by Mary E. Cronin | Oct 20, 2015 | Conferences-workshops, Poetry, We Need Diverse Books
I’m still buzzing from a dynamic weekend in NYC. I saw family, covered a lot of ground (Bronx to the Battery!), and attended the Rutgers One-on-One Conference. The Rutgers One-on-One conference is a different kind of conference: it feels very focused, very...
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 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.”...
by Mary E. Cronin | May 27, 2015 | Conferences-workshops, LGBTQ+, Middle-grade fiction, Teaching, We Need Diverse Books
What a delight to contribute a guest post on Lee Wind’s dynamic blog I’m Here, I’m Queer, What the Hell Do I Read? I have tips for middle grade writers who want to create multi-dimensional gay/questioning characters in their stories. Lee is an...