57th Street Children's Book Fair

I've been so busy with work, I've neglected my blog and, in the process, failed to promote a fantastic event for families - The 57th Street Children's Book Fair!  Here's their press release:

 The 57th Street Children's Book Fair began 24 years ago as a back-to-school celebration. The Fair has grown every year since its inception, and now hosts dozens of local booksellers and community organizations. Last year, more than 5,000 people from all over Chicago attended the Fair and participated in reading-related activities, enjoyed live entertainment and delicious refreshments, and browsed a huge selection of books and merchandise available from a variety of specialty vendors.

In celebration of Blue Balliett's forthcoming novel, The Danger Box, our theme for 2010 is . . .

Mystery & Science: What will you discover at the 57th Street Children's Book Fair?

We'll have all the usual entertainment and activities, plus books and activities about scientific investigations and science giants.

This year, join us on Sunday, September 19th from 1pm to 6pm for hands-on fun for the whole family.

I will be manning the SCBWI table from 2:00 - 3:00, along with fellow Illinois authors.  I hope to see you there!!

Critters Against Cancer

Jenni has put my critique auction up on her site - actually she did it last week but I've been so busry with the start of the school year, I haven't had a chance to post this. 


If you have a rhyming manuscript you'd like critiqued - get over to her site - Bee Historic - and place a bid!!  If you have a non-rhyming manuscript, bid on one of the other fantastic critiquers.  You can also bid on autographed books and illustrations!


Did I mention, it's for a wonderful cause?  So, what are you waiting for?

Critters Against Cancer

A fellow writer, Jenni Bielicki, is hosting an event called Critters Against Cancer, where she's auctioning off manuscript critiques, along with autographed books and artwork.  The money is going toward breast cancer research.  Isn't that a great idea?  You can check it out at her blog beehistoric.blogspot.com 

Those of you on Facebook, you can join her event here:  Critters Against Cancer.

SCBWI Conference in LA

I went to the SCBWI Conference in LA and it was fantastic, stupendous, outstanding, tremendous . . . !

There was a super lineup of keynote speakers  - here they are (in order of appearance): Jon Scieszka, M.T. Anderson, Loren Long, Gordon Korman, Marion Dane Bauer, E.B. Lewis, Gail Carson Levine, Carolyn Mackler, Gennifer Choldenko, Rubin Pfeffer, Rachel Vail, Paul Fleischman and Ashley Bryan.

There were also a zillion workshops throughout the four days.  I'd go into detail, but why reinvent the wheel?  There was a team of bloggers who covered the sessions.  You can read it here: The official SCBWI Conference Blog.

I met so many talented and fun people, many of whom I'd talked to online but never in person.   I had two roommates I'd found online - E. Samantha Cheng, a mini-documentary producer and Shelby Mahan, a middle-grade nonfiction writer.  I was worried that we might not hit it off and it would be uncomfortable for us.  Well, there was no need to worry - we had the greatest time together!   As a matter of fact, we've vowed to be roommates for all future conferences!

I also met my agent, Jamie Weiss Chilton, for the first time in person!  On Saturday night, she and her fellow agent, Kelly Sonnack, hosted a little wine and cheese gathering in the park for their clients.  It was so nice meeting them all.  On Sunday morning, she took me out to breakfast at a really cool restaurant - can't remember the name of it though.  It was nice getting to know her better.

I hope I'll be able to attend next year - it'll be their 40th year so it's bound to be loads of fun!  If I do go, I'll know better than to lug 20 books with me.  At Friday night's book sale, I only sold five books - and three of them were bought by my roommates!  Obviously, this picture was taken before I counted how many books were left!

Anyone out there have a good conference you'd recommend?

1 Zany Book Launch

I had my book launch for 1 Zany Zoo on Saturday and it was a huge success!  Ruth and Pam at Barnes & Noble did a fantastic job setting up the children's area and getting the word out in the preceding weeks.   I did my part by emailing friends and spreading the word on Facebook.
  

I made goodie boxes for the kids with animal-themed items and Cheerios Treats to tie in the contest.

One of the best things I did (at the suggestion of another writer - can't remember who) was to have my friends and family autograph a copy of my book.  It's going to be a wonderful keepsake!

We had a great turnout - more than 90 people came and we sold 102 books - it far exceeded my expectations!  Thanks to everyone who took the time to help me celebrate the release of 1 Zany Zoo!