Debbi Michiko Florence

Keep It Together, Keiko Carter, my middle grade debut novel, will be celebrating a book birthday on May 5! After years of writing, revising, submitting, collecting rejections, writing, and revising, this story of my heart will be a real book with readers and I’m so excited to celebrate! Below is the schedule for the launch… Read more »

In one week, I’ll be celebrating the launch of my debut middle grade novel, Keep It Together, Keiko Carter! I’m super excited! I hope you’ll join me in celebrating virtually. I’ll be hosting some fun giveaways where you could win signed copies of the book. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram, and join the week-long… Read more »

Pre-orders are a great way to support authors to let publishers know that there is excitement around a book. This means you order the book in advance of publication. In partnership with my local independent bookstore, Bank Square Books, I am running a special pre-order campaign. Pre-order the book through this link, and you will… Read more »

It’s scary when after years (for me over a decade) of writing and revising a manuscript, it becomes a real book and suddenly the story is no longer mine. It belongs to readers. Always the hope is that readers will connect with the characters, love the story, want to share the book. Yesterday, I saw… Read more »

I am thrilled to announce that my middle grade debut, Keep It Together, Keiko Carter will be published by Scholastic on May 5, 2020! I’m eternally grateful to my amazing agent, Tricia Lawrence of EMLA, and my brilliant editor Jenne Abramowitz! Check out this gorgeous cover: Huge props to cover designer Stephanie Yang! I love… Read more »

It’s been a busy few weeks and I hope to have my quarterly newsletter out on time next month. In the meantime here are a few things I’ve been up to. As part of the #KidsNeedMentors program, I partnered with teacher Jane Chalifoux and her third grade students at Mills Pond Elementary. After a year… Read more »

Wowee zowee! I’m so excited to learn that Jasmine Toguchi Drummer Girl won the Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award for Transitional Fiction! A big thank you to Blue Crab committee and the Maryland Librarian Association for this wonderful honor!

What a true honor and thrill to learn that Jasmine Toguchi Drummer Girl is a Cybils Award finalist in the Early Chapter Book category! Big thanks to the judges!

If you’ve read Jasmine Toguchi Flamingo Keeper, you know that Jasmine and her sister Sophie receive daruma as gifts from Obaachan, their grandma in Japan. Daruma are wishing dolls. You make a wish and color in one eye of the doll, and when the wish comes true, you color in the other eye! My husband… Read more »

I had a wonderful time at the Morristown Festival Books as a presenting author of KidFest! Big thanks for the invitation and to the staff and volunteers who made it possible for book-lovers and readers to gather with authors and illustrators. Here are some of my highlights: John Kerry and me! William Kent Krueger, Carol… Read more »