Fabulous Authors Coming to Baltimore!

I've been a bad blogger lately, and it's not that I don't have tons to write about ... I just need to sit down and WRITE!  Until then, check out this list of the fabulous authors who will be at the Baltimore Book Festival on Sept. 23-25.

I'm super excited to see Sherman Alexie! I've read one of his books and plan to read the other this year. And the author of THE NIGHT CIRCUS, Erin Morganstern, will be there! And Stephanie Dray, author of LILY OF THE NILE (I really liked that one). And Alma Katsu (THE TAKER), and Janet Mullaney (JANE OF THE DAMNED) and Laura Lippman, and many, many more! I am so excited about all this. :)

If you are planning to go to the festival please let me know - I'd love to meet up with you.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that Matthew Norman, author of DOMESTIC VIOLETS will be there as well. And that there will be TWO panels on Steampunk - woohoo!

Recapping The Baltimore Book Festival

 

Yeah, yeah, yeah ... I know, I know ... I was supposed to do this weeks ago. So sorry!  I started telling you about my Baltimore Book Festival adventures but I never got around to telling you how the panels went. And that's after posting over and over again before the event, encouraging you all to attend.  Slacker.

Also, I didn't take but a few photos during the Festival, and definitely none during the panels.  You'll have to rely on other bloggers recaps for those. Sorry!

Ok, here goes ...

I was a bit worried on the drive to the Festival Sunday morning (9/26) because I had to use my windshield wipers. Yup, it was raining.  Drizzling really, but the ground was wet. Ugh.  That's usually a bad sign for the Festival since many people won't come out if the weather isn't good.  Then I found out that Ravens football had kickoff at 1pm right downtown, so the traffic was going to be a nightmare at lunchtime.  Oh boy, this is not looking good!

I arrived early since I needed to drive my car onto the Festival grounds to drop off several boxes of books and get the car off the grounds by 11am.  After I parked I made my way to the wonderful hospitality suite located in a gorgeous old Baltimore home.  (Did anyone who was there get photos inside the building? I'd love to show the rest of you what it looked like!)  I had a complimentary tea and muffin while I relaxed and read a book.

Then I headed down to catch part of Warren St. John's talk on his book Outcasts United.

Warren St. John

I really enjoyed this book and am excited that is was chosen for the One Maryland One Book campaign.  I couldn't stay too long though because soon it was time to head to Festival Stage tent and get ready for the first panel. 

Panel #1 - The Wonderful World of Book Blogging

At the tent I found a wonderful group of bloggers, some of whom would be on the panel and others who would be in the audience.  The panelists (Nicole @ Linus's Blanket, Candace @ Beth Fish Reads, Celeste @ Reading Local: Baltimore, Dave @ Read Street, and Serena @ Savvy Verse and Wit) and other bloggers helped me to get the handouts on to the audience chairs in the few minutes before we were to start.  Thanks to everyone who pitched in!

Each of the bloggers on the panel was invited to participate because his/her blog is unique in some way.  Nicole reviews a wide variety of books and hosts a blog-focused online radio show.  Candace's background as an editor and her focus on audiobooks gives her a different perspective.  Celeste concentrates on the local Baltimore literary scene.  Dave writes for a newspaper-affiliated book blog. And Serena features a lot of poetry and poets on her blog.  My hope was that these various viewpoints would come together to paint a picture of blogging and how diverse it can be.

I wasn't able to take any video of the panel (unlike last year) so I can't give you the specifics of what we discussed.  From my notes I can tell you that we touched on how each of us got into blogging, the global nature of blogs, the variety of niches out there, and how every reader can find a blog they relate to.  We also talked about negative reviews, author/publisher interactions, and blogging styles.

Several bloggers recapped this panel and some even included photos.  Definitely check them out because they include details that I'd forgotten.

• Serena @ Savvy Verse and Wit
• Dave @ Read Street 
• We were even mentioned in The Baltimore Sun (newspaper) online edition.

me and Jenn (Jenn's Bookshelves)

In The Interim

We had only a short break between the first and second panels ... just enough time to grab a glass of wine from the hospitality suite and enjoy the lunch provided by Jenn's (@ Jenn's Bookshelves) husband.  Jenn posted about both panels and our fun lunch at her blog, and she has lots of pictures - go there and check it out.

Then it was back to Festival Stage tent for panel #2 ...

Panel # 2 - More from "The Book Club Toolkit"

This panel was meant to build off a panel I moderated at last year's Festival, hence the name.  Panelists included bloggers Swapna @ S. Krishna's Books and Julie @ Booking Mama, as well as local book clubbers Melissa McCrory-Hatcher and Faye Houston.

The focus of this panel was finding ways to keep your book club going strong.  We discussed ideas for themed meetings, field trips, author chats, and new genres, among other things.  Julie did an excellent recap of some of the best ideas on her blog so definitely read her post. Jenn's recap post included some great ideas as well.

One idea that I loved came from Faye.  She has run a club at a local library for over 20 years.  At the start of every meeting she provides a handout that includes info about the author and a summary of the book.  This helps to jog readers' memories and also allows members who didn't read the book to still participate in the discussion.


On The Whole ...

It was a great day.  The weather cleared up and it was actually pleasant out.  There was a good crowd at the festival.  Both panels would have benefited from more people in the audience, but the location of our tent meant that we didn't get a lot of foot traffic passing by so that means fewer people stopping in.  Still, I feel that both panels were successful.  And most importantly I had a FANTASTIC time hanging out with everyone.


A Big Thank You To ...

• All the panelists who rearranged their schedules to be at the Festival and share their ideas
• Barbara Mead @ Reading Group Choices for providing Reading Group Choices 2011 for everyone in audience, and for lots of books to giveaway to audience members 
• The Baltimore Book Festival staff for being open to new ideas and allowing me the time and space to do both of these panels
• Jenn and the J-crew for hanging around with Kiddo and I (and my husband, though he only stayed a short while) after the panels
• All the bloggers (and their families) who came to either/both of the panels
• The authors who dropped in for all or part of the panels, especially Justin Kramon and Alma Katsu
• My wonderful husband for keeping Kiddo busy all weekend and taking him to a ridiculously early ice hockey game on Sunday morning so I could get a full night's sleep before the panels

Kiddo and the J-boys, making faces and having fun

Zombies, Unicorns, and In-Real-Life Bloggers

Friday night kicked of the 15th Annual Baltimore Book Festival. Oh how I wish all of my blog readers could have been there with me this weekend!

My plan was to hang out with any bloggers who might be in attendance this first night.  It so happens that my BEA roommate - Monica @ The Bibliophilic Book Blog (that's me and Monica to the right) - was there with her husband to see the Zombies vs. Unicorns panel.

Now here's the thing ... this is not a book I would ever pick up.  In fact, the only author from this panel whose books I've read is Holly Black, and I only read The Spiderwick Chronicles because Kiddo wanted to. So I wasn't particularly excited about this panel and I didn't think I'd really enjoy myself.  BOY WAS I WRONG!

I knew things were a bit odd when someone started handing out zombie-themed poetry to anyone in the audience who was on the side of Team Zombie.  To counteract this, Holly Black began tossing out packets of glitter to anyone siding with Team Unicorn.

To the left you'll see Holly Black in action, tossing a packet of glitter ... which proceeded to smack me right in the chest just as I snapped the picture. HILARIOUS. Holly was laughing when I told her that I'd be tweeting that picture!

The panel began with introductions of the opposing sides.  Team Zombie consisted of Carrie Ryan (The Forest of Hands and Teeth), Scott Westerfeld (The Uglies trilogy, Leviathan,) and Justine Larbalestier (Liar).

Battling for Team Unicorn were Kathleen Duey (The Unicorn's Secret), Diana Peterfreund (Rampant), and Holly Black (author of more things than I can mention).

The next twenty minutes were filled with a back-and-forth debate about the relative merits of zombies vs. unicorns, with each panelist having three minutes to share their points.  Here's a picture of Scott Westerfeld totally slamming unicorns by reading an excerpt from some horribly lame book about unicorns in estrus. I kid you not.  He finished his segment by reading from World War Z - quite the contrast to be sure!

 
Diana Peterfreund countered with the point that unicorns aren't always cute and cuddly, citing her own book as proof (it has killer unicorns of all things!).  Holly Black admitted that unicorns are often symbols of hope and joy and closed down the debate with a rousing cry of "What's wrong with hope?! What's wrong with joy?!" ... to the immense pleasure of the Team Unicorn fans in the audience, who responded with loud clapping and whooping.

I had such a good time at this panel!  Never would I have expected to laugh so hard or cheer so loudly.  If you have a chance to see any of these authors promoting this book you really ought to check them out - it will definitely be worth your time.

I couldn't stick around to see which team won the debate but later on Twitter I asked Monica who won.  Here's her response:

bibliophilicboo @Age30Books stupid unicorn :(

YAY! I'm so excited that Team Unicorn won! I'm not even really a unicorn fan (other than Peter S. Beagle's classic, The Last Unicorn) but I thought that team was fantastic during the panel. Oh, and if you ARE particularly attached to either Team Unicorn or Team Zombie, my lovely blogger buddy Shannon @ Chick Loves Lit has t-shirts for sale on her site in support of both teams!

Anyway, I had to leave early because I was having dinner with two other bloggers: Nicole @ Linus's Blanket and Allie @ Hist-FicChick.  They came all the way from New York City for the Festival (and to do some sightseeing).  We had dinner in Baltimore's Inner Harbor at The Rusty Scupper.  The view of the harbor at night was gorgeous and we all enjoyed the food and wine.

Allie, Nicole, and me after dinner









The following day (Saturday) was the National Book Festival in DC.  I couldn't go to that Festival but I did head into the city to meet a group of bloggers for dinner that evening.  A huge thank you to Swapna @ S. Krishna's Books for organizing this!

 above, starting at the left: Celeste @ The Baltimore Bibliophile, Cecelia @ Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia, Candace @ Beth Fish Reads, Deborah @ Books, Movies, and Chinese Food, and me

above, starting at the left: Sondra @ Sonderbooks, Swapna @ S. Krishna's Books, Julie @ Booking Mama, Meg @ Write Meg! and her boyfriend Spencer

I had such a wonderful time hanging out with bloggers on Friday and Saturday.  Seriously - if you ever have a chance to attend a blogger get-together, do everything in your power to be there! Book bloggers ROCK and you will definitely want to rock along with them.

By the way, my husband is truly a saint - he volunteered to keep Kiddo busy all weekend and shuttle him to his hockey game so that I could attend all these events.  THANK YOU HONEY!

This brings us to Sunday, the date of my two panels at the Baltimore Book Festival. But that will be an entirely new post, hopefully coming soon ...

This Weekend ...

Cool things to do at the Baltimore Book Festival this weekend:

• Literary Walking tours: Take this guided 90-minute walking tour with the Maryland Humanities Council past Mount Vernon’s elegant mansions and majestic cultural institutions and follow in the footsteps of the many famous authors, poets, and editors who sojourned in Baltimore’s cultural hub.
• Meet authors you love, and have the chance to really chat with them
• Visit A Likely Story Bookstore and meet some fabulous childrens book authors.
• Debate the merits of Zombies versus Unicorns: Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier lead their teams of authors in a debate inspired by their new short story collection Zombies versus Unicorns.
• Hang out with other bloggers at The Wonderful World of Book Blogging panel
• Snack on funnel cakes and soft serve ice cream and watch cooking demos from famous chefs
• Bring your little kiddos to be a part of the storybook parade where they can meet their favorite costumed characters and march around the festival to fun music on Saturday at noon.
• Chat with blogger-friendly authors like Sarah Pekkanen, author of The Opposite of Me (hi Sarah!).

Come on Sunday and - bonus! - you get to meet me!  Hope to see many of you there!

The Baltimore Book Festival

You all know how excited I am about the upcoming Baltimore Book Festival, right?! In addition to the two panels I'm moderating, there will be a bunch of other events going on.  Here are some excerpts from the Festival's official press release listing just SOME of the many authors who will be there over the weekend. It will be so much fun!!!  I'll definitely be there on Sunday, and maybe Friday as well. Let me know if I'll see you there.

Also, if you are planning to attend the National Book Festival in DC on Saturday then check out this post from S. Krishna's Books and add your name to the blogger get-together list.  I won't be there for the festival itself but I'll be joining everyone for dinner.

THE BALTIMORE BOOK FESTIVAL WELCOMES AUTHORS NIGEL BARKER,

HOLLY ROBINSON PEETE, JESSE VENTURA, SHERRI SHEPHERD AND MORE!

The 15th annual literary arts celebration takes place September 24-26, 2010

• The three-day festival features more than 200 celebrity and local authors, poetry readings, workshops, children’s activities, panel discussions, cookbook demonstrations, more than 100 exhibitors and booksellers, live music, food and more.
  
• This year’s author appearances include actress, activist and philanthropist Holly Robinson Peete, author of My Brother Charlie; Nigel Barker, photographer and “America’s Next Top Model” judge; Sherri Shepherd, actress, co-host on “The View” and author of the humorous autobiography Permission Slips; southern cuisine experts Matt Lee and Ted Lee, authors of The Lee Bros. Simple Fresh Southern; Michele Norris, acclaimed journalist and host of NPR’s “All Things Considered;” former governor, wrestler and actor Jesse Ventura, author of American Conspiracies; Judge Glenda Hatchett with her new book Dare to Take Charge: How to Live Your Life on Purpose; New York Times bestselling author Ree Drummond with her latest book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl; and former NFL quarterback, television/radio personality and philanthropist Rodney Peete, author of Not My Boy!. The Baltimore Book Festival is free and open to the public.
  
• On Saturday, the festival welcomes renowned authors Amy Dickinson, The Mighty Queens of Freeville; Jesse Ventura, American Conspiracies: Lies, Lies, and More Dirty Lies That the Government Tells Us; Sherri Shepherd, Permission Slips: Every Woman's Guide to Giving Herself a Break; and Wes Moore, presented by CityLit Project, who shares his story The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates. Featured authors for Sunday are Warren St. John, Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, an American Town, the 2010 One Maryland One Book, presented by the Maryland Humanities Council; Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl; Michele Norris, The Grace of Silence; Judge Glenda Hatchett, Dare to Take Charge: How to Live Your Life on Purpose; Holly Robinson Peete, My Brother Charlie and Rodney Peete, Not My Boy!.
  
• The Festival Stage features well-known authors and spirited panel discussions. Highlights are mystery authors Charles Todd and Caroline Todd, An Impartial Witness; NPR correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty, Fingerprints of God: The Search for the Science of Spirituality; financial guru Deborah Owens, A Purse of Your Own: An Easy Guide to Financial Security; novelist Jon Clinch, Kings of the Earth and Essence bestselling author Michele Andrea Bowen, More Church Folk.
  
• The Children Bookstore Stage is home to some of the nation’s best and favorite children and young adult’s writers and illustrators. On Friday at 5:30pm, Zombies versus Unicorns Debate takes place when Team Zombie takes on Team Unicorn to prove which fantastic creature is superior. Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier lead their authors in a debate inspired by their new short story collection Zombies versus Unicorns. Participating authors are Scott Westerfeld, Leviathan; Carrie Ryan, The Forest of Hands and Teeth; Diana Peterfreund, Ascendant; and Kathleen Duey, Silence and Stone. Writers Nikki Grimes, Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel; Rebecca and Ed Emberley, If You're a Monster and You Know It; and Judith Viorst, Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day join in the literary arts fun as well.
  
• New this year, on Saturday only, members of Maryland Romance Writers, part of the Romance Writers of America, present Maryland Romance Writers with panels and readings from regional romance authors Catherine Asaro, Diamond Star; Mary Jo Putney, Never Less Than a Lady; Rebecca York, Dragon Moon and more.

Upcoming Panel: More from "The Book Club Toolkit"

I've mentioned several times that I'm moderating some panels at the Baltimore Book Festival (BBF) this month that I'm really excited about.  It is finally time to tell you about them!  Yesterday I told you about the first panel and today I'll share about the second..

Sunday, September 26, 3-4pm: 

More from "The Book Club Toolkit"

Last year I moderated a similar panel and it was quite successful.  I'm using the same format this year, but with different panelists and a new audience (and a new location) there are bound to be new tips and ideas!

More from "The Book Club Toolkit"

Join veteran book clubbers for an hour of ideas guaranteed to help you bring out the best in your book club. Topics will include ways to liven up your club, tips on choosing books, suggestions for dealing with problem members, and more. Bring your questions – we’ve got answers!

View location details on the Festival schedule.

Moderator:

Heather Johnson, also known as The Book Club Madam, is the head of Storie delle Sorelle, a 20-member book club in the Glen Burnie area. She reviews everything she reads on her book blog where she also writes about topics of interest to readers everywhere. If Heather could make a living out of reading and running book clubs, she’d do it in a heartbeat; until then she freely shares her knowledge and experience with anyone willing to listen.

Panelists:

Melissa McCrory Hatcher - After completing my PhD in English, I needed a new place to discuss books! When I moved to Maryland, I found Storie delle Sorelle online, and they happily made me a member of their book-loving family. We are women in varying stages of life who meet monthly to share our thoughts. We average around 10 people and 1 bottle of wine per meeting.

Swapna Krishna - I'm a member of 2 book clubs, one online and one in-person. Our online group has 11 members and has been meeting for about a year and a half. We meet via Skype, with audio and video chat, while the in-person group has just 4 members and has been meeting for a year. Both have been very successful and a lot of fun for all members! You can also find me at my blog.

Julie Peterson - I am a big fan of book clubs, so much of one that I belong to three different ones that meet monthly. My regular book club is called The Preschool Moms Book Club (although that's no longer true anymore since our kids have moved on!) and we've been meeting for eight years. We usually read literary fiction, but we've been known to try other genres every once in awhile. My on-line book club, Wired & Bound, is made up of fellow book bloggers from around the United States and England. We have been meeting via Skype for around a year and a half and usually discuss literary fiction. My final book club is a mother-daughter one called The Tweeny Bookworms. We've been meeting for around two and a half years and consist of nine mother-daughter groups. Find me online at Booking Mama.

Faye Houston – Book Club Coordinator for the Pratt Library Central Branch - Our Saturday book club was originally started by 2 library staffers, me and Richard Oloizia (now also retired), 15 years ago. We meet on the last Saturday of the month, generally, and read a broad range of fiction, non-fiction, children´s books, sci-fi, and non-fiction (history and biography).

Mandy Entwistle – I am one of the original members of the The Paige Turner Book Club, a group that has met monthly since January 2008. As a group we've explored everything from classics by Shakespeare and Austen to more recent publications from Jodi Picoult and Alice Sebold.

Upcoming Panel: The Wonderful World of Book Blogging

I've mentioned several times that I'm moderating some panels at the Baltimore Book Festival (BBF) this month that I'm really excited about.  It is finally time to tell you about them!  I'll share info on the first panel today and the second one tomorrow.

Sunday, September 26, 1-2pm: 

The Wonderful World of Book Blogging

This is the first time the BBF has reached out to bloggers in any way and I'm really excited about the opportunity to build and moderate this panel.  I'm hoping to see many local bloggers in the audience and to connect with the non-blogging population as well. Check out the details of the panel and the panelist bios below.  If you plan to attend, please let me know!

The Wonderful World of Book Blogging

In recent years book bloggers have breathed new life into the world of books. Join area bloggers as they discuss the concept of book blogging and share blogging basics and current trends. Come find out why book bloggers are a force to be reckoned with. Whether you are an avid blog reader or new to the concept, this panel has something for everyone.

View location details on the Festival schedule.

Moderator: 

Heather Johnson blogs at Age 30+ … A Lifetime of Books where she reviews every book she reads, sometimes with the help of her 8-year-old son, Kiddo. She runs a book club that’s been around since 2005 and has been blogging since 2008. In addition to her blog, you can also find her on Twitter (@Age30Books). If Heather could make a living out of reading books and running book clubs, she’d do it in a heartbeat; until then she freely shares her knowledge and experience with anyone willing to listen.


Panelists:

Nicole Bonia writes the book blog Linus's Blanket, focusing on literary fiction book reviews and recommendations from a wide variety of genres. An active member of the book blogging community, Nicole created the weekly Blog Talk Radio show That’s How I Blog! in 2009, featuring candid conversations with book bloggers and authors on reading habits, book blogging experiences, trends and best practices. In addition to being an avid reader Nicole is co-founder of an online publicity company, Winsome Media Communications, and also enjoys traveling, hosting dinner parties, and playing league bocce on Sunday afternoons.

Candace Levy is a full-time freelance book editor whose clients include both major publishing firms and prominent independent presses. She just can't seem to get away from books, and her blog, Beth Fish Reads, reflects her eclectic reading tastes. She's reviewed books, both on her blog and professionally, in a range of genres from adult literary fiction to middle reader fantasy, from Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) to classics. Candace enjoys interacting with authors on both sides of the manuscript and includes author interviews and guest posts on Beth Fish Reads. When she's not reading, she's probably listening to a book while cooking, gardening, walking, making lace, or taking photographs. Follow Candace on Twitter (@BethFishReads) or on her blog.

Serena M. Agusto-Cox is a graduate of Suffolk University in Boston, Mass., an editor of trade association newsletters by day, an online book reviewer by night, and a published poet. Her reviews can be found online at Savvy Verse and Wit, a blog with an eclectic selection of fiction and nonfiction reviews, but with an emphasis on poetry and poets, as well as interviews, guest posts, and local event coverage for Washington, D.C., and Maryland. Her online reviews and local event coverage also can be found at D.C. Literature Examiner, and some of her published poems can be located at Beginnings Magazine, LYNX, Muse Apprentice Guild, The Harrow, Poems Niederngasse, Avocet, All Things Girl, and Pedestal Magazine.

Celeste Sollod is the Baltimore Bibliophile. A 17-year-veteran of New York big house book publishing, she now writes about local authors, books set in the area, and literary events at Reading Local: Baltimore.

Read Street was launched in 2008 as The Baltimore Sun scaled back its print coverage of books. Each day, Dave Rosenthal and Nancy Knight provide news and opinion on popular books, hot authors, movie adaptations, e-readers and related topics. As more and more readers seek out blogs, Read Street’s audience keeps growing steadily, and the blog is on track to have well over 1 million page views this year.

Bloggers at the Festival

One of the things that has kept me busy lately is the upcoming Baltimore Book Festival (BBF), Sept. 24-26, 2010.

I've worked with the Festival in the past to bring more attention to book clubs and this year I'm branching out.  Not only will I moderate a panel on book clubs but I will also moderate a panel on book blogging!  This is the first time the BBF planners have reached out to the blogging community and I'm working hard to make this endeavor a success.

On Sunday, Sept. 26 at 1pm I'm bringing together 5 fantastic bloggers to discuss the amazing book blogging community.  My panelists are Nicole @ Linus's Blanket, Candace @ Beth Fish Reads, Celeste @ Reading Local: Baltimore, Dave @ Read Street, and Serena @ Savvy Verse and Wit.  That's one rockin' panel, right?!

More details will come over the next few weeks but for those in the local area, mark your calendars now - I'd love to see you at the Festival!

BBF Recap: The Book Club Toolkit Panel

Baltimore Book Festival Recap
My Panel – The Book Club Toolkit

I have been working toward Saturday, Sept. 26, for several months now and part of me can’t believe it is all over. On the whole, everything went very well – I’m so pleased!

Early that morning I got a message from one of the panelists; her son was injured at football and she was at the hospital with him. Needless to say, she wouldn’t be able to make it. However it worked out in the end because the other 4 ladies had more than enough to say to fill our allotted hour. In fact, we could have continued to chat for hours without running out of info to convey!

Panelists from left to right: Nancy Berla, Natalie Wiekart, Cheryl Hazel, and Trish Collins. For details about the panelists click here. (I'm not in the photo but I am in the videos.)

I did my best to capture the panel on video using my digital camera. I didn’t get all of it, but I did get some. Below are the four videos I took – I hope you enjoy them!









I am so grateful to Barbara Mead of Reading Group Choices for the bags of books she brought as giveaways and for attending the panel, and also to author Kelly Simmons for the book club pack of her novel STANDING STILL and for attending the panel as well.

The gal in charge of the tent where we held the panel was thrilled with the audience response; she invited me to work with her at next year’s Festival as well. She also introduced me to the head of publicity at the Pratt Library in Baltimore (it’s a huge, well-respected library system) who wants to talk to me about working with the Pratt at the CityLit Festival in April. Add that to the great comments I heard from the audience, and I can say that the panel was a definite success!

Once you get a chance to check out some of the videos I hope you'll let me know what you thought of it - any input would be great.

BBF Recap: Love, Rage and Anxiety in YA

Friday, Sept. 25th kicked off this year’s Baltimore Book Festival … and it was a great night! Even though I’m not a YA lit fan, I greatly enjoyed the "Coming of Age: Love, Rage, and Anxiety in the Young Adult Novel" I attended. The panel was moderated by author David Levithan and included Garret Freymann-Weyr, Sharon Draper, Edward Bloor, and Libba Bray.


David did a wonderful job moderating, including lots of humor yet also some great questions for the panelists. Each author had a chance to talk about his/her latest book and to read an excerpt. I did my best to get video clips of each one but my view was blocked for Garret’s and Edward’s readings so I don’t have those. (FYI, Garret read from AFTER THE MOMENT and Edward read from TAKEN.)

I hope you enjoy what I WAS able to catch on film …

Edward Bloor spoke first. His new book, TAKEN, is set not too far in the future at a time when kidnapping for ransom has become a common occurrence. He read an excerpt where his main character is trying to get her kidnapper to identify with her so he wouldn't kill her.



Sharon Draper was up next. Sharon says people always ask her "Why do you kill people in your books?" Her answer? "I don't! They kill each other - they do stupid stuff!" I loved listening to Sharon - she was very animated and interesting so I was pleased when she read excerpts from two of her books. Her first was from her book NOVEMBER BLUES. In the excerpt, a pregnant teen is shocked when she meets a pregnant 12-year-old who is almost nonchalant about having a baby. This excerpt was fabulous – I definitely want to read that book now! Unfortunately I didn’t record that reading. However I did record her second reading, from her latest book JUST ANOTHER HERO:



Up next was Garret Freymann-Weyr. She read from her new book AFTER THE MOMENT. Her book is about a boy who didn't go to war when many others his age did go. It is also about memory, about how the choices and decisions we make as teens become the memories that shape us later. Sorry, no video of this one as my view was blocked.



Libba Bray seemed to be THE author of note at the panel; at least, she was the one most of the audience was there to see. She read from her new book GOING BOVINE. This book sounded incredibly strange ... but then Libba told us that she based it on Don Quixote and it all made sense (almost).



David did the last reading, which was an excerpt from his latest book LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW. He joked that he wanted to read last because “nobody wants to go after the 9/11 book.” The video captures his intro to the reading but not the reading itself.



After the readings, David asked each author which feeling from the title of the panel (love, rage, or anxiety) they feel they captured the best. Here are the replies:

• David - captured rage best in his upcoming book WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON
• Libba - captured a mix of all three in GOING BOVINE
• Edward - captured anxiety in TAKEN
• Garret - captured rage in both her books but in different ways
• and I missed Sharon's answer because Trish from Hey Lady! called me just then (read about our get-together at this link)
  

Questions from the audience followed. One teen asked "What is the hardest or most annoying thing about writing about teenagers?" We all laughed at that one! Here are the replies:

• Garret - bibliotherapy (not really sure what she meant by that ...)
• Sharon - slang, because it changes every day
• Edward - "getting dissed" by people for writing about teens - he often hears "why don't you write 'real' books?" - the other authors definitely agreed with that
• Libba - people underestimate teens and don't think they are actually smart
• David - joked that he is a bit troubled when he's writing because he realizes that the line between "adult-dom" and "teen-dom" isn't as solid as it seems - he can feel the same things he felt as a teen ever though he is years removed from that time

A teen in the audience asked about tips for aspiring teen writers. The panelists had some great advice:

• David - recommended scholastic.com/artandwriting
  
• Garret - said read for pleasure, and figure out what you like and don't like and why
• Sharon - suggested reading poetry because it is rhythmic and good writing is poetic in nature
• Edward - recommended NaWriNoMo and also stressed that we need to recruit more readers so that we have a literate population, not just literate leadership
• Libba - said to write the best story you know how - she also said she hasn't figured out how to do that yet - "a novel should cost you something to write - a part of yourself must go into your book" - search for truth in your writing

And that was the end. PHEW! I'm exhausted from all this recapping. Next I'll tell you about the wonderful bloggers I got to meet after this panel.

BBF Recap: Meeting Bloggers

I was trying to post my recap of the YA Panel at the Baltimore Book Festival first, since that actually happened first. However I'm unable to upload videos from the hospital where I am with Kiddo right now (he's recovering from surgery - more details on that later) so I'll have to do that post later.

Baltimore Book Festival Recap: Meeting Bloggers

I was so excited to hear that Trish @ Hey Lady!, Amy @ My Friend Amy, Nicole @ Linus’s Blanket, and Michelle @ Galleysmith were all planning to come to Baltimore to have dinner with me on Friday night after day 1 of the Baltimore Book Festival. Trish, Amy, and Nicole were all in town for the National Book Festival in DC, and Michelle lives in DC so she was their driver. How lucky am I?!

The original plan was for them to meet me for the YA panel … but traffic was horrible so they missed it. They did get there in time for the author meet & greet afterward though.

Amy and Nicole in front of David Levithan

Trish in front of David Levithan

Garret Freymann-Weyr was very excited to meet Trish – it seems they’ve exchanged many emails in the past. Don’t they both look so thrilled?

After the signing we headed out to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for dinner. Michelle was following me in her car but again, traffic was bad, so we got separated. Once I got them unlost, they found a parking garage on the opposite side of the street and we got back together.

Michelle, Nicole, Amy, and Trish waiting to cross over to my side of the street

It was a gorgeous night out. We walked the few blocks to Harborplace and had dinner at J. Paul’s Restaurant. The food was delicious, but the conversation was even better. Of course, I couldn’t stop talking since I was so excited (so sorry ladies, I’m sure you wanted me to shut up after a while!).

I had intended to do a video of our conversation and have each person introduce herself … but I was having such a good time that I forgot all about it. I did manage to get some pictures though!

Me, Nicole, and Michelle

Me, Trish, and Amy

I am so grateful to these ladies for taking the time to drive to Baltimore to meet me. I had a wonderful time hanging out with them and I can’t wait to do it again sometime!