36th Annual SCBWI Summer Conference...

I was very excited when the mail arrived in my inbox yesterday because it included the (snazzy) brochure for the 36th Annual Summer Conference, an impressive shindig SCBWI throws every August in (the really nice part) of Los Angeles.

Here are a few cool things about this year's conference:

• New tracks and series of sessions are offered including Creating the Series, Increasing Your Revenue & Books Sales and Poetry Master Class with Lee Bennett Hopkins, along with tracks for illustrators and published attendees.
• Four contributors to the 2008 CWIM are on the faculty: author Kathleen Duey, Delacorte editor Krista Marino, Henry Holt associate art director Laurent Linn, and the Class of 2k7.
• Other cool presenters such as Cecil Castellucci, John Green, Cynthia Leitich Smith.
  
• If all goes well (my fingers are crossed), the conference will be the first place the 2008 CWIM is available.

If you have the time and budget to attend this event, I highly recommend it. If you can't, I'll give you the play-by-play right here. (If you'd like to read my account of conference goings-on from last year, visit August 2006 in my blog archive. I kicked off my blog at the event!)

Important BEA Prep: Footwear...

I leave for New York for the BookExpo America on Tuesday. I've got my materials together, contacted people about meeting up, figured out my schedule, and geared up for the conference. I've even planned all my outfits. Except the shoes. I've admitted before in this space that I have a shoe problem. I've got many many shoes. Many many. Some are wearing to work shoes. Some are going out to dinner shoes. Some are going to the park or grocery store shoes. None, however, are walking around BEA/walking around New York shoes.

I ran to the mall at lunchtime and purchased potential New York shoes #5 and #6. I've taken two pairs back, decided one pair is strictly park/grocery store, and one is TBD (unworn, receipt in box--comfy, but I'm not sure if they're cute). I just cannot spend six days wearing cruel shoes. No matter how many free books I get, it's not nearly as fun if my dogs are barking. How do New Yorkers (and my friend Suzanne with her adorable high heel wardrobe) do it? I recently read an interview with Sarah Jessica Parker (who, by the way, is from the Nati), and she said she often runs into fans around New York and they always check out her shoes and are disappointed to find she's in flip flops instead of 4-inch Jimmy Choo stilettos.

Once I solve my shoe dilemma, I'll be ready to go. Don't forget to visit my blog for updates on BEA including lots of pictures.

Chuck's Newsletter on All Things Agent...

Guide to Literary Agents Editor Chuck Sambuchino will kick off his GLA e-newsletter tomorrow. "The purpose of this is newsletter," Chuck says, "is to keep readers updated on news, tips and great resources around the Web, regarding literary agents, screenwriting agents, writers' conferences and writing opportunities in general." To sign up visit the GLA page. If you'd like to see sample, click here. The newsletter will be biweekly.

I'll be launching a CWIM newsletter in the near future myself. Feel free to sign up now, but be patient, friends. Gotta get the 2008 CWIM to the printer first. (And go to BEA.)

Feeling the Judy Blume Love...

I keep seeing Judy Blume mentions lately. First because Simon & Schuster recently released a new paperback version of Forever. (Raise your hand if you and all your friends sneak-read this book in 7th grade, got caught, and got the nuns all in a tizzy.) I imagine this frequently banned classic would seem pretty tame to today's One Tree Hill-watching teens--perhaps I'll pull out my old copy and read it on the plane on the way to New York next week and see what all the fuss was about.

Getting even more buzz is a compilation of essays titled Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume. I gotta say, Blume was one helpful lady for me, as a kid in the '70s. Where else could I get some answers to questions about menstruation (I was right there with ya, Margaret), masturbation and sex in the privacy of my own paperback? I think most of all, I learned I was not alone in the exercise of adolescence.

I also had a revelation about...breakfast cereal. I remember it vividly as I read Deenie. There was a scene during which the title character is making breakfast and she's sprinkling her bowl of cereal with raisins and brown sugar and such. It was as if a whole new world of breakfast options were opened to me the moment I realized that one does not have to eat one's corn flakes just as they are in the box. I know this sounds silly, but it was very exciting at the time. (Even back then, I was very into all things food. You may recall my 2002 CWIM "From the Editor" in which I told the story of when my mom banned me from watching "The French Chef" with Julia Child when I was 9 or 10.)

Thanks, Judy.

New York Times Book Review Children's Section...

I'm a little late passing this on considering it's Thursday, but I was just straightening my house and found the New York Times Book Review special children's section from this past Sunday. (My husband hid it under all the sections I never read.) This special section offers reviews of new rhyming poetry books and picture books about jazz, among other things.

I'm not much of a a fan of jazz music. That's an understatement--really hate jazz. With the exception of an Ella tune here and there, I can't stand it for more than a few minutes. (In conversation, I would normally paraphrase Augusten Burroughs expressing his feelings about jazz, but it's too un-PC to post. See Magical Thinking.) However, I always seem to adore the artwork that winds up in books about jazz for young readers. Maybe I just need to see jazz and not hear it. There are a couple of examples of wonderful jazz illustration in the Times piece. Zeebopadoo!

Kicking Off Alice's Summer Reading Program...

I've admitted in this space several times that I really dig TV. Sometimes I even worry that I harbor a perhaps unhealthy level of love for my TV friends. I'm still reeling from the abrupt cancellation of The Gilmore Girls. (Found out last week during a promo spot--that's no way to break such news to a girl.) I long for the days when a could enjoy a new episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the best show ever). And I've never quite come to grips with the passing of Phil Hartman. (I don't want to talk about it.)

But this time of year, I'm a little relieved that rerun season is upon us--and I can find some book friends and get caught up in their lives. So I've officially kicked off Alice's Summer Reading Program. (That just means lots of books, little TV--I like naming stuff if you haven't noticed.)

I started not with a single book, but with Scott Westerfeld's trilogy, Uglies, Pretties, and Specials. And I started my morning yesterday by barfing. The good news was I was home all day in bed with Specials and I finished it, every high-adventure, distopian-fantastical, must-keep-reading-even-though-I-really-need-a-nap page of it. Main character Tally is one book friend who will be kicking (or, most likely, hover-boarding) around in my mind for a while.

In two weeks, I'm off to the BookExpo in New York, where free book are everwhere. There's rampant free book gluttony. It's a veritble free book orgy. (I'm a wee bit giddy thinking about it.) I'm schlepping a laptop and blogging from the events, starting with our writer's conference and continuing throughout the weekend, so remember to visit this space often starting May 30th. I know you want to hear about the children's writers speed dating event.

Harry Potter--Good for Sales, Not for Profits...

I've been talking about this with my co-workers lately: Do retailers actually make money selling Harry Potter? So I was excited to see a discussion of the topic on GalleyCat today. Seems not.

I like This--You Should Visit (an ongoing series)...

I just learned about Editorial Anonymous, "a blog of a children's book editor." Who she or he is, I have not a clue. Oh the intrigue of the anonymous Blogger! (Think Miss Snark, Evil Editor.) They willfully share their knowledge, thoughtfully answer our questions, let us in on the inside scoop--all the while keeping their identities secret. Curiouser and curiouser (as the other, more famous, Alice would say).

Online Conference Guide...

In a comment to my post below, Donna Alice asked, "Is there a website that keeps the reader up to date on upcoming conferences?" You can check out ShawGuides Guide to Writers Conference & Workshops. You can search by a number of criteria, including date, location, and type of conference. (It's a free service.) Also visit SCBWI's website for their events calendar and click on Regional Events.

I'm not sure how often these sites are updated, however. I only visit them once in a while. If any one else knows of a good source for conference info, please post a comment.

P.S. Don't forget about the BookExpo America Writer's Digest Books Writer's Conference coming up on May 30th in NYC.

Saturday in the 'Lumbus...

Hi to everyone who attended my session on promoting yourself online at the Central Ohio conference this past Saturday. (I hope a you are all visiting my blog and the other blogs and websites we talked about.) I wasn't at this event for long--I arrived about an hour before my session, then left a few minutes after. But here are a few things I learned (mostly from the drive):

• PowerPoint is fun! I had no technical difficulties at all (except when I tried to use the remote).
  
• The 50th most popular song on the Billboard chart in 1979 was the "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" by the Charlie Daniels Band (Thank you Casey Kasem and XM Radio.)
  
• The most interesting site on the drive from the 'Nati to the 'Lumbus is the "Hell Is Real" Billboard.
• I really love and appreciate trucks. (It's Murray's fault.) I was getting excited when I'd see a big tractor trailer or a concrete mixer or a group of construction trucks on the side of the road. I saw a couple of flatbed trucks hauling what I can only conclude are pieces of UFOs--they were the strangest looking huge pointy things I've ever seen. They looked sort of like giant space-age jacks.

Randomly...

• Bluegrass Festival: Our panels at the Bluegrass Festival of Books went very well. At 3 hours each, we were worried about filling up the time, but there are a lot of writers with a lot of great questions in the Lexington area. Our discussions were lively and interesting (at least from where I sat) and there were still many hands going up as we ended the programs. (Greg the Publicity Guy took some pictures of the event, but I look weird in all of them, so no photos on my blog.)
• Book Sense Picks: I have a copy of the Book Sense Picks, Children's Spring 2007 list here on my desk. Sadly, I have not read a single book on the list. Happily, it's spring--more daylight, lots of reruns on TV, some upcoming airplane time. It's Reading Season! Look for the Book Sense list at your local independent bookseller.
  
• Central Ohio Conference: I'm headed to Columbus, OH (or as we in the 'Nati like to call it, the 'Lumbus) on Saturday for the Central Ohio Writer's of Literature for Children Conference, and I'm getting quite excited about my Powerpoint presentation. (Please send no-technical-difficulty thoughts toward central Ohio around 2-ish on April 28.) I'll be talking about promoting yourself on the Web.
  
• '08 CWIM: It's pretty close to going to the printer, folks. And I have to say this edition is really the best one ever. Soon, I'll post some teasers! (Right now I'm looking through Writer's Market and Guide to Literary Agents. New GLA editor Chuck did a bang-up job on the 2008 edition. Those books hit stores in early August along with CWIM.)
• It's raining. Again: After a few glorious days here in the 'Nati, it's once again gray and gloomy outside. But it' s not so bad since I've been doing some season-appropriate shopping recently and I have a great new trench and the coolest pair of red wedge rain boots. (One of these days I'll start my fashion blog with tips on how to shop for the chic on an editor's salary without making your husband divorce you and/or cut up your AmEx.)
• Angry Robot Dogs: Murray, who is now well past 2 1/2, woke up several times last night crying and he told me there were some angry robot dogs roaming about and they were scary. Just wanted to give you all the heads up.

Fact vs. Fiction: The Hoax...

I loved this piece in The New Yorker--it's an interview with Clifford Irving, the writer on whom Richard Gere's new movie The Hoax is based. Irving "perpetrated the most intrepid publishing fraud of the modern era," as writer Jeffrey Goldberg put it, when he pretended to be writing an autobiography of Howard Hughes even though the two had never met.

I find literary and journalistic hoaxes quite fascinating. (If you've never seen Shattered Glass, add it to your Netflix list--it's riveting.) I simply can't imagine the anxiety one would feel about the possibility of getting caught (something that kept me out of a lot of trouble in high school), but I guess that's all part of the thrill--that Catch-Me-If-You-Can sense of adventure. Do these writers just want to see what they can get away with? (Irving, who is now with his sixth wife, also had extramarital affairs.)

I can't help but think of the also fascinating ongoing discussion of the memoir as a form, and the liberties authors may or may not take with facts in the name of entertaining writing. For instance the recent criticism of David Sedaris in The New Republic, after which the humorist received much love from the press. Or the fact that, not long after the James Frey incident, Augusten Burroughs' publisher placed a disclaimer on the back of his book Possible Side Effects. (Full disclosure: There's nothing I love more than a great memoir or collection of personal essays. Sedaris and Burroughs are two of my favorite authors.)

A few years ago at BEA, I saw memoirist Alexandra Fuller speak on her book Scribbling the Cat: Travels with an African Soldier. Fuller commented that both memoirists and novelists are often hit with the question, "Is this really true? Did this really happen?" Do readers on some level think there's always some fiction in the facts and some facts in the fiction?

Bye Bye Brodie...

PW reports today that Deborah Brodie, one of the founders of Roaring Brook Press, will be leaving the publisher next month. I've dealt with Deborah a number of times over the years and always found her to be helpful, kind and professional--and I think she's brought many wonderful books to the world.

If you have a copy of the 2001 CWIM hanging out on your shelf, turn to page 203 for an interview with Deborah, then still serving as executive editor at Viking. Here's a snippet in which she answers a question about where children's publishing is going:

"...the one thing that will never change is the collaborative nature of publishing--the supportive, mutually nourishing relationship of editor, author and illustrator."

I wish her the best of luck in whatever new publishing endeavor she chooses.

Alice's April Mini-Tour...

I'm hitting the road the last two Saturdays of April. Here's the scoop:

• Saturday April 21--Bluegrass Festival of Books. I'm heading to Lexington, KY to do a workshop on writing and getting published along with two wonderful and knowledgeable Writer's Digest Books editors, Lauren Mosko and Kelly Nickell. Tickets are still available for this event. We'll be doing two three-hour sessions, one in the morning, one in the afternoon. (And we have to get up ridiculously early, but Greg the Publicity Guy is driving us, so we can nap in the car on the way.) There are also a slew of other authors offering sessions on lots of topics including a young adult author panel. Unfortunately the lunch with Paula Deen is sold out. (I think just being in the same room with her would make my pants feel snug--that woman loves to cook with the butter.)
• Saturday April 28--Central Ohio Writers of Literature for Children conference. I head to Columbus, OH for this event to do an afternoon session entitled "Promoting Your Work Online." I'll give some tips on creating an online presence with some examples of authors and illustrators who have done it well, and discuss blogging, listservs, online social networking and other things. And I'll even have some Power Point visuals (as long as I don't experience any technical difficulties).

If you are in the Lexington or 'Lumbus area, sign up for an event--what better way to spend a Saturday than talking about books and writing. I'll be posting some photos and a report from each a event so please visit my blog again soon.

WSJ Tackles YA, Part 2...

I finally read the Wall Street Journal article on teen books thanks to Flux editor Andrew Karre who was nice enough to pass it along. I said previously that I'd offer an overview of the piece here, but why don't you just check out Andrew's blog--he's sums it up and offers his thoughts. (And you should bookmark his blog while you're there.)

An aside to the WSJ article which discusses the decision to publish certain books with young characters as adult books (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, for example) and not as YA--I interviewed Judy Blume several years ago as she was finishing up Summer Sisters. At the time, she said, her publisher had gone back and forth as to whether the book would be marketed as YA or adult. It was ultimately published as an adult book. That interview took place in 1997, so this discussion is certainly not a new one in the publishing world.