WOW! You have been busy! There is SO MUCH going on in our May Good News post, it’s almost too much for one post! We have FOURTEEN new book releases, SEVEN new agent signings, TEN members with new books under contract, and NINE members who have won awards! Three 12 x 12 books were named to the Bank Street’s Best of Children’s Book List! Our members continue to amaze and impress!

If you have good news in any of these categories, be sure to let us know by filling out the Good News form in the Important Announcements section of the 12 x 12 forum.

All of today’s good news was submitted before April 25th. If you submitted news after April 25th, it will be included in our June post. Please note: We changed our deadline date for Good News submissions. Going forward, be sure to have your good news submitted by the 25th of the month for inclusion in the next month’s Good News Post.

Easy ways to help 12 x 12 members and their books:

1. Click on the “Click to Tweet” links to share on Twitter and get the word out about these books on social media.
2. Submit a request to your local library to carry these books.
3. Write reviews on Amazon, GoodReads, and B&N.
4. Consider purchasing these books from your local independent bookstore or the 12 x 12 Bookshop.org site. (Purchases made at the 12 x 12 Bookshop.org help to fund our scholarship program.)

Your fellow authors appreciate your support!

Book Birthdays

Congratulations to Kari-Lynn Winters on the April release of HUNGRY FOR THE ARTS: POEMS TO CHOMP ON! published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside and illustrated by Peggy Collins!  (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Debbie Zapata on the May 3rd release of UP AND ADAM published by Kids Can Press and illustrated by Yong Ling Kang! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Jenny Lacika on the May 3rd release of AGAIN, ESSIE? published by Charlesbridge Publishing and illustrated by Teresa Martínez! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Laura Gehl on the May 3rd release of PIG MAKES ART from Simon & Schuster and illustrated by Fred Blunt! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Alicia Schwab on the May 10th release of LITE: THE HIGH TREASON INCIDENT. The book is illustrated by Alicia, published by Beaver’s Pond Press, and written by A.G. Roberts! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Elisa Boxer on the May 10th release of ONE TURTLE’S LAST STRAW: THE REAL-LIFE RESCUE THAT SPARKED A SEA CHANGE from Crown/Random House Kids and illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguens! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Kristen Schroeder on the May 10th release of FREDDY THE NOT-TEDDY published by EK Books and illustrated by Hilary Jean Tapper! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Lourdes Heuer on the May 10th release of ESME’S BIRTHDAY CONGA LINE published by Tundra Books and illustrated by Marissa Valdez! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Marcie Colleen on the May 10th release of CAT NINJA: WANTED (VOLUME 3). CAT NINJA was co-created with Matthew Cody, Colleen AF Venable, Chad Thomas, Derek Laufman, and Warren Wucinich and published by Epic/Andrew McMeel! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Judy Bradbury on the May 15th release of THE CASE OF THE MESSY MESSAGE AND THE MISSING FACTS published by City of Light Publishing and illustrated by Gabriella Vagnoli! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Carol Ekster on the May 17th release of SOME DADDIES published by Beaming Books and illustrated by Javiera Maclean Alvarez! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Kristen King Jaiven on the May 18th release of MOMMY’S TIME (Ingram) illustrated by Katie Riso! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Derick Wilder on the May 24th release of DOES A BULLDOZER HAVE A BUTT? published by Chronicle Books and illustrated by K-Fai Steele! (Click to Tweet)

Congratulations to Kaz Windness on the May 31st release of SWIM, JIM! published by Simon & Schuster, Paula Wiseman Books! (Click to Tweet)

Signed! Look who has an agent!

Ann Koffsky signed with Joyce Sweeney at The Seymour Agency! Congrats!

Leslie Piotrowski signed with Tina Schwartz at The Purcell Literary Agency! Awesome!

Mary Munson signed with Dawn Dawdle at Blue Ridge Agency! Way to go!

Megan Hoyt signed with Deborah Warren at East West Literary! Go you!

Nell Cross Beckerman signed with Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency! YES!

Rebecca McMurdie signed with Joyce Sweeney at The Seymour Agency! Cheers!

Taylor Ackerman signed with Dan Cramer at Page Turner Literary Agency! Hooray!

New Book Deals

Congratulations to Aya Khalil on the sale of OUR WORLD: EGYPT to Barefoot Books! Magda Azab will illustrate! Awesome!!

Congratulations to Christina Dendy on the sale of HIDE AND SHHHH: A NOT-SO-SNEAKY STORY ABOUT INCLUSION to Maria Dismondy and Adam Blackman at Cardinal Rule Press! Nathalia Takeyama will illustrate. Huzzah!

Congratulations to Elisa Boxer on the sale of TREE OF HOPE: HOW A HOLOCAUST SAPLING INSPIRED THE WORLD to Lauri Hornik at Rocky Pond Books! Alianna Rosentsveig will illustrate. Fantastic!

Congratulations to Judith Valdes B on the sale of AN OFRENDA FOR PERRO to Charlie Ilgunas at Little Bee Books! Carlos Vélez Aguilera will illustrate. Excellent!

Congratulations to Lisa Katzenberger on the sale of IT BELONGS TO THE WORLD: FREDRICK BANTING AND THE DISCOVERY OF INSULIN to Harriet Low at HMH Books! Janina Gaudin will illustrate. Woohoo!!

Congratulations to Lisa Varchol Perron on the sale of PATTERNS EVERYWHERE to Carol Hinz at Lerner/Millbrook! Amazing!

Congratulations to Lydia Lukidis on the sale of DEEP, DEEP DOWN: THE SECRET UNDERWATER POETRY OF THE MARIANA TRENCY to Alison Deering at Capstone! Juan Calle will illustrate. Wow!!

Congratulations to Nancy Churnin on THREE book deal announcements. The first is the sale of PUMPKINS AND PROMISES to Jonathan Westmark at Albert Whitman! Anneli Brey will illustrate. Yay!!

Nancy Churnin’s second announcement is the sale of WHEN MAMA RINGS THE BELL with co-author Shayna Vincent to Sue Tarsky at Albert Whitman! Wazza Pink will illustrate! Woohoo!!

Nancy Churnin’s third announcement is the sale of COUNTING ON SHABBAT to Joni Sussman at Kar-Ben! Petronela Dostalova will illustrate! Way to go!

Award Winners

Congratulations to Chana Stiefel on LET LIBERTY RISE being named to the Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Books of the Year list!

Congratulations to Cynthia Argentine on NIGHT BECOMES DAY: CHANGES IN NATURE being named to the Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Books of the Year list!

Congratulations to Gabi Snyder on LISTEN being named a 2022 Oregon Book Award Finalist!

Congratulations to Judy Bradbury on being awarded the Ben Franklin Award, Young Reader Fiction (8-12) Silver Medal for THE ADVENTURE OF THE BIG FISH BY THE SMALL CREEK!

Congratulations to Lauri Fortino on being awarded the Kate Dopirak Craft and Community Award!

Congratulations to Nadia Salomon on GOODNIGHT, GANESHA being named to the Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children’s Books of the Year list!

Congratulations to Robin Currie on  HOW TO DRESS A DINOSAUR being named the 2022 Speak Up Talk Radio Firebird Book Award Winner!

Congratulations to Rebecca Gardyn Levington on being awarded the 2021 SCBWI Magazine Merit Award for Poetry for her poem “Lemons!” that was published in the Autumn issue of Countdown/The School Magazine.

Congratulations to Sabrina Shah on winning the Write Mentor 2022 Summer Mentorship for Picture Books!

Congratulations to Tonya Ellis on winning a Highlights Foundation Scholarship!

Wherw! Amazing, right? Congratulations to all our members on seeing their hard work pay off! We are so proud of you!

All of today’s good news was shared prior to April 25th. 12 x 12 members, if you have good news about a new book release, agent signing, book deal, or writing award, share it with us. Please submit your good news by June 25th to be included in our July Good News post. You can find the Good News form in the Important Announcements section of the forum.

Keep up the good work, everyone!

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