October was a whirlwind of bookish events, and I’ve had a great time introducing The Disaster Days to readers. Here are some photos from my launches in New York and Wisconsin and other places I’ve shared my book:
I’m excited to hit the road and visit a bunch of schools and bookstores–with some fabulous author friends–to share The Disaster Days. Here’s what’s scheduled for public events so far:
For more information and updates, check out my Events page!
Time flies when you’re having fun . . . or you’re revising. I was doing both this fall. In November I turned in the final manuscript for my next MG novel, which will be out in October 2019. The new title (and cover, and a bunch of other info) I’ll share in the new year!
In terms of fun, I had great trips to Wisconsin (where the fall color is always divine), California (where the Disneyland is always magical), and Sleepy Hollow (where the Halloween is pumpkininny). In terms of bookish fun, on October 28 I visited the lovely New Canaan Library for a middle-grade author extravaganza. We had a lively panel followed by a signing, and it was delightful.
The extravagant authors (and friends)
Our books on display at Elm Street Books 🙂
The lovely library
The next Saturday was one of my favorite days of the year: nErDcampLI! I was too busy learning, sharing, connecting, laughing to take many pictures, but here are two:
Our panel on school visits went great–lots of ideas to incorporate for next year!
Book love in cookie form
Now I’m ready to hibernate with a new project I’m writing. Hope your fall was fantastic!
This past Saturday was #nErDcampLI, the annual literacy “unconference” for teachers, librarians, educators, and authors. And it was so much fun!
I woke up at 5:20 a.m. to make my train. I was not aware that it is still dark out at that hour, but the sunrise I watched from the LIRR made the early hour not just worthwhile but gorgeous.
I like that my book is reflected in the window. Always reading!
There were so many great sessions led by educators and teachers. I participated in two–a workshop on getting your students writing with the fabulous Lauren Magaziner, and a big Q&A with a bunch of MG authors. I also got a chance to see Booki Vivat‘s fantastic art in action.
New profile pic?
And the author meet-and-greet was a great chance to connect with readers and share the book love.
Authors in the Boyd School’s Publishing Center–of course! (Photo from the amazing Kristen Picone)
The whole day was inspiring, educational–and super fun. Huge thanks to all the volunteers who make this day happen. Can’t wait for next year!
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!
November started off with an amazing day of literacy and learning: #nErDcampLI! This was my first EdCamp experience, and it was awesome. I got to listen to amazing educators and experts speak about topics in literacy and kidlit–like this fantastic session on the importance of back matter that Susannah Richards led.
One of the things she encouraged authors to do is include more back matter on their websites–especially book-creation timelines. I’m hoping to add something for that to the Resources page of my site soon!
The event was held in the wonderful Jericho Middle School, and I loved wandering the halls to see the work that students had posted. This was my favorite sign:
A very wise student wrote that. 🙂
The following week was the election, and like many people, I’ve been processing the results since. It’s no secret to those who have read When Audrey Met Alice that I believe a woman’s place is in the White House. I took this picture on my way home to watch returns on Tuesday night.
More than ever, that is true. Our votes matter, and so do our voices. I’m working harder than ever to use mine to express what I believe in.
Now it’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is almost here–have a happy and safe holiday, and eat lots of pie!
Last week I traveled back to Wisconsin for a couple of book events, and it was perfect timing for fall color:
The view from Ski Hi, my favorite orchard. The pies are amazing!
Hiking at Devil’s Lake
Madison has great coffee 🙂
The famous farmer’s market is at its very best in fall.
Green and gold
The view from my Sunday morning coffeeshop
What’s missing? Photos from my talk at the Reedsburg Public Library and my school visit at EAGLE School. I was so excited to meet with readers and writers that I never quite got around to taking pictures . . . oops! But I had a great time talking about reading, researching, and writing.
Now I’m back in NY, working on short fiction and researching a project, and getting ready for nErDcampLI!
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.
