iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

I'm a fan of cognitive shifts. Sometimes reading in another genre and age bracket makes you come at something anew. I keep Selima Hill's poems by my bed; I love tales of fashion and flâneurs, printmakers and pottery. Anything by people who think differently has the capacity to refresh #kidlitchat

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Has anyone ever actually pitched an editor or agent in an elevator? I mean, if I were them I'd definitely be taking the stairs, just to avoid the awkwardness #kidlitchat

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Pitches are HARD! I have a pb in 2027 that still needs a decent one. It traces a dime over 7 decades, through piggy banks and payphones, magic shows and magpie’s nests, all while measuring what it can buy in each era. And while that’s a punchy summary, I struggle to convey why it's fun. #kidlitchat

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Christiana Doucette @doucette515.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

#KidLitChat Speaking of the pulse on publishing, what did folks here think of this article. Have you read it? Did you have strong thoughts one way or the other?

vickyweberbooks.substack.com

Middle Grade Is "Dead" And I Think That's Good News

I say this at conferences a lot.

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Read, read, read more--the best way to come back to a manuscript with fresh eyes is to get away from what you've been doing, and immerse yourself in others. Not just mentor texts but wildly different works which utilize different techniques, perspectives, and frames. #kidlitchat

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Gossip is a currency; does it help to know a certain press has a ban on cat stories? Yes! But it's not posted anywhere. PW sales reports, agent newsletters, and SCBWI talks are VERY useful. But hearing what friends are hearing from their agents and editors: that gossip is GOLD #kidlitchat

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Years of academic writing have made it clear to me how important it is to know when you're being precious about your work, versus being principled. Whether assessing your own work, or receiving feedback from others, understanding that distinction when revising is a strength #kidlitchat

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Not a topic, but an idea: remember children's birthday parties in the party room at McDonald's? I want bookstores to have party rooms for adults, with books and Happy Hour instead of toys and Happy Meals. #kidlitchat

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Troy Wilson @troystory.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

I want to normalize EVERYONE reading picture books. Not because I am a picture book writer. But because I am a picture book READER - and a childless one, at that. But alas, even my own family only reads my picture books and no one else's. They're missing out - and so are too many others.

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Stephanie Gibeault @stephaniegibeault.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

I'll be teaching a webinar on crafting irresistible nonfiction book proposals this Saturday, March 14, for the @scbwicanadaeast.bsky.social Digging Deeper series! Join me at 1 pm ET or register for the recording. More information can be found here: www.scbwi.org/events/craft... #kidlit #CanKidLit

graphic detailing a writing course about nonfiction book proposals with the SCBWI Canada East chapter

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

I was modelling for my students how I come up with picture book ideas. So I tossed out a REALLY ridiculous idea. Then, of course, I had to write it and revise it, as part of the exercise. For fun, I made it SOOO over the top, because how could I not? And now... I think it might sell?! #kidlitchat

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Katie Slivensky @kslivensky.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

In these times it can feel like writing low selling children's books isn't the biggest help for the world, but then I remember the kid I've never met many timezones away who reads This Wolf Was Different each night before bed as their comfort book, and I remember... it's helping someone's world. ❤️

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

In the midst of chaos and uncertainty, it's worth remembering that writing for children is a hopeful act. It's a way of nurturing and supporting the growth and emotional needs of children. I'm all for celebrating acts of hope #kidlitchat

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Want to pick a timely name for a protagonist? Or convince the largest volume of grandparents to buy a book, because the protagonist shares the same name as a beloved grandchild? Check the Social Security Baby Name tracker. #kidlitchat www.ssa.gov/oact/babynam...

ssa.gov

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Owlkids Publishing @owlkids.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Some of our books are on the Children's Book Council Winter 2026 Showcase: Dream A Little Dream 🌙 THE MIDNIGHT CLUB MOON POPS ELEANOR’S MOON WHO NEEDS THE DARK? THE KEEPER OF STARS Thank you to the Children's Book Council for featuring us amongst a lovely list 💙 #Winter2026Showcase #CBCShowcase

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Owlkids Publishing @owlkids.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

‼️ IT'S OUR BIRTHDAY 🎂 (and a big one) ‼️ We're kicking it off with our #AnniversaryLogoReveal, featuring OWL's original Owl! 🦉 Stay tuned all year for fun content ... we look forward to celebrating with you! ❤️🎉 #Birthday #Anniversary #50 #50Years #OWL #1976 #2026

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Kate Messner @katemessner.com · 15/12/2025

I have a few openings on my School Librarian Advisory Team for 2026 – if you're interested in taking the occasional survey, getting early copies of new books, & taking a peek behind the scenes of making kids’ books, it might be a good fit for you & your readers! Details: forms.gle/mkA9L5EuvjTu...

forms.gle

Kate Messner's School Librarian Advisory Team

With recent shifts in social media, support for libraries, and school budgets, it feels more challenging than ever to connect kids with books they’ll love. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how au...

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

I took a publishing course this fall, and learned that while editors say they don't care about social media, publishing and marketing do--and they have a more significant voice at acquisitions than many realize. #KidLitChat

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Someone made me a custom button of one of my book covers for its launch, and it was so sweet. If you want to buy an author a gift, what about an enamel pin with their favourite book cover? Or jewellery of the same? Etsy is great for this! #kidlitchat

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Structuring a picture book can be tied to the emotional arc of a character, the pacing of the plot, the rhythm of language, or any combination of the 3. But above all, you’re bound by the formal constraints: roughly 13 page spreads. Form is like the Jillian Michaels of pbs: merciless #kidlitchat

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

I was fortunate to do a fall course with Kyo Maclear, and also attended CANSCAIP in Toronto, where you can do one-on-one meetings with editors. Both turned into community building opportunities. This is what I love about Bookish, which I host--I meet fabulous people and learn so much #kidlitchat

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Picture books usually come out 3 years after the contract is signed, so what's on shelves now doesn't reflect a current trend, so much as 2022. But I can say in terms of my own manuscripts, it's the more unusual ones editors have liked in 2024/2025. So maybe now's the time to go weird?! #kidlitchat

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Owlkids Publishing @owlkids.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

Light up the night sky with these #BookRecs 🔦 ✨ WHO NEEDS THE DARK? ✨ MOON POPS ✨ ELEANOR'S MOON ✨ THE MIDNIGHT CLUB ✨ THE KEEPER OF STARS ✨ LITTLE MOMENTS IN A BIG UNIVERSE ✨ THE JELLYFISH BUS ✨ I WONDER ABOUT WORLDS #Nighttime #Storytime #KidLit #BookSky

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Westwood Creative Artists @westwoodcreative.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

Make the most of those early sunsets with snuggly reads. We love a book list, and we love seeing Maggie Knaus' ELEANOR'S MOON and @mypbjam.bsky.social's THE KEEPER OF STARS on this one✨

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

In Toronto and feeling witchy? Here's the event for you! @picturebookseh.bsky.social

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

My undergrad English class on Young Adult Literature has just decreed Isaac Blum’s THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF HOODIE ROSEN meets the criteria for Young Teen Lit.... Thoughts? @youngteenlit.bsky.social

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Bryan Waterman @waterman.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Not to freak you out about being half way through summer or anything, but here's a reminder that if you're planning to teach The Power of Sympathy in the coming year, @mypbjam.bsky.social and I are happy to Zoom into your classroom!

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Rashmi Sirdeshpande @rashmiwriting.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Reading is transformative so I’m 100% behind a National Year of Reading but instead of shaming parents/carers (“put our phones down and pick up a book”) let’s focus on access and choice for children. That includes reversing library closures and funding cuts. #readingforpleasure

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Publisher Spotlight @pubspotlight.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

An angle to explore: "Novels are empathy machines: they invite you to imagine what it might be like to be somebody else. So they are, at least potentially, an antidote to the misogynistic influence of the manosphere" www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...

theguardian.com

‘One kid at a time’: How children’s books on male friendship could combat toxic masculinity

From Margaret McDonald’s Glasgow Boys to Nathanael Lessore’s King of Nothing, boys take centre stage in this year’s Carnegie-winning titles. Let’s hope that the male protagonists persuade more boys to...

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Picture books, eh! @picturebookseh.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Please join us!

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LibraryThing @librarything.com · 11/06/2025

"A family of witches desperately tries to entertain a cranky baby in this delightful picture book for fans of Little Witch Hazel and Go the F**k to Sleep." Enter to win a copy of Jennifer Harris / @mypbjam.bsky.social & Adelina Lirius' "The Witching Hour" from Tundra Books #💙📚

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 04/06/2025

I sold one #pb this year (phew!)--that's 2028 covered. Working on 2029--but the pb market is slow. So focusing on what I can do to uplift and bring joy. On that note, hosting another virtual pb event for SCBWI this month! Tell me about your favourite pbs with ambiguous endings #kidlitchat

scbwi.org

Bookish: A Virtual Book Club (June 2025)

Join fellow writers and illustrators in a group discussion of two recently published books, facilitated by picture book author and English professor Jennifer Harris.

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

There's a moment when I get the first line in my head, and I know it's gold. That's all I need--one line, and it drives the whole pb manuscript. I know people who force themselves to write--but I could never force that line #kidlitchat

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

I queried my agent before researching query letters (whoops). But I was teaching professional writing at the time, and pulled out every trick. It worked! Be sensible, be persuasive, be clear. Also: research who you’re sending the letter to, but remember: don’t look like a stalker. #kidlitchat

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

I asked my spouse how many #picturebooks I’d need to publish to be taken seriously as an author. He guessed three. When I hit that it still didn’t quite sink in. I signed a contract for my sixth book recently, and am feeling very real now! #kidlitchat

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Pajama Press @pajamapress.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Pajama Press is excited to announce that we are opening our submissions for middle-grade and YA fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction. Please visit the Pajama Press submission page on our website for more details. #opensubmission #YAbooks #middlegrade #fantasy #scifi #historicalfiction

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Helen Kubiw ❤️ 🇨🇦 📚 @hkubiw.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Thanks @secondstory.bsky.social for sharing #picturebook THE WARMEST BLANKET IN THE WORLD by Tamara Levine and @elliearscott.bsky.social. It certainly is a cozy read of family and sharing. (I also learned about qiviut.) canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-... 👍🇨🇦📚

canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.com

The Warmest Blanket in the World

Promoting children's and YA books by Canadian authors and illustrators

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

In order to stay creative, I need to make time to read. I'm holding too much in my head related to my day job, volunteering, parenting, etc. Books are a palate cleanser for my brain. Latest obsession below! #kidlitchat

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

Just me, over on Instagram, @mypbjam, talking about Easter witches, shark girls, picture books, and what kidlit editors are apparently looking for in this weird moment... #kidlit #picturebooks

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Alison McGauley @alisonmcgauley.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

🌷At Picture Books, Eh! we're thrilled to share our spring releases! 🌧️☀️Read these books inside on a rainy afternoon, or outside on a sunny day picnic! #kidlit #EduSky #CanKidLit #ireadcanadian #teachers #librarians #parents @picturebookseh.bsky.social

The title reads SPRING RELEASES. We see 18 new Canadian picture books along with the Picture Books, Eh! graphic and black and white graphics of flowers and bees.

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Picture books, eh! @picturebookseh.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Check out these Spring releases from Picture Books, Eh! #CanKidLit #kidlit

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

'Bluesky has overtaken its flailing rival X in hosting posts related to new academic research, indicating the platform is fast becoming the go-to place for scholars to share their work.'

timeshighereducation.com

X’s dominance ‘over’ as Bluesky becomes new hub for research

Data indicates more scholars turning to alternative social media site to post about their work after Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover

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Jennifer Harris @mypbjam.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

I run a wild instagram account where I talk about children's books by staging scenes with dolls. Every week, my family brainstorms ideas, builds furniture, sets, and props. Handle there is also @mypbjam #kidlitchat

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Helen Kubiw ❤️ 🇨🇦 📚 @hkubiw.bsky.social · 07/04/2025

I WOULD GIVE YOU MY TAIL from Tanya Tagaq and illus by Qavavau Manumie, both of Nunavut, (from Tundra Books) puts the emphasis of happiness coming from gratitude but never in a preachy way. It's quite lovely and serene. canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.com/2025/04/i-wo... 👍🇨🇦📚

Book cover of I Would Give You My Tail, by Tanya Tagaq and illustrated by Qavavau Manumie, shows a seated Inuk mother holding a baby.

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Leslie Santamaria @lesliesantamaria.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

Children's Writers: Check out this PW article about the current state of the middle grade market. The editor of my debut MG novel, Eileen Robinson, is quoted. #kidlit #middlegrade #writingcommunity @charlesbridge.bsky.social www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

publishersweekly.com

Turning the Tide on Middle Grade Books

Movers and shakers behind five newish imprints are aiming to turn the tide on sales in the middle grade category.

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