Here's the signing schedule:
Monday, May 5
Time Spies author Candice Ransom signing in booth #721
10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Candice Ransom presentation and reception
Hyatt Regency Spring Room 6 p.m.
Enjoy a glass of wine and a light snack with acclaimed children’s book author Candice Ransom for a very special presentation on Sending Them Back to the Past to Help Reach the Future: Using the Time Spies Series to Guide Transitional Readers.
Tuesday, May 6
Supernatural Rubber Chicken author D.L. Garfinkle signing in booth #721
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Candice Ransom signing in booth #721
3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
D.L. Garfinkle presentation and reception
Hyatt Regency Spring Room 6 p.m.
Sit back with a glass of wine and a light snack and meet acclaimed author and humorist, D.L. Garfinkle as she discusses Laughing and Literacy: Using Humorous Books to Turn Reluctant Readers into Eager Readers.
Wednesday, May 7
D.L. Garfinkle signing in booth #721
11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
In author and book news,
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
cynleitichsmith is giving away a copy of Magic in the Mirrorstone and By Venom's Sweet Sting. Note that the deadline is fast approaching! Cynthia interviews Magic in the Mirrorstone editor Steve Berman here.Next week we've got a couple fun events approaching. Support Teen Literature Day is next Thursday, April 17. As part of that, YALSA and the Readergirlz divas are hosting Operation Teen Book Drop, a charitable event where publishers, authors, and whoever else wants to get involved will be donating books to numerous children's hospitals. I'll be heading over to one here in Seattle--check out the wiki for ideas on how you can get involved in your neighborhood. If you're on Facebook, let the Readergirlz know that you'll be Rocking the Drop!
So it was a very full, very exhausting weekend! It was fun to stay with a friend and catch up and play with her two-year-old daughter, too, and to see so many good friends, and sad that I didn't have enough time to catch up with everyone. I had a great time, and thanks to the con organizers who invited me!
As far as actual editing goes, well, it's life as usual. I have all sorts of interesting things happening at work, which I can't really blog about just yet, and just a lot of editing to hit deadlines. I got two books out to copyedit last week, and it's on to the next book. Busy busy busy.
One thing I CAN tell you is that I can officially announce a new series by
jeffsampson which I'll be working on. Here's the Publisher's Lunch announcement:Jeff Sampson’s THE LIFE AND DEATH OF EMILY COOKE, the first in a dark fantasy series about Emily Webb, who at night transforms from shy and mousy geek girl into a wild thrill-seeker, to Stacy Whitman at Mirrorstone.
There's a WHOLE lot more to the story, but I don't want to give away anything! Keep your eye out for more on it in the future, though.
Also, keep an eye out this month for book 3 of Hallowmere, Between Golden Jaws. Tiffany Trent just traveled down to see a library in New Orleans who won a visit from her for their Teen Read Week activities. (See here for coverage--it's the second part of the piece, so scroll below the ad.)
Last month's release, Magic in the Mirrorstone, has been getting some great reviews. If you haven't checked it out yet, you don't want to miss it.
- Music:No Life Without Wife, Bride & Prejudice soundtrack
Pictures at
halseanderson and kmessner.Cheryl has a recipe from another editor that's to die for.
Oh, and an unexpected highlight--I met the author of a picturebook I'd enjoyed as a kid! I never knew it was written by Patricia Thomas until I saw the book in the KW library and remembered that this was the book I'd been trying to remember all those years. (I'd thought it was Horton Hears a Who until I read that book and realized it was nothing like "Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!" which was a big favorite of mine. An elephant warns his friends that they'd better back up, and I think they do (I'll have to look at it again), but eventually he sneezes and just blows everybody away. It's so funny!
Okay, this makes me sad. I'm heading out of town late Wednesday night for a retreat (Kindling Words) and wouldn't you know it that the very next day, three excellent authors come to Seattle?
So, since I can't have the pleasure of their company, you who are in the area should. First off, in their World Domination tour (including an evil cat, according to Libba's journal), Shannon Hale and Libba Bray will be at the All for Kids Books store. If you've never been to this store, you need to go--the booksellers there are great. They even hold books for you a couple days more when you forget to come in that day.
It's at 4 p.m. at the bookstore. Scroll to the bottom of the page for January events for all the info. All for Kids is at 2900 N.E. Blakeley St., Seattle, WA 98105.
Then, James A. Owen, better known to LJ as
coppervale, will be at the UVillage B&N that same night (if that link doesn't work, look up author events on their event search for events in Seattle). I know because I was on a hunt for Flora Segunda and they announced it on a recording before it transferred me to a real person, so that was rather lucky, though again, it's on a night when I won't be in Seattle, which makes me sad. But I'm happy to be off to Vermont for Kindling Words this week. I'll be working like crazy to make sure I meet a deadline before I go, then out of touch until I return, so I might not be around LJ, but hope you all have a good week.
This weekend I'm off to Philadelphia for ALA Midwinter. I'm on the Publisher's Liaison Committee for YALSA, so I get to see the inner
workings of the committees this year and to go to some booksignings in the Random House booth for Magic in the Mirrorstone, the anthology of fantasy short stories we're releasing in February. It's edited by Steve Berman and features 15 wonderful stories by 15 amazing authors, like Holly Black, Gregory Frost, Tiffany Trent, Cecil Castellucci, Cassandra Clare, Jim C. Hines, and on and on. If you like short stories, check it out. Hey, even if you don't like short stories, there's plenty to love--Cecil Castellucci's first foray into fantasy, a "lost story" of Hallowmere, unicorns, frogs, a voodoo princess... and more, of course. (Twoo wuv, mawage...)
And of course, if you're going to BE at Midwinter, make sure to come looking for a signed copy of Magic in the Mirrorstone. Gregory Frost and Holly Black are having independent signings, and several others, including Ann Zeddes, Lawrence Schoen, and anthology editor Steve Berman (the reason the whole thing exists!) will be around signing stock, so you might just be able to get a copy with several authors' John Hancocks!
Mirrorstone does not have a booth at Midwinter this year, so go looking for copies at the Random House booth, #1231.
Here's the schedule:
11:00AM—12:00PM – Gregory Frost (Shadowbridge & Magic in the Mirrorstone) signs copies of his book in the RH Booth #1231
11:00AM—12:00PM – Holly Black (Magic in the Mirrorstone) signs copies of her book in the RH Booth # 1231
Here's all the info. If you're in Utah, check it out!
Red Dragon Codex Publication Party
Open House
January 12, 2008
4:00-6:00 PM
West Valley Fitness Center
5415 West 3100 South
West Valley City, Utah 84120
(801) 955-4000
Community Room A
Come join us for food and fun at the Red Dragon Codex publication party.
Meet the author, Rebecca Shelley (R.D.Henham). Books will be available for purchase and signing at 20% off retail price.
Face the three tests from the book--the tests of courage, love, and truth--to gain the magical silver dragon pendant.
Try your hand at coloring or drawing your own dragons.
And put your name into a drawing for free copies of Red Dragon Codex!
Children of all ages welcome. We can't wait to see you.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Shelley and friends
And if you're not in Utah, make sure to find Red Dragon Codex at your local bookstore next week!
My old friend Brandon Sanderson (mistborn) just got chosen to write the final chapter in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I have a special place in my heart for this series--it's one of the first fantasy series I ever read in college, and the first series that ever had me waiting with baited breath for the book release date and then reading through the night till dawn the day after I bought the book. Though the series slowed down WAY too much for my liking in the last few books (really, can something more happen between books 8 and 11?), I still think that The Eye of the World is a classic fantasy text that writers would do well to take an example from. Jordan, who passed away this last September, did a lot to bring fantasy back into the forefront at least to the niche SFF audience, long before Harry Potter was a twinkle in J.K. Rowling's eye.
So stop by and congratulate Brandon. He's got quite a tall job ahead of him.
I've been asked to write an essay for a Mormon publication, Dialogue, on Mormon writers of mainstream YA and children's literature. While I'm working on that, I thought I'd throw the topic out there, both to my readers who I know for a fact are LDS, and to anyone else who might be interested in the subject. What YA and children's fantasy writers out there are LDS? Does knowing they're LDS affect how you perceive the book? Did you learn they were LDS before or after reading, and did that change your perception of the book?
Let's contrast this to a notorious example, and a timely one at that. You've all probably heard of the emails going round some parts about boycotting the movies based on Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials.* Would you go to see the movie? Do you believe that it should be avoided? If so, why? If not, what do you like about Pullman's work? What influence, if any, does his background have on your reading?
( A smattering of a list, if you're curious )
*Full disclosure: I think Pullman's writing is beautiful. While I didn't necessarily agree with the conclusion of the series (as a member of a slightly unorthodox religious group that in a way rebelled/withdrew/rejected the teachings of the organized church of its day, I'm in a strange position of agreeing with him and disagreeing at the same time), I did think that HDM was beautifully written and a well-crafted fantasy story. And so what if I don't agree with him? I think that there's room for all of us to read each others' perspectives and learn from them, and that freedom to do so brings to our world beauty and understanding of both our differences and similarities.
In all the correspondence I've seen from Pullman himself on children's lit listservs, he's always been respectful, articulate, and a knowledgeable advocate for children in education. And he's got one of the best first lines of all time, too. I've got the Sally Lockhart mysteries lying on my bedside table begging for me to finally getting around to reading them.
So I certainly don't advocate boycotting the movies. On the contrary, I think they look gorgeous from what I've seen so far and I'm interested in seeing how the books are adapted to film.
There's a big children's book blog event going on now, Blogging for a Cure, in which many blogs are mentioning featuring the snowflakes and illustrators of Robert's Snow to raise awareness. I've been away from reading blogs for the last couple of weeks, though, and don't know all the details, so I send you to Seven Impossible Things before Breakfast to find out everything.
Tuesday, Oct. 16
7 p.m.
Northgate Barnes and Noble
301 NE Northgate Way, Seattle WA
And now that Teen Read Week has begun, get started on your Happy Hallow-wii project!
Also, don't forget that 31 Flavorites is still going till the end of the month! Saw all four of the lovely Readergirlz divas this morning at the kickoff, plugging the chance to chat with your favorite authors all month.
Must run! Taking Tiffany to the University Bookstore in Seattle to sign stock. So that means after today, all the places you will be able to find signed copies if you don't go tonight (and hey--go tonight!) will be:
The Secret Garden Bookshop (she signed a brick! ask her the story about Stephenie Meyer and the bricks!)
All for Kids (she got to sign the wall--go check it out!)
B&N downtown Seattle
Borders downtown Seattle
B&N at U Village, Seattle
B&N at Southcenter, Tukwila
Borders at Southcenter Tukwila (if you get the last one!)
University Books, Seattle
As I've mentioned previously, Hallowmere author Tiffany Trent will be in Seattle next week to help kick off Teen Read Week for YALSA at Washington Middle School. Though that particular event won't be open to the public, she will be in the area dropping into bookstores--look for signed copies of Hallowmere at All for Kids and The Secret Garden as well as your local chain stores--and she'll be doing an official signing event at the new Barnes and Noble at Northgate Mall on Tuesday night, Oct. 16.
The info on the signing:
Tuesday, Oct. 16
7 p.m.
Northgate Barnes and Noble
301 NE Northgate Way #1100, Seattle WA
We hope to see you and all your friends there!
I should have posted the night before Tiffany Trent's night on Readergirlz, but I'm afraid things have been rather busy at both work and in my personal life and the blog is the thing getting pushed aside. But be aware that Tiffany Trent will be in the Seattle area at the beginning of next week to be a part of the Teen Read Week kickoff, and hopefully she'll be signing at an area bookstore, most likely just dropping in. When I know more, I'll post it, or just make sure to follow her LJ (
tltrent) for more info because she's better at posting such things than I am lately! Also watch the Mirrorstone blog at Myspace, where we try to post author appearances and news.And be sure to get involved for Teen Read Week! Go over and join in the 31 Flavorites chats at Readergirlz, or maybe talk to your local librarian and see how you might volunteer and be a part of raising teen literacy near you.
She addresses how her background as the child of Christian missionaries and how her everyday faith today affects how she writes.
At least, that's what I remember her addressing. Now that I've tried opening the file, it appears to be in a format that I can't access. :( I'll go ahead and post this anyway, and if anyone knows what program would play that file, let me know in the comments.
I cannot say enough how much Madeleine L'Engle's work affected my life. It was in the fourth grade when Mrs. Hawes gave me a copy of A Wrinkle in Time that the world of fantasy and science fiction was opened up to me. It was my gifted project for a time to read the book and underline any word I didn't know so that I could look it up--and she had some doozies right on the first page. It's because of Madeleine L'Engle that I know the word tangible, which I always thought sounded so interesting.
It also appalled me to be underlining words in a book--you didn't do that to books! It makes me sad that sometime in the intervening years I lost that copy, because that old cover brings back a lot of good memories.
I then went on that year and the next to devour any Madeleine L'Engle books I could find, especially the ones about Meg and her family. But my favorite today is A Ring of Endless Light, which I checked out again and again. I was fascinated with the idea of being able to talk to dolphins. I believe that was the book in which she had character crossover from the Austins to the O'Keefes, too, though it's been years and I can't remember rightly. I just bought a new copy of that book, though, and I intend to relive that experience soon. Let's hope it's one of those childhood reading experiences that hold up to an adult reading! I reread A Wrinkle in Time in grad school and was surprised at how heavy handed it felt at times, and yet how omnipresent some of the ideas of IT (which I kept reading as I.T., as in the I.T. department!) and the same little children throwing same little balls feel regarding today. I had no concept during my first read in 1984--yes, that seems a fun little fact for me, given the book's few similarities to the book 1984--of how the book had been written 20-odd years before. (I was also into Trixie Belden at the time; sometimes I feel like I grew up in the 50s and 60s with all the older books and comics I read!)
Anyway, I owe Madeleine L'Engle a big thank you for sparking my imagination in those years. Her books were amazing and I would be lucky for the books I help create to touch readers in the same way hers touched me.
Also, for those who prefer to read such things on their friends' pages, I created a feed:
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif){kind=small}
ellsworthjourn
n First of all, if you don't know about Readergirlz, go check them out--they've got thousands of teen girls excited about reading. As Tiffany Trent posted on her LJ (tltrent</lj>), for Teen Read Week this year Readergirlz is hosting 31 Flavorite Authors for Teens, and Tiffany will be one of them on Oct. 2. They'll talk to a different author every day. But don't wait until October--they're featuring Holly Black this month.
n I already told you about hallowmere.com, but you should go there again. And share it with your friends. And their friends.
n Speaking of which, if you’re on MySpace, you should be Corrine’s friend! And Hallowmere’s, too. (I’m there too, though I don’t go over there as often as here.)
n I will be traveling down to L.A. in early September to talk to some YA librarians. I’m very excited about it.
n I am spending the week catching up on my way-too-far-behind towering pile of submissions. If you’ve been patiently waiting to hear from me, fear not, the wait may be over soon. Though the wheels of justice—er, publication—do grind slowly, so if it’s not a rejection letter, it might take a little longer for deliberation. I’d post a picture, but I think the real thing is guilt-inducing enough. If you want another editorial perspective on how that goes (and/or, if you miss Miss Snark), I’ve recently discovered Editorial Anonymous, the blog of an editorial assistant who deals with this stuff in a most Miss Snark-ish manner.
Syndicate
