Where were we? Oh! Here . . .



So then, here' more behind-the-scenes and on-the-spot reporting of what went on, and yes (!!!) it's in no particular order. Oh. And I am aware that some of the photos are unusually large, but am too lazy to fix them.

We went to tres swanky party hosted by Steven Malk of Writers House . . .


(I'm represented by Writers House agent Jodi Reamer, so they pretty much had to let me in.)

There were soooo many great workshops at the conference. Here are some of the ones we attended . . .


(Above: Scholastic Book Fairs' Ed Masessa and Heather Biggs, Newbery Honorees Gary Schmidt and Eugene Yelchin, and Hat Man Jon Klassen)

What's that sign on the bathroom? Why it's because THE FOURTH STALL won the Sid Fleischman Humor Award. Here's this year's winner Chris Rylander with the first winner of the award . . .



Also at the Golden Kite Luncheon, I got to sit with my author-ly pals . . .


(From left: Susan Patron, Amy Goldman Koss, Sonya Sones, April Wayland, Linda Sue Park, Kerry Madden, Angelina Jolie, Susan Rubin, Ann Whitford Paul.)

Speaking of lunches, what's for dinner?


(That's Paula Yoo, Emily Ecton and Michael Reisman dining at the food court across the street from the conference. We discussed which one of us would run for President of the United States this year.)

On another night, Linda Sue Park, Jolie Stekly and I went to this super glam restaurant. It was so chic that we're still not sure what we ate . . .



One thing is certain, though. The meal was a thousand times better than the horrific dining event that happened to Linda Sue, Arthur Levine and I at the conference a couple of years ago.

Dinner was right before the SCBWI Hippie Hop party where mild-mannered children's book people went wild. No, really. If you don't believe me, see for yourself . . .



But the culmination of the evening was a FLASH MOB!!!! Super secret e-mails had gone out earlier to all but Lin Oliver and Steve Mooser, founders of SCBWI. Here's what over 400 people dancing in-sync to The Age of Aquarius look like . . .


(We'll post footage of actual flash mobbing on a future blog.)

After the conference was over, the faculty, regional advisors, SCBWI staff and board convened to collapse (and to eat and have fun) . . .



Oh, look. That's Jay Asher on the left (above). We were passing notes during the conference . . .



THIS IS WHY.

And finally, the next day, there was a Board of Advisors meeting. BatPeep fell asleep during it. Not because it wasn't interesting, but because she was exhausted from all the amazing happenings . . .



Wait, what's that? Look who's on the cover of VOGUE!!!!



Hey, that's not VOGUE . . . it's even better . . . it's VOYA!!!! CLICK HERE to read a WARP SPEED review, and to find out what Libba Bray, David Lubar, Don Calame and I have to say about writing funny stuff.

Hey, want to meet me and Peep and have a Peep-o-time at one of my local indie bookstores?

Sometimes fun is in your own backyard . . .


(Disclaimer: That may, or may not, be my real backyard.)

For example, I first found out about Little Junebugs when I was at
LitFest Pasadena . . .



This awesome children's bookstore also has the coolest stuff, PLUS you can do the most amazing crafts . . .



If don't just believe me, see for yourself . . .



See this rocket? It's a prize for a lucky reader!



Here's even more of the store . . .



And look! This is THE PLACE to get crafty . . .



It's not just for kids -- check out this wizardlywondrous (I just made up that word) Harry Potter craft night for grown-ups!!!

Whoa . . . who's that with Peepy? Why, it's Courtney, co-owner of Little Junebugs!!!



Peepy and I will be helping Courtney celebrate the ONE YEAR BIRTHDAY of Little Junebugs this Saturday! Newly printed paperbacks of BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) will be there, too, along with Bobby illustrator Dan Santat.,

JOIN US!!!!



================

Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!


September events:

Brooklyn Book Festival

South Dakota Festival of Books


Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

Want to check out Lisa's NEW AND IMPROVED website? Simply CLICK HERE.

Interested in having Lisa speak at your school, library or conference? CLICK HERE for more information.

Lisa Yee

Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!

Email:

Or you can click this for a RSS feed...

It was that time of year again. YES! The annual SCBWI Summer Conference.



It kicked off with faculty party, where the literati gliterati gathered to mingle, practice their Olympic diving routines, consume small plates of food, and get briefed about the upcoming conference by Lin Oliver and Steve Mooser . . .



It was great fun seeing old (as in "we have met before," not as in "wow, look at those wrinkles") friends and new ones . . .


(That's Sonya Sones, there's Dan Yaccarino being mystic, and look -- Dan Gutman with Lin Oliver)

Hello, Candace Fleming! And here's Lee Wind with my editor Arthur Levine who/whom you will see often since he is an excellent mingler . . .



Well, well, there's E.B. Lewis again. (We hung out HERE not long ago), Jolie Stekly shares her pretty drink with BatPeep (I'm not sure where Peepy was) and Dan Santat is always generous about sharing his food . . .



Agent Rubin Pfeffer offered to represent BatPeep, Lissa Price said hello, and Steve Mooser confided that he was glad BatPeep was there to make sure everything went smoothly . . .



We came across our editor again, Arthur Levine, chatting and chewing with Grammar Goddess Martha Brockenbrough and Mathew Kirby who was afraid to speak, lest Martha catch a split infinitive . . .



The next day kicked off the conference. (That was my attempt at a metaphor.)



There were 1,242 attendees from 46 states and 15 countries. 171 were male, 941 were female, and 122 were undeclared. Oh, and we counted and there was only one BatPeep, plus there was a Eugene Yelchin, and a Lee Wardlaw, and a Nikki Grimes, and a Karen Cushman . . .



Gary Schmidt experienced his first BatPeep encounter, as did Bryan Collier and Patricia MacLachlan . . .


The opening keynote was delivered by none other than Arthur Levine! This is the glorious 15 Year Anniversary of his imprint, Arthur A. Levine Books, and he talked about the timelessness of some of books that he's edited . . .



The books included The Arrival by Shaun Tan, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, and Millicent Min, Girl Genius by . . . ME!!!!!! Yes, ME!!!! Oops. Um. Sorry. I'll try to calm down now.



Here's Arthur and Moi in a totally casual museum-quality photo . . .


(Arthur pulled me out of the slush pile eons ago and we've been together ever since.)

Later, Tony DiTerlizzi (who has a spectacular studio and bathroom), gave an energetic keynote and bravely showed us his Luke Skywalker hair, and Ed Masessa and Bobbie Pyron fought over BatPeep, plus I signed an iPad!



The SCBWI bookstore offered tomes by the distinguished faculty and sold millions and billions-ish of books that the authors/illustrators signed at the autograph party . . .



The SCBWI Portfolio Show is were lots of careers have been launched. Since we're on the SCBWI Board of Advisors, BatPeep and I got a sneak peek . . .





A separate committee selects who will be mentored by top names in the children's art world. Of course, the judges conferred with BatPeep before making their final selections . . .



We interrupt this conference blog with this -- Whooooaaaa!!! Want to see THE CUTEST DOG IN THE WORLD reading her MOST FAVORITE BOOK? Then click here!!!!

We'll have more SCBWI in an upcoming blog, so stay tuned. And for a more coherent account of the conference, click here.


===========================

Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!


You can get your copy here and meet Peepy and me . . .


September events:

Brooklyn Book Festival

South Dakota Festival of Books


Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

Want to check out Lisa's NEW AND IMPROVED website? Simply CLICK HERE.

Interested in having Lisa speak at your school, library or conference? CLICK HERE for more information.

Lisa Yee

Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!

Email:

Or you can click this for a RSS feed...

I am here . . .



Yet, because of time machine issues and whatnot, my blog is here . . .



If there's one thing that I like as much as lunch, it's candy! Here's a WONDERFUL candy store named Robitaille's in the quaint beach town of Carpinteria, CA . . .





Public Health Reminder. Visit the dentist and brush your teeth. A lot.



Now, back to our regularly scheduled blog.

Where were we? Oh, that's right. CANDY!!!!



How can it get any better than that, you ask? Here's how -- YES! An indie children's bookstore!!! Here's the owner of Curious Cup, Kiona Gross . . .



And here's the inside of Curious Cup Bookstore . . .



Curious Cup has only been open for about a year and already has quite a following. Congrats Kiona!


(Kiona is seen here with her new friend, Peepy.)

Hey! Speaking of indie bookstores, this is where Peepy and I, along with copies of the new paperback version of BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES), will be on August 25th!!! Come join us for Peep-tastic fun!




===========================

Wheeeee . . . BOBBY THE BRAVE (SOMETIMES) is now out in paperback!


Disclaimer: No proofreaders were harmed (or even used) in the creation of this blog.

Want to check out Lisa's NEW AND IMPROVED website? Simply CLICK HERE.

Interested in having Lisa speak at your school, library or conference? CLICK HERE for more information.

Lisa Yee

Subscribe to Lisa Yee's Blog and get her fresh baked blogs e-mailed to you!

Email:

Or you can click this for a RSS feed...

Oh man. So much went on at Comic-Con 2012, we had to use our lightsaber and split the blog into two parts.



After our first day, Son and I came away with lots of awesome stuff . . .



Of course, we had to go back for more, plus everyone wanted their photo taken with BatPeep . . .



It wasn't all fun and games. Well, okay, it was!

Last year was our first year at Comic-Con in San Diego . . .



To say that it was overwhelming is an understatement. But we were thrilled to be there this year, again . . .



Our first reaction upon seeing the sea of people was to flee in the opposite direction.



However, we braved the crowds. Why? Because the number one reason people go to Comic-Con is to have their photos taken with BatPeep, that's why! (I won't reveal who's really behind that mask, but here's a hint.



We saw lots of interesting things and many, many, many people, creatures and monst

Just got back from Comic-Con . . .



We'll be blogging about that next. (I'm still trying to recover from the chaos.) But in the meantime, there's this . . .

It's a well documented fact that I like bookish lunches, and I like to lunch with fellow KidLitters. Hmmm, that doesn't sound right. Let me rephrase that -- I like to lunch with fellow authors/illustrators in the KidLit arena.

(Here's proof. Here's proof. Here's proof. Here's . . . well, you get it.)

Not long ago Mo Willems was in town. So a bunch of us met up. It took a bit of wrangling, but everyone finally assembled.



Here's animator/author/illustrator Tom Warburton; Cheryl Willems (Mo's better half); author/animator/illustrator (Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!) Bob Boyle; animation background artist Teri Shikasho (Bob's better 2/3rds); author/illustrator/former TV writer (Sesame Street) Mo Willems (seated), author/illustrator Dan Santat; TV writer/cartoonist (The Simpsons, Seinfeld) Tom Gammill and author/illustrator Marla Frazee . . .


As with most author/illustrator lunches, much time is spent mocking each other out . . .

The American Library Association (ALA) Conference is way extensive. If you don't believe me, look here and here.



So what does one do after they've conquered the conference floor?

(Photo courtesy of Roxyanne Young!)

Simple. They collapse.


(Above: San Francisco Librarian Carla Kozak naps with her favorite Peep.)

FunCarlaFact #1: She was on the Newbery committee that selected one of my favorite books as the winner, WALK TWO MOONS.



FunCarlaFact#2: She gave "Cousin Carla" to me. You can see Cousin Carla co-starring in this video.


(Disclaimer: No actual Peeps were injuring in the making and/or microwaving of this video.)

Now, even though everyone is exhausted after a full day of conferencing, there's not much time to recharge because the evenings are full of parties!

Scholastic had their annual ALA Family Dinner at a tres chic restaurant a couple of miles down the road. I opted to drive rather than board the bus Scholastic had rented. Only, I got stuck in traffic . . .



So I texted my pal Dan Santat to see if everyone on the bus was as frustrated with the traffic as I was . . .



That's when I learned that the "bus" was a Hummer limo!!!

Since I beat the limo to the restaurant, Peeps and I checked out the place . . .

Do you know who this is?



We'll talk about him later. But first, when last we blogged, we were at ALA seeing ex-National Ambassadors of Young People's Literature, like Jon Sciezcka . . .



Well, guess what? We're still there, even if the authors are not. Huh? Lemme explain. Through the magic of my Time Machine, I bring you more authors and illiustrators and book people like this fellow who is channeling Penny (see lower left of photo), plus this other fellow . . .


(That's David Macinnis Gill. In the first photo.)

Look! It's Newbery-ian Susan Patron with Betsy Rosenthal, and there's author/WONDERSTRUCK editor Tracy Mack . . .



Illustrator Joe Cepeda and I did the rounds of the convention floor together, and lo and behold, Laini Taylor and Maybe have the same color hair!



Question for Joe: Does your office always look this neat?

The last time I hung out with author/runner Wendelin Van Draanen, it was snowing. And look! AMULET'S Kazu Kibuishi and his wife cartoonist Amy Kibuishi . . .

It's that time of year again. Yes, the American Library Association Conference, hence to be known here as "ALA."

The last time we were at ALA this happened and that, too . . .



This year it was in Anaheim. We know, because we braved the LA traffic to get there . .


(Disclaimer: I don't know the man in the photo. I took the picture to remind myself where I parked.)



As soon as we arrived, we ran into our friend, illustrator Ken Min. Luckily, he wasn't hurt. Then we went to registration, where we had already been stered in advance . . .


(The badge lists where the company is from, not where you or I are from.)

We met Rob Bittner, our Guardian Angel, for lunch. Because he's from Canada and I'm from the USA, we ate lunch a

This being summer and all, I've decided to cut back from blogging seven times a day (or twice a week) to once a week. That way we can all have more time to eat chocolate, get a pony, write novels, or whatever one does when summer calls.

Most likely I will be blogging on Monday, unless I blog on Tuesday or Wednesday, or another day of the week. And possibly I will blog more than once a week, but maybe not. One never knows.



So then, many of you know, or don't know, or will know, that illustrator/author Dan Santat and I eat a lot. And we eat a lot with each other at lunch time, a lot.





And many times we eat with other people . . .



The other people pictured include, but are not limited to, and are in no particular order whether pictured here or in real life: Michael Reisman*, Jodi Reamer<

Recently, I was invited to read at Skylight Books . . .





We got there early, so we ventured down the street so Peepy could get a snack . . .



Then we explored Skylight . . . both parts. That's right, TWO buildings, cause its awesomeness could not be confined to one. Here's the side with lots of graphic novels, art books, etc . . .





And here's the other side, with fiction, kids books, non-fiction, etc., where the readings took place . . .

Yes! That was me (and Peepy) you heard on Sirius radio's XM 78 - Kid's Place Live. That's right! I was on The Absolutely Mindy show and THE BOOK REPORT with JJK . . .



Here's an actual video of when Jarrett taped Peepy's part of the interview . . .



I know it doesn't look like a video, but it is. Jarrett and Peepy were just being very still, plus they were being really quiet.



Oh wait! Look! Listen! I did a video recording of me listening to Mindy and Jarrett talking about me on the radio!!!! (You can see a cameo of my dog, too -- lower left hand corner.)


Of course, I meant to abruptly cut off the interview because . . . well, because. Here's a link to all the famous people who have met Peepy! (Jarrett was telling Mindy about this.)

In case you missed us on the radio, here is a recap of the ten hottest topics we covered. (It is remotely possible some of the topics were edited out of the final show.)

1) Why people say "baby kittens" but not "baby puppies" . . .



2) My books.



3) What my dog looks like after she rolls around in the burrs . . .

My Peep reminded me that that we wrote a blog a while back and never posted it. Why? We had so much other stuff going on, like taking part in National Donut Day, that it slipped our collective minds.



So, we're going to post our museum blog today, but first this . . .



Yes, that's me with amazing author/illustrator/MC Jarrett Krosoczka. The interview is this Wednesday, June 6th, at 5:30 pm EST. You can tune into Sirius XM channel 78 and listen to The Book Report with JJK airs during The Absolutely Mindy Show on Kids Place Live!

Here's Jarrett when he's not drawing or writing or interviewing authors . . .



Hey, if you're in the Los Angeles area on Thursday, June 7th, I'll be at Skylight Books reading Truman Capote as part of AND PROUD OF IT: In celebration of LGBT Heritage. It's gathering of straight and gay Los Angeles writers reading the work of Gay and Lesbian author who inspired them.

Okay, and now . . . through the magic of my ATM (Amazing Time Machine), we're back in Washington, DC. The day before the National Book Festival, to be exact.

We had some free time, so went exploring . . .



Hey, what's that building over there? Why it's part of the Smithsonian and called the Renwick Gallery . . .



Why, let's go inside, shall we?

One of the many advantages of living in Los Angeles is that you can go to see Craig Ferguson a lot.



We've seen Craig, as he would want me to call him, with guests Robin Williams and Neil Patrick Harris. (They weren't on at the same time.)



And COLIN FIRTH. That's right. Me and Colin Firth and Craig Ferguson. Together. All of us.

Here's Colin visiting my office . . .





This time Alfred Molina was Craig's guest.


(That's not Alfred with Craig, that's Geoff.)

This is Alfred from the film AN EDUCATION. (Loved that movie!)



Before the show, we had lunch at The Grove, which is next door to the CBS Studios.



Why is the CBS Studios famous? Is it because many famous TV shows are shot there?

Noooooooooo.

It's famous because that's where I flunked my typing test.



Yes, that's right. I flunked.

It was during college and I went there to try to be a production assistant. I aced the interview and was told I had the job -- and all I had to do was pass the typing test.

I was given a TYPEWRITER* and a sheet of paper to retype.


(For those of you who are young, a typewriter is a machine that was used to make letter ma

We LOVE libraries!

Last year, the middle school in my hometown of South Pasadena got a brand new library. Recently, Peepy and stopped by to visit . . .



Peepy goofed off a bit and explored . . .



She even made friends . . .



. . . and bought necessary supplies . . .



And thought about snacks . . .



Then we remembered why we were there! It was to donate gently used books . . .



This made librarian Betsy Kahn happy . . .

As many of you know, or may not know, or now know, I do lots of elementary and middle school visits.



But it's also fun to speak to college students. Last week I traveled all the was from South Pasadena to Pasadena -- officially, they are two different cities . . .



Look! The invisible man was there, too!!!



I spoke to the Children's Literature class at Pasadena City College . . .



The campus is gorgeous in the day . . .



And at night . . .



Peepy and I were early, so we hung out at the Writing Center and gathered note

It was a gorgeous day in Pasadena. Well, that is if you consider blue skies and temps in the high 70s nice . . .



Perfect weather for the very very very first LitFest Pasadena -- and we were there!



Before the festival began, we wandered around and checked it out . . .



Wait! Who's that attractive trio? Why it's Co-founder of the Lit Fest, Pasadena Star Newsman Larry Wilson; author of HELEN OF PASADENA, Lian Dolan; and YA author/poet Ron Kortege hanging out in the Green Room!



We were thrilled to visit Little Junebugs, a new bookstore-and-fun-things-store in Pasadena . . .



Can it be? Yes! It's one of our fav indie bookstores, Once Upon a Time . . .

Whose happy feet are those?



Why, the belong to none other than author/illustrator/fashion maven Tony DiTerlizzi! He was on his planet-wide tour for A HERO FOR WONDLA.

When last we saw him, he was modeling a lovely limited edition front/back/arms deer/nature scene shirt we gave him . . .



This time we caught up with Tony at Mrs. Nelson's Toy and Book Shop, closer to our home . . .



Before his author/illustrator appearance, he took time to read his Caldicott Honor book, SPIDER AND THE FLY to Andrea Vuleta, General Manager of Mrs. Nelson's and President of the SoCal Independent Booksellers Association, and Peepy . . .



Then it wa

Okay, so after her artistic debut at the R. Michelson Galleries . . .



Peepy and I did lots of other fun authorial stuff in the Northampton, MA area.



"Like what? What did you do?" you ask, or I ask, or we can pretend Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy asked.



Why, here's a small sampling. We worked on a novel at the Mount Holyoke College library and feigned being at Hogwarts, which was probably really distracting when we leapt on the table and shouted, "expecto patronum!"



We explored the library . . .



We ate lunch with Ellen Wittlinger and then ate another lunch with Jarrett Krosoczka (on a different day) . . .

Of course a place with so many authors and illustrators around would have the most awesome bookstore.

We were still staying in our lovely undisclosed location when we first visited the Montague Bookmill . . .



Set in an gristmill that was built in 1842, this amazing indie bookstore is on the banks of a river and located near Amherst . . .



After THE MOST DELICIOUS SALAD at Lady Killgrew , which is part of the Montague Mill . . .



. . . it was time to explore . . .

After blissfully booking it in Nothampton, MA, I was home long enough to unpack my suitcase and then pack it again.



Where was I headed next? Why, here . . .



I was in Kent, Ohio for the Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Youth . . .



Fun Fact: I lived in James Thurber's childhood home in Columbus, Ohio for a month when I was the Thurber House Children's Writer-in-Residence!!!



Oops. Digression noted. Back to the conference! It began on Thursday evening with a food-filled reception . . .


(Above: That's E.B. Lewis sharing dessert with his favorite Peep.)

It was followed by dessert and storytelling, and

When last we blogged we were at the Virginia Hamilton Conference at Kent State in Ohio. Lest you think we're making it up, here's photographic proof we were there . . .



Yes, apparently the black squirrel is the unofficial mascot of the school, and they are everywhere . . .



During the conference, we had an informal conversation with conference attendees. (Since it was informal, I felt compelled to sit on the stage floor.)





After a lovely lunch we checked out the bookstore . . .

From visiting Kent State to returning to USC.



It began with the drive down freeway. Most people would have been worried about parking, but I wasn't worried because I had these . . .



Yes! Coveted valet parking passes to the LOS ANGELES TIME FESTIVAL OF BOOKS!!!!

This is the second year it's taken place at my alma mater, the University of Southern California . . .



This year, I had five book signings over two days.

Before our first one, we met this year's Printz winner, John Corey Whaley author of WHERE THINGS COME BACK . . .



Oh, look! It's D.J. MacHale of PENDRAGON fame . . .


(That's Australian author Tristan Bancks looking on.)

Soon it was time to sign with Dan Santat, illustrator of my BOBBY books, at Once Upon a Time's booth . . .



And look! Priscilla Burris and Brian James were there, too . . .

We were THERE last blog, and now here's more of the LA TIMES Festival of Books at the University of Southern California!



This is an iconic building. Why? Because when I was a senior at USC I fell down the stairs inside the building, that's why.



Oops. No digressions! Back to the book festival.

It's always great to see Lauren Myracle, who is alive (despite her AWOL website), and find out what kind of trouble she's gotten herself into. The last time we saw her, at the National Book Festival, this happened . .



Wouldn't you know it? We had to bail Lauren out yet again . . .



After, we headed to the Diesel/Scholastic booth where we ran into National Book Award Winner and newly minted LA TIMES Book Award winner Pete Hautman . . .



BTW, Pete is a genius. Most authors I know get TONS of emails from students asking us to do homework or write book reports. Check out Pete's free book reports . . .



Other authors signing for Scholastic included

Last blog we were at the LA TIMES Festival of Books, and one of the booths we signed at was Once Upon a Time . . .



So it's only fitting that we visit the bookstore itself. But first, lunch!



Above: Bob Boyle and Dan Santat count the carbs. (The vegetable plate was mine, and Tao Nyeu had chili and a sandwich.)

Then it was indie bookstore time with Maureen Palacious, the owner of Once Upon a Time . . .



While we were there, Dan signed some books. And many of them were even his!



Peepy loved exploring with Bob and Tau . . .