Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, April 14, 2026 Traditional children’s books agree on what a smart kid looks like. Smart kids read. Their reports cards are full of As. Usually, they wear glasses. Often, they’re socially awkward. Sometimes they are the main character, sometimes a sidekick, but across the history of children’s literature, smart kids have tended to match the ...

An Interview by Meg Eden Kuyatt "Desperate to feel creative again, indie film director Nina rounds up her community theatre friends to tell a bizarre story about telepathic alien bones.But when her next depressive episode arrives early-in the form of a sarcastic skeleton named Vincenzo-Nina must find a way to tune him out and keep the film on track." Welcome to A Novel Mind, Lyn...

Penguin Random House, Sept 2025. Ages 14 + Welcome to A NOVEL MIND, Susan!  Can you tell us a little about yourself?  I’m so happy to have connected with you! I am neurodivergent (autistic with OCD), a young adult author, and a youth services librarian. I think I’m drawn to literature for children and adolescents in part because I’m still processing through so much of the anxi...

Morgan and Molly of "Not Alone Notes" ( notalonenotes.org ) Hi, Morgan! Would you like to introduce yourself, and tell us a little about your background?  Hello! My name is Morgan, and I have had OCD for as long as I can remember, but I wasn’t diagnosed until college. A few years later, I started Not Alone Notes , with the goal of mailing encouraging, hopeful snail mail to other...