Glory Be!

New Year’s in November? You bet! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday, I had the extreme pleasure of speaking to the Glory Girls Read Book Club. I spoke about the writing Shante’ Keys and its journey to publication. And I also touched on my current rant topic–the underrepresentation of minority writers in the ranks of published children’s authors.

The extra yummy part of the day was that they cooked an entire New Year’s dinner! Black-eyed peas, ham, macaroni and cheese, greens, cornbread, spaghetti, catfish, cole slaw–what a treat! Shante’ really had a ball there!

We Have a Winner!

I haven’t had a chance to read any of the books nominated in the YA category for the NBA, but that didn’t stop them from making the award last night. Judy Blundell won for WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED. (Oooh-that should have been the title for Scott McClellan’s book.)

Harry on the Prairie

Harold Underdown at Prairie Writers Day

Some of us thought he’d be a little old man with a beard. What did the reknown Harold Underdown look like? I wasn’t sure–the only Underdowns I had known lived on my block when I was a kid and I was pretty sure no matter how old he was, he wasn’t a black guy related to old Mrs. Underdown.

 

It turned out I was right (he wasn’t black) and other folks were wrong (he wasn’t old). (Of course, if we had bothered to look on his famous web site, Harold’s Purple Crayon, we would have seen a picture.) But any of us who thought he was inciteful, entertaining, and knowledgeable about the children’s book biz would have been absolutely correct.

 

Harold Underdown was the lead speaker in SCBWI-Illinois’ Prairie Writers Day and as usual, it was a day packed with information. This year’s program focused on craft, so after Harold’s look at the positives and negatives in the state of the publishing industry, the guest editors (LIVE from New York!) took us through voice, plot, and revision.

 

I have never been to an SCBWI-IL event that I didn’t feel like I have gotten my money’s worth. I can’t afford an MFA and my entire education in writing for children has been via SCBWI programs. If you are not a member and you want to write for children, JOIN!

Et Tu, Shakespeare

Ever wonder why there are a million adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays? The answer is public domain. If you’re one of the many people who have questions about copyright and its step-sister public domain, check out today’s Tech Talk column in the New York Times.

Where’s That File?

Okay, I know I probably didn’t invent this, but as I was cleaning the rest of the basement (the world outside my hopeless office) I came across something I thought could help organize my files.

It was one of those shoe/purse hanging organizers and I had one leftover from a set of organizers I had ordered from QVC. When I pulled it out of its box (I save a lot of boxes–you should see the pile of cardboard I’m recycling), it looked like it could hold a file folder. Sure enough, it can!

I have hung it on my office door, but I may put a hook on the wall next to my desk and put it there. The one I have is two sided and has 5 storage slots on each side. The uppermost two slots open at the top and are closed on the sides–great for file folders that need to stare you in the face each day, not hidden behind a pile of other files. The bottom three slots are open on each end, but I have file jackets I can put in there. The three-ring binder that I keep my bills in even fits in there! Let’s see if this helps me remember to pay them.

This was a lot cheaper solution than buying one of those acryclic wall file organizers (especially since it was free) and more flexible.

Writer’s Digest University

 The folks at Writer’s Digest have announced their first-ever Writer’s Digest University. It’s coming up kind of soon–December 13-14–but you can have a book proposal or 50 pages of a manuscript critiqued by a Writer’s Digest editor. It’s limited to 50 people, so if you think you can squeeze yet one more thing into December you’d better sign up quickly.

People, Get Ready!

In today’s post on I.N.K., writer Kathleen Krull writes that’s she’s glad that the president-elect reads. Amen to that! It seemed sometimes that 43 felt about reading and being exposed to new ideas the way his father 41 felt about broccoli (which is odd because his wife started two very successful book fairs).

Kathleen’s most important words, however, were at the end. “But this Thanksgiving I say ask not what Obama can do for you, ask what you can do for Obama.” I think since the initial shock/surprise/celebration,  Americans of all political persuasions are now thinking about being ready to stand in service. On CBS Sunday Morning yesterday, Nancy Giles spoke about being inspired by Obama’s election. “And speaking of change, damn it, I’m going to get myself in shape … for something.”

I had that feeling last week when I saw the next president head to the gym the day after the election. I thought if he had the time and the energy after a looooooooong campaign to go workout, then certainly I could do better about how often I exercise. Some writers, like my friend HR, are dedicated to their workouts. And then again, some of us are dedicated to the comfy seat of our office chair and consider keyboarding an Olympic sport.

So I pledge–well let’s say plan–to get back to my arthritis exercise group (that’s where they put the lupus folks) this week. I may not do all 4 classes this week, but I’ll do at least 2. Certainly there is going to be something children’s writers can do to help #44. I want to be ready. Bye, bye, chair!

A Visit to a Delightful Graveyard

On Saturdays in the summer and fall, I usually get up and head to the local farmers market and then head to the Jewel to do my mom’s grocery shopping. But since the farmers market has ended and I was feeling like a pajama morning, yesterday I grabbed Neil Gaiman’s THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. I’ve never been one to hang around graveyards, but I did not want to leave this one. My friend AJ warned us that we wouldn’t want this book to end and boy was she right.

The Graveyard Book

I’m not a fast reader, and I generally favor books under 200 pages since longer books take me FOREVER to read–usually. This 320 pages was over before I knew it. I can’t remember when a book made me actually get that creepy pang of impending danger during the climax. I was scared for Nobody Owens, the book’s main character and the only living resident of the historic graveyard. And I could barely read the last few paragraphs of the book because my eyes had gotten some kind of watery substance in them.

Besides having total awe of Gaiman’s imaginative setting and characters, THE GRAVEYARD BOOK left me thinking about what it means to be alive. I realized that some of us think we are alive, when we really aren’t.  Not in a Sixth Sense kind of way, but in a sense that we have yet to fully live our lives, experience new things, and really see the world around us. Some of us are more like the permanent residents of the graveyard–static and stuck in the past.

Take a visit to this graveyard and let me know what you think.

Great Idea for School Visits

Writing in the I.N.K. blog, author Vickie Cobb tells of an interesting way she’s reaching out to schools in other states. Vickie is using video conferencing to visit with students. It required an investment in equipment, but it is a way to visit with your readers who are far away. 

This might be something I want to look into since some days Park Forest is too far for me to go, and I live next door in Chicago Heights!

Best Illustrated Children’s Books 2008

"We Are the Ship" by Kadir Nelson

The New York Times Book section has a beautiful slide show up of its selections for the best illustrated children’s books of the year.

Illustrators are incredible gifts to the world of children’s literature. Without their pictures, writers’ words would be naked and boring. Without words, however, their pictures still have power and captivate.