iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

"Have You Tried Being an Individual Solution to a Systemic Problem?" brought to you by Friends of the Systemic Problem

Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Time for a quick round of Things That Happened Thursday! First off, Marie Miranda Cruz's awesome middle grade novel, A BOY CALLED HERO, was published this month. It features time travel, a banned book, a colonizer villain, and delightful tweens resisting oppression! lernerbooks.com/shop/show/26...

Cover image for A BOY CALLED HERO by Marie Miranda Cruz. Full-color illustration of three kids surrounded by a leafy, thick-trunked tree. Center kid stands next to a sack full of books and wears a glowing amulet.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

We have lost one of the most unbroken clocks to ever tick. You couldn't make Dolly Parton today! She'd be right about too many things!

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Extremely hard to narrow it down but, going way back to the picture book stage, I do think The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey might explain my entire personality

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

GUESS WHAT, today I'm sharing book news PROMPTLY for a change! When It's Your Turn for Midnight by Blessing Musariri is a finalist for the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers' Literature! There are only 6 finalists! Out of all the past year's kids' books! Whoa! www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-fea...

kirkusreviews.com

Finalists for the 2026 Kirkus Prize Revealed | Kirkus Reviews

The awards in three categories, worth $150,000 in total, were established in 2014.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Hark! A pub day! PALOMA JOINS THE CIRCUS by Lupe Ruiz-Flores is out today. Paloma is traveling with her family's tent show. She vows to become a wire-walker like her mother. But at what cost?!? And what else might she discover about circus life along the way??? READ BOOK. FIND OUT. EVERYBODY WINS.

Cover image for Paloma Joins the Circus by Lupe Ruiz-Flores. Full-color illustration of a smiling girl with brown skin walking across a tightrope.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

"I lowered the bar to the basement and you rented an excavator to tunnel underneath it" feels like the kind of line I should be able to auction off to the blockbuster screenplay most in need of a punch-up, or to the slam poet with the most family money at their disposal

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Tag yourself: I'm "out of control (monitored)"

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

This should be getting the same attention as Renee Good's and Alex Pretti's deaths. ICE will keep doing this until abolition. They will keep getting away with murders until they are prosecuted. Not an original observation but one that needs repeating until we get justice.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Is everything actually exhausting all the time or am I just chronically under-caffeinated? This post brought to you by a 16-oz latte and its contrast with my usual single cup of green tea per day (Answer: both??)

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Jason Chavez @jchavezmpls.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Trans girls are girls. Trans women are women. Trans boys are boys. Trans men are men. Gender expansive people are people. No executive order, federal rollback, or court ruling with ever take that away. 5/

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Been thinking about Jane Yolen since yesterday's news. I got to work with her a bit on one of her zillions of books and was amazed at how down-to-earth she was. Pleasant, open to feedback, even gracious when a colleague and I had a version control issue with the manuscript. The best kind of legend.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

I do sometimes wonder what the first draft of a presidential tweet looks like before Miller copyedits it using the pre-dementia manual of style

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

I recently found out I'm among the (MANY) editors whose names are being used in this genre of email scam targeting writers. Naomi's thread breaks down what to check for if you ever get a message purporting to be from a random publishing professional.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

The Summer Scrapbook by @florencemigga.bsky.social is out now! Imagine if The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants followed middle schoolers, featured a scrapbook-in-progress instead of magic pants, & offered what PW calls "an affirming portrait of friendship in transition." Sounds delightful, right?!

Cover image for THE SUMMER SCRAPBOOK by Florence Migga. Full-color illustration showing three polaroid-type photos, each of a different tween Black girl having a great time, along with a variety of stickers, ticket stubs, and multicolored and textured backgrounds mimicking scrapbook paper.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Flashback Friday Funpost: WHEN IT'S YOUR TURN FOR MIDNIGHT by Blessing Musariri came out in the US this month! It's a stunning YA novel about a girl who learns that her dad isn't her bio father, goes to stay with her maternal grandmother, and discovers a new definition of family.

Cover image for WHEN IT'S YOUR TURN FOR MIDNIGHT by Blessing Musariri. Bold white title text against a multi-hued green background adorned with flame lilies, flowers with long narrow red petals that curve to form a globe shape.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

It makes me so angry that she now has to carry this knowledge on top of her own trauma, when none of it is her fault and none of it cost the perpetrator a wink of sleep. I hope she's surrounded by love and support, as everyone in her position deserves.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Jacob Frey's voicemail message has the same energy as Peter Callaghan's answering machine in While You Were Sleeping; it's worth calling just to experience that level of cringe from an anthropological standpoint. As a bonus, you get to express support for your neighbors.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Usually I'm like "Hoarding is too sad of a subject for me, please give me three books about bereavement instead" but this story pulled me in!

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

It's publication day for Shannon Hitchcock's WILD MOUNTAIN IVY, a middle grade novel about two girls with chronic illness—one in the present and one who lived in the same house 100 years ago—finding new ways to navigate their worlds. Booklist calls it "sweet" and "uplifting," "like a warm hug."

Cover image for WILD MOUNTAIN IVY by Shannon Hitchcock. Full-color illustration of a girl sitting on a bench with a dulcimer in her lap, with a black cat next to her, and with a mountainous landscape in the background.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

This is why you can't give discrimination a little capitulation as a treat. It will only keep escalating. You should push back even if it magically stops at one targeted group, but fyi it never does. You should care even if it isn't coming for you too, but btw it is. bookriot.com/hr7661-book-...

bookriot.com

A Nationwide Book Ban Bill Has Been Introduced in the House of Representatives

Hours after the State of the Union address, House republicans introduced legislation banning LGBTQ+ books from public schools nationwide.

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Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 23/02/2026

Tim Walz isn't declaring an eviction moratorium in Minnesota, so many families affected by ICE are at risk of eviction in a few days. Please donate to the rent funds at keepMNhoused.com if you have some scratch.

keepmnhoused.com

Stand With Minnesota

Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.

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ashley fairbanks @ziibiing.com · 19/02/2026

Today we are launching a new intitative of Stand With Minnesota—KeepMNHoused.com, a rent-relief campaign backed with a $1.5 matching fund from the Wilson Foundation. Thousands of MN families are at risk of eviction because of the ICE occupation’s lasting impacts. We can keep them housed.

Keep Minnesota Housed!
Much of the medía has left, but ICE is still in Minnesota and hundreds of families need help with rent in order to avoid eviction.
Visit keepMNhoused.com to adopt a rent or donate to rent funds!
#keepMNhoused

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

Can't say it enough: They did this to a white man in broad daylight in front of multiple witnesses. That tells you everything you need to know about what they're doing out of sight to people they deem less than human. Absolutely nothing short of abolition should even be on the table.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

This is what I wondered about as someone who moved into a place with a preexisting Ring doorbell I've never paid for: It's still recording and sharing that footage. Take it offline or cover the camera till you can get a new doorbell. Even if, like mine, it's not in a spot where it can "see" much.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Tim! Buddy! Your voicemail* is about to hear from me about this again... *651-201-3400 just fyi for my MN neighbors

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

This fundraiser is really close to its goal... AND February is a short month so rent will be due again very soon (not to mention utility bills etc etc). It'd be great to give these families a little cushion!

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Two books I edited are out today: CHOIR GRRRL by Ashley Granillo (middle grade, contemporary, delightful) and BEYOND SEVEN FORESTS by Amanda McCrina (young adult, historical, gripping). I love them both. Read 'em. Thanks. @lernerbooks.bsky.social @missashleyjean.bsky.social @mccrina.bsky.social

Cover image for Choir Grrrl by Ashley Granillo. Full-color illustration. A tween girl sings into a microphone that she holds in her left hand while holding a guitar in her right hand. Her eyes are closed and her mouth is wide open. A purple spotlight shines down on her against a black background. She has long, wavy black hair with a short pink streak framing either side of her face. She wears a dark purple shirt, a black necklace, a black cuff on each wrist, and black nail polish. A wide diagonal strip of this image is missing, as if ripped out, revealing part of another image that stretches from the upper righthand corner to the lower lefthand corner of the cover. The alternate image shows the same girl’s body, clothed in a reddish-orange choir robe, against a light pink background with several rows of black musical staffs and notes. In this partial image, the girl’s hands hold a piece of paper instead of the guitar and microphone, though they still sport black nail polish. Title text is in uneven uppercase white lettering. Two short horizontal white lines underscore the last R and the L. Author name is in uneven title case white lettering in the bottom right corner.

Front cover of Beyond Seven Forests by Amanda McCrina. Bluish-white uppercase title text is stacked against a light blue snowy background. Numerous snowflakes dot the image. Sloping hills or mountains near the top of the image give way to a darker stretch of trees. Near the bottom right corner, surrounded by snow-covered ground, is a small house with a peaked roof and a tiny window that shines with yellow light. Author name, beneath the house and centered near the bottom of the page, is in uppercase red letters.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Me, fresh off of two post-breakfast chocolate chip cookies, to my governor's voicemail: "Where are we at with that eviction moratorium, buddy? My neighbors can't pay their rent because they're being terrorized by slave catchers, we need it done yesterday" The #, for fellow Minnesotans: 651-201-3400

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Anyone who still wants to get in on the Publishing for Minnesota fundraiser has until 11:45 pm EST TONIGHT (1/30!) to bid on offerings like manuscript critiques, AMAs, and swag from authors, agents, and editors. $$ supports Minnesotans impacted by ICE. 💙 www.32auctions.com/organization...

32auctions.com

Publishing for Minnesota

Silent auction 'Publishing for Minnesota' hosted online at 32auctions.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Fun fact, today is 1/29 and tomorrow is 1/30. The auction runs through Friday, 1/30!

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Today's a perfect day to check out Publishing for Minnesota's fundraiser auction, which benefits Minnesotans impacted by ICE. It runs through 11:45 EST tomorrow, 1/29. You can bid on more than 500 offerings from authors, agents, and editors (including me). www.32auctions.com/publishingfo...

32auctions.com

Publishing for Minnesota

Silent auction 'Publishing for Minnesota' hosted online at 32auctions.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Decided to feature a kids' movie in this month's Historical Flicktion newsletter, to keep the mood light and chill. That turned out about how you'd expect. historicalflicktion.beehiiv.com/p/our-lady-o...

historicalflicktion.beehiiv.com

Our Lady of We-Keep-Us-Safe

I Have a Hunch We're Going to Win

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

These are the deaths we're not hearing about. This neighbor was even younger than Renee Good and Alex Pretti. I know nothing about him except that he didn't deserve this. Our future must include justice for all those who've been terrorized, tortured, and murdered, here in MN and elsewhere.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

One more celebratory post today: THE PECAN SHELLER by Lupe Ruiz-Flores has won a Pura Belpré Award! #ALAyma

Cover image for THE PECAN SHELLER by Lupe Ruiz-Flores. A girl stands facing the reader and holding up a banner with the title text with her right arm. She has brown skin, long dark hair, and a calm, determined expression.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Some more much-needed good news: SOMETIMES THE GIRL by Jennifer Mason-Black has received a Stonewall Book Award Honor! #ALAyma

Cover image for SOMETIMES THE GIRL by Jennifer Mason-Black. Yellow title text overlays a background photographic image of leafy tree branches against a blue sky.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

I believe this is what's referred to as a "timeline cleanse." Delighted that THE RED CAR TO HOLLYWOOD by Jennie Liu has won an Asian Pacific American Award for Literature! #ALAyma

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BoringMNGirl @boringmngirl.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

All those people downtown yesterday, no ICE involvement, and not one incident. ICE shows up in a neighborhood and now another Minnesotan is dead. It's pretty obvious who the violent outside agitators are.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

This didn't happen overnight. People worked thanklessly for years to lay foundations of solidarity, and it's because of their efforts that we're leveling up like this now. I'm prouder than ever that this is my home and these are my neighbors; more certain than ever that we have each other's backs.

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Justin Zimmerman @jztidecat.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

I don’t know, ICE taking babies off the street and imprisoning them seems like a kitchen table issue.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Many of these businesses will be seeing an uptick in my patronage after Friday's strike!

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

right now the floor for me is abolish ICE and put every agent on trial and the average elected democrat is like what if we told them to cut it out

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

For folks both in and outside of MN asking "How can I help?": Just seeing how well structured this list is instantly lowered my blood pressure and made me feel less overwhelmed. Highly recommend checking it out and picking a few efforts to support if you can!

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Well, I did need a laugh today so thanks for that, Jensen

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

I'm not saying it did any material good for me to call Klobuchar's office and tell her to A) demand that ICE leave our city, B) demand that this murderer be prosecuted, and C) stand up for her constituents in a meaningful way for once in her career, but I'm also not saying I wouldn't recommend it

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

A good day to chip in on an effort like this if you can

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Kyle Tran Myhre @guante.info · 07/01/2026

For those not tapped into Minneapolis networks, just hearing random opinions on social media or decontextualized headlines, two notes: 1. This was a murder. The official DHS story is a blatant, obvious lie, and anyone who buys it is a mark. 2. Minneapolis is going to continue to show up.

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

PSA this is a GREAT training, extremely practical and concrete, well worth your time

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Tired: going to Hola Arepa for the tasty food Wired: going to Hola Arepa to support this energy

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Amy Fitzgerald @amyarielfitz.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

It should go without saying that my home is not my home without my immigrant neighbors, that all our lives are enriched by immigrant communities, and that the man in the WH with a clogged sink for a brain has no business devoting one feeble neuron to Minneapolis. But I'm saying it for the record!

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