The Alphabet Garden Bookstore hosted a wonderful book party for Come Fall this last Saturday.
We had crafts, lemonade, and cookies baked by bookstore owner Karlene Rearick! I read, answered a few questions and signed a whole lot of books. We gave out prizes to the participants of The Alphabet Garden’s summer reading program. I met fans and friends, and altogether had a great time.
Thank you Alphabet Garden, and all those who made the day so much fun.
Just a reminder that I will be having a book party for Come Fall this Saturday August 28 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Alphabet Garden Bookstore in Cheshire, Connecticut. It’s in conjunction with the bookstore’s summer reading program.
I’ll blather for a minute, read a chapter from the book, and sign copies. There’ll be crafts and snacks, too. It’s free and open to all.
Hope to see you there!
This Wednesday May 19, 2010, at 7:00 p.m., the Shoreline Arts Alliance will host this year’s award ceremonies for the Tassy Walden Awards: New Voices in Children’s Literature at the Blackstone Library in Branford Connecticut. It’s the 10th anniversary of the awards, and I have been asked to speak for a few minutes about how the awards affected me. (No Castles Here came in as a Tassy finalist in 2002, under the title The Last of the Fairy Godmothers and another manuscript was finalist the year before.)
My congratulations to this year’s winners, Karen Jordan (picture book, text only), Diane Warner (illustrated picture book), Pamela Farley (middle grade novel), and Lynda Mullaly Hunt (young adult/teen novel).
Bravo!
I drove over 300 miles round trip yesterday—exhausting but worth it.
The Albany Children’s Books Festival was a hit! The organizers were warm and helpful. And I met a lot of wonderful people, eager children, talented artists and writers and so many avid readers. Some of my high points: meeting an 8-year old true fan of No Castles Here and reading his favorite chapter; eating a delicious lunch with the best rice pudding for dessert; and making origami boxes with countless children, and watching them show them off to family and friends.
My thanks to the organizers at the Albany Academies for pulling the day together.
As part of the 2nd Annual Albany Chidren’s Books Festival on May 15 (where I will be appearing), there will be a picture book writing contests for tweens and teens. (No, I won’t be one of the judges.) Here are the specifics from the organizers. Good luck to all:
THE ALBANY CHILDREN’S BOOK FESTIVAL
PICTURE BOOK WRITING CONTEST
The Albany Children’s Book Festival is sponsoring a picture book writing contest for students in grades 4 through 12. Students will be judged in one of two categories: Tweens (grades 4-8) and Teens (grades 9-12). Our goal is to promote writing skills and the creative process in young adults. There is no fee for participation, but we do have some rules and guidelines:
What to submit:
*An original, unpublished story with original, student created illustrations.
*Illustrations should compliment the storyline.
*The story and its illustrations must be created by one individual; joint efforts will not be accepted.
*Submit the entry in picture book format sequentially arranged.
*The picture book should be bound in some way (stapled, spiral bound,in a report cover, etc.).
*A book cover with title and illustration should be bound to the text; do not add authors name.
*A cover sheet listing the entrant’s name, grade, school, school address, and teacher’s name should be attached.
*No specific length is required.
*Handwritten entries must be legible; all typewritten entries must be double spaced.
*Entries may be fiction or non-fiction; accuracy will be weighed when judging non-fiction material.
*All submissions will be displayed at the book festival.
*Submitted entries may be picked up at 3:00 p.m. on the day…
I will be there, and presenting a workshop! More information to follow.
This Wednesday October 28 at 7 p.m., I’ll be presenting a workshop for writers and illustrators at the Barnes & Noble in Manchester, Connecticut with fabulous writer and editor Doe Boyle, and Donita Aruny from the Shoreline Arts Alliance. We’ll discuss writing and illustrating children’s books and give helpful information about the annual Tassy Walden Awards: New Voices In Children’s Literature.
Drop in and say hello!
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!