I’ve been waiting to announce this: Norton Young Readers acquired my new middle-grade novel Behold! The Legend of Frogboy, and You Shall Read It in a two-book deal! I’m thrilled to be back in kidlit. It will come out in 2027, with another middle-grade book of mine coming out in 2028.

Thanks to my masterful agent John Cusick at Folio Literary Management for making yet another dream come true. Readers who liked The Order of Odd-Fish will love this one! More details to come as we draw closer to the publishing date . . . in particular, about how Frogboy had its origins in a musical I wrote in college with my friend Joe Cannon.

I’ve been busy with other stuff lately, too. Last Saturday I did a “Best of the 90-Second Newbery” screening at San Antonio’s City Base Cinemas, in which I featured the finest 90-Second Newbery movies from the past 15 years! Thanks to H-E-B Read 3, Bibliotech, and the Alamo Film Group for making this possible (and they made that snappy video chronicling the day above!).

I was particularly delighted that many of our Texas filmmakers attended: Daric of this hilarious standup version of A Wrinkle in Time, Sara, Caitlyn, Emerson, and Ava of this “Catchelor” version of Millions of Cats, and the young men of Keystone Academy’s modernized adaptation of Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!.

In the days leading up to the screening I did author visits at six Texas schools: Memorial Elementary, Veramendi Elementary, and Morningside Elementary in New Braunfels; McNair Middle School in Atascosa; Resnik Middle School in Von Ormy; and Barbara Jordan Intermediate School in Cibolo. I introduced the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival to students, helped some of them on their movie ideas, and at some schools talked about The Order of Odd-Fish too. It was a great time!

At Resnik Middle School I met Arrabella, who made this fantastic on-the-spot fan art of Jo from The Order of Odd-Fish:

At Barbara Jordan Intermediate School, the teacher Ginger made cookies that had the covers of all my books on them, as well as the logo of the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival! Later that night I went out with her and all the other teachers (including the primary organizer, Jennifer Wagner) to Mi Tierra for a great dinner. The line of the evening: when I remarked my margarita was delicious, one of the Texans at the table said, “washes the Yankee right out of your mouth, don’t it?”

San Antonio is fantastic every time I visit!

Thanks, San Antonio! I’m looking forward to seeing the movies you make for the film festival! Remember, the Texas deadline is March 20, 2026 and the San Antonio screening will be at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts on May 9, 2026. Complete information about the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival here.