New Books Announcement
November 18, 2022 | 1:14pm
In 2024, Heinemann (USA) will publish two new children’s fiction books written by Summer Edward. The Neighborhood Band is set in the island of Trinidad and tells the story of a group of children who bring their community together through music. Christian Paniagua has completed illustrations for the book. Thandie and the Floating Book Fair, to be illustrated by Aeron Cargill, is also set in Trinidad and draws upon one of the author’s fondest childhood memories.
Presenting the cover of Caribbean Children's Literature, Volume 2: Critical Approaches which will be published by University Press of Mississippi in June 2023. Edited by Dr. Betsy Nies and Dr. Melissa García Vega, it’s the first ever scholarly anthology exclusively exploring Caribbean literature for young readers. Summer Edward has contributed a chapter titled “The Picture Book is Political: Caribbean Children’s Literature as Littérature Engagée.”
Click here to learn more about Caribbean Children's Literature, Volume 2: Critical Approaches. >>
Online Course for Children's Writers Launched
September 15, 2022 | 9:15am
Introducing an engaging new online video course for beginner to intermediate children's writers. The course can be completed at students' own pace and enrollment is ongoing.
Click here to learn more and register. >>
Recap: Spring 2022
June 24, 2022 | 9:00am
Summer Edward was recently profiled by the Roothbert Fund. She was also the subject of a feature in The Trinidad and Tobago Newsday’s WMN Magazine.
In March, her children’s book debut, The Wonder of the World Leaf, was one of eight featured titles in the Black Unicorn Library and Archives Project’s (Pittsburgh, USA) Black Children's Book Week community program.
Thanks to Stacy Ladonna over at the wonderful Black Children's Books and Authors blog for including The Wonder of the World Leaf in this fine list of books for young readers for Caribbean American Heritage Month.
Check this space in the Fall for the cover reveal of Caribbean Children's Literature: Critical Approaches, an exciting seminal scholarly anthology forthcoming from the University Press of Mississippi, to which Summer Edward is a chapter contributor.
Summer Edward Among Finalists for Brett Elizabeth Jenkins Poetry Prize and Majda Gama Editors' Prize
February 14, 2022 | 9:41am
Summer Edward was one of 8 finalists for the 2021 Brett Elizabeth Jenkins Poetry Prize and the Majda Gama Editors' Prize, both awarded by Tinderbox Poetry Journal. The other finalists were Ayokunle Falomo, JJ Peña, Ariana Benson, Jae Nichelle, Rachael Lin Wheeler, Hua Xi, and Joanna Ng. Edward's poem entered for the prizes was "Last Morning in Tzununá," inspired by her 2019 trip to Guatemala. This year’s judge was Tiana Clark.
Read Summer's poem, published in the journal's Winter Solstice Issue, here. >>
Children's Author of the Month at The National Library of Trindad and Tobago
September 30, 2021 | 9:44am
Next month, Summer Edward will be the children's author of the month at The National Library of Trinidad and Tobago. Join us as she shares her new picture storybook, The Wonder of the World Leaf (HarperCollins UK, 2021), with Trinbagonian audiences. All events will be virtual.
Visit the Facebook page of The National Library of Trinidad and Tobago here. >>
Special Invitations
July 27, 2021 | 10:30am
Summer Edward is now an invited member of the Children's Literature & Reading Special Interest Group of the International Literacy Association; the invitation to join the group was extended to her by the group's president-elect, Dr. Sandip Wilson.
Learn about the Children's Literature & Reading Special Interest Group here. >>
Edward is one of 100 poets of African descent invited to be featured on AfriPoeTree SIV (Selective Interactive Video), a new Pan-African digital platform funded by the Arts Council England. AfriPoeTree SIV will offer users a fully interactive experience with poems and poets offered through print, audio and video, as well as interviews and performance. The project is being developed by writer, editor and publisher Kadija Sesay and will be produced by Yorkshire based digital media and theatre company 2b Acting on their innovative SIV platform. Content will be accessible across all platforms including mobiles, tablets, and desktop computers. Poets featured will include W.E.B. Dubois, award winning African-British poet Sophia Thakur, Pulitzer prize-winning African American poet Tyehimba Jess, Ake Festival director/Nigerian writer Lola Shoney, T.S. Eliot Prize winning Guyanese author Fred D’Aguiar, and more.
Blog Tour for The Wonder of the World Leaf
March 31, 2021 | 12:00pm
Join us on this blog tour for Summer Edward's children's book, The Wonder of the World Leaf, a new title in HarperCollins UK's Collins Big Cat series. From dynamic duo Summer Edward (author) and Sayada Ramdial (illustrator) comes a hopeful nature-loving tale of community and caring that follows a young Trinidadian girl's quest to heal her Grannie using bush medicine.
Learn about The Wonder of the World Leaf here. >>
Summer Edward Awarded Kweli Scholarship and Mentorship
March 5, 2021 | 6:00pm
Summer Edward is one of 12 BIPOC creatives awarded a full scholarship to attend the 2021 Kweli Color of Children’s Literature Conference. The scholarship covers full access to the conference, as well as 6 months of Kweli mentorship from May 2021 through October 2021. Edward's mentor, Kirsti-Jewel, is a Kweli Fellow, educator, transcript writer for the award-winning podcast, Rebel Girls, and children's author whose children's book debut is forthcoming from Penguin Random House.
Learn about the Kweli Color of Children’s Literature Conference here. >>
Publication News
January 1, 2021 | 10:00am
Heinemann USA will publish 6 illustrated leveled books written by Summer Edward for their Fountas & Pinnell Classroom™ Shared Reading Collection, starting with a biography-in-verse titled Renaissance Man: Geoffrey Holder's Life in the Arts. Publication is set for 2021.
Edward will be a contributor to Bookmarked: New Caribbean Writing, a print anthology compiled by the editors of PREE journal and funded by the Prince Claus Fund. Publication is set for February 2021.
Also, she will be a chapter contributor to Caribbean Children’s Literature: Critical Approaches, edited by Drs. Betsy Nies and Melissa Garcia Vega, a scholarly print anthology from University Press of Mississippi. Publication is set for 2021.
Stay tuned for the cover reveal for Edward's children's book debut, The Wonder of the World Leaf, which will be published by HarperCollins UK on April 1, 2021.
Add the book to Goodreads here. >>
