Deborah Holt Williams
@debwriter.bsky.social
Nana, picture book writer, maker of giant bubbles.
This is what my track record looks like: 2020--74 submissions, NO SALES; 2021--30 submissions, NO SALES; 2022--48 submissions, NO SALES; 2023--99 submissions, ONE SALE!; 2024--75 submissions, NO SALES; 2025--51 submissions, 3 SALES! This year, 33 submissions so far and no sales.
ellenleventhal.com/2026/06/happ... Check out author Ellen Leventhal's blog post !
HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY to Deborah Holt Williams and NIGHTY NIGHT, DINOS plus a Giveaway
EL: I am beyond excited to welcome my friend, Deborah Holt Williams, to Writing Outside the Lines today. I loved reading her sweet book, and it is now one of my go-to books for baby presents. Check…
ellenleventhal.com
✨ We are thrilled to share that our title, NIGHTY NIGHT, DINOS, has officially landed on the @childrensbookcouncil June Hot Off the Press list! 🙌📚 Dive into the full selection over at cbcbooks.org #BookBuzz #kidlit #Bookstagram #ClassroomLibrary #ReadingList #CBCHotOffThePress
Fun seeing this from my Swedish friend—my book priced in kroners!
Blockbuster picture book coming to a bookstore near you! NIGHTY NIGHT, DINOS from Familius publishing, opening June 16th!
Love Anna Doherty’s cover for my first picture book, out June 16 from Familius!
So grateful for a good Kirkus review for Nighty Night, Dinos coming out in June from Familius. “A soothing tale, brimming with bedtime charm.”
My first picture book, NIGHTY NIGHT, DINOS, got its first review today from the School Library Journal--and it was lovely! They praised illustrator Anna Doherty's gentle illustrations and called my rhyming text "charming and effective." Coming out in June from Familius. Woohoo!
8 years ago this week, Jim and I met on Match.com and started dating. Got married this year in June! Cheers to senior romance.
I just like seeing these words together—today I had a zoom call with my publisher’s marketing team. After 27 years of submitting picture books:
Happy to be among the thrivers for 13 years now. Thank you, science!
Very excited about my picture book releasing in 9 months!
Happy to see my soccer poem in the Sept. issue of High Five! It came while I was at a Highlights workshop in PA! Love that it features a girl.
Best early birthday present ever from my husband Jim--tickets to see Paul McCartney in Denver in October! Saw the Beatles in 1964, Wings in '90, and now the Got Back tour!
Just signed the contract for my third Nighty Night series picture book, this one about bears! Thank you, Familius!
June 1 is International Dinosaur Day! I learned this week that my picture book Nighty Night, Dinos has a release date in June of 2026, and an ISBN number! Moving slow but steady toward publication.
That feeling of excitement that comes when you get an idea for a brand new picture book, do some research, and then the writing goes well!
Needed a smile after a crazy week, and watched All of Me, starring Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin. Makes me laugh no matter how many times I've seen it! What movie makes you laugh?
I'd love to attend a PB retreat at the Highlights barn, but they no longer have shuttle service from the airport. Has anyone Ubered and what was the cost? The SCBWI forum is down, due to to having been hacked twice, so I can't check there.
I’m excited to share some of Anna Doherty’s lovely illustrations for my picture book coming out from Familius in 2026, Night Night Dinos!
Big shoutout to thank Sylvia Chen for all the hours she spent creating graphics and helping Mindy in many ways with PBParty!
Despite the president hoping to cancel Black History Month, it still matters.
a sign that says black history matters in our schools on a purple background
ALT: a sign that says black history matters in our schools on a purple background
media.tenor.com
Jumping for joy! I hope you will be, too! Please check out & share the HEADS-UP-The-#50PreciousWords CONTEST-IS-COMING-SOON post! Find DATES, GUIDELINES, and a list of fabulous PRIZES! And I hope you love my updated website thanks to @thebooklinksllc.bsky.social viviankirkfield.com/2025/02/01/h...
Best of luck to everyone participating in the #PBPitch on Monday! Such a great opportunity to have our work seen.
These are the good guys supporting DEI. Reward them with your business. Costco Meijer Kroger Giant Grocery Ben & Jerry’s Ulta, Macy’s Old Navy Nordstrom’s TJ Maxx GoTo Foods ( Moe’s Southwest Grill, Mcalister’s, Auntie Anne’s, Jamba, Cinnabon…) Dollar Tree Walgreens Wegmans
I'm honored to have a poem in the Small Things edition of Tyger Tyger, a site for poetry for children. Just Right, by Deborah Holt Williams It’s only me and Mama. Some say our family’s small. But when I’m in her great big hug, We don’t feel small at all.
I am so sorry to hear about the passing of Christine French Cully, former editor-in-chief at Highlights. She worked with me at Chautauqua, and later invited me to a vacant spot in the magazine writing workshop at the Barn.
I’m getting lots of good ideas from Tara Lazar’s STORYSTORM. Thanks, Tara!
