On the Road Again...

Tomorrow I'm headed to the Chicago area (home of SCBWI-Illinois Regional Advisor extraordinaire Esther Hershenhorn) for two events.

First, the Market Books World Tour continues with an appearance at Barbara's Bookstore at IUC on Thursday September 14 (that's tomorrow) at 7:30 p.m. featuring a panel of editors including me; Lauren Mosko, editor of Novel & Short Story Writer's Market; and Chuck Sambuchino, newly anointed editor of Guide to Literary Agents. (Their website info on the event is not quite correct.)

Lauren, Chuck and I will then be joined by our Editorial Director Jane Friedman to participate in the Midwest Literary Festival in Aurora starting on Friday. We'll be moderating panels, critiquing manuscripts, and working a pitch session. Jane will be offering two workshops to festival attendees on Sunday, one on how to get a novel published and the other on how the publishing industry works. Their website says of the event: "As a celebration of the written word, this free festival offers a wide variety of activities for the whole family, including over 50 authors, book signings, panel discussions, a how-to tent, children's area, food vendors and much more." If you're as curious as I am about what exactly goes on in a "how-to tent," head to Aurora for the weekend. (Did you notice--it's free?)

P.S. I'm highly disappointed we won't be able to make it to a Cubs vs. Reds game at Wrigley (the world's coolest stadium) over the weekend. If any of you are going, have a cold beer for me and yell really loud.