Debbie Vilardi
@debbievilardi.bsky.social
Freelance author and editor of works for the educational markets, working on my own YA, poems, picture books. Fascinated by the mind. Saved by chocolate. (It's a mood booster, so some days I mean it.)
Happy sales to @artoftoshi.bsky.social! And happy dream come true too. Who wouldn't want to work on a Little Golden Book? (If they call me, I'm in.) And this is a baseball bio to boot.
February 13, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Happy sales to @artoftoshi.bsky.social! And happy dream come true too. Who wouldn't want to work on a Little Golden Book? (If they call me, I'm in.) And this is a baseball bio to boot.
This is what makes modern politics so hard on us. We see the possibilities, the potential futures, and so many of those look bleak. Thankfully, knowledge is power. Seeing can be our call to action. Eyes wide open.
February 6, 2026 at 3:49 PM
This is what makes modern politics so hard on us. We see the possibilities, the potential futures, and so many of those look bleak. Thankfully, knowledge is power. Seeing can be our call to action. Eyes wide open.
Happy sales to my friend Selene Castrovilla and everyone else on this list! www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
2026 Black History Month Picture Book Biographies
In honor of Black History Month, 'PW' showcases a selection of picture book offerings that highlight the achievements and impact of influential Black figures throughout history.
www.publishersweekly.com
February 6, 2026 at 2:21 AM
Happy sales to my friend Selene Castrovilla and everyone else on this list! www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...
Happy sales to @booksbycindy.bsky.social! This is a book on nature and imagination with a sibling relationship at its heart. Sounds like the kind of book that will inspire young readers to tell their own stories and maybe grow up like I did, to be an author.
I got some incredible news about BUTTERFLY SEA that I haven’t shared yet. It was chosen for discussion by SF Bestseller Book Club. Typically, but not always they choose NYTimes Bestsellers! 🥳 🦋 Art by @marielaurecouet.bsky.social
🧜♀️ 📸 🦈 🏴☠️
@picturebookseh.bsky.social @cwillbc.bsky.social
🧜♀️ 📸 🦈 🏴☠️
@picturebookseh.bsky.social @cwillbc.bsky.social
January 30, 2026 at 4:08 PM
Happy sales to @booksbycindy.bsky.social! This is a book on nature and imagination with a sibling relationship at its heart. Sounds like the kind of book that will inspire young readers to tell their own stories and maybe grow up like I did, to be an author.
If folks wait to act when ICE comes to their city, they'll be acting a little late. Hopefully, it won't be too late.
January 30, 2026 at 2:51 PM
If folks wait to act when ICE comes to their city, they'll be acting a little late. Hopefully, it won't be too late.
Happy sales to @laurabontje.bsky.social! This sounds like just the break from the world I need today. Give me ocean and space. Maybe we all need more training to live where we are and get along.
I'm excited to share that my 4th picture book is underway! It's lyrical, informational #PB comparing underwater astronaut training at #AquariusReefBase with life on board the ISS.
The team at @owlkids.bsky.social has been great, and I can't wait to see what Crystal comes up with for the artwork!
The team at @owlkids.bsky.social has been great, and I can't wait to see what Crystal comes up with for the artwork!
Yay! ✨💫🧑🏽🚀🤿 A new book!! By @laurabontje.bsky.social & pics by me : Spring 2028. I can't wait...the ocean & space? Two of my favorite things. (Who doesn't love the ISS?)
@owlkids.bsky.social
@jemiscoe.bsky.social @starlingliterary.bsky.social
#kidsbooks #kidsbookpublishing #kidlit #Kidlitart
@owlkids.bsky.social
@jemiscoe.bsky.social @starlingliterary.bsky.social
#kidsbooks #kidsbookpublishing #kidlit #Kidlitart
January 23, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Happy sales to @laurabontje.bsky.social! This sounds like just the break from the world I need today. Give me ocean and space. Maybe we all need more training to live where we are and get along.
Happy sales to @barbaradee.bsky.social! This won't be out for a little while, but it is such an important concept for our times. I suspect even adults fall prey to the kinds of social media fakes these eighth graders create to try to educate others to stop spreading rumors. What could go wrong?
I’m in love with the cover of my next novel, NOTHING TO SEE HERE (Scholastic, October 20, 2026)—a multi-POV story about eighth graders posting fake rumors online to show classmates the dangers of anonymous gossip on social media.
teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2026/01/16/r...
teenlibrariantoolbox.com/2026/01/16/r...
Rumor Has It: Kids Battle Online Misinformation in NOTHING TO SEE HERE, a guest post and cover reveal by Barbara Dee
Nothing to See Here is about four very different eighth graders who team up to take action after cruel online gossip forces another student to leave school.
teenlibrariantoolbox.com
January 16, 2026 at 4:53 PM
Happy sales to @barbaradee.bsky.social! This won't be out for a little while, but it is such an important concept for our times. I suspect even adults fall prey to the kinds of social media fakes these eighth graders create to try to educate others to stop spreading rumors. What could go wrong?
Happy sales to @hiddenpoetmusic.bsky.social! This one's hard to distill into a sentence. Coming out when you don't want the world thinking gay parents make you gay. Love. (And I don't know what to make of the secret alien attacks. Maybe mental health, maybe real aliens.) Waiting to see.
Thank you to The Nerd Daily for the exclusive cover reveal of my debut novel, Somewhere in Nowhere. The book releases April 14, 2026, in print, digital, and audiobook, everywhere books are sold. thenerddaily.com/exclusive-co... #booksky #kidlit #queerbookworms #lgbtq+news #gaysky #mmromance #YA
Cover Reveal: Somewhere in Nowhere by Steven Gellman | The Nerd Daily
We are delighted to be revealing the cover for Somewhere in Nowhere by Steven Gellman, which is an unforgettable new YA novel about the invisible battles some teens silently fight.
thenerddaily.com
January 9, 2026 at 11:55 PM
Happy sales to @hiddenpoetmusic.bsky.social! This one's hard to distill into a sentence. Coming out when you don't want the world thinking gay parents make you gay. Love. (And I don't know what to make of the secret alien attacks. Maybe mental health, maybe real aliens.) Waiting to see.
So many things. A good TV show or movie can get me thinking. Reading, of course. A museum. A walk in the neighborhood. Letting my mind run free. People watching. Looking at a person avoiding stereotypes as I try to imagine their story. (Who leaves the turn signal on for miles and why?) Many more.
January 9, 2026 at 11:48 PM
So many things. A good TV show or movie can get me thinking. Reading, of course. A museum. A walk in the neighborhood. Letting my mind run free. People watching. Looking at a person avoiding stereotypes as I try to imagine their story. (Who leaves the turn signal on for miles and why?) Many more.
Truth!
This is why workers need solidarity!! The more we stick together the more power we have.
It's always such a huge bummer to me when I see authors using AI to make cover art when I know they wouldn't be okay with their manuscripts being fed into AI to make and sell books.
It's always such a huge bummer to me when I see authors using AI to make cover art when I know they wouldn't be okay with their manuscripts being fed into AI to make and sell books.
the discourse on what jobs are acceptable to replace with generative AI reveals a lot about what we think of other people's jobs
January 9, 2026 at 11:42 PM
Truth!
Happy sales to @mattforrestvw.bsky.social and congratulations! Stargazing develops a sense of wonder and reminds us of how small we are in the grand scheme. But that's not the thing to remember. Read to find out more.
I just learned THE THING TO REMEMBER ABOUT STARGAZING (Tilbury House) has won a Northern Lights Book Award! What a way to kick off the new year. Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed my books!
northerndawnawards.com/2025-norther...
#kidlit #childrensbooks #picturebooks
w/ @pbjamboree.bsky.social
northerndawnawards.com/2025-norther...
#kidlit #childrensbooks #picturebooks
w/ @pbjamboree.bsky.social
January 2, 2026 at 11:10 PM
Happy sales to @mattforrestvw.bsky.social and congratulations! Stargazing develops a sense of wonder and reminds us of how small we are in the grand scheme. But that's not the thing to remember. Read to find out more.
The Crucible. Somehow I never read it in school.
January 2, 2026 at 5:51 PM
The Crucible. Somehow I never read it in school.
Sad. I have trouble throwing away a book I have another copy of. I always try to donate or gift them. Maybe some college will offer to take them.
January 2, 2026 at 5:44 PM
Sad. I have trouble throwing away a book I have another copy of. I always try to donate or gift them. Maybe some college will offer to take them.
Happy sales to @artbyann.bsky.social! I love me a good tall tale, though I've actually never had matzoh pizza. I used to make matzoh cereal (crumble matzoh and add sugar and milk).
Erev Christmas is a perfect time to do a Passover book cover reveal… right???
December 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Happy sales to @artbyann.bsky.social! I love me a good tall tale, though I've actually never had matzoh pizza. I used to make matzoh cereal (crumble matzoh and add sugar and milk).
Does requesting them from the library count? I have two I'll be picking up next week.
December 24, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Does requesting them from the library count? I have two I'll be picking up next week.
I'm still recovering from mine (four days of low-grade fever with no other symptoms). I can barely focus. I hope you feel better ASAP. Hugs.
December 24, 2025 at 8:17 PM
I'm still recovering from mine (four days of low-grade fever with no other symptoms). I can barely focus. I hope you feel better ASAP. Hugs.
I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season, whatever holidays you celebrate. May the new year allow us to come together for the greater good. And may we all be healthy as well as a little wealthier and wiser. Joy to the world!
a sign that says happy holidays with a firework display in the background
Alt: a sign that says happy holidays with a firework display in the background
media.tenor.com
December 18, 2025 at 9:05 PM
I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season, whatever holidays you celebrate. May the new year allow us to come together for the greater good. And may we all be healthy as well as a little wealthier and wiser. Joy to the world!
Happy sales to @bendavisauthor.bsky.social! This sounds as funny as it looks. I mean, of course, the planet of fluffy unicorns is inflatable.
December 18, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Happy sales to @bendavisauthor.bsky.social! This sounds as funny as it looks. I mean, of course, the planet of fluffy unicorns is inflatable.
Finish the revision of my novel and get the full to beta readers while earning more as a freelancer than I did last year and still maintaining my sanity by having time for family, friends, etc. (If only time were an infinite resource.)
December 18, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Finish the revision of my novel and get the full to beta readers while earning more as a freelancer than I did last year and still maintaining my sanity by having time for family, friends, etc. (If only time were an infinite resource.)
Happy sales to @anniecardi.bsky.social! It has romance, roots in Shakespeare, coming-of-age themes, and a hint of mystery. Sounds like a good mix to me.
Oh hey, Kirkus says WINTER WHITE is one of their most anticipated YA books of spring: www.kirkusreviews.com/book-lists/m...
Also I need all of these other books asap. #books #YAlit #booksky
Also I need all of these other books asap. #books #YAlit #booksky
December 11, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Happy sales to @anniecardi.bsky.social! It has romance, roots in Shakespeare, coming-of-age themes, and a hint of mystery. Sounds like a good mix to me.
The moment when you read the opening to a scene you wrote and go "This sucks. What does this scene need to be?" and then start writing it ... #amwriting
December 10, 2025 at 12:03 AM
The moment when you read the opening to a scene you wrote and go "This sucks. What does this scene need to be?" and then start writing it ... #amwriting
Happy sales to @johannamation.bsky.social! What a fun concept! When doomsday is coming for ghosts, only a young medium, who acts as their therapist, can help them get the key to reopen death's door.
Did you like my graphic novel THE GHOSTKEEPER?
Tis the season to leave a review! Reviews help authors a ton and you get to share things you like about a book, it’s a win-win! 👻
Tis the season to leave a review! Reviews help authors a ton and you get to share things you like about a book, it’s a win-win! 👻
December 5, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Happy sales to @johannamation.bsky.social! What a fun concept! When doomsday is coming for ghosts, only a young medium, who acts as their therapist, can help them get the key to reopen death's door.
Depends. Did your dreams come true? For me, I need to know where I'm going to figure out how to get there. But maybe that's backwards.
December 5, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Depends. Did your dreams come true? For me, I need to know where I'm going to figure out how to get there. But maybe that's backwards.
Dream big. Then work hard.
December 4, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Dream big. Then work hard.