Three sleeps till nErDcampLI! This “unconference” is always so much fun, and it’s filled with literacy ideas and discussion–and #booklove. The workshops and keynotes start at 8:00, and the author meet and greet runs from 2:00-3:30. Check out all the amazing authors and illustrators who will be there–and stop by and say hi if you’d like a signed copy of When Audrey Met Alice or Summer of Lost and Found!
Time flies when you’re having fun–I can’t believe summer is over, and September almost is, too. It was a busy month:
The new Books of Wonder opened! I love both stores, but it’s so exciting to have a children’s bookstore (and its awesome events) uptown.
Of course I visited Nell and Ambrose when I stopped by to check out the new space.
Meanwhile, at the downtown location, I went to a fabulous panel with Tara Dairman, Jessica Lawson, Alison Cherry, and Tracey Baptiste. Lots of author friends were there–we even had a mini reunion of our 2014 debut author group. Here we are: Jessica Lawson, Tara Dairman, Lauren Magaziner, me, and Michelle Schusterman. We all have new MG releases in either 2017 or 2018!
Speaking of new releases, I got a delightful surprise from the UPS man one morning: ARCs (advance reader copies) of The Last Grand Adventure!
Aren’t they pretty? It’s so exciting to finally see this story in book form.
Now it’s back to work on some new projects, and starting to think of fun ways to share The Last Grand Adventure with readers.
What have you been up to lately?
Happy spring!
I spent most of my winter inside, staring out at the snow (or, more accurately where I live, slush-covered streets) while revising, and revising, and then revising The Last Grand Adventure. (Writing is editing, right?) I did take a break in between rounds to meet up with MG author and friend Lauren Magaziner and try out Dō, a new bakery that specializes in safe-to-eat raw cookie dough. It was delicious–and decadent–and worth the wait in line.
After I put the finishing touches on The Last Grand Adventure, I got to do some adventuring of my own! I headed to the sunny Caribbean and visited the British Virgin Islands–getting the first stamp in my passport in a long time.
And I caught up on my reading. Nothing pairs better than the beach and a good book. Next on my to-read list is Erin Entrada Kelly’s Hello, Universe, which I’ve been eagerly awaiting since I heard Erin talk about it at a panel last fall.
I’m starting some new projects now–always an exciting and kinda scary part of the writing process–but taking lots of breaks to check out the spring flowers popping up around the city.
How are you celebrating spring?
Last Friday I battled NYC traffic to travel to New Jersery (seriously–it took over an hour to drive three blocks to get into the Holland Tunnel) for a wonderful weekend of authoring. Saturday was the annual Princeton Public Library Children’s Book Festival, and it was amazing! Here’s a before picture of me with my books:
There is no after picture, because I sold them all! The five hours of the festival flew by–I had a fantastic time meeting so many wonderful readers and writers. If you want to check out what the day was like, the Princeton Public Library has some video posts on their Facebook.
The next day, I headed down to Neshaminy Falls for a Barnes and Noble event with Lauren Magaziner and Erin Entrada Kelly. We had a great discussion about writing MG, thanks to an enthusiastic crowd and bookseller extraordinaire Mandy Webb.
While I was signing books, I had a fun author moment–I found a copy of Summer‘s second printing. Fun to see that “1” drop off the copyright page!
Thanks to B&N Neshaminy Falls, the Princeton Public Library, and JaZams for helping me have a great weekend connecting with readers and writers.
Last Thursday, author-friends Tara Dairman (the All Four Stars series), Lauren Magaziner (The Only Thing Worse Than Witches and Pilfer Academy), Michelle Schusterman (the I Heart Band and Kat Sinclair series) and I had a great time meeting readers at The Voracious Reader in Larchmont, NY. The delightful bookstore is only 30 minutes north of Grand Central, in a charming suburb. There’s an ice-cream shop on the same block. Does it get any better than that?
We each did a brief reading from our latest books, and then opened up for questions. The enthusiastic readers and writers had some great ones for us, and it was so much fun to spend the evening with them. This was our second “palooza” at The Voracious Reader–we were all there in 2014 when our first books came out–and we can’t wait to go back.
The ad Michelle and I stumbled on in a neighboring Starbucks, which got us even more excited about the event.
Our beautiful books on display
Authors in their happy place 🙂
The wonderful readers who came out to see us!
I had a fabulous time celebrating Summer of Lost and Found at Books of Wonder on Tuesday night. Here are some pictures of the festivities:
It’s always exciting to get to the store and see your cover on the “Event Today!” sign.
Snacks! Real scuppernong juice from Roanoke Island, custom-printed fancy Rice Krispy treats, chocolate artifacts, and more.
With the wonderful Kim Liggett
Books of Wonder has an incredible collection of kidlit art
The crowd while I read one of my favorite passages
Theories attendees submitted about what really happened to the Lost Colonists
Signing time!
With author friend Alison Cherry
Still signing!
Taking a bite out of my main character 🙂
If you missed it–you can still purchase a signed copy from Books of Wonder. And I’ll be in Madison, WI, on June 11 for another launch event at Mystery to Me!
On Saturday, May 21, I got to join a bunch of amazing kidlit authors on Long Island for the inaugural #Kidlitpalooza. And it was a blast.
We started out by introducing our books to the fantastic group of kids, parents, and educators, then split off into two breakout sessions. I was part of the Book Love group with Sarah Darer Littman (also an Aladdin author with a new book out in September!) and Kat Yeh (author of The Truth About Twinkie Pie). We had a great time talking about the books we love and how they can help us create great stories of our own. The kids in our sessions were so talented!
The closing ceremonies featured Gae Polisner‘s super fun 60-second reads: one of the first 60 seconds of our titles, and one of our favorite 60 seconds. I almost made it through my favorite 60 seconds, but I got dinged out by the bell with one sentence left. I’ll keep practicing!
It was a really fun day of learning and book love. If you want the full story–check out Two Writing Teachers’ blog for a Live from #Kidlitpalooza post.
Last weekend, I hopped on Amtrak and headed up to Boston for the ALA Midwinter conference. (The ride is actually pretty scenic, as the train hugs the coastline through Connecticut and Rhode Island, so you can see the ocean, ferries and fishing boats, and charming towns like Mystic along the way.) It was a quick trip–I got in on Friday afternoon and twenty-four hours later I was already chugging back to New York. But what a great twenty-fours hours they were!
On Friday I got to meet up with some fellow New Leaf Literary authors and our agents, Suzie Townsend and Pete Knapp. Here’s Team New Leaf:
We spent our evening enjoying wine and chocolate at a shmancy party with some fantastic librarians. And I mean enjoying it–the spread involved a make-your-own chocolate crepe bar! But the best part, of course, was getting to talk about books with our librarian friends. I love hearing about what they’re reading, what library life is like, and which books their readers adore.
The next morning, I got breakfast with the Aladdin/Simon Pulse team before heading to the exhibit floor. I’d say being on the floor is like being a kid in the candy store, but as a child my excitement level would’ve been at the same height for a candy store or a bookstore. It was so fun running around seeing all the shiny new titles on display and running into other book people. I gathered enough ARCs that I have a huge bruise on my left shoulder from the tote bag–but it’ll heal, and it’s worth it. (Once I finish them, I have a school librarian in mind to share them with.)
To top it all off, I had just enough time before my train to run into Faneuil Hall and grab a slice of Boston Cream Pie for the road. When in Boston, right? 🙂
Publishers Weekly had a great article about the next steps for some Egmont USA employees (congrats, Jordan, Alison, and Michelle!) along with information on Egmont’s Last List.
The Last List is a publicity and marketing campaign for Egmont’s Spring 2015 titles–all of which are still being distributed and sold by Penguin Random House. These authors need all the support they can get with launching their books, so please check out the blog hop hosted by Cuddlebuggery and the group’s Tumblr. Here’s a handy reference for the great Egmont USA books still TK:
In the midst of the sadness of Egmont’s closing, it has been heartening to see how the kidlit community has banded together to help the affected publishers and authors–myself included. Thanks for all the support and well wishes!
(And stay tuned for news I can’t share quite yet on Summer of Lost and Found.)
Monday night, I was part of a fantastic MG panel at the Voracious Reader in Larchmont, NY, with author friends (and fellow 2014 debuts) Tara Dairman, Lauren Magaziner, Laura Marx Fitzgerald, and Michelle Schusterman. The Voracious Reader is a dream bookstore–cheerful and charming, and chock-full of excellent children’s literature.
We had a nice crowd of enthusiastic young readers and writers, who asked so many fun and insightful questions! (We came prepared with lots of candy–the treat for any attendee brave enough to trick us with a question.) Here are some photos, courtesy of Tara, of our great night:
Thanks to Francine and the Voracious Reader for hosting us, and for all the readers who came out to talk middle grade!
Last weekend, fellow debut author Tara Dairman (whose book ALL FOUR STARS is delightful and delicious, and one of my favorites of the year) and I traveled around Texas to visit a library, a B&N store, and an indie bookstore. It was incredibly fun, and here are some of the highlights.
We started out with the Fort Worth Library’s Author Roundup:
The beautiful Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth
Gorgeous, light-filled library
How cool is the “reading rainbow” that welcomes you to the children’s section of the Central Library?
Alice’s “Red Devil” inspired my dress
Happy to see fellow Class of 2K14 author Christine Kohler at the library!
Tara, 2015 debut author Jenny Martin, and I are modeling Tara’s ALL FOUR STARS temporary tattoos.
Afterward, we headed to Roanoke–not the island, but the town in Texas with great BBQ and the best pie shop I’ve ever visited. (Seriously. And you know how I feel about pie.)
The sign doesn’t lie–Roanoke, TX had really unique–and delicious–food!
I am going to dream about the cherry pie I had here. Fantastic.
The next morning, we checked out the Fort Worth Stockyards and the Dallas Museum of Art.
I loved this historic part of Fort Worth.
Chihuly glass at the Dallas Museum of Art
Then we headed to Barnes & Noble for a panel with Polly Holyoke and K.A. Holt.
Excitedly posing with our sign!
Me, Tara, Polly Holyoke, and K. A. Holt getting ready for our panel
The next day, we explored Austin.
More barbeque! Is it possible to eat to much? No.
Presidential limousine on display at the LBJ Presidential Library and Museum.
On our last night, we had a great MG panel at The Book Spot in Round Rock, with K. A. Holt, Nikki Loftin, and Jennifer Ziegler.
Tara, me, Nikki Loftin, K. A. Holt, and Jennifer Ziegler
That is a literal “cake with a unicorn”!
We quizzed the audience with trivia related to our books–and had lots of prizes.
A celebratory dinner afterward, with 2015 debut author Donna Bowman Bratton.
(If that’s not enough photos, there are even more on my Facebook page.)
It was a wonderful weekend. Thank you to the librarians and booksellers who invited us; the readers and fellow writers who came out to support us; our hilarious, insightful, and charming co-panelists; and especially to Tara’s husband, who drove us around the state and took lots of great photos to document our authorly adventure.
I had the best Saturday. Just look at this lineup, and you’ll understand why:
Thirty-seven fabulous middle-grade authors took over the gorgeous Jefferson Market Library (which used to be a courthouse and the site of a lot of famous trials; check this out for the library’s history) and turned it into a celebration of kid lit. I was part of the “Creating a Character” group, and I was blown away by the creativity and talent of our kid writers!
After the fun and games, we raffled off prize packs and then did a big, happy signing, with books provided by Books of Wonder.
I wish I had pictures, but I was too busy carnival-ing to take any. So use your imaginations! Picture a lot of smiling kids, caregivers, and authors.
A huge thanks to Claire LeGrand, Lauren Magaziner, and Heidi Schulz for organizing!