What We’ve Been Doing!
The summer of 2007 was sizzling with activity for 2K7 class members. Here’s a sampling of our dog-day doings:
Ruth McNally Barshaw has stayed busy dividing time between writing and illustrating new books and promoting ELLIE MCDOODLE: HAVE PEN WILL TRAVEL, which debuted in May with Bloomsbury. The sequel, ELLIE MCDOODLE: NEW KID IN SCHOOL comes out next July, and it continues in Ruth’s trademark illustrated journal style. Ruth’s cartoon workshop, given at bookstores and libraries, has proven very popular with kids. She has presented to all ages, from second graders keeping their first journals to retired librarians keeping up with the newest literature trends. Check out her website, http://ruthexpress.com, for a teacher’s guide, freebies, famous author pages, and zillions of sketches of school field trips and camp, as well as information on author appearances.
A.C.E. Bauer spent a relaxing July on a lake in Quebec, and then returned to launch her new website, http://acebauer.com. In August, Random House confirmed that it will be releasing NO CASTLES HERE in ebook format at the same time as her hardcover launch on October 23. In September, Kirkus Reviews gave NO CASTLES HERE a starred review, which made her dance with glee (causing further damage to her poor floors). On October 10 she spoke with the Writer’s Block (a group of very cool students at Cheshire High School) about her book, writing, and the tribulations of publishing. On October 13 she appeared for a brief three minutes on WTNH Channel 8 (an ABC affiliate) to talk about her book. You can see her here: http://www.wtnh.com/Global/category.asp?C=3D31277. She has also been busy planning her book release party in November.
Julie Bowe celebrated her most magical moment in July (Harry Potter parties aside) when Harcourt offered to publish the sequel to MY LAST BEST FRIEND. The new book (MY NEW BEST FRIEND) is scheduled to debut in the fall of 2008. Other fun happenings included speaking to her hometown crowd in Luck, WI, leading a Young Writer’s Workshop at Butterfly Books in DePere, WI, and swinging a deal with Winding Oak for the spunky redesign of her website (www.juliebowe.com). The new site will be up and running in time for the launch of her second book.
Sarah Beth Durst spent the summer in bookstores and libraries (her favorite places!) in the wake of the June release of INTO THE WILD. In July, she toured through Massachusetts, the setting for INTO THE WILD. She spoke and signed at the Barnes & Noble in Worcester, Eight Cousins Bookstore in Falmouth, and Pandemonium Books in Cambridge, and she was a program participant at Readercon (a Boston-area science fiction and fantasy convention). She also participated in a Teen Author Reading Night at the New York Public Library. In August, she was the guest speaker at “Face the Fiction” at the Borders in Paramus, NJ, hosted by the Science Fiction Society of Northern New Jersey; she gave a talk at the Emma S. Clark Library in Setauket, NY; and she did a book signing for Moondance Gifts at the East Quogue (NY) Fair. In September, Sarah did a book signing at the Waldenbooks in Lake Grove, NY, and was a participating author at the Princeton Children’s Book Festival in Princeton, NJ. In between events, Sarah gave several interviews. Articles about Sarah and INTO THE WILD appeared in three Massachusetts newspapers: the Boston Globe, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, and the Northborough-Southborough Villager. She was also interviewed on the Amazon.com Book Blog, SciFi Wire, Adventures in SciFi Publishing, and various other websites. And last but certainly not least, Sarah worked on revisions for her next novel, OUT OF THE WILD Razorbill/Penguin, June 2008).
Greg R. Fishbone hosted a pre-launch book party for THE PENGUINS OF DOOM on 07/07/07 at Larz Anderson Park in Brookline, Massachusetts. Book plates were signed, manuscript pages given away, and many wings consumed—chicken rather than penguin, or so we’re told. A book signing in Los Angeles followed Greg’s SCBWI Conference panel with fellow 2k7ers Jay Asher, Thatcher Heldring, Carrie Jones, G. Neri, and Joni Sensel.
Jeannine Garsee, author of BEFORE, AFTER AND SOMEBODY IN BETWEEN, will be appearing at AuthorPalooza at Ohio Educational Library Media Association (OELMA) on October 18, 2007 in Dayton, Ohio. In the meantime she has completed her second YA novel (no, not a sequel!), which is currently being reviewed by her agent at ICM. She’s also planning a personal writer’s retreat with another insane writer buddy at a 200-year-old cabin in southern Ohio. No, she has never been camping in her life. Good luck wishes will be highly appreciated!
Judy Gregerson’s BAD GIRLS CLUB has been nominated as a YALSA Quick Picks!
S. A. Harazin’s BLOOD BROTHERS has been nominated as a YALSA Quick Picks. She’s currently working on her next novel, tentatively scheduled Summer 2009.
Carrie Jones, author of TIPS ON HAVING A GAY (EX) BOYFRIEND, spent part of the summer with other Class of 2k7 members at SCBWI’s Annual Summer Conference in Los Angeles. She’s keeping busy this fall, chairing a talk at NCTE, and appearing at bookstores with Robin MacCready, Edgar-winning author of BURIED. She looks forward to slumping down on her own bed and snoring away the month of December in an attempt to catch up on her badly-needed beauty sleep.
Jo Knowles was thrilled to learn that LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL was nominated for consideration on the 2008 BBYA list. She also sold her second novel, JUMPING OFF SWINGS to Candlewick Press (tentative pub date: Fall 2008). She is hard at work revising her third novel and helping her son survive third grade.
Eric Luper had some great news this summer. He was offered a contract on his second novel, BUG BOY, with FSG. Projected release date is Summer 2009. Aside from that, he is busy setting up speaking engagements and signings for the fall. He is currently scheduled to speak at the Spencertown Academy of Arts Festival of Books, NYSRA and NJASL. He is also hosting a few teen poker tournaments at bookstores in the northeast to promote the September release of his first YA novel BIG SLICK.
Melissa Marr has had a summer of chaotic travel. Aside from a couple of days between flights, the past three months were spent away from home promoting her novel WICKED LOVELY. Early July was highlighted by a trip to California for signings at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego and Warwick’s in La Jolla. The latter part of the month included a Science Fiction & Fantasy conference in Tulsa, OK, where she signed books, met a wolf, and enjoyed panels on YA fiction, urban fantasy and genre-crossing. The month ended with another signing at Creatures ‘n Crooks in Richmond, VA. August brought signings in northern Virginia, a research trip to Ireland, and signings in London, England. After a couple of days to re-pack the suitcase, September continued to be travel-filled with panels and signings at both the Brooklyn Book Festival and the Baltimore Book Festival. The schedule for October and November looks to be equally blurry with another multi-city book tour, as well as the NAIBA conference in Baltimore, MD, and a Book Festival in St. Petersburg, FL.
G. Neri had some good news this summer. He sold his first not-a-graphic YA novel SURF MULES to Putnam for release in summer of ‘09. He then appeared at the SCBWI Los Angeles conference in August with several 2k7ers talking up the group and impressing published authors to join forces in order to defeat the evils of the book-marketing world. He gave his first solo bookstore talk at a Barnes and Noble in Tampa (even though his book CHESS RUMBLE hadn’t come out yet) and was booked to speak at conferences in Miami and Orlando, as well as appear with author M.T. Anderson in Atlanta for the IRA Conference.
Suzanne Selfors’ TO CATCH A MERMAID is called an “assured debut” by Publisher’s Weekly, and Elizabeth Bird for School Library Journal says that Suzanne’s “narrative voice never falters.” A reading in Los Angeles in early 2008, and another in Chicago are in the works. For information about 2007 readings, please visit Suzanne’s website (www.suzanneselfors.com) Look for Suzanne’s debut YA novel, SAVING JULIET, on Feb. 5, 2008.
Heather Tomlinson spent the spring and early summer at a marina in northern Baja, Mexico, working on her next book for Henry Holt, AURELIE: A FAERIE TALE. After turning in the manuscript, she embarked on a three-city “mini-tour” with two other Henry Holt debut novelists, enjoying festive dinners with children’s booksellers and librarians in San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. September will see the launch party for her first YA novel THE SWAN MAIDEN at Adventures for Kids bookstore in Ventura, CA, and then revamping her website! (www.heathertomlinson.com)
Tiffany Trent spent a busy summer writing and revising BETWEEN GOLDEN JAWS, the third book in the Hallowmere series. Her first book, IN THE SERPENT’S COILS, debuted in August and was a BookSense Children’s Pick for fall. In September, she hosted a Genre Writing Q&A at Virginia Tech. For Teen Read Week in October, Tiffany will travel to Seattle for an event at Washington Middle School. She will also give several library visits, book signings, and hold a book launch party around Halloween. She will then travel to the World Fantasy Convention in New York, after which she looks forward to continuing work on Book 7 of Hallowmere.
Sara Zarr probably did a bunch of stuff since the last ezine, but it’s hard to remember anything now. At the publication of this issue, she just found out that STORY OF A GIRL is a finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature.