Cynthia Leitich Smith (born 1967) is a New York Times best-selling[1] author of fiction for children and young adults.
A citizen of the Muscogee Creek Nation, she writes fiction for children and teens centered on the lives of modern-day Native Americans.
[8] For over twenty years, Smith served on the faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults, where she held the inaugural Katherine Paterson Endowed Chair.
[12] Jingle Dancer,[13] illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu,[14] is a picture book for ages 4 and up.
[18] Santa Knows,[23] also by Greg Leitich Smith[24] and illustrated by Steve Bjorkman,[25] is a humorous holiday picture book, published in 2006 by Dutton, for ages 4 and up.
[1] Holler Loudly,[39] illustrated by Barry Gott,[40] is a humorous tall tale picture book, published in 2010 by Dutton, for ages 4 and up.
Holler Loudly was featured at the 2010 Texas Book Festival[41] and was a Dolly Parton's Imagination Library selection.
Cynthia Leitich Smith edited the collection, and also authored the story, Between the Lines, which features characters from her earlier book, Indian Shoes.
Featured contributors include: Joseph Bruchac, Art Coulson, Christine Day, Eric Gansworth, Dawn Quigley, Carole Lindstrom, Rebecca Roanhorse, David A. Robertson, Andrea L. Rogers, Kim Rogers, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Monique Gray Smith, Traci Sorell, Tim Tingle, and Brian Young.
[57] Sisters of the Neversea is a middle grade novel, a modern-day re-imagining of Peter Pan, published in 2021 by Heartdrum in partnership with We Need Diverse Books for readers 8 and up.
[58] Harvest House is a young adult novel at the literary crossroads of contemporary realism and haunting mystery, published in 2023 by Candlewick Press, for ages 12 and up.
[59] Blue Stars: Mission One: The Vice Principal Problem, co-written with Kekla Magoon and illustrated by Molly Murakami is a middle grade graphic novel featuring cousins who team up to save the world - starting with their school.