We’d like to introduce the new Carolrhoda Books and Carolrhoda Lab editorial director, Alix Reid! She officially started last week and was kind enough to agree to answer some questions for us. We’re posting part 1 (about her editing experience and background) today; part two (about her favorite books, hobbies, and life in Chicago) will […]Read more "Meet Alix Reid! [Part 1]"

Do you guys remember those robotic vacuum-cleaner commercials from several years back where customers enthuse, “I love robots!”? Well, allow me to geek out here for a minute, because I really do love robots. I was an early adopter of the vacuuming robot, and, several model upgrades later, I can’t imagine life without this little […]Read more "I <3 Robots!"

This time of year always gets me nostalgic about going to baseball games with my dad. Every now and then when I was growing up, we’d jump in the car, head to the Metrodome, and settle in with some popcorn or an ice-cream cup and watch the Twins try to win one for Minnesota. What […]Read more "Baseball Really IS Fun!"

It’s Free Book Friday: National Poetry Month Edition! Enter to A Rock Can Be…, written by Laura Purdie Salas and illustrated by Violeta Dabija, a picture book in rhyme about the many uses of rocks. Rocks may seem like boring, static objects—until you discover that a rock can spark a fire, glow in the dark, […]Read more "Free Book Friday: A Rock Can Be…"

We know spring’s only just begun, but let’s talk about fall! We have an amazing list next season that features seven young adult novels, a multitude of picture books, fascinating nonfiction titles, and a graphic novel about Matthew Henson thrown in for good measure. Today, we’re excited to reveal the cover for Game Changer: John […]Read more "Game Changer Cover Reveal!"

We’re trying something new on the blog! Next Friday, we’ll be posting an author Q&A with Amber J. Keyser, author of Sneaker Century and the YA novel The Way Back from Broken (available 10/1/15). We’d like your help coming up with questions! You can leave them in the comments on this post or tweet us at @lernerbooks […]Read more "Author Q&A with Amber J. Keyser"

On Monday, Stacked kicked off its “About the Girls” series with a guest post from Elana K. Arnold, author of Infandous. In case you missed it, we’ve reposted the essay here in its entirety.  A few days ago, I got an email. This is what it said: “My 13 year old daughter is interested in […]Read more "Appropriate Literature: Guest Post by Elana K. Arnold"

I’ve worked with some great authors on work-for-hire projects aimed at the school/library market. I would like to work with even more great authors. It’s not hard to become a standout work-for-hire author. Besides writing skills (of course), the magic ingredients are super simple: patience, diligence, and some self-awareness. If you’re thinking about giving it […]Read more "How to Be an Awesome Freelance Author"