Congratulations to Arthur Slade on the upcoming release of Villainology: Fabulous Lives of the Big, the Bad, and the Wicked, illustrated by Derek Mah (Tundra, 2007). Listen to an audio author interview by the Headless Horseman. Note: it’s not working on my computer, but perhaps you will have better luck. Read a Cynsations interview with Arthur on Monsterology.

Author-illustrator Mark G. Mitchell: official website. Mark is based in Austin, and his books include Raising La Belle (Eakin, 2002)(author interview). He’s offering a free download of Raising La Bell to anyone who signs up for his new newsletter/blog. The book was named winner of the 2003 Western Writers of America Spur Award for best western juvenile nonfiction book of 2003; winner of the 2003 United States Maritime Literature Award, and it was featured at the 2002 Texas Book Festival.

Capital Campaign: Montpelier’s fine arts college will soon be fact, even if a fiction writer led the way from Seven Days: Vermont’s Alternative Weekly. Note: this new college is to be the new home of the Vermont College MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults. Note: see photo of campus in the summer.

Copyright: United States Copyright Office from the Library of Congress.

Interview with K.L. Going, author of St. Iggy from the YA Authors Cafe. Here’s a sneak peek: “Honestly, the hardest part is putting my work out there and hearing what people think. I’ve mostly heard great things, but it’s tough when people say stuff that’s mean spirited. I thought I’d get more used to it when I had more books out, but instead there’s just more to hear!”

Hiss Me Deadly: Chet Gecko: a video book trailer at YouTube. Read a Cynsations interview with Chet Gecko series author Bruce Hale.

Entires are now being accepted by the 19th annual Oklahoma Book Awards. See eligibility information, deadlines, judges, and special notes from the Oklahoma Center for the Book. Note: for their respective years of publication, two of my books, Jingle Dancer, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu (Morrow, 2000) and Rain Is Not My Indian Name (HarperCollins, 2001) were finalists.

“Twelve Steps to Nonfiction Writing Success” by Maude Stephany from the Institute of Children’s Literature. Note: emphasis on magazine writing.

Why Do Bloggers Blog? by Ilene S. Goldman from the Prairie Wind (newsletter of the SCBWI-Illinois chapter). Thanks to Erin Edwards for suggesting this link.

Reminder

The 24th annual Austin Jewish Book Fair (JBF), presented by the Jewish Community Association of Austin (JCAA), will be held from Nov. through Nov. 11. The following two events may be of special interest:

Judith Viorst, author of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (see adaptation) will be speaking on Sunday, November 4th at 10:30am. The event is $5 for seniors, students and JCAA members and $7 for the general public. You can buy tickets online at www.shalomaustin.org/bookfair.

Frank McMillan, author of Cezanne is Missing, will be speaking to middle school students about his book which explores the importance of memory and tolerance in the face of fanaticism and hate. This event will take place Nov. 7 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The public is welcome to attend. Admission is free. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Both events will be held at the JCAA, 7300 Hart Lane, Austin. For a full book fair schedule go to www.shalomaustin.org/bookfair.

More Personally

The Faerie Drink Review says of Tantalize (Candlewick, 2007): “From young hot werewolves to street bums with a Nosferatuian bite, Tantalize will have your mouth watering for more!” Read the whole review. See also my latest interview at Faerie Drink Review.

Members of Tantalize Fans Unite!, a reader-created group at MySpace, have been creating new logos and banners of late. Highlighted below is an example of their efforts.

Thanks to the Tantalize readers who road-tripped to the Holiday Inn in Tucson to meet me while I was speaking at Wrangling with Writing last weekend. (Hi, Zack!) I was honored, and it was a delight visiting with y’all.