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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 4h

I'm excited for Bump in the Night. 🦇👻

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Reposted by Jen Arena

Marsh's Library @marshslibrary.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

A lovely gilded acorn binding for this sunny autumn day. From our 17th century manuscript copy of Aristotle's physics.

Top right corner of a 17th century binding showing a gilded acorn inside a single gold fillet.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I guess maybe they did some kind of ebook edition? The original publisher of the book was Grosset & Dunlap, an imprint of Putnam (at the time).

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

A company I've never heard of that wasn't even incorporated until a decade after the book was published is claiming to be a rights holder on one of my books. Do you know anything about J Boyleston & Co?

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Reposted by Jen Arena

Jennifer Laughran @literaticat.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Heads up, Bookworms: There will likely be💀supply chain issues💀 this holiday season. So if there are specific books you have your heart set on for holiday gifting, I strongly suggest you buy/order them ahead of time (✨like now✨) rather than waiting until November/December.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

It's officially Fall! If you want some free activities to go along with reading Acorn Was a Little Wild to your kiddo or classroom, visit my website! jenarenabooks.com

Acorn from Acorn Was a Little Wild by Jen Arena and Jessica Gibson on a gold button against a dark background. Across the top are the words, "Happy Fall, y'all!"

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Winter is coming . . . and so is Woolly! This January, Penguin is publishing my picture book, Woolly's Mammoth Knot, illustrated by Erica Chen. Here's the first review: "A highly intentional, undeniably sweet approach to a familiar childhood challenge."--Kirkus I'm so excited! ❄️😊❄️

Cover for Woolly's Mammoth Knot by Jen Arena, illustrated by Erica Chen, featuring a particularly woolly woolly mammoth in an Ice Age setting of snow and ice.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The terms weren't always well-defined on the form that had to be filled out. For instance, "rightsholder." To me that's asking, "who has the copyright?" I'm the copyright-holder, the publisher is not. Does that make the publisher a rightsholder? Apparently, yes.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Walking into a bookstore and seeing your books on the shelves never gets old. 😊

My Little Golden Book About the 80s (illustrated by Spencer Wilson) on a a BookEnds Ybor bookstore shelf between Dim Sum for Everyone board book and Mad Libs.

The three books in the Little Libros of Love series by Jen Arena and Blanca Gomez--Besos for Baby, Abrazos for Baby, and Sonrisas for Baby--spine out on a wooden bookstore shelf.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I like the Dala horses.❤️

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Right? I've just reading the China section. Terrifying!

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

This cover just doesn't do this fascinating Facebook expose justice. I really hope they re-envision it for the paperback.

Book cover for Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams. On an off-white background sits a round-edged blue square with a gray shark fin.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I recommended it to my book group in Ireland. They all really liked it.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Chicago Cultural Center (the old library), the Riverwalk, Navy Pier, Marshall Field's building, the Rookery, and the Bean, of course.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

I love that this squirrel decided the birdhouse was his breakfast nook. Plus he reminds me of one of my favorite spreads in Acorn Was a Little Wild. 🌱📗🌳

Photo of a grey squirrel perched on a wooden birdhouse eating a nut

Interior art from Acorn Was a Little Wild of a red squirrel holding an acorn high. Acorn is smiling. The text reads, "But the squirrel didn't carry him up a tree."

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

It just needs a second head to be perfect.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I just reread Creepy Crayon by Aaron Reynolds and @peterbrownstudio.com Here's the flap copy: "The crayon gets him straight As. The crayon does all his thinking. The crayon . . . starts to take over." It pubbed in 2022. Is it a giant metaphor for AI?

cover for Creepy Crayon, a scared white bunny holding a purple crayon with a devious look on its face.

Interior of Creepy Crayon, a white bunny looking into a mirror on which the words "YOU NEED ME" have been written in purple crayon.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

This happened to a friend of mine. The agent was someone I'd overlapped with but couldn't remember from where. I told my friend to ask about it and the scam started to unravel. But it seemed legit before then.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Wow! "Today is August 4, 2026," said a second voice from the kitchen ceiling.

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Reposted by Jen Arena

Emily Keyes @esckeyes.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

www.thebookseller.com/news/genius-... Oh here we go again... In the US, AI generated text is not subject to copyright so publishers have no reason to "buy" it. It's public domain.

thebookseller.com

‘Genius’ novel sold in six and seven-figure deals at auction pulled over suspected AI use

A crime novel has been pulled from sale by an agent after securing major six- and seven-figure deals in the US and the UK due to AI allegations.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Publishing is a roller coaster. At the end of May, I find out one of my picture books is going out of print. 😔 At the end of July, I find out they are doing a board book edition of it! 😊 I've seen the board book cover, and it's even prettier than the original. ❤️📚 I'll post it when I can.

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Reposted by Jen Arena

Porter Square Books in Cambridge & Boston @portersqbooks.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Writers of the Great Cambridge Area! Don't forget to apply for the 2027 Writers in Residence program. One writer for adults and one writer for young readers will be selected to get some cool benefits, while fulfilling some responsibilities that we hope help develop their careers!

portersquarebooks.com

Porter Square Books Writers in Residence Program

Porter Square Books will once again be hosting Writers in Residence in 2025

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

I love the message behind Hachette's new program. 📚❤️📚 @littlebrownyr.bsky.social

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

That's probably it. 😂 I was just thinking about how as an editor, you work on multiple years at a time, too. Can you imagine?

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Please tell me "working on more than 350 frontlist titles a year" is a typo. Otherwise she's superhuman. 😂

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

I'm so excited! Tampa has a new independent bookstore, BookEnds Ybor--and it's glorious! The owners have taken such care making it a beautiful and welcoming place. I know this will be a wonderful gathering spot for the neighborhood. Plus they carry my books!

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

These covers of the Anne and Emily books are gorgeous! I wish I had room in my suitcase for eleven books so I could bring them all home with me. ❤️📚

European edition of Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery showing Anne and Diana sitting on a stone bridge reading a book.

European edition of Anne of Windy Willows by L.M. Montgomery showing Anne sitting under a pink blossomed cherry tree reading a letter.

European edition of Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery showing Emily reading a book under an apple tree surrounded by red apples.

European edition of Emily Climbs by L.M. Montgomery showing Emily in a red winter coat holding a lantern walking through snow on a moonlit night.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Lots of good advice here! I particularly like "Trends are over as soon as you know about them. . . . If you start writing a book to a trend when you see a bunch already published, you're up to five years behind the curve."

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Dingle is one of my favorite towns in Ireland--and I love their little bookstore!

A blue-painted exterior of a store that says "Dingle Bookshop" in white lettering

Three rows of children's books topped by a painting of a blonde woman riding a red patterned horse withe the words Leabhair de Leanai in a speech balloon.

Inside the Dingle Bookshop, a white hatted Barbie doll behind a blackbird standee on the top of a black bookshelf that says "Children's"

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Happy anniversary! I still wish we could have been there for the wedding . . . even though I didn't know you then.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Gen X, 👀 ! Were you a punk, a preppy, a Jane Fonda acolyte? Did you have a perm, a flattop, a Mohawk? Could you solve a Rubik's Cube in under two minutes? Do you want to share all that wild '80s joy with the kids in your life? Check out My Little Golden Book About the 80s, available TODAY!

The turquoise and hot pink cover for My Little Golden Book About the 80s, with green and blue writing around it that says, "Hey Gen X, it's Pub Day!"

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Hopefully they'll learn at some point. At this point I don't even look at the sender if it's obviously AI. I just delete it. I definitely could have missed something of legit interest.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Yes! In my mind, AI = scam. "If you can’t get it together to write a simple business communication by yourself, what confidence should I have about any other aspect of your business?"

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Right? It's just seems so on brand. I'm thrilled with everything about it!

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

If you love the 80s, here's your chance to share that magical decade with kids in your life--My Little Golden Book About the 80s is coming out next week! I had the BEST time researching and writing this book. It was a dream project. And Spencer Wilson's art? Totally awesome.

The cover for My Little Golden Book About the 80s, hot pink type on a turquoise background with stylized illustrations of a boombox, Mr T, a Care Bear, Pac-Man, an arcade game and Mary Lou Retton.

A page from the interior of My Little Golden Book About the 80s, with the headline "Big 80s Hair" and images of different trends--the Perm, the Side Ponytail, the Mullet, the Hi-top Fade, the Mohawk, and the Rattail.

A page from the interior of My Little Golden Book About the 80s on Rubik's Cube

A page from the interior of My Little Golden Book About the 80s about MTV with stylized images of Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, and Whitney Houston.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

My inner Bridget Jones is very happy right now. For years, I've read about Milk Trays in Brit Lit books, and I finally bought one on this trip to Ireland. It feels so decadent! But it was on sale at Tesco, so I kind of had to, right? And no, I can't . . . won't eat the whole thing in one sitting.

a rich purple box that says "Cadbury Milk Tray" on the front.

An open box of chocolates containing 15 filled milk chocolates in different shapes.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Because bookstores are the best place to hang out. ❤️

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

I'll happily volunteer to be a copyeditor for your team. Love the message though!

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

Shout out to Story Garden in St. Pete! Congrats on making the list in your first year!

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

I went out to hear some music last night and my dog's boyfriend was there! She usually plays a little hard to get with him, but they had a real date night, side by side, begging for treats, enjoying the show. ❤️ 🐕‍🦺

A black short-haired dog and a scruffy yellow dog lying next to each other outside.

As seen from above, a black short-haired dog and a scruffy yellow dog lying next to each other outside. Their hips are just touching.

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Jen Arena @jenarena.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Me too! I honestly would not be a writer today if it weren't for Grosset. I wrote my first book after I'd been there one month (board book Jack and the Beanstalk) & Jane O'C cheered me on every step of the way. I learned so much as an editor there, working on everything. You can't be precious.

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