From Hillary Homzie and Tami Lewis Brown

A group of noted middle-grade authors hits the virtual highway this month as the huge Mixed-Up Middle-Grade Skype Tour begins cruising through cyberspace. Destination…maybe a town near you!

Every month for the next year, classrooms, book clubs and groups will have the chance to win a free, 45-minute Skype visit with a noted middle-grade author simply by entering at From the Mixed-Up Files…of Middle-Grade Authors, a group blog of middle-grade writers.

“As far as we know there’s never been another Skpe tour with so many authors, so many potential destinations, and so many winners!” says tour organizer Tami Lewis Brown.

The contest works like this: each season a group of five or more authors will set off in the Mixed-Up Middle-Grade Skype Tour Bus. You’ll have about a month to enter your class, club, or group to win a Skype visit from one of that season’s authors, along with a copy of their book, and more. For every retweet and/or Facebook reposting, you’ll get another entry.

To increase your class or group’s chances, invite other adults–parents, teachers, or group members to leave comments. Each entry must be made in a separate comment.

At the end of the month, a winner will be drawn for each Skype author visit. You’ll have six months from that date to schedule and conduct the visit. Authors and winners are paired randomly–you don’t enter to win a visit from a particular author. The winning entry will also receive a copy of the author’s book.

The first group of authors to hit the virtual highway will be:

• Sydney Salter (Jungle Crossing (Harcourt, 2009));
• Bobbie Pyron (A Dog’s Way Home, (HarperCollins/Tegen, 2011));
• Tom Angleberger (The Strange Case of Origami Yoda (Amulet, 2010) and Horton Halfpott: Or, The Fiendish Mystery of Smugwick Manor; or, The Loosening of M’Lady Luggertuck’s Corset (Amulet, 2011));
• Kate Messner (Sugar and Ice (Walker, 2010) and Marty Maguire (Scholastic, 2011));
• Beverly Patt (Best Friends, Forever (Marshall Cavendish, 2010));
• and Hillary Homzie (The Hot List (Aladdin/Mix, 2011)).

Later drawings will feature:

• Kathy Erskine (Mockingbird (Philomel, 2010));
• Tricia Springstubb (What Happened On Fox Street (Balzer + Bray, 2010));
• Sarah Aronson (Beyond Lucky (Dial, 2011));
• Uma Krishnaswami (The Grand Plan To Fix Everything (Atheneum, 2011));
• Jennifer Nielsen (Elliot And The Goblin War (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2010));
• Erin Moulton (Flutter (Philomel, 2011));
• Rosanne Parry (Second Fiddle (Random House, 2011));
• Tami Lewis Brown (The Map Of Me (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2011));
• Wendy Shang (The Great Wall Of Lucy Wu (Scholastic, 2011));
• Kimberley Griffiths Little (The Healing Spell (Scholastic, 2010));
• Sheela Chari (Vanished (Hyperion, 2011));
• Sayantani DasGupta (The Demon Slayers And Other Stories: Benjali Folk Tales (Interlink, 1998));
• Katherine Schlick Noe (Something To Hold (Clarion, 2011));
• and Jen K. Blom (Possum Summer (Holiday House, 2011)).

The tour is sponsored by the From the Mixed-Up Files…of Middle-Grade Authors, a group blog of middle-grade authors celebrating books for middle-grade readers. For anyone with a passion for children’s literature–teachers, librarians, parents, kids, writers, industry professionals–the blog offers regularly updated book lists organized by unique categories, author interviews, market news, and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a children’s book from writing to publishing to promoting.

The promotion will last a full year, kicking off in April 2011. “We’re excited about drawing winners every month,” says Tami. “We plan to load the winners up with as much author swag as possible. And of course an unbelievable encounter with a celebrated author that will boost excitement about reading and writing.”