by Mary E. Cronin | Nov 3, 2015 | LGBTQ+, Middle-grade fiction, We Need Diverse Books
I was shaken recently when a friend relayed a story from a school in my liberal state of Massachusetts: an 8th grader received an anonymous note at school, to the effect of “Faggot- hope you kill yourself.” In my writer world, I admit I get lulled into a...
by Mary E. Cronin | Sep 21, 2015 | Cape Cod, LGBTQ+, Teaching, We Need Diverse Books
Learning about gender: that was one of my summer reading goals as a children’s writer, a teacher of teachers, and a creative writing instructor. As a lesbian writer and supporter of We Need Diverse Books, I am always on the look-out for new titles to recommend....
by Mary E. Cronin | Aug 21, 2015 | Cape Cod, Community connections, LGBTQ+
Billy Porter was just in Provincetown for a three-night nightclub engagement. You know, the Billy Porter who won a Tony for the role of Lola in Broadway’s hit “Kinky Boots.” He sang with supreme confidence in a skirt, a killer hat and some kick-ass...
by Mary E. Cronin | Aug 1, 2015 | Community connections, LGBTQ+, Teaching, We Need Diverse Books
Have you heard about Rainbow Boxes? It’s a way to get sorely needed books into the hands of LGBTQ+ youth. Flashback to a scene in a middle school library about six years ago: the school counselor, who happens to be my wife, was showing me the section in the...
by Mary E. Cronin | Jul 7, 2015 | LGBTQ+, Middle-grade fiction, Tomfoolery, Uncategorized, We Need Diverse Books
As a teacher on summer hiatus, I’m grabbing all of the free hours I can muster, running as far and fast as I can with my middle-grade novel-in-progress, Tomfoolery. And the other day, the stars aligned to tell me, “Yes! Keep going. You are moving in the...
by Mary E. Cronin | Jun 9, 2015 | Conferences-workshops, LGBTQ+, Middle-grade fiction, Tomfoolery, Uncategorized, We Need Diverse Books
If we stare long enough, there are times when we swear we can see a budding flower actually bloom. That’s the tender window of time portrayed in “Ring of Keys,” the signature song from the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “Fun Home.”...