priscillamante.bsky.social

@priscillamante.bsky.social

Author. Poet. Traveller. Jaz Santos vs the World (PRH) Football’s Hidden History (OUP) THE OTHER FATHER CHRISTMAS (Storymix), Agent: Eric Smith.

I love to paint brilliantly colored skies like this. They’re one of my most popular subjects. Here in Minnesota – the land of 10,000 lakes – we’re never very far from a view just like this on a warm summer night. SUMMER SUNSET, Acrylic, 16x16” ©2026 Jim Musil

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Over the years, I've written dozens of Reading for Pleasure articles and shared lots of resources. I'm planning to use Substack as the place where they all live, creating a library of practical RfP strategies, articles and resources. I hope it will be useful. jonbiddle2.substack.com/p/welcome

Welcome

Over the past 10 years, I’ve worked with schools to build reading cultures where reading is celebrated and valued by children, staff and families.

jonbiddle2.substack.com

Well. Children's publishing in the UK has certainly had a bumpy week. But as this post says, all the issues are structural. None of them are new or surprising. The key question: "What must your part of the industry change?" #KidLitUK ://www.instagram.com/p/DbGoMFzCPxT/?img_index=1

bbbookfestival on Instagram: "This conversation may have been triggered by one festival, but blaming one organisation would let the rest of the industry off the …"

This conversation may have been triggered by one festival, but blaming one organisation would let the rest of the industry off the hook.Publishing has a structural representation problem.It determines who gets commissioned, properly funded, heavily marketed, stocked, reviewed, shortlisted, invited onto stages and treated as commercially valuable.The numbers remain stark. Only 24% of UK children’s books published in 2024 featured a racially minoritised character. That means 76% did not. The talent has never been missing.Access is restricted. Investment is unequal. Decision-making power remains concentrated.Publishers cannot blame festivals. Festivals cannot blame publishers. Booksellers cannot endlessly blame consumer demand. Every institution shaping literary culture is responsible for the choices it makes.We built the Black British Book Festival because representation should not begin after backlash. It should be present in the relationships, budgets, commissioning processes and leadership from day one.The industry does not need another promise to “do better.”It needs to do differently.What must your part of the industry change?#PublishingHasARepresentationProblem #BlackBritishBookFestival #BBBF #PublishingRepresentation #DiversityInPublishing

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As parents, we're supposed to remember the first time we did stuff with our kids, but the last time is equally as significant, if not more. This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...

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Saying that “everything can be funded with ads” doesn’t take into consideration how uncomfortable we have all become when exposed to ads. I just sat down to watch a film I ACTIVELY want to watch on Prime, and switched it off immediately because of 3 minutes of ads. Going to buy it on DVD.

They say books won’t change the world. Tell that to every colonizer who burned them. To every enslaved person who was punished for reading. Literacy is resistance. Literacy is liberation. The library is a battlefield.

A rainforest beauty admired for its rich burgundy plumage and brilliant white wings. The Pompadour Cotinga inhabits the Amazon rainforest across northern South America. Males display striking colors to attract mates, while females alone build nests and raise the young. 📷 B. Sharma

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Graphic novels turn kids into lifelong readers. They challenge readers, transform reluctant readers into readers, they bring joy. They boost vocabulary, increase reading comprehension for brains that take in information differently. They tell a story. Graphic novels are real reading, real books ✨📚😊

All this started because Liz reached out with an offer, and we reciprocated as we could. Our lives are so much better because of our community. Bring your neighbor extra chocolate chip cookies or local apples, even if you don’t know them well. You may end up building something beautiful.