From HarperCollins Children’s Books:

Please stop by and see us at booth #112 at this year’s NCTE Convention in San Antonio, Texas, and check out the newest books from HarperCollins. We’ll have lots of free galleys of upcoming titles, including those pictured at the right, so don’t miss out! Also collect other great giveaways, including an exclusive Teacher’s Edition of Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, which has a teaching guide for both Love That Dog and the newly released sequel Hate That Cat. (All free promotional materials have limited quantities.)
And don’t miss our star-studded lineup of authors, who will be signing their new books (plus other favorites!):
Sharon Creech
ALAN Breakfast Speaker – Sat. Nov 22, 8:00–9:15 AM
Booth #112 Signing: Hate That Cat (sequel to Love That Dog) – Sat. Nov 22, 9:30–10:30 AM
Sid Fleischman
Author Strand: The Realities of Biography – Sun. Nov 23, 8:30–9:45 AM
Booth #112 Signing: The Trouble Begins at 8 – Sun. Nov 23, 10:00–11:00 AM
Melissa Marr
ALAN Workshop – Mon. Nov 24, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM
Booth #112 Signing: Ink Exchange (companion to Wicked Lovely) – Sun. Nov 23, 9:00–10:00 AM
Virginia Euwer Wolff
ALAN Workshop – Mon. Nov 24, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Booth #112 Signing: This Full House ARCs (final novel in the Make Lemonade Trilogy) – Sun. Nov 23, 9:00–10:00 AM
Naomi Shihab Nye
Conference on English Education Luncheon – Fri. Nov 21, 12:30–2:15 PM
AAL Roundtable Session Keynote Speaker – Sat. Nov 22, 5:45–7:00 PM
Booth #112 Signing: Honeybee – Fri. Nov 21, 2:30–3:30 PM
Ralph Fletcher
Children’s Poetry Notables Conversation – Fri. Nov 21, 9:30–10:45 AM
Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts Conversation – Sun. Nov 23, 1:00–3:00 PM
Booth #112 Signing: How to Write Your Life Story – Sun. Nov 23, 10:00–11:00 AM
Pat Mora
Featured Session: Our Community: Creative, Connected, Committed – Fri. Nov 21, 9:30–10:45 AM
Booth #112 Signing: Here, Kitty, Kitty!/¡Ven, Gatita, Ven! – Fri. Nov 21, 1:00–2:00 PM
Rita Williams-Garcia
Author Strand: The Realities of Culture – Sat. Nov 22, 8:00–9:15 AM
ALAN Workshop – Tues. Nov 25, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM
Booth #112 Signing: Jumped galleys – Sat. Nov 22, 11:00 AM– 12:00 PM
Jane Yolen
Author Strand: The Realities of Poetry: Shifting Forms, Formats, Content – Sat. Nov 22, 9:30–10:45 AM
Booth #112 Signing: Johnny Appleseed – Sat. Nov 22, 1:00–1:30 PM
Terry Trueman
The Right to Write: Authors on Writing Outside Their Culture Panel – Sat. Nov 22, 8:00–9:15 AM
Booth #112 Signing: Hurricane – Sat. Nov 22, 2:00–2:30 PM
E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski, and Lauren Myracle
ALAN Workshop – Mon. Nov 24, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM
Booth #112 Signing: How to Be Bad – Sat. Nov 22, 3:00–4:00 PM
David Macinnis Gill, ALAN President
Booth #112 Signing: Soul Enchilada ARCs – Sat. Nov 22, 2:00– 2:30 PM
Jody Feldman
New Voices for a New Generation Panel – Fri. Nov 21, 11:00 AM –12:15 PM
Booth #112 Signing: The Gollywhopper Games – Fri. Nov 21, 4:00–4:30 PM
Chris Riddell
Engaging the Disengaged: Taking the “Boring” Out of Books for Boys Panel – Fri. Nov 21, 11:00 AM–12:15 PM
Booth #112 Signing: Ottoline and the Yellow Cat – Fri. Nov 21, 4:00–4:30 PM
Laura Ruby
ALAN Workshop – Mon. Nov 24, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM
Beth Kephart
ALAN Workshop – Mon. Nov 24, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM
Allan Stratton
ALAN Workshop – Tues. Nov 25, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM

This past weekend, I spoke at the Southern Festival of Books, a long-running book festival in Nashville, Tennessee. Varian Johnson and Heather Hepler joined me for a panel on “Heartache and Hope” in young adult literature. Our crowd was small but interested (and interesting), and we had a good time talking books and the field of young adults books. Afterwards, we beebopped up to the War Memorial for a signing. I managed to give away all copies of Soul Enchilada and got a brief few minutes to check out the vendor booths. My flight was early, so I missed the chance to hear other authors speak. I did have the chance to say hey to Alan Gratz and Laurel Snyder.

Many thanks to Humanities Tennessee for providing the venue and the bag of Tennessee goodies for authors. A shout out to Emily Masters for making it all so easy. And a special thanks to my hosts, Helen Hemphill ( Long Gone Daddy, Roundabout, and The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones) and her husband Neal for giving me a place to bunk, as well as inviting me to join them for the inaugural Authors in the Round dinner the first night of the Festival. Helen is gracious and welcoming, and her reading of Deadwood Jones Saturday morning was spot on–and hilarious. 

Next up, NCTE and the ALAN Workshop in November.

This Friday and Saturday, October 10^th and 11^th, I’ll be attending the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, TN. Saturday, Varian Johnson, Heather Hepler, I will speak on a panel titled “Heartbreak and Hope: Novel Approaches to Teen Issues.” Afterwards, I’ll be signing galleys of Soul Enchilada. If you’re in town, come on by.

The SFB happens downtown (if you’ve only been to the Opryland Hotel, you’ve never been to Nashville). Nashville is at the top of my Favorite Cities Ever. I still considered myself a Tennessean, so this will be a homecoming, as well.

And it’s Fall! I get to see leaves turning! Yes!

Mary Beth Kelsey is giving away her book!

Whoohoo! 

Guess who just blew into town?!?

and she’s here

to take care of a few things.

Billie Wisher’s daddy isn’t a no-good bank robber . . . is he?

Billie’s daddy is on the run. If the police catch him, it’s off to Pendleton Penitentiary for sure. And she just got him back, after he spent years away in California. She had big plans for the summer–plans that won’t be any fun without Daddy.

It must all be a mistake. Daddy didn’t mean to rob that bank. If Billie finds him before the cops do, she can help him put everything right. She has an idea where he might be holed up. But Mama keeps asking what she’s up to, and BIllie’s new stepfather, Daddy Joe, is always around, poking his nose in her business.

With her family at stake, Billie’s determined to track Daddy down at all costs–but will anything turn out the way she expects?

Here’s the box

with the author copies.

I’d love to give a couple of signed copies away!

It’s so simple!

1. Comment on this post and let me know you’re in.
2. To get your name in twice, paste the link to this livejournal, or copy this post into you blog.
3. Wait until September 6th, when DS will draw the winners.

Thanks for playing along!

I’m playing,

The Teen Judges Three have decided on the second prize for the Candy Heart ARC Giveaway. As I hinted earlier, it definitely has four wheels. It also has two doors, a hood, and a motor.

This is a die cast 1:18 scale model of the 1958 Cadillac Biarritz with maroon exterior and cream-colored interior. It’s loaded with chrome, sports fancy white walls (which make enticing targets for rogue coyotes), and had a grill that would intimidate Beelzebub himself.

That means the person that the judges think has the best candy heart will receive both the signed ARC of Soul Enchilada and the model of the Cadillac Biarritz.

Reminder: The contest is open until July 31^st so there’s plenty of time to enter.

Here’s my running commentary of the ALA Conference in Anaheim, along with a few snippets from other blogs.

After my last post, I meandered the labyrinth they call the ALA exhibit hall and once again, almost caved into the temptation to buy some modernesque bookshelves. They sell them in batches of 12, however, and since I only need one, I had to pass.

The bulk of my time was spent reuniting with the sales and marketing folks of sundry publishing houses. I took some photos, but they were universally useless due to my photographic dyseptitude, so I’ve stored the camera for the remainder of trip.

Anaheim weather: crips air, moderate temps, cool nights.  I can deal with this, since it was 101 degrees and 97% humidity the day before I left the east coast.  I was actually cold this AM as a I walked to breakfast.  Good thing I brought along my jacket/purse.

Last night was a lovely reception with Harper.  Saw several friends from ALAN and then went to dinner with the wonderful, wonderful, wonderful Greenwilow folks, Sid Fleischman and Kevin Henkes.  The food was to die for, and the conversation was better.  I’ve truly been blessed.  The ride home was courtesy of the most locquasious cabbie ever.  Wish I’d had a tape recorder–or less jetlag.

First order of business after the HC breakfast was the exhbit hall.  Whoa!  This thing is huge. Take a NCTE convention and at least double it, complete with interesting people selling bookshelves and furniture.  I don’t need to buy a hundred bookshevles, but they do have some nice stuff. Hmm.

Mary Pearson and Laurie Halse Anderson were signing at 10.  I snagged an autograph from Mary and took a quick (totally unstable) pic and went to find Laurie’s line.  Ha! It was andaconda-esque, thick and long enough to stretch around the corner.  Since I have line ADD, I’ll try for the next signing.

Unfortunately, I also missed a few signings I want to attend, due to jetlag and an overwhelming desire to take a nap. Once the nap was over, I trundled down to the Disney Grand Hotel, which mimics a California Arts & Crafts lodge, complete with plastic boulders in the lobby, and made my way to the Downtown Disney (where’s Uptown Disney?) for dinner with the lovely and talented folks from Candlewick. Tobin Anderson was the guest of honor, and I spent the evening in conversation with Goddess Teri Lesesne, past-Printz chair Cindy Dobrez and Candlewick publisher Karen Lotz. Conversation topics included Route 66, people in bunny suits, and snipers. The meal was, as always, terrific, and the company was unrivaled (Dr. O., I have something for you). Tobin Anderson is So. Damned. Smart.

After collecting a few galleys and signatures (including Nancy Viau’s Samantha Hansen Has Rock in Her Head. I read the first two chapters on the shuttle and am loving it.), I ventured over to the Marriott to hear the teen advisors for the BBYA Committee talk about their reading lists to a appreciative crowd (This is my first ALA, and I’ve been impressed with the way that the opinions of teens are honored. This is a very kid-friendly conference.), and I tell you what, these teens don’t hold back. If they love it, they LOOVE it. If they don’t love it, they tell you why in great detail. Though I didn’t always agree with all of their insights (’cuz, y’know, I’m not supposed to), I adored their candor. It’s great training for any YA author who wonders how teens respond to certain books and certain cover elements (hint: the cover better match the book). But don’t go if your book in on the list–unless you’re wearing body armor because a thick skin isn’t going to be enough.

Sunday ended with the huge banquet to celebrate the honor and award-winning books for the Newbery and Caldecott. I know professornana and halseanderson (who took pics of each other taking pics) will soon blog in great detail (Laurie has video), so I’ll limit my post to three things: sparkling silver shoes, moles removed by bears, and a heartfelt thank you to Greenwillow and HarperCollins for hosting me at this event for the first time. If you ever, ever get the chance to attend, take it.

Because I’m a rotten camera operator, I’m exhibiting the YouTube talents of Elizabeth Bird, who blogged ALA for SLJ.  This footage was taken before a reception for bloggers by Feiwel and Friends, followed by the Hyperion cocktail party.