A Room On Lorelei Street by Mary E. Pearson (Henry Holt, 2005). Zoe, 17, has had it with her alcoholic mother and manipulative grandmother. She moves out of the house and rents a room on Lorelei Street in hopes of a new start. But ghosts, living and dead, swirl around Zoe, trying to tug her back,
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I’m honored to report that Indian Shoes by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Harper, 2002) has been chosen as this month’s featured book for intermediate (grades 3-5) readers participating in Read On Wisconsin!
It’s “a statewide book club for everyone who enjoys reading and talking about new books,” sponsored by Jessica Doyle, the First Lady of Wisconsin.
I was called “Queen Kong” in fourth grade. I wore clothes with glitter threads into the 1980s. I read graphic novels back when they were still called “comic books.” Watched “Star Wars: A New Hope” more than 300 times in the theater (before “A New Hope” was tagged onto the title). Listened to Barry Manilow as a teenager.
To writer Catherine Page Koehlert, whose screenplay is a quarter-finalist in the American Screenwriters Association competition. I know Page through the Austin area children’s writing community. She recently moved to San Francisco, and I miss her!
To librarian/educator Dr. Loriene Roy for being named winner of a 2005 Texas Exes Teaching Award. I know Loriene through the Austin children’s/YA book community,
I used to write poetry. When I was in elementary school, I even put together a collection of my poems in a little handmade book with a calico cover. I entered it in my district fair and received a white participation ribbon.
Since I’ve grown up, reviewers will sometimes describe my language as poetic. I heard that a lot about Jingle Dancer,
Words Across Pictures & Picturing Words: a craft-based, full-day conference in English sponsored by SCBWI & the Bologna International Children’s Book Fair at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair Grounds on April 12, 2005. (See sidebar on SCBWI events page).
“Why I Love This Book and Published It” with guest publishers: Anne Schwartz (Random House US);
I spent some of the weekend helping Greg send his promotional postcards for Tofu And T.Rex (Little Brown, July 2005) to booksellers, both those on our own list, compiled over the years, and to members of the Association of Booksellers for Children.
As authors we’re eligible for associate memberships and have joined along with some other lovely people like: Franny Billingsley;
Greg and I have a philosophy about the writing life: celebrate everything!
Not just sales or awards, but also finishing drafts, revision requests, media attention, whatever.
It’s a challenging field with a lot of rejection, and you have to keep your spirits up. Focus on the journey. Let yourself rejoice in every step forward.
I just visited Joan Bauer’s Web site, which has all kinds of nifty features, including a link to “The Books Of Joan Bauer,” a reading guide by The Goddess of YA Literature, AKA Teri Lesesne. I’m a huge, huge, HUGE Joan Bauer fan. The woman is a genius.
My favorite of her books is Backwater because of the lawyers (Greg raved about it,
Period Pieces: Stories for Girls selected by Erzsi Deak and Kristin Embry Litchman (Harper, 2003). An anthology collection of short stories about girls starting their periods for the first time. Contributors include: Carmen T. Bernier Grand, Erzi Deak, Johanna Hurwitz, Florence Johnson Jacob, Bobbi Katz, Uma Krishnaswami,