Carissa Mina
@carissaminawriter.bsky.social
Writer. Reader. Artist. Word Witch. #SCBWI Member. Once upon a time owner of The Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop. Books are breath. Stories are life. Words are magic. Love wins 💕 #kidlit #kidlitart #easternup
Pinned
Once Upon a Bookshop: The Middle - Part 2
The Benefits of Cultivating Communities
open.substack.com
Here’s the latest in my Once Upon a Bookshop Seties! The Middle - Part 2: The Benefits of Cultivating Communities. Happy Reading!
#bookstores #bookselling #booklove #booklife
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
#bookstores #bookselling #booklove #booklife
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
Okay, okay. I know I’ve been a bit absent lately, but I have a good reason, which I am going to reveal right here and now…I haven’t posted much of anything in the last couple of months because, drumroll please, I’m opening a new bookstore!!! @botanicabooks.bsky.social!
IG: @botanicabks
IG: @botanicabks
September 5, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Okay, okay. I know I’ve been a bit absent lately, but I have a good reason, which I am going to reveal right here and now…I haven’t posted much of anything in the last couple of months because, drumroll please, I’m opening a new bookstore!!! @botanicabooks.bsky.social!
IG: @botanicabks
IG: @botanicabks
Reposted by Carissa Mina
Ingrid Law is a fabulous writer, and this is a fabulous book. #picturebooks #bookreview
Happy Tuesday, Friends! I’m excited ro share my review for this powerful picture book: YOU ARE NOT ALONE, written by @ingridlaw.bsky.social and illustrated by Xin Li!
#picturebooks #bookreview
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
#picturebooks #bookreview
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
Book Review: You Are Not Alone
A Picture Book with a Powerful Message for Children and Adults
open.substack.com
July 1, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Ingrid Law is a fabulous writer, and this is a fabulous book. #picturebooks #bookreview
Happy Tuesday, Friends! I’m excited ro share my review for this powerful picture book: YOU ARE NOT ALONE, written by @ingridlaw.bsky.social and illustrated by Xin Li!
#picturebooks #bookreview
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
#picturebooks #bookreview
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
Book Review: You Are Not Alone
A Picture Book with a Powerful Message for Children and Adults
open.substack.com
July 1, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Happy Tuesday, Friends! I’m excited ro share my review for this powerful picture book: YOU ARE NOT ALONE, written by @ingridlaw.bsky.social and illustrated by Xin Li!
#picturebooks #bookreview
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
#picturebooks #bookreview
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
Reposted by Carissa Mina
On Juneteenth, we celebrate freedom and recommit ourselves to the work that remains undone. We remember that even in the darkest hours, there is cause to hope for tomorrow’s light.
June 19, 2025 at 1:46 PM
On Juneteenth, we celebrate freedom and recommit ourselves to the work that remains undone. We remember that even in the darkest hours, there is cause to hope for tomorrow’s light.
Here’s the latest in my Once Upon a Bookshop Seties! The Middle - Part 2: The Benefits of Cultivating Communities. Happy Reading!
#bookstores #bookselling #booklove #booklife
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
#bookstores #bookselling #booklove #booklife
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
Once Upon a Bookshop: The Middle - Part 2
The Benefits of Cultivating Communities
open.substack.com
June 16, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Here’s the latest in my Once Upon a Bookshop Seties! The Middle - Part 2: The Benefits of Cultivating Communities. Happy Reading!
#bookstores #bookselling #booklove #booklife
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
#bookstores #bookselling #booklove #booklife
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
Reposted by Carissa Mina
Few more spots open for Thursday!
Quite a few folks have emailed about my lil’ summer workshop that sold out, so I added another one.
Let’s get some work done together. www.ericsmithrocks.com/blog/2025/4/...
Let’s get some work done together. www.ericsmithrocks.com/blog/2025/4/...
A Second Query and First Pages Summer Workshop — ERIC SMITH
Well, in a move that wildly surprised me, the first workshop I posted sold out almost immediately . And I’ve seen had a bundle of people ask if I might do another one. So… I’m listening. If you mis...
www.ericsmithrocks.com
June 1, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Few more spots open for Thursday!
Reposted by Carissa Mina
PROTECT THE CREATIVE PROFESSION. SIGN AND SHARE THIS PETITION. It's already been delivered to Congress, but we're keeping the pressure on them and need your help!
Sign the petition: authorsguild.org/news/congres...
Sign the petition: authorsguild.org/news/congres...
May 21, 2025 at 2:28 PM
PROTECT THE CREATIVE PROFESSION. SIGN AND SHARE THIS PETITION. It's already been delivered to Congress, but we're keeping the pressure on them and need your help!
Sign the petition: authorsguild.org/news/congres...
Sign the petition: authorsguild.org/news/congres...
Reposted by Carissa Mina
13 Incredible Middle Grade Books, May 2025 imaginationsoup.net/middle-grade... #kidlit
May 20, 2025 at 6:19 PM
13 Incredible Middle Grade Books, May 2025 imaginationsoup.net/middle-grade... #kidlit
Reposted by Carissa Mina
We are seriously blessed with some amazing sff books lately. I just reviewed four brand new titles that take place in worlds that are utterly irresistible.
wapo.st/4mrm0lQ
Authors are:
@novarensuma.bsky.social
Neon Yang
@emilytesh.net
Sayaka Murata
wapo.st/4mrm0lQ
Authors are:
@novarensuma.bsky.social
Neon Yang
@emilytesh.net
Sayaka Murata
These books prove worldbuilding is vital to sci-fi and fantasy
New books by Nova Ren Suma, Neon Yang, Emily Tesh and Sayaka Murata revel in the ways that speculative fiction rewrites reality.
wapo.st
May 21, 2025 at 6:59 PM
We are seriously blessed with some amazing sff books lately. I just reviewed four brand new titles that take place in worlds that are utterly irresistible.
wapo.st/4mrm0lQ
Authors are:
@novarensuma.bsky.social
Neon Yang
@emilytesh.net
Sayaka Murata
wapo.st/4mrm0lQ
Authors are:
@novarensuma.bsky.social
Neon Yang
@emilytesh.net
Sayaka Murata
Reposted by Carissa Mina
It feels like authors don't stand a chance these days. Yet we keep writing and trying because we know how important stories are, and how much we all need them, esp kids. Real stories written by real people. AI will steal from us, but it cannot write from the heart. Because it doesn't have one.
May 20, 2025 at 6:39 PM
It feels like authors don't stand a chance these days. Yet we keep writing and trying because we know how important stories are, and how much we all need them, esp kids. Real stories written by real people. AI will steal from us, but it cannot write from the heart. Because it doesn't have one.
Reposted by Carissa Mina
Instead of getting your "summer reading list" from big for-profit publications that use AI, maybe support book bloggers who cultivate amazing lists because they actually love books. Also, bonus points for supporting BIPOC book bloggers!
May 20, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Instead of getting your "summer reading list" from big for-profit publications that use AI, maybe support book bloggers who cultivate amazing lists because they actually love books. Also, bonus points for supporting BIPOC book bloggers!
Reposted by Carissa Mina
Over on ye olde newsletter, I've shared 3 posts on how I made a dummy, queried, and then chose my #kidlit #kidlitart literary agent. It's funny. I think you'll like it.
1: jacobsouva.substack.com/p/how-i-quer...
2: open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...
3: open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...
1: jacobsouva.substack.com/p/how-i-quer...
2: open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...
3: open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...
How I Queried My Literary Agent
A tale full of intrigue, doubt, and success (Part 1)
jacobsouva.substack.com
May 19, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Over on ye olde newsletter, I've shared 3 posts on how I made a dummy, queried, and then chose my #kidlit #kidlitart literary agent. It's funny. I think you'll like it.
1: jacobsouva.substack.com/p/how-i-quer...
2: open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...
3: open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...
1: jacobsouva.substack.com/p/how-i-quer...
2: open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...
3: open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...
Reposted by Carissa Mina
Just a reminder that your local library has more than books! Many also have dvds, cds, board games, video game systems, internet hot spots, streaming services, computers, ebooks, audio books, park passes, museum passes, passport services and so much more!
Maybe it's time for a visit 📚❤️
Maybe it's time for a visit 📚❤️
May 19, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Just a reminder that your local library has more than books! Many also have dvds, cds, board games, video game systems, internet hot spots, streaming services, computers, ebooks, audio books, park passes, museum passes, passport services and so much more!
Maybe it's time for a visit 📚❤️
Maybe it's time for a visit 📚❤️
Reposted by Carissa Mina
May 19, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Reposted by Carissa Mina
In case you missed it this weekend, I wrote about @authorsabb.bsky.social (a group I volunteer with) for @ala-acrl.bsky.social's blog.
Thanks, @maurasmale.bsky.social, for letting me write about @authorsabb.bsky.social for ACRLog.
Authors Against Book Bans - ACRLog
Editor's note: We welcome a guest post from Jessica Olin, who was in the library field for close to twenty years, both as a librarian and a library director. For eight of those years, they were also r...
acrlog.org
May 19, 2025 at 5:11 PM
In case you missed it this weekend, I wrote about @authorsabb.bsky.social (a group I volunteer with) for @ala-acrl.bsky.social's blog.
Getting back into illustration after a long break…why did I ever stop?
May 18, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Getting back into illustration after a long break…why did I ever stop?
I know it’s been longer than planned but I’ve finally posted the latest in my Once Upon a Bookshop series! The Middle - Part One: Book Ordering, Bookkeeping & Book-Loving Ghosts 📚🤓👻
#bookstores #bookselling #ghosts
carissamina.substack.com/p/once-upon-...
#bookstores #bookselling #ghosts
carissamina.substack.com/p/once-upon-...
Once Upon a Bookshop
The Middle - Part One
carissamina.substack.com
May 16, 2025 at 6:17 PM
I know it’s been longer than planned but I’ve finally posted the latest in my Once Upon a Bookshop series! The Middle - Part One: Book Ordering, Bookkeeping & Book-Loving Ghosts 📚🤓👻
#bookstores #bookselling #ghosts
carissamina.substack.com/p/once-upon-...
#bookstores #bookselling #ghosts
carissamina.substack.com/p/once-upon-...
Reposted by Carissa Mina
It's Wonderfully Wild's book birthday!
May 6, 2025 at 12:41 PM
It's Wonderfully Wild's book birthday!
Reposted by Carissa Mina
Join us this Friday May 9! for a Freedom Read-In! A ton of fantastic writers for young readers will be sharing their work throughout the school day!
Register for the morning session here: www.crowdcast.io/c/z2e4i7i652g1
And the afternoon session here: www.crowdcast.io/c/ky2m562xhkso
Register for the morning session here: www.crowdcast.io/c/z2e4i7i652g1
And the afternoon session here: www.crowdcast.io/c/ky2m562xhkso
Freedom to Read-In Morning Session
Register now for Freedom to Read-In Morning Session on crowdcast, scheduled to go live on May 9, 2025, 10:00 AM EDT.
www.crowdcast.io
May 5, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Join us this Friday May 9! for a Freedom Read-In! A ton of fantastic writers for young readers will be sharing their work throughout the school day!
Register for the morning session here: www.crowdcast.io/c/z2e4i7i652g1
And the afternoon session here: www.crowdcast.io/c/ky2m562xhkso
Register for the morning session here: www.crowdcast.io/c/z2e4i7i652g1
And the afternoon session here: www.crowdcast.io/c/ky2m562xhkso
Reposted by Carissa Mina
One of the few images I frequently share with kids that wasn't created by me is this. I like to reassure them this feeling is universal, and also, that it never goes away. I'm doing final edits on a new book right now and I for sure am feeling like a jacked-up looking inside-out puffin sock today
May 5, 2025 at 4:19 PM
One of the few images I frequently share with kids that wasn't created by me is this. I like to reassure them this feeling is universal, and also, that it never goes away. I'm doing final edits on a new book right now and I for sure am feeling like a jacked-up looking inside-out puffin sock today
Love, Marriage, and Books - So Many Books, So Little Time
#books #reading #bibliophiles
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
#books #reading #bibliophiles
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
Love, Marriage, and Books
Recently, my husband and I got into an argument while walking our dogs.
open.substack.com
May 2, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Love, Marriage, and Books - So Many Books, So Little Time
#books #reading #bibliophiles
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
#books #reading #bibliophiles
open.substack.com/pub/carissam...
Reposted by Carissa Mina
100% - if we want indie bookstores we need to shop indie bookstores (same logic: if we want indie presses we need to shop indie presses, if we want diverse books we need to shop diverse books...) #kidlit
This Saturday April 26th is Independent Bookstore Day!
Now more than ever, the @americanbookseller.bsky.social and independent bookstores everywhere need our support.
If you have time this weekend, visit and support a local independent bookstore in your area.
www.bookweb.org/independent-...
Now more than ever, the @americanbookseller.bsky.social and independent bookstores everywhere need our support.
If you have time this weekend, visit and support a local independent bookstore in your area.
www.bookweb.org/independent-...
Independent Bookstore Day
www.bookweb.org
April 24, 2025 at 12:58 PM
100% - if we want indie bookstores we need to shop indie bookstores (same logic: if we want indie presses we need to shop indie presses, if we want diverse books we need to shop diverse books...) #kidlit
Today’s #independentbookstoreday haul! ❤️❤️❤️📚🤓
April 26, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Today’s #independentbookstoreday haul! ❤️❤️❤️📚🤓
Reposted by Carissa Mina
Happy Independent Bookstore Day! Read Maris's piece, then go show your local indie bookstore some love. They're so much more than places to get books--they are places to engage with ideas and others in your community. Staffed by actual humans to help you find the books you didn't know you needed!
I needed to write about something that’s giving me hope, so I wrote about Independent Bookstore Day which is this Saturday. lithub.com/something-go...
Something Good in the World: Let’s Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day This Weekend
I was going to write something else for today’s column, something complain-y but righteous that would allow me to get some stuff off my chest and maybe even get some rage clicks. Shit is bad. But I…
lithub.com
April 26, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Happy Independent Bookstore Day! Read Maris's piece, then go show your local indie bookstore some love. They're so much more than places to get books--they are places to engage with ideas and others in your community. Staffed by actual humans to help you find the books you didn't know you needed!