REMINDER: Austin SCBWI offers a great line-up for its April 26th conference. Speakers include: author and editor Deborah Noyes Wayshak from Candlewick Press (author-editor interview); Alvina Ling from Little Brown (personal blog); agent Erin Murphy (interview from Olswanger.com)(interview by Pam Mingle from Kite Tales, Rocky Mountain chapter, SCBWI); artist’s agent Christina Tugeau; and writing professor Peter Jacobi. According to RA Tim Crow, “Not only will critiques and pitches be available for an additional fee, but we are expanding the number of slots available this year, so you can have a second or third manuscript critiqued.” See details at Austin SCBWI (scroll to the bottom of the page); registration opened Nov. 1. IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to ISP issues, the Austin SCBWI website has been temporarily off-line of late, please keep trying! Critique spots are limited and going fast!
BookPeople in Austin, Texas, is hiring for several positions. If you are interested in applying for a job, please visit the store soon and fill out an application. Available jobs: part-time and full-time holiday cashiers; part-time information tech; part-time events leaders.
Children’s Book Circle at YouTube: for those looking for youth literature book trailers.
Surf over to the new issue of The Edge of the Forest! Highlights include:
An Interview with Sara Zarr by Kelly Herold of Big A little a (see also a Cynsations interview with Sara);
“Can a Funny Book Be Taken Seriously?” by by Pam Coughlan at MotherReader;
A Discussion of 31 Flavorites for Teens by Little Willow of Bildungsroman;
What’s in their Backpack? by Kim Winters of Kat’s Eye Journal;
Blogging Writer: Interview with Eric Luper by Julie M. Prince.
The Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults has added Martine Leavitt to the faculty. Martine is the author of seven books for young readers, most recently Keturah and Lord Death (Front Street, 2006), which was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Listen to author Deborah Lynn Jacobs at Right Now! Podcast. Read a Cynsations interview with Deborah.
Reminder: Robert’s Snow is an online auction that benefits Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. More than 200 children’s book illustrators have created art on individual snowflake-shaped wooden templates. The snowflakes will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to cancer research. You can view all of the 2007 snowflakes here. Note: I’ve been having strange coding trouble trying to post the schedule this week, so why not pop over to another supporting blog (and learn more about that blog too!)? Visit The Miss Rumphius Effect: a teacher educator discusses children’s literature and issues related to teaching children and their future teachers.
More Personally
Look for a feature interview with me this month in the Kidsville News! Note: not on the website, but in the publication distributed across the country! Find your local Kidsville News! Thanks again to reporter and children’s author Kim Norman!
Attention, Oklahomans! I’ll be speaking at the Norman Public Library Nov. 11 as part of its Native American Festival, which will take place from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Note: Also honored will be Dr. Mary Jo Watson (Seminole) who is the Director of the OU School of Art and Commander John Herrington (Chickasaw) who was a NASA Astronaut and flew on the space shuttle in 2002. The Oklahoma Fancy Dancers will perform from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. I’ll speak afterward, and then John’s talk will follow. The event will include food, crafts, and vendors.
Attention, Austinites! Greg and I will be reading Santa Knows, illustrated by Steve Bjorkman (Dutton, 2006) at 1 p.m. Dec. 2 at Barnes & Noble Westlake. From the flap copy: “Who knows if you’ve been naughty or nice? Santa knows, that’s who! But not everyone believes in Santa Claus. Consider Alfie F. Snorklepuss. He thinks he’s proven that Santa Claus doesn’t exist. Alfie thinks there is no way that Santa could do all the things he’s supposed to, like deliver billions of presents all over the world in one night or know what every little kid wants. When Alfie starts spreading the word that there is no Santa Claus, he makes someone very unhappy: his little sister Noelle. And so Noelle turns to the only person who can help her. The one person Alfie thinks doesn’t exist: Santa Claus. Ho, ho, ho!” Visit www.santa-knows.com!