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Jacob Souva

@jacobsouva.bsky.social

2K followers 1.2K following 540 posts

Hello 👋… my name is Jacob Souva and I’m an illustrator and author of books for kids. I’m rep’d by Jen Rofé of Andrea Brown Literary Agency. ✨ www.twofishillustration.com/links ✏️ https://open.substack.com/pub/jacobsouva

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Jacob Souva @jacobsouva.bsky.social · Sep 8

I've compiled a bunch of picturebook #kidlit #kidlitart making truths that I think are helpful.

Things like #9: From my Mom: “If you speak with your heart, people will hear with theirs.”

open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...

The Truth About Making Books for Kids*

*According to me, just one guy, so far

open.substack.com

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Brian LaRossa @brianlarossa.com · 5h

Hang in there illustrators, I see you fighting that good fight.

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Jacob Souva @jacobsouva.bsky.social · 5h

Some new #kidlit #kidlitart art work and musings from the studio this week 👇

open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...

Taking on Risk

5 things from the studio this week

open.substack.com

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Reposted by Jacob Souva

The Daily Show @thedailyshow.com · 22h

The following is REAL footage from Portland, 2025. Viewer discretion is advised.

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Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 22h

Indicting your political enemies because they’re your enemies, not because they’ve committed crimes, is unAmerican.

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Jacob Souva @jacobsouva.bsky.social · 1d

Same

Uzair Rashid @uzairrashid.bsky.social · 1d

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 1d

AI companies are spending billions on deals with each other, which boost their value.

This has helped twenty billionaires tied to AI add $450B to their fortunes in 2025.

Meanwhile, an MIT study found that 95% of companies using AI haven't seen returns on investment.

Be warned.

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Jacob Souva @jacobsouva.bsky.social · 1d

That works! 😂

Jacob Souva @jacobsouva.bsky.social · 1d

😜 You will! It's not always super smooth - but persistence is your friend

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Jacob Souva @jacobsouva.bsky.social · 1d

Ha! Excellent news - this post was from a bit ago - part 2 is here: open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...

And the finale: open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...

I think all 3 are not behind the paywall - let me know and I’ll comp you a month 😉

Preparing for Querying Success

A mostly true account of the time I queried my literary agent (Part 2)

open.substack.com

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Jacob Souva @jacobsouva.bsky.social · 1d

That time I was agent-less, book dummy in hand:

“If you know me, you’ll know the moment I wrapped on this book dummy I began to question if it would get my foot in any of the doors I was trying to get into.”

#kidlit #kidlitart

😳 open.substack.com/pub/jacobsou...

How I Queried My Literary Agent

A tale full of intrigue, doubt, and success (Part 1)

open.substack.com

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 1d

This remains the most important piece i’ve written about the goals and ideological principles of the second Trump administration www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

bsky.app/profile/jame...

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Jacob Souva @jacobsouva.bsky.social · 1d

Nice! Good luck 💪

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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 2d

publisher / author / literary agent

We Call Them Water Dudes @jurisdudence.bsky.social · 2d

Corporate/ personal injury /criminal defense

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 2d

i desperately want everyone involved in the destruction of USAID to have to, st the very least, answer to the american people for the suffering and misery they have caused apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Joe Walsh @walshfreedom.bsky.social · 2d

This is NOT making Chicago safer. And this must NOT be what America is.👇

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Jem is CLOSED to queries @jemiscoe.bsky.social · 2d

Morning, #DVPit creators! I am currently closed, but I will be participating and reading through your pitches.

If I like your pitch AND you think we'll make a good fit, please send your sample using this link: querytracker.net/query/Jemisc.... Thank youuuuu!

a cup of cappuccino with the words good morning written in the foam

Alt: a cup of cappuccino with the words good morning written in the foam

media.tenor.com

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Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 2d

$41 million: The amount of money we’ve raised for indie bookstores since 2020.

$0: The amount of money Amazon has raised for indie bookstores since 1994.

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Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 2d

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

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Andrea Brown Literary Agency @andreabrownlit.bsky.social · 11d

Emery is Not a Dragon @michellejingchan.bsky.social

Who Saved the Holidays @kalyquarles.bsky.social

Mira Mira: Shapes and Mira Mira: Colors @lourdesheuer.com

That Which Feeds Us @kealakendall.bsky.social

Emery is Not a Dragon
Megan Abbate at Bloomsbury has bought world rights to Emery Is Not a Dragon by Michelle Jing Chan (Weiwei's Winter Solstice; Somewhere in the Gray). In this picture book, Emery attends dance class and must choose to perform as the strong, brave dragon or the graceful, beautiful phoenix. Wrestling with the decision, they discover they are both dragon and phoenix, and they don't need to choose just one to shine. Publication is slated for winter 2028; Jemiscoe Chambers-Black at Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the deal.

Who Saved the Holidays
Erika DiPasquale at HarperCollins has acquired world rights to the Who Saved the Holidays picture book series by debut author Jen Anyong (l.), illustrated by Kaly Quarles. Publication is slated for summer 2026 and fall 2027 respectively; Morgan Hughes at Fine Print Literary represented the author, and Jennifer March Soloway at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the illustrator.

Mira Mira: Shapes and Mira Mira: Colors
Dorielys Cruz at Little Simon has acquired world rights to Mira Mira: Shapes and Mira Mira: Colors by Lourdes Heuer (l.), illustrated by Juliana Perdomo, two bilingual English-Spanish board books that introduce young readers to basic shapes and the colors of the rainbow. Publication is set for summer 2026; Kelly Sonnack at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Erica Rand Silverman at Stimola Literary Studio represented the illustrator.

That Which Feeds Us
Tiffany Liao at Random House has acquired, in a five-house auction, That Which Feeds Us, a Hawaiian gothic YA novel by debut hapa Native Hawaiian author Keala Kendall, pitched as Mexican Gothic meets She Is a Haunting. It follows a teen girl whose search for her missing twin leads her to an ultra-exclusive remote island resort where she uncovers the sinister side of paradise with horrors both real and supernatural. Publication is set for summer 2026; Jennifer March Soloway at Andrea Brown Literary Agency did t

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Jacob Souva @jacobsouva.bsky.social · 3d

I do that too! It’s a great idea and you have more control. #kidlit #kidlitart

➡️ www.twofishillustration.com/links

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Damian Carrington @dpcarrington.bsky.social · 3d

Global renewable energy generation surpasses coal for first time

- Record solar expansion and steady wind growth driving world’s shift away from fossil fuels in 2025, report by @ember-energy.org finds

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Global renewable energy generation surpasses coal for first time

Record solar expansion and steady wind growth driving world’s shift away from fossil fuels in 2025, report finds

www.theguardian.com

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Oisín McGann @oisinmcgann.bsky.social · 3d

It’s really hard to describe to people who are not artists how survival mode does *not* inspire creativity, as the myth would have us believe. It suppresses creativity as you try to limit every possible risk – and the opportunities that come with them.

Aliette de Bodard @aliettedebodard.com · 3d

It turns out building habits and stuff actually requires not being in survival mode, who knew?!
(Yeah yeah I did)

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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 6d

This morning, the Trump Administration’s Department of War gave me an ultimatum: call up your troops, or we will. It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will.

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Jacob Souva @jacobsouva.bsky.social · 7d

I’m so glad! It started as an exercise - can I write down everything I’ve learned about kidlit. I don’t know that it’s everything, and I’m learning and unlearning new stuff all the time. But it’s a good start.

Jacob Souva @jacobsouva.bsky.social · 7d

Hey! Thanks, Brooke!

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