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Susan Tan

@susansmtan

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Children’s book writer, professor, dog lover. Author of CILLA LEE-JENKINS series, PETS RULE!, and GHOST, TOAST & OTHER HAZARDS

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I came home from London w an awesome souvenir! Thank you @tattooist_hei for this adorable soot sprite holding a glowing heart! I love it! And I got this on the same day that…➡️

💖 @susansmtan and I saw the stage performance of My Neighbor Totoro at the Gillian Lynne Theater. It was perfection - the actors, the puppets and puppeteers, and the sets! I’d see this again and again! And I loved how true they stayed to the Studio Ghibli movie. Speaking of that…➡️

If you didn’t know, I am so honored that I got to write the Who Is Hayao Miyazaki book w incredible art by Gregory Copeland. Coming to you 3/2/27. You can preorder now!

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Writing retreat is going well so it was time for a reward! @susansmtan and I went to Jacqueline’s @thechanceryrosewood hotel (formerly the US Embassy building) for high tea! The entire experience was amazing from the tea service w excellent guidance from the tea sommelier to the delicious courses starting w caviar and blini, through sandwiches, to scones w clotted cream and jam, to the pastries! Loved my tea selections that included Kyoto oolong and green tea from Jeju Island. A perfect afternoon that went from elegance to a bit of chaos at the end (blame the sugar and caffeine?). 🥰
Note: how wild was it that the couple next to us was also from CT and when I said where I lived, they mentioned @mysticdrawbridgeicecream (best ice cream)! We four had a wonderful conversation about books and writing! Waving to Meg and Evan!

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Good morning from day 2 of our writing retreat (Wednesday)! It was a full day of writing thanks to a rainy day. @susansmtan and I stayed focused and wrote a lot of words (we are both working on zero drafts of new projects). I will admit it was a struggle for me and I whined A LOT, but I stuck to it. We celebrated w dinner at a Chinese restaurant (& the rain stopped for us)! A writing morning for us today but shopping this afternoon!

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MYTH: Book bans are good for the author’s sales.

REALITY: This simply isn’t true. Some authors might already be popular enough where book bans don’t hurt their success. But the majority of challenges are against smaller authors who depend on library sales and classroom visits for their livelihood.

This also means thousands of kids won’t be able to see themselves represented in books or learn about other vibrant communities and histories.

YOU CAN HELP! (<5 mins. actions)
☎️ Call your Senator to oppose HR 2616 “Don’t say trans” bill (already passed the House).

☎️ Call your representative to oppose:
1️⃣ HR 7661 National book banning bill.
2️⃣ S 4925 Defunding public schools teaching books with any LGBTQIA+ content.
3️⃣ HR 8705 CHARLIE Act, defunding public schools teaching inclusively about race and gender.

👀 Browse free guides and toolkit from @UniteAgainstBookBans

🫂 Follow and support organizations like
@AmericanLibraryAssociation, @PenAmerica, @AuthorsAgainstBookBans,@ABFEfreeExpression

Which banned books have you read? Let me know your favorites!

Banned Books Week, unite against book bans, let freedom read, I stand with the banned, censorship is so 1984

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Happiness is a day w @susansmtan - eating, talking, eating, laughing, shopping, eating, and talking. 🥰 Loved stopping by @shipshapeshopct for the Token Treasure machine and we both got the same awesome “best chums” pins! 💕 Stay tuned for our upcoming writing retreat adventure!

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We hope you're having a beautiful day. Today we pivot from picture books to chapter books with these wonderful stories. We love these for the K-4 child(ren) in your life.

Check them out during your next library or bookstore visit!

#acorn #branches #readaloud #katedicamillo #chapterbooks

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🪦 DEAL ANNOUNCEMENT 🪦

We’re thrilled to announce our next WNDB anthology, MONSTER MOON RISING, slated for publication with Crown Children’s in Summer 2027 🧟📖

MONSTER MOON RISING is a middle grade horror anthology from We Need Diverse Books, about twelve kids facing the monsters of their nightmares on the night of a Super Blood Moon. The anthology is edited by Ellen Oh and features a special foreword by Soman Chainani (@somanc).

The anthology will contain stories from:

🌙 Samira Ahmed (@sam_aye_ahm)
🌙 Tracey Baptiste (@traceybaptistewrites)
🌙 Shakirah Bourne (@shakirahwrites)
🌙 Huda Fahmy (@yesimhotinthis)
🌙 Lamar Giles (@lamargiles)
🌙 Donna Barba Higuera (@donnabarbahiguera)
🌙 Malia Maunakea (@maliamaunakea)
🌙 Ellen Oh (@elloecho)
🌙 Dan Poblocki (@danpoblox)
🌙 Kristen Simmons (@kris10writes)
🌙 Ronald L. Smith (@ronsmithwriter)
🌙 Susan Tan (@susansmtan)

Many thanks to our teams at Penguin Random House and @newleafliterary for helping to make this anthology possible. Much more to come soon! We can’t wait for you all to feast your eyes on MONSTER MOON RISING next summer!

Tags: #BookDeal #BookAnnouncement #MonsterMoonRising #CrownChildrens #HorrorAnthology Dark purple graphic decorated with spooky details like spiderwebs along the top and an illustration of a creepy graveyard at the bottom. The graphic is titled “Book Deal Announcement” and displays a screenshot of a Publishers Marketplace announcement for “Monster Moon Rising”, edited by Ellen Oh. Announcement text: “Ellen Oh, ed.’s Monster Moon Rising, a horror anthology from We Need Diverse Books, in which creatures from folklore awaken across the world on the night of a Super Blood Moon, and 12 kids must confront the monsters of their nightmares before it’s too late, with a foreword by Soman Chainani and contributions from Samira Ahmed, Tracey Baptiste, Shakirah Bourne, Huda Fahmy, Lamar Giles, Donna Barba Higuera, Malia Maunakea, Ellen Oh, Dan Poblocki, Kristen Simmons, Ronald L. Smith, and Susan Tan, to Phoebe Yeh at Crown Children’s, with Daniela Cortes editing, for publication in summer 2026, by Joanna Volpe at New Leaf Literary & Media, on behalf of We Need Diverse Books (world).”

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Get ready for epic @pokemon journeys, @monsterjam thrills, and other unforgettable stories ✨ Stock your reader’s bookshelves with these exciting new books 📚

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This week's newsletter has landed in your inbox. In it, we discussed our four great August events, as well as our favorite new books releasing in August!

Not subscribed to our newsletter? You can do so either in store or on our website.

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Day 2, stop # 1 and 1.5: The stunning Belmont Books and the beautiful new Belmont Public Library.

Congrats to Belmont Books for NINE years in the biz! Thank you for your support and for the *best* iced mocha from the Black Bear Café.

My Belmont “native companions” (Aunt, cousin, “little” cousin) helped make the morning extra special.

Lots of sightings of bookish friends, too. ☀️

North we go!

#GhostontheCoast
#indiebookstores
#middlegradebooks
#summerreading

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Still aglow from Asian & Asian American Voices at Highlights / @boydsmills with @debbi_michiko_florence and @pacylin. You two are amazing! What an incredible community you have helped create. Thanks also to @mituart for herding cats and @georgebrownfhf for welcoming us into your home and heritage. Cheers to found families.

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It’s all about COMMUNITY and I have found mine. I only knew one person when I came to the @boydsmills Asian Voices Retreat for the first time two years ago but now it’s just a camp for great friends, who all happen to be amazingly talented authors that are killing it in the kid lit industry. And the few new folks we had melded right in into this AAPI BFF stew. Everyone here inspires me and cracks me up and pushes me to do my best work. They are the wind beneath my Korean human arms, blowing away the ticks. And scaring away the beavers with my human scent.

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