We’re eight of us: Kate Duke, Deborah Freedman, Kathleen Kudlinski, M.W. Penn, Sanna Stanley, Leigh Ann Tyson, Cat Urbain, and me. Collectively, we’ve spent decades in the writing business, publishing over 75 children’s books. We write in different genres, covering nonfiction, picture books, middle grade novels, educational materials, historical fiction, YA, poetry. Despite our variety, we’ve discovered how many things we have in common.

We care about quality literature. And I don’t just mean our books — books that matter and that kids will enjoy. Our works explore similar themes, crossing age groups and genres. And more than anything else, we all want to get kids to read.

So we decided to form a group, Write Up Our Alley. We’ve pooled our knowledge and experience, and are building programs and resources for others who share our passions. We’ve put up a website — a work in progress — and on it started a blog where we will share what we’ve learned in the business, what we know about reaching kids, and our love of books. We post about once a week. It’s still an experiment, but we’ve been thinking about this for a long time. Come join us.

The Hudson Children’s Book Festival was a smashing success. Over 50 authors were present. Some 4,000 people from the Hudson Valley came. Over 2,000 books were sold.

Awesome!

And I’ve been busy writing a new novel. I’m in that hairy middle part where I get stuck all the time. But I love my characters. And I love the concept. So I’m plugging away.

My editor is getting my next published novel ready for copyediting — now if we could only come up with a title we’d all agree upon! I’ll announce it as soon as it’s been decided.

And then a chunk of my time has been working with some amazing authors — Kate Duke, Deborah Freedman, Kathleen Kudlinski, M.W. Penn, Sanna Stanley, Leigh Ann Tyson, and Cat Urbain. I promise to give you more news about the project we’re working on, next week.

This Saturday May 16, I will be at the Hudson Children’s Book Festival at the Hudson Middle School in Hudson, New York with over 50 authors and illustrators. From noon to 12:30, I’ll be presenting a workshop entitled “How Many Times Did You Write That Book?” and talk about going from a draft to publication.

The Festival promises to be a lot of fun. Admission is free. You can check out all the authors and illustrators who will be there, as well as the schedule of events. Hope to see you there!