Ever since I started Raincity Librarian back in 2014 I’ve been a semi-regular participant in several blogging “linkups”, where bloggers share their posts on similar subjects and comment on each other’s posts. I love linkups because they provide me with ready-made blogging ideas (perfect for when you’re going through a bit of a writing slump), they expose me to great new content, and they create a sense of community, allowing even the most introverted of writers to connect with fellow creatives all around the world.
Whatever your writing interests, there are surely blogging linkups to suit your style. Here are a few that I particular enjoy participating in, whether as a writer, reader, or both!
IMWAYR?
It’s Monday – What Are You Reading? is a weekly series hosted by the ladies behind Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers. The premise is very simple – bloggers share the kidlit / YA materials they’ve read each week! Some people write mini reviews, others provide star ratings, but there’s really no requirement other than that you focus your post on materials for young people. I have discovered so many amazing titles through participating in this linkup, in which the majority of the participants are teachers and/or librarians.
Top Ten Tuesday
I’m much more of a sporadic participant in this particular linkup, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, which offers a different blogging prompt every week. The basic premise is that you share ten titles that match the week’s prompt. This week’s prompt, for example, was all about “audio” experiences, so I shared several podcasts that I’ve been enjoying recently. The majority of participants in this series are YA lit bloggers, so the content doesn’t always align as neatly with my own blogging focus – hence the sporadic participation. But if you’re keen on discovering new teen titles, this might be the perfect option for you.
Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday
And just like that, we’re diving back into the world of children’s literature with Alyson Beecher over at Kidlit Frenzy. Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday is a celebration of nonfiction materials for young people, and is another linkup in which I am guaranteed to discover amazing new-to-me titles I can’t wait to share with young readers.
Poetry Friday
This is one of my favourite linkups – a weekly celebration of all things poetry. Each week’s linkup is hosted by a different blogger (you can find the yearly schedule of hosts here), and participants share reviews of new books, favourite poems, and new creative works. The range of participant backgrounds is fantastic – we regularly have teachers, librarians, poets, authors, artists and more, each adding their own personal spin to the very broad poetry theme.
Do you regularly participate in any linkups? What are your favourite linkups to participate in, whether as a reader or writer?