Bluesky has been emerging as the easiest and most user-friendly Twitter alternative, but it is still in its early stages, and not exactly like Twitter. New users migrating over there might not know what to do once they sign in, so I thought I would share some information that would be helpful for everyone looking to connect with other kidlit types. And no invite is needed anymore!
I’ve been happy watching the kidlit community grow on Bluesky, there are both new people as well as people I’ve been following on other platforms who are regrouping. It is refreshing to interact and have actual conversations – something that has become hard to find elsewhere. The bot followers and AI/bitcoin ads are not welcome. My stats on recent posts on X/Twitter have shown that at best, about 3.5% of followers are seeing my posts – Bluesky is definitely reaching a more interested and positive group of like-minded people.
Find me on there! https://bsky.app/profile/boringstorybook.com
Hashtags like #kidlit have become clickable (and they are easy to follow via the wonderful 3rd party app deck.blue, which is akin to Tweetdeck), but there are lists and feeds that users are building that are extremely helpful.
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Author Kate Messner put together a Google doc list of authors, illustrators, educators, librarians, and publishing professionals to follow.
And here’s how to add yourself to the list: https://forms.gle/78Cz3ETu4xo4qsNdA
Clicking each link on Kate’s list to connect to people is tedious work, so I created a custom feed that is aggregating kidlit-related users, using Kate’s Google doc as a springboard:
If you follow this feed, you can see the most recent posts of all active kidlit-related users on the list over the past 7 days – it is a great way to see who is active and what they are talking about – and not necessarily just kidlit business. Like/follow the feed, pin it for easy access from your home tab, and get to know everyone! It’s like a kidlit cocktail party.
Users are creating feeds to aggregate posts containing certain keywords, like #kidlit and #kidlitart – here are a few:
- #kidlitchat has started up on Bluesky and is meeting up every Tuesday night at 9ET – it’s easy to follow along if you search “#kidlitchat” or follow this feed. Even better, use deck.blue to participate – it is by far the best way to join a live chat on BlueSky.
The feeds tend to lag a little for real-time conversations, so using the search function to refresh and be up to date works best for now.
- #kidlitartpostcard happens the 1st Thursday of every month, with illustrators sharing new art. This feed aggregates the posts for 3 days, ranked by number of likes.
I made a feed that lists the #kidlitartpostcard posts chronologically, and keeps the posts for 7 days instead of 3.
- Skybrarian – Bluesky librarians and fellow GLAM travelers.
- Picturebook – Aggregating posts that mention “picturebook.”
- Author/Illustrator – Aggregates posts that mention author/illustrator keywords.
- SCBWI – Aggregates post that mention SCBWI and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators
- #amquerying #kidlit – Aggregates posts that mention both the #amquerying AND #kidlit hashtags
Debbie Ohi has been putting the work in to build kidlit-related lists, she posted them here. She is on a mission! Follow her and take advantage of her resources.
These are a few of her lists:
- Kidlit/YA Editors – Kidlit & YA editors & editorial assts who work for traditional publishing houses.
- KidLit/YA Podcasters – Podcasters, YouTubers etc who talk about kidlit & YA books.
- Kidlit/YA Agents – Agents who have repped YA and/or kidlit creators.
- K12 Educators/Librarians – K-12 educators and librarians who work with young people in schools and libraries.
This is a feed of #pbparty finalists.
The annual PBParty contest is for unagented writers and author/illustrators.
You can see a user’s feeds right from their profile page.
I made a feed of my own art using the #boringstories hashtag.
If you want to create your own feed, Kellie Nicely has posted a step-by-step guide with screenshots on “How to make your own Art Feed” and “How to make a Pinned Post.”
With Twitter failing, the best thing any of us can do to rebuild is to gather people – the platform will grow and change to suit our needs if there are enough of us congregating and putting in the effort to connect. If you need an invite code, there are many of us in the kidlit community who are able to get you one. Reach out and we will help. Ask educators and librarians you know if they are migrating to Bluesky, too. If they are posting on X/Twitter, it is increasingly a waste of time and energy:
Hope to see you On Bluesky!
