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I got a surprise email from my editor at Walker/Bloomsbury one day last week while I was cleaning up my desk at school, getting ready to go home. 

"I'm delighted to report that Scholastic Book Clubs have licensed book fair and book club rights to GIANNA Z...." 

I had to write back to make sure that meant what I thought it did.  That THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. would be one of the titles on the big racks at Scholastic Book Fairs at schools?  That it would be paperback, in a price that's easy for kids to buy? That it would be in those book club flyers that get sent home in kids' homework folders and backpacks? 

Yes, yes, and yes, my editor answered.  In September!

There was a stack of Scholastic Book Fair flyers on my desk, and I couldn't help picking one up to page through it.  There are a lot of fun milestones in this children's book world, but this one is especially cool for me.  

I grew up in Medina, a tiny town in upstate New York.  It has a lovely independent bookstore now, but it didn't when I was in school.  You could get Archie comics at the drugstore, or you could try to get your parents to drive to the mall in Buffalo an hour away, where there was a Waldens, or you could order books at school through Scholastic Book Clubs.  I'd bring those flyers home and circle the books I wanted with Magic Marker, over and over,  until the color bled through to the other side of that thin paper.  Those flyers were important to me, as I know they still are for kids who aren't lucky enough to be growing up in a town with a great bookstore. I'm thrilled that my book will be one of the Magic Marker choices this fall.

I'm going to do something fun to celebrate GIANNA Z's paperback release in bookstores (also in September) and her appearance in Scholastic Book Clubs & Fairs.  Probably a contest on the blog and something special for teachers and librarians (I'm thinking about giving away some free virtual writing workshops for classes!)  If you have other fun ideas for a paperback/book club launch, I'd love to hear about them in comments!

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For Vermont blog friends and other people who love Vermont... My interview with the delightful Jane Lindholm of Vermont Public Radio is scheduled to air on Vermont Edition today at noon and 7:00 PM.  Today's topics are Vermont's outdoor industry and THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.

If you're not lucky enough to get VPR over the radio, I'm told you'll be able to check out the interview at the website after it airs.

And if you've found your way here from the broadcast, welcome!  If you're looking for THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. book club giveaway, you can click here for all the details. 

Hope everyone has a brilliant fall day!

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Okay, not really.

I just said that to get your attention, so I could say this:

Thank you.

In the two and a half weeks since the official release of THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z, I've opened up my email and smiled like crazy at least a thousand times because people -- and by that, I mean you guys -- have been so amazing about helping to spread the word about this quiet, funny, quirky book about a girl and a leaf collection project, with not a single vampire in sight.

I've been sent links to blog reviews like these:
Jen Robinson
A Patchwork of Books
Mary at KidLit.com
Six Boxes of Books
Prose and Kahn
Kelly Fineman's Writing and Ruminating

And today, there was this post on Publishers Weekly's ShelfTalker blog, which I read religiously at lunch time.  I just about choked on my salsa when I opened the page today and saw Gianna staring back at me.  It was overwhelming.

It's all been pretty overwhelming.  The nice notes you've posted on GoodReads and the ones you've emailed me or sent in other ways.  Those little things make a huge difference in an author's world. This 140-character gift arrived via Twitter this morning and had me smiling all day:

My 9-year old is reading TBFOGZ; when I asked at breakfast this am how she liked it, her face stayed in the book; a good sign!

(I keep all my reviews in a file on my computer, but this one I printed out and put on the bulletin board for when I'm stuck on a scene.  That's when I really need to remember the nine-year-old with her nose in a book at breakfast.  She is why I write.)

Anyway, thanks. The very best part of this publication journey has been the people whose paths I've crossed along the way.

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After teaching all day, then heading straight to my favorite coffee shop for this afternoon's GIANNA Z. launch party, and signing books for two hours straight...I am pretty much out of words tonight.  Pictures will probably do a better job anyway, of capturing the brilliant fun and sheer joy of sharing this book launch with such amazing friends, colleagues, and students. 














Thanks so, so much to everyone who stopped by today - it was an afternoon I'll never forget.

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Yesterday's launch party for THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. at Flying Pig Books was...well...it was the stuff launch party dreams are made of.  So many kids, teachers, readers, and friends, along with a great place for a party -- the beautiful, light-filled Flying Pig Loft.  We got there early to set up...





We had a drawing for a free school/library presentation.  (Mrs. Althoff, congratulations!  My son drew your name out of the bag.  I'll email you today so we can start figuring out the details!)



I was excited that the silicone bracelets I ordered - red and gold swirled with the book title embossed - arrived on time!  And those are Nonna's famous funeral cookies from the book on the plate with the candy corn.  (If you weren't there to eat some, you can download the recipe from my books page!)



My daughter helped me set up by placing a sugar maple leaf on each chair before the guests arrived.  That's the tree Gianna and Zig are trying to identify in the book in the excerpt I chose to read, so I thought it would be fun for kids to follow along with a leaf as they tried to figure out whether it had teeth or lobes, a downy underside or not, milky sap...all those tree identifying things.

After the reading, kids had a chance to try their own hands at identifying leaves.  I set up a tree identification challenge - with photographs of three different trees and branches from each one.  Kids used the Watts Tree Finder guide - the same book Gianna and Zig use in the novel - to identify trees and win prizes.



And then it was party time!




Here I am with Flying Pig co-owner and picture book author Elizabeth Bluemle. Note her stylish accessories.


From left to right: Jo Knowles (jbknowles ) me, Cindy Faughnan (cfaughnan )

Jo and Cindy and some other friends made long morning drives to be here, and it just about made me cry every time one of them walked through the door. My friend marjorielight came over on the ferry from NY and brought her daughter Stephanie, who drove up from Albany for the weekend.  Stephanie is in graduate school to become a children's librarian right now, and she's one of my former students (also a survivor of the original monster leaf collection project that inspired my book!)


Me, Marjorie, & Stephanie

At the end of my reading, I took a minute to introduce the other authors & illustrators who were there.  In addition to Jo and Elizabeth, there were Sarah Dillard, Amy Huntington, Liza Woodruff, and Tanya  Lee Stone.  "Wow," my husband said when we were packing up the car. "You children's book people really support one another, don't you?"  We've talked about that before...how the people who work in this field are some of the nicest people around.  It's one of so many things I love about writing for kids.







The morning flew by like leaves in a gust of autumn wind... I hugged lots of friends, read from my novel, ate entirely too much candy corn, signed lots of books (including a bunch for far-away friends!  When I came down to the store after the party, Josie presented me with a stack of "virtual book signing" copies. If you ordered one, it's all signed and will be in the mail next week!) I'm so, so thankful to everyone who came out on the last weekend of summer and to the folks at Flying Pig, who always make an author feel so special. 

When the last book was signed, we headed to the nearby Shelburne Museum for a picnic with Jo Knowles and her family.  My daughter and Jo's son got to be pals at her launch party for JUMPING OFF SWINGS a few weeks ago, so it was great to spend the afternoon together. Sitting on the grass, exploring the steamboat Ticonderoga, and riding the antique carousel seemed like just the right way to end the day.

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First things first this morning...and that's a HUGE thank you for all the good wishes on THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.'s official launch yesterday.  I am so, so grateful for my family and friends, including this amazing community of writers I know mostly online.

Next, a few updates and bits of news on GIANNA Z.

• For Boston-area folks, I'll be at Newtonville Books at 2pm on Saturday, September 19th for a reading, Q and A, tree identification activities for kids, and book signing. I've heard AMAZING things about Newtonville Books and am so excited about this one.

• Also...I'll be doing a joint event with the inimitable Eric Luper (eluper ) at Dog Ate My Homework Bookstore in Glens Falls, NY on Saturday, October 3rd from 4-6pm.  I'll be signing THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. and Eric will be signing his historical YA novel BUG BOY.  Or if you'd like, I'll sign BUG BOY and he can sign GIANNA Z.  (We are easy-going that way...)

• This weekend, I'm at Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, VT at 11am Saturday and at The Bookstore Plus in Lake Placid, NY at 2pm Sunday. I'd love it if you'd stop by and say hi if you're nearby.

• My virtual book signing is this weekend, too!  If you don't live close enough to attend an event but would like to order a personalized, signed copy of GIANNA Z. just call Flying Pig Bookstore at 802-985-3999 and they'll take your information so I can sign a book for you this weekend and get it mailed out.

• GIANNA Z. is featured on the Shrinking Violet Promotions blog this week, and you can enter to win a signed copy for your favorite library, just by leaving a comment on the entry. 

And now the "what-did-you-do-on-your-release-day" story.  As my fellow writers will tell you, sending a book off into the world involves a whole lot of planning and email-writing and flyer-making and things like that in the days that lead up to the launch, so a break from all that seemed like a lovely way to celebrate GIANNA Z's birthday.  My daughter and I decided to hike Owl's Head, one of those smaller Adirondack peaks that still has a great view from the top.  It was...perfect.  And as usual, E knew just what her mom needed.

"Mom, stand still for a minute and just listen. There are so many sounds here." 

And there were. Chirping crickets and whispering leaves and grasshoppers that made loud clicks when they jumped.  Buzzing cicadas and scolding red squirrels and the rustle of a hurrying something just off the trail.  And when we slowed down to listen, we saw things we hadn't seen before, too.  A soaring hawk way down in the trees.  A spider web built around a hole in a hollow tree.

It felt like just the right way to celebrate a book about leaves and changes and the healing power of nature. I know the pictures won't do it justice, but here they are anyway.  Listen, and maybe you'll hear the cicadas, too.











When we got home, there was a big box in the front hallway, with this inside...


My author copies!  (A whole lot of GIANNA Zzzzzzzs!!!)

The rest of the day was a blur of phone calls and email wishes that made me smile, and an evening with writer friends who surprised me with cupcakes that we enjoyed on the porch. Not a bad way to bring a book into the world at all.

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First things first...a "virtual book signing" for anyone who wants a personalized, signed copy of THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z but can't make it to an event...



Josie and Elizabeth and the other awesome booksellers at Flying Pig Bookstore are making it possible for everybody to attend our launch party in spirit, if not in person.  If you can't make it to one of my events listed below but would like a personalized, signed book for yourself or for holiday gifts, we're having a "virtual book signing" on September 5th, the day of my launch party at Flying Pig.  Here's how it works:

• Call Flying Pig Bookstore at 802-985-3999 and tell them you'd like to order a signed copy of THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.
• They are fabulous and will have a form ready to take your order. They'll ask for your name, contact and payment information, how many copies you'd like, and how you'd like them signed.
• Right after our launch event on September 5th, I'll sign your books and tuck a bookmark or two in each one.  (I'd send you some cookies, too, but they don't travel as well.)
• The fabulous Flying Pig folks will send out your order, and you'll get your books in the mail.

Of course, if you can make it to one of my real live events this fall, I'd love to see you in person!  Here's where Gianna Z. and I will be through the fall. Starred events are open to the public.

September 5- Flying Pig Bookstore, Shelburne, VT*
11am - THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z Vermont Launch Party!
(Vermont teachers & librarians who attend will be entered in a drawing for a free presentation at your school/library on Oct. 12th!)

September 6, 2009 - 2pm - The Bookstore Plus, Lake Placid*

September 11- Koffee Kat - 104 Margaret St. Plattsburgh*
4-6 pm - THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z New York Launch Party! 

September 25- Lake Forest Senior Living Community, Plattsburgh*
4 pm - Author presentation on writing for kids

September 26 - Burlington Book Festival*
11am- Fletcher Free Library-Writing for Children & YA Panel Discussion
(with Julie Berry, Linda Urban, Jo Knowles, and Tanya Lee Stone)
 

October 22 - New York State English Council Conference, Albany

October 24 - Bear Pond Books, Montpelier, VT*
2pm - Reading & Book signing

November 7 - Rochester Children's Book Festival*
Rochester, NY

November 14 - Barnes and Noble, South Burlington, VT*
1-3 pm - Reading and book signing

November 19-24 - NCTE Annual Convention- Philadelphia
Nov. 20, 4 pm - Panel Discussion on Pairing Fiction & Nonfiction
(with Jenny Moss, Loree Griffin-Burns, & Tanya Lee Stone)

November 25 - Dodge Memorial Library - Rouses Point, NY*
10:00 - Presentation for kids & families

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THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z will be out two weeks from today! If you're a Vermonter, please mark Saturday, September 5th on your calendar if you can make it to the launch party at the fabulous Flying Pig Bookstore at 11am. We'll have the usual reading & book signing, along with Nonna's wedding cookies, the Great Tree Identification Challenge for Kids. Teachers & librarians present can enter a drawing to win a drawing for a free school or library presentation, so spread the word to your teacher & library friends!  My other 2009/2010 appearances are listed here, and of course you can always order GIANNA Z through IndieBound. 

And now...here's my extremely non-traditional book trailer for THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z (courtesy of many great people at ALA 2009 and my background as a tv reporter/interviewer). It's based on a game that main characters Gianna and Zig play as they're working on their school leaf collection project.



If you'd like to share the book trailer on your own blog or site or really anywhere, please feel free to copy & paste:

Here's the YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwsgo3vOAGY

And the embed code:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xwsgo3vOAGY&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xwsgo3vOAGY&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Many, many thanks to the kind-hearted authors and librarians and illustrators and cats, etc. who participated in this video!  Gianna Z. and I are forever grateful.

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It's less than a month until THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z will be released from Walker Books for Young Readers, and while my attention right now is mostly on revisions for my Fall 2010 book, SUGAR ON SNOW, I'm taking time out to share some cool bits of GIANNA Z news...and some thankfulness.

Some of you might remember this post about Authors Who Skype with Book Clubs and the list of those who do.  Well, through the magic of the Internet and Twitter, one thing led to another after that post, and I ended up writing a technology feature for School Library Journal, which thrills me to no end. I love School Library Journal and stalk it every month when it arrives at my middle school.  I have been known to stealthily sneak into the room and snatch it off the librarian's desk before he's even had a chance to read it (sorry, Russell), so having an article in SLJ is mighty exciting for me.  The feature is called "Met Any Good Authors Lately?" and you can read it online here.

Some people have started saying nice things about THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z, which also thrills me. 

From Booklist: "Laced with humor and heart...this is an insightful and affecting read, offering a compassionate portrayal of a family member’s illness and the discovery of beauty and inspiration in nature and poetry.

And Kirkus (which was very complimentary despite all my worries because they are...well...Kirkus): "Messner succeeds in creating an engaging saga....jazzing up the plot with a riddle-loving younger brother, making Gianna’s family proprietors of a funeral home and sprinkling in a hearty helping of references to art and poetry keep things interesting. An ending that’s hopeful without being saccharine is another big plus."

School librarian and blogger Stacy Dillon of Welcome to My Tweendom says:

Kate Messner has written a poignant novel about family, friendship, and change. Gianna is so close to her Nonna, and the possible onset of Alzheimer’s is a reality that many families face, but not many kids get to read about in a relevant way. Messner handles this weighty topic with grace. Gianna is a lovely mix of a dreamer, an artist, and an advocate.Read the full review here.

robinellen  listed GIANNA Z as a favorite on her Family Fun Together blog's list of tween books  "because of the beautiful story, the wonderful science input (through Gianna's tree project), and the poignant discussion of grandparents and aging."  Read more...

proseandkahn  calls THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z   "a sweet story of family and friendship featuring a likeable, energetic main character, who manages to be both realistic and funny...." Read more...

Thanks, Stacy and Robin and Brenda - and to everyone else who's had a chance to read GIANNA Z a bit early and shared the title with friends. To an author waiting for a book to arrive in the world, those lovely early reviews and GoodReads posts and little notes on Facebook and elsewhere are like warm blankets and freshly baked brownies and big bouquets of flowers all rolled into one.

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Shelly Burns, over at Write for a Reader, asked me to answer a few interview questions to help her celebrate Children's Book Week on her blog, and she's giving away an advance reader copy of THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. 

To enter her drawing, just read her blog post and leave a comment.  She's offering extra entries to folks who post or tweet about the contest, too.

Click here to check it out.

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This is just too cool. 

In my upcoming middle grade novel The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z, the main character has a monster leaf collection due.  It's a project she's put off to the last minute, and now everything that can possibly go wrong...does.  If only she'd had access to this iPhone application, I might have written a whole different story. The scientists developing this particular app say if all goes well, you'll be able to identify a plant from a photo of its leaves that's then uploaded to a database.  Ultimately, they say it could help researchers learn more about climate change and changes in biodiversity.  And of course...it would make those school leaf collection projects a walk in the park.  Thanks to marjorielight for the link!

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As a middle school teacher in a school where the huge 7th grade leaf collection project is downright infamous, I thought I'd done my research for THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z (Walker Books, Fall '09).   It's a funny, contemporary novel about a girl whose 7th grade leaf collection project is ruining her life.  I'd heard the horror stories of kids getting caught in mean neighbors' yards, stealing leaves off their trees.  I'd heard tales of the all-nighters kids pulled, securing the last few sets of leaves into their binders.  But until this fall, I'd never watched my very own 7th grader complete a leaf project of his own. 

To be sure, it's meant some beautiful autumn hikes for leaf collecting...

But the leaf project also has a dark side. This is what my living room looked like last weekend, when son and his two friends were working...



My manuscript is in copy edits right now.  Do you supposed I'll have a chance to go back and add a few more details about the impact Gianna's leaf project had on the rest of her household?  We're still vacuuming pine needles here (Or are they spruce needles...? I'll have to check the key...)

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