information, check out the website: https://pandemicpb.com.
If you have good news to share, please send it to epa-ra2@scbwi.org to be included in next month’s Member News column or fill out our “Good News Survey.”
EasternPennPoints 
Wow!! So much good news! Congratulations to all!!!