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Banner for Backpack author Katie Arthur. A brown central panel contains the text “Author of Backpack” and “Interview with Katie Arthur,” with the Open Book logo below. The Backpack book cover appears near the center-right. On both sides of the banner, there are illustrated children shown from behind wearing colorful backpacks, creating a playful, book-themed frame.

Story Sparks & Surprises with Katie Arthur, Author and Illustrator of BACKPACK

A beloved bag can carry a lot more than lunch and library books. In the new picturebook, Backpack (Owlkids Books), a familiar everyday object becomes a companion through school days, family trips, new ...

11 hours ago
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Andrea Coke Reflects on Family, Culture, and Belonging in I AM CARIBBEAN

Author and Speech-Language Pathologist Andrea Coke knows that identity is rarely a simple story. In her memoir I Am Caribbean (Saunders Book Company/Beech Street Books) she reflects on family, culture, ...

one day ago

Blaine Thornton on Writing Survival, Healing, and Home in the New Poetry Collection, HERE'S TO LETTING GO

Finding safety is rarely a straight path. Here's to Letting Go (Latitude 46 Publishing) follows one young person's search for belonging through unstable housing, temporary shelters, and the quiet determination ...

August 07, 2026

Kevin Jagernauth on Reimagining Noir in THE LONGEST DEATH

A small-town bank job is just the beginning of the story in The Longest Death (House of Anansi Press), a new work of noir full with longing, ambition, and the dangerous hope that one perfect score can ...

August 06, 2026

Simon Casaubon on Writing I AM QUEER to Help Young People Feel Seen

Personal stories can open the door to much larger conversations. In I Am Queer, (Beech Street Books/Saunders Book Company) author Simon Casaubon shares his own experiences while introducing young readers ...

August 02, 2026