Thank you for taking the time to follow our blog, “www.inthewritersweb.com,” for the past ten years! Although we continue to meet regularly for critique sessions as “The Story Spinners,” we have decided to close down our website. However, we are all still very much engaged in the Kidlit space and hope you will continue to follow us on the long and winding road to publication.
Here’s what we are doing and where you can find us:
Elizabeth (Beth) Duncan
As we bid farewell to the Story Spinner’s website, I look forward to welcoming my debut picture book into the world. Antonia and Her Magic Wand: The Extraordinary Story of Antonia Brico, Symphony Conductor, tells the story of one of the first women symphony conductors. It will be published by Anne Schwartz Books/Random House in October of 2026 and illustrated by the talented Victoria Tentler-Krylov.
I continue to work on writing projects, especially picture book biographies, and am learning about the ways one promotes a new book. I’m enjoying getting to know others in the children’s book writing community and hope to have a more active social media presence as I move into the future. You can find me and Antonia on our new websites: www.elizabethduncanwriter.com or at www.AntoniaAndHerMagicWand
Coral Jenrette
Coral continues to write and edit, shifting between kidlit and adult. She lives and works in Denver with her partner, kids and cats. One of her favorite things about being in the writing community is giving and getting feedback, being supported by and supporting other creators. She’s at www.coralwrites.com
Karen Deger McChesney – Writer of YA mystery novels with elements of history and romance, picture books and personal essays.
I love writing about nontraditional messy families, secrets and lies. All of my works are steeped in themes of belonging and rising above and have fiercely determined females. My goal: Publish my books traditionally. Immense thanks to Story Spinners and my other writer heroes who keep inspiring me to persist, persist, and believe in my stories. I am a member of SCBWI-Rocky Mt. Chapter, Writing Away Refuge, Wednesday Writers, and co-chair of Rocky Mt. Fiction Writers YA Birds of a Feather Group.
Love to meet you. Drop me a line at kdmwriter@gmail.com
Mary Kuehner
Friends, thank you for joining us on our writing journeys! While In the Writer’s Web is ending, we’re all still continuing on our paths to publication. I am sharing booklists and reviews of my favorite picture books, middle grade, and graphic novels, as well as occasional posts about writing and literacy, over on my new-ish website, www.MaryKuehner.com. I hope you’ll check it out – and drop me a line via the contact page if you want book recommendations for the littles in your life! Sharing books for kids is truly one of my most favorite things to do. I also post about books and writing on social media – primarily TikTok, Instagram, and Bluesky – under the username @maryloveswords. Find me there – I’d love to connect!
Rondi Sokoloff Frieder
After close to ten years of volunteering for the RMC-SCBWI as the PAL LIASON (I promoted authors and illustrators at conferences and bookstores and hosted panels and webinars), I am now 100% focused on my own projects! For me, that means middle grade fiction. I am currently querying a humorous book about friendship, grief, and ghosts and am just starting my next project that takes place in Antarctica. Yes, there will be penguins! To keep my writing journey going, I participate in a variety of writing/critique groups and take tons of classes. Many thanks to The Story Spinners, The Just Do It Crew, Shalom Writers, and The Tuesday Writers who keep me writing and submitting. All my past, and possibly future, blogs are archived on my website: www.rondibooks.com. I can also be found on Bluesky – @rondifrieder.bsky.social or you can email me at Rondifrieder@gmail.com.
Susan Wroble
Contributing to our critique group’s In the Writer’s Web site was such a joy, and I learned so much over the years as I researched and wrote my posts. I leaned into kidlit in other ways as well, serving first as a critique group coordinator for my local Rocky Mountain Chapter of SCBWI, then as Co-Regional Advisor, and now as one of the heads of RMC’s phenomenal mentorship program. In the years since we started this blog, I’ve published numerous articles for science magazines and books for the educational market, and my debut trade book, DAWN CHORUS: Conservation Efforts that Help Protect Birdsong Around the World is coming out with Holiday House’s “Books for a Better Earth” collection next spring. These days, you can find me online on my website, susanwroble.com, @susanwroble.bsky.social, and reviewing bird books for kids at 10,000 Birds—or out in the garden, where you’ll find me playing the dirt and listening to birdsong.
Bye!