Cynthia Leitich Smith
From NativeWiki
Cynthia Leitich Smith is a children's and young adult author living in Austin, TX. She has a professional background in law, public relations, and journalism. She is also a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Indian nation. Her first picture book is Jingle Dancer, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu (HarperCollins, 2000), and her first novel is Rain Is Not My Indian Name (HarperCollins, 2001)(Listening Library, 2001). She also has published several short stories, "A Real Live Blond Cherokee and His Equally Annoyed Soul Mate" from Moccasin Thunder: American Indian Stories for Today, edited by Lori M. Carlson (HarperCollins, 2005); "Riding With Rosa" by in Cicada literary magazine (Vol. 7, No. 4, March/April 2005); and an interlinking collection, Indian Shoes, illustrated by Jim Madsen (HarperCollins, 2002).
Cynthia's Children's Literature Resources is a 130-plus-page award-winning Web site devoted to children's and young adult literature. It features original interviews with authors, illustrators, and experts; bibliographies on the site authors' areas of expertise (Native Americans, Asian Americans, interracial families, Texas, fantasy, horror, and more); articles on children's books and writing; a literacy campaign; and numerous comprehensive and annotated links to related resources on the Web (including a listing of links to sites about state awards for children's books). A separate section on Native American Indian themes in children's books (with separate bibliographies for contemporary books, historical books, books by Native authors or illustrators, and links to related education resources) is available .
See Also
spookycyn, Cynthia's blog for her Gothic fantasy fiction
Cynthia at Bookfest 02 at the Library of Congress (video available)
Interview with Cynthia on the Fresh Air Teen Zine
One Writer's Process at Wordswimmer
Interview with Cynthia in The Edge of the Forest: a children's literature monthly
Chatting With Cynthia Leitich Smith on mango-firefly's blog
An interview with Cynthia by Debbi Michiko Florence.
Interview with Cynthis & Greg at childrenslit.com
Interview with Cynthia at Big City Lit.
Teachers Guides for Cynthia's books at webenglishteacher.com
A short biography from the Internet Public Library's Native Author Project.
