It’s time for the 2010 National Book Festival!

Don’t forget to head to the 10^th annual National Book Festival, this Saturday, September 25^th in Washington D.C.’s National Mall.  From children’s authors to poets, over 70 authors and thousands of book lovers will attend this event in celebration of the joy of reading. For more details about the festival, including a complete list of attending authors, visit http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/.

TIME Magazine’s What Makes a School Great

Waiting for Superman, a new documentary by the Academy Award winning, David Guggenheim, focuses on the future of the American education system, and what you can do to help ensure every child receives a great education.  Check out TIME Magazine’s most recent article “What Makes a School Great,” to learn more about this documentary and its impact.

Meet Your Match Through Your Favorite Book!

While most dating sites connect people through compatible personality traits and shared interests, allikewise.com, an online dating site, has taken a different approach: connecting people through their book tastes! Check it out at http://alikewise.com/.

More Books, Better Readers, Brighter Futures

Children’s Access to Print Materials and Education-Related Outcomes, a recent study commissioned by Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and conducted by Learning Point Associates, found that increased access to print materials drastically improves student’s reading performance and, encourages elementary school students to read more.  To learn more visit: http://www.rif.org/meta.

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If you are looking for something fun to do this weekend (other than reading a book, of course), then look no further!  This Saturday, September 25^th, The Library of Congress and Honorary Chairs, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, will hold the 2010 National Book Festival in Washington D.C.’s National Mall. The Festival, for the 10^th year running, will celebrate the joy and magic of reading by bringing together authors, their fans, and book-lovers of any kind.

This year, over 70 authors, including Rosemary Wells, author of Bunny Money (a First Book favorite), and Katherine Paterson, the current  National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, and author of the Newbery Medal- winning  Jacob Have I Loved, will attend the event to discuss their work, talk with fans, and sign books.

So come join this tremendous celebration of literature this Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM in the National Mall!

For more information about the 2010 National Book Festival, including a complete list of authors and events, visit http://www.loc.gov/bookfest/.

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The webcasts from National Book Festival are up, which includes the one of Mo Willems with my daughter as Piggie! If you want watch that part - and of course you do - it is about halfway through the webcast at the twelve minute mark. You'll also see Mo's daughter Trixie of Knuffle Bunny fame. Watch it and come back and be excited with me.

Today my post over at Booklights is picture books about babies. Go add some favorites to the comments.

The interpretation of the Federal Trade Commission guidelines are making things look either HUGE or no big deal for book bloggers, so we'll be waiting to see how it shakes out. There is a great post at Boston Bibliophile with a lawyer's viewpoint and Chasing Ray is asking for - and receiving - a response from publishers. What are you hearing around the interwebs?

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Borders’ Educator Appreciation Week Offers 30% Discount
Through October 7th, current and retired educators can save 30% on in-store purchases for personal or classroom use when they bring proof of educator status.

Don’t read that! The secret lives of book banners
In celebration of Banned Books Week (September 26 through October 3), the Chicago Tribune’s Julia Keller shares her first encounter with banned books.

A rainy National Book Festival whets readers’ appetites
In case you missed last weekend’s National Book Festival, the L.A. Times provides a great recap of the Washington, DC event, which boasted record-breaking attendence.

Kids Paying More Attention to Nonfiction
“Nonfiction is gaining more popularity with younger readers, according to the Children’s Choices Booklist-an annual list in which students read, critique, and vote for their favorite books.”

To help boys, school creates the poster men for reading
A Philadelphia school created the “Real Men Read” campaign to locally address a national concern – boys falling behind academically, particularly in literacy – which is achieving impressive results.

Anderson University to dedicate space for rare children’s books
Anderson University’s rare books collection contains approximately 6,000 books—many of which are first editions—by authors such as A.A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh), Beatrix Potter (The Tale of Peter Rabbit), and Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are).

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I admit that my impressions of the National Book Festival were colored by its Mo Factor, but indeed other things were going on during the day.

We started with the author signings, which were chaotic. There were a lot of authors and a lot of people which led to many disorganized and confusing lines. The best thing I can say about the signings is that the authors I saw all stayed past their time to get in as many fans as possible. Jeff Kinney even gave an extra signing after his author session to accommodate the many kids who had come to see him.

Our late start limited our author events. I caught only part of Megan McDonald's talk, really just enough to hear that there is going to be a movie made based on the Judy Moody books but with the character a little bit older. I did see all of the Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi presentation, which was quite entertaining. Holly talked about the idea of the rat king and how it led to the idea for their latest book, The Wyrm King. Along with drawing this Hydra-type character, Tony also took on a cartoon portrait of Holly's cat complete with little cat clothes.

Over at the Teen tent, Patrick Carman talked about The 39 Clues and if a book from the ten book series might be set in China. (Maybe, he winks.) Jeff Kinney was next looking as humble as a world-famous author can be. He talked about his years of work on The Diary of a Wimpy Kid before it came to publication and his own view of himself as writing a cartoon for adults. As he lightly said, "When I come to these things, I don't feel like a real author. I feel like a failed cartoonist." He encouraged the packed tent to cheer loudly for him as he left so that Judy Blume would worry about measuring up.

Judy Blume talked about being shy and imaginative in sixth grade. When she had to give an oral book report that she found it easier to make the whole thing up - title, plot, theme - and she began to realize her calling as a writer. She got a great deal of applause for her advice to teachers encouraging readers with this line, "For God's sakes don't use Accelerated Reader!" She addressed the first day of Banned Books Week by recognizing the difficulty as a writer where you have to be true to your vision and "get that censor off your shoulder and stomp it down." The tent was packed for her talk, and people seemed mesmerized by being in her presence.

Now, my daughter caught one talk that I missed, so here is TeenReader's Rick Riordan Report:

The author of The Lightning Thief gave a book talk (read: hosted a crowded, screaming rally) with people were lining up long before he was scheduled to start. (Kate DiCamillo thought they were her fans). There were crowds. There was rain. And after hours of waiting in line, these people were ready for some flippin' Book Talks! And Rick delivered.

Riordon was brought to the top by the Percy Jackson series. He plans to write a story about the next generation of Half-Blood campers. He's also gonna milk this "gods" thing as much as he can, because some stories about the Egyptian deities are coming out soon. From the tiny excerpt he read, it's going to keep the same humorous style and adventure, as the Percy books, but with a whole new setting. They both sound like definite must-reads.

I really wish I could have concentrated more, but I had to stand during his talk - which I had already been doing for the past hour - and I was suffocating because of all the breathing people in the tent.

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I can’t wait for the webcasts to be up from the National Book Festival, because that’s where you’ll see MY DAUGHTER reading/acting Today I Will Fly with MO WILLEMS and his daughter TRIXIE! I know!!! It’s like a Mo-fan dream come true. Even better really, because as a parent, I enjoy the successes and high points of my children even more than my own. It makes my heart burst. It’s why I kept pushing her amazing singing performance, because it gave me such joy I wanted to share it.

But back to Mo. I went to the National Book Festival with both of my daughters, along with a friend and her teen daughter. We started off with the author signings — which were packed. The teens wanted to go to Jeff Kinney, but his line was already closed off fifteen minutes before his signing time had started. They decided to try for Rick Riordan, whose line was also huge, but was still open at least. The fifth grader had no interest, but wanted to wait in the Mo Willems line. I was actually the one who was ready to bag it, because the line was long and it didn’t look like we’d get to the front in time. I reminded her that we had seen him in January and that we’d see his reading session, but she really wanted to wait. And so we did.

We were among the last people to get our book signed. Mo did recognize me with my nickname, “Blogger!” Erin and I each got an Elephant and Piggie book signed, and said we’d see him at his reading later. With a few people behind us and Mo’s handler waiting to the side, it wasn’t the time for deep conversation or even a photo.

Fast-forward to the reading an hour later. Actually, not much happened, so here it is: The teens almost got their books signed by Rick Riordan, but he had to leave just before he got to them. So they decided to go directly to the teen tent so they could definitely see his reading at 3:15. The fifth grader and I caught Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi at the very tail end of their signing, and then went to their reading at the children’s tent. They were engaging presenters and kept the audience laughing.

Okay, so now we’re at the Mo Willems reading time and I see him on stage with his helper. They’re looking around the audience and I figure that they probably need a few kids to give drawing ideas or flip pages or hold a book or something. I tell my daughter that Mo’s looking around, and when he looks her way she waves at him. He waves her up. Wow! She goes to the stage, he talks to her for a bit, she agrees to something, and stands off to the back of the stage.

Mo starts his reading talking about the mom who says that her son wants to be a writer when he grows up. Mo replies, to all of us, “Your child is already a writer. He wants to get published.” Because children are natural writers and illustrators. Then Mo reads The Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed to the crowd. Then he talks about how he means for his books to be played, not just read. So he is going to share Today I Will Fly with him as Gerald the Elephant and my Erin as Piggie! OMG! Trixie played the barking dog and Dawn played the bird. But my daughter — my daughter — was Piggie! She’s an actress and (quite fittingly this time) a ham anyway, so she did a great reading in front of like two hundred people with no fear and no holding back. It was so exciting!

I ran to the back as soon as she was done to give her a hug and tell her what a fantastic job she had done. I talked to Dawn a bit, said hi to Trixie, and caught Mo for a quick picture before he was off to his next event. I’m not even sure if I thanked him for giving Erin that wonderful opportunity, so if not (or again), THANK YOU, MO!


That seems like enough National Book Festival for today, so tomorrow I’ll share information from the Megan McDonald, Jeff Kinney, and Judy Blume sessions. Plus I’ll have a report from TeenReader on Rick Riordan and the elusive Jeff Kinney autograph.

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I'm all sniffley today, so I'm going to keep it short. I'm very excited about going to National Book Festival this Saturday, which I talk about at Booklights. I'm sure I'll be over this cold by then, because I absolutely have to go. I've worked out my schedule in advance, but I had to make some very tough decisions. The Jeff Kinney signing or the Kadir Nelson reading? The signing for Judy Blume or Holly Black? The author session of Mo Willems or Rick Riordan?

Ah! Gotcha there! Mo Willems, definitely. Though I may send TeenReader across the yard to Rick Riordan.

If you're going, look for me at:

PBS KIDS Pavilion
(I'll go around noonish, but there are readings, activities, and character greetings all day.)

Author Signings
12:30-1:30 Judy Blume, Holly Black & Tony DiTerlizzi, Mo Willems, and Jeff Kinney (1-2:00)

Children's Tent
1:20-1:50 Kadir Nelson
1:55-2:25 Megan McDonald
2:30-3:00 Holy Black & Tony DiTerlizzi
3:00-3:30 Mo Willems

Teens and Children's Tent
3:15-3:45 Rick Riordan
3:50-4:20 Patrick Carman
4:25 -4:55 Jeff Kinney
5:00-5:30 Judy Blume

I may be the lamest person alive for skipping all of the adult book authors - huge names, by the way - but I have to admit that I'm a kidlit nerd at heart.

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If you're in the Washington, D.C. area this weekend, go and check out the National Book Festival. It will be held on the National Mall--Saturday, September 26th from 10am - 5:30pm and is slated to feature over 70 best-selling writers, illustrators and poets.

The event is free and open to the public.

New this year, the Library is bringing the festival direct to mobile phone users with their first-ever mobile campaign. By texting ‘BOOK’ to 61399, mobile phone users can opt-in to receive the latest festival announcements as well as author presentations and signing schedules. NOTE: Standard Messaging Rates may apply.

Festival fans will also be able to download author podcasts, accessed free of charge through the Library’s website or on iTunes. The recordings feature candid interviews with award-winning authors George Pelecanos, James Patterson, Rickey Minor, Nicholas Sparks, and more. For those who want more interaction, go to The Washington Post to participate in the online discussions with several participating authors, including Annette Gordon-Reed, Ken Burns, and Douglas Brinkley.

For more information, go to the 2009 National Book Festival website.

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Yesterday started out bad, bad, bad - but by sundown, I'd found out that SWEET LIFE will represent at this year's National Book Festival, that Celebrity Kitchens is planning on hosting a special SWEET LIFE-themed dinner using ONE OF MY MENUS FROM THE BOOK, and that they're also offering a very generous $15 off coupon to readers at tomorrow's launch party.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

So, the first thing: there's this Pavillion of the States at the National Book Festival, which last year saw 150,000 people attend. Representives from each state are in this pavillion (hence the name), promoting literacy projects and the like. But there's also this really cool feature that's meant for kids/teens, but supposedly gets adults just as amped, called "Discover Great Places Through Reading." There's a map that lists book recommendations - one from each state - and people who take the map to each state's booth receive a sticker or a stamp to mark that they've been there. Long story short: every state picks ONE title each year, either set in that state or by an author from their state, to represent that state in the pavillion. This year? The Delaware Center for the Book has chosen THE SWEET LIFE OF STELLA MADISON. It gets its own little display and everything. And, as Joe pointed out, this is the first year the Obama/Biden administration has been in place during the Nat'l Book Festival - so my book is representing the HOME STATE of our VERY ESTEEMED V.P. on Saturday, September 26th!

Woot!

The Celebrity Kitchens thing: those of you who've read SWEET LIFE (which I normally refer to as STELLA in short hand - but since everyone else calls it SWEET LIFE I figure I better start doing it, too) know that each of the chapters begins with a menu, either from Stella's mom's business, which is modeled after Celebrity Kitchens, or from some other dining establishment (including the cafeteria of the fictionalized Daily Journal, based on Delaware's own News Journal, in which every selection has chicken. Because, you know, Delaware is the only state that, per capita, has more chickens than people. Or at least it did the year I graduated from college, when Tom Carper gave a speach that was a thousand times better than the journalist who gave the keynote, and who rambled on for forty minutes about some green sweater she either wore or lost when she visited Paris a zillion years before that). ANYWAY, the Open Kitchen's menus are so totally inspired by the menus the chefs at CK offer up every month, and now, at a soon-to-be-determined date in October, CK will host this SWEET LIFE dinner using one of my menus. Which is, like, crazy cool. Even better? I get to be there, talking about things like writing about food and using Delaware as my setting. Which means that I GET TO EAT THIS FANTASY MENU I CREATED. Seriously - how freaking cool is that? (I promise to post more details as they become available!)

Cindy and Angela, the women who own CK, are also offering launch party attendees a $15 off coupon for a future reservation (fine print: cannot be combined with any other offers, cannot be used for kids events or private parties). This in addition to incredibly delectable and COMPLETELY FREE cupcakes from Cupcake Heaven. Sa-woon!

And now, because it's sunny and not humid and everything that I do not hate about summer, I have to go and do my chores and stuff because I'm determined to hit the pool this morning. Joe and I went last night and there's this crazy fun water slide that makes me want to run away to Wild Water Kingdom, like, STAT. Plus, it's been rainy and hot and thickly muggy here for the past two weeks, but last night we were able to sleep with the A/C off and the windows wide open. Ahh, bliss!

Hope to see a lot of you locals at Saturday's party! Which brings me to ....

Obligatory reading reminder: this Saturday, 2 p.m., Borders in Newark (not the one at the mall, but the one near Toys R Us), launch party for THE SWEET LIFE OF STELLA MADISON with FREE CUPCAKES by Cupcake Heaven and a special appearance by Cindy Weiner, co-owner of Celebrity Kitchens (the real-life inspiration behind Stella's mom's Open Kitchen), who'll be offering a discount coupon for readers of the book!

Obligatory contest reminder:LAST FOUR DAYS to enter the 50-BOOK GIVEAWAY.:

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Lots of things are happening, and I haven’t updated this site in a while. So . . .

First, THUNDER-BOOMER! has garnered three starred reviews so far. (Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and Horn Book Magazine) YAY! The reviewers are blown away by Carol Thompson’s amazing art-and so am I. (Pun intended.)

 

Second, A FAMILY FOR OLD MILL FARM (Clarion, 2007) was chosen to represent my native state of Kentucky at the National Book Festival in Washington, D. C. this fall. Each state picks one title to represent it at the festival, and I am so pleased that a book of mine will have that honor. Yay, Kentucky!

 

Third, I’ve been busy working on edits for THOMAS AND THE DRAGON QUEEN, which will be out next summer. (Knopf) Here is an early peek at the cover done by artist Lee Wildish . . . don’t ya just love it? I am always so awestruck by the talent of the wonderful illustrators working in children’s books today. 

 

Finally, thinking about illustrators, etc. I do have news that David Catrow will be illustrating an upcoming book of mine for Clarion (HMH). I don’t have a pub date yet. The tentative title is: DOZENS OF COUSINS: A  Beastie Holler Reunion.  You can tell by the subtitle that there will be lots of mayhem present–just like there always was when my siblings and I got together with my cousins at our family reunions in Kentucky. YAY! (again) for the sheer pleasure of it, and for the joy of getting to work with some of the  best illustrators in the business. Could there ever be a better job?

Here are some of my favorite books illustrated by David Catrow.

     

 

 

 

 

 

I hope all of your news will be happy news! Enjoy the summer, a good time to spend curled up with a favorite book, or two, or three . . .

Ciao!

Shutta

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Your humble webgoblin here again, one last time as promised. Now that the RoboPanda Caper has been concluded I have gone back through the previous entries and un-redacted the bits about it. Another round of thanks to all who helped make it possible.

The day was wet and rainy, but that didn't seem to dampen the spirits of any of you that I met. I was pleased to see many people sporting owl feathers in their hats and black orchids on their lapels. I gave a Neil "Scary Trousers" Gaiman neverwear.net sticker to everyone I saw with either, and if I missed you I'm terribly sorry.

In the excitement and the irregular rain, I never actually managed to take a picture of the panda's packaging, but I know others did; if you could contact me I'd love to post them.

UPDATE: Eden has posted a great series of three images of the RoboPanda Presentation.
I did manage to take a cellphone pic of the Official Panda Handling Kit that I put together, though. And I took a picture of Mr. G soon after which, while not terribly impressive, does show off his haircut.

What I expect you're all waiting to see, though, is the video of the RoboPanda Presentation. Let me first say that I am a terrible videographer, and beg your forgiveness. Between the rain, needing to turn on the RoboPanda after it was unboxed, handing Mr. G the Official Panda Handling Kit, and having only the two arms the camera dipped down to the table quite a bit. Plus I was a little too close to get a good wide angle. Chalk it up to lessons learned. When I show up at his house with the armadillo I'll bring someone else to video it.

The RoboPana was presented to Mr. G, all sneaky-like, by Eden, who also brought excellent gluten-free cupcakes!

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I am so jealous of people who live in the Washington, D.C. area.  The 2008 National Book Festival will take place Saturday, September 27th, right in the National Mall.

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I did the Washington Post Book World online chat this morning -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2008/09/09/DI2008090902030.html and then did more telephone interviews (while also signing the sheets for the Subterranean Press edition of The Graveyard Book) after which Euan Kerr from National Public Radio in Minneapolis arrived.

I've known Euan for over a decade, but in the past I've always gone to the studios of KNOW in St Paul while he interviewed me. This time (because time is ticking before the start of the tour, and there isn't any to spare on things like driving out to the Twin Cities) he came out to my house. On arrival he donned a bee suit, and headed out with the bee team (me, Stitelers, Lorraine, Cat Mihos who is in town visiting Lorraine and who, fresh from Duran Duran and the Jonas Brothers, will be tour-managing some of the upcoming tour) to harvest honey. Euan sort-of-interviewed me while we did bee stuff, occasionally sticking his microphone down among the bees to capture authentic beeish noises, then afterwards we went together to the gazebo and did a proper interview, with actual questions and answers and things, and not just barked cries of "Can somebody please hold this?" and "Ow, I just got stung through my sock."

The first interviews when a book comes out are the fun ones, because you're finding out what you think: all the questions are new to you, and you're having to figure out what the answers are, and you aren't yet repeating yourself. The hard ones will be in a month, where I'll find myself thinking Did I ever really live in a very tall house? And did my infant son really ride a tricycle around the churchyard across the lane? Are these real things, or just things I've repeated so many times they've evaporated, so now all I remember is the memory of me saying them...?

Hello! I received the e-mail about your appearance at the National Book Fest, which I'm very excited about. In this e-mail, it said that you'd be doing signings, and that I should buy a copy of the Graveyard Book for you to sign. Buuuut, if it won't be available for me to purchase until September 30th, how can I have it for you to sign on the 27th? I'm confused, which I'll admit isn't an uncommon state for me. Will there be copies available in the Book Sales tent? Don't get me wrong, I'd be immensely happy for you to sign something else that I already own, but I'd love to know how this whole Graveyard thing can work, unless you have some sort of nifty time travel device that you've been working on in your spare time.

We have a special dispensation from Harper Collins to sell copies of The Graveyard Book at the National Book Festival (because it's, well, the National Book festival). The only downside on that is I don't think that copies sold on the Saturday will count on any of the bestseller lists, which start ticking on Tuesday night. But it would be silly to be there without books, and it's only three days, and I'm glad that Harpers thought it was a good idea.


I love some of your Books including Coraline...I can't wait to see the movie. I want to ask if its not much of a trouble is How can I contact Dave McKean? I also love his Artworks and I have to say your stories and His artwork are a very good combination. I have a lot questions I would like to ask Him as well. Thank you for your time to check this out...I hope that you continue your great works and am waiting for the Graveyard Book to come out ^_^

http://www.davemckean.com/ is now almost there. It has a front page up anyway. I'm sure that as soon as it goes live it will also have contact information. So that will be how people will contact Dave in the future. (And he's signing in Paris on the 4th of October).
...

When Kitty arrived she was wearing a new tee shirt which made me smile, as on it was a drawing which I'd done earlier this year when asked by Bloomsbury for a sketch of the kind of thing I was thinking of for a Graveyard Book cover, something they could show to Chris Riddell*, which I then sent Kitty when she asked about making a Graveyard Book tee shirt for Neverwear.net, to show her the kind of thing that was in my head when I was writing it, and the kind of direction that might be nice to go.


I didn't expect it to be a t-shirt, and I didn't expect to like the t-shirt that it became, but it's lovely.

...

I was checking something out today, and ran across what I think may be my favourite paragraph in ages. It's from a Chinese website about a county filled with conjurors and acrobats, and I shall reformat it as a poem, because I can:

People in Wuqiao County
are so knee on acrobatics
that they perform strings of somersault,
stack themselves up with amazing agility,
fight with fists or juggle magic
no matter in the streets or in the wheat fields,
even at the table or on the kang (bed).

Even some children hold the bottle
fully filled with oil or vinegar
when going to the store or grain supply center
buying oil or vinegar,
without one drop spilt. On rainy days,

groups of pupils walk in the rain with umbrellas
held on the nose. What’s more amazing,
on the wedding night,
eating cakes or drinking wine is effortless,
and the bride casts the candies
flying out with an empty hand
while the bridegroom send cigarettes
by clapping hands in the sky.


.....................................................................................................................................

*And because Chris Riddell can draw beautifully, and compose pictures just as well, he took my scratchy doodle idea and turned it into this:

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So I got home yesterday at sunrise. Slept all day. Was up all night but not good for much. (This is what sunrise looks like when you get close to my house.)



Today I slept until early afternoon. Then got up and walked the dog. I got very used to using the camera as a diary while I was in China (as a back up for a notebook, and sometimes a substitute), so took the camera along on the walk.

G. K Chesterton observed that one of the best things about being away is that you get to see what you come back to with different eyes.

Found myself amazed by the size of my house, for example. There are a lot of people in China, and they live, on the whole, in much smaller places than mine. (Actually, that's probably true of most of the world: it takes a certain idiocy to want to live in an Addams Family House in the first place). But having, over the last month, met a number of families in which several generations lived in one room, it seems really strange to have so much space.




Was pleased to observe, on my walk, that the falling-down barn has not yet fallen down.


And this is Lorraine's kitten, puffed up and halloweeny in order to persuade everyone that she is in fact a very big cat indeed.



...

There's an interview with me over at Goodreads -- http://www.goodreads.com/interviews/show/12.Neil_Gaiman?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Sep_newsletter

and lots and lots of Coraline movie information out there, probably too much to link to without it being overwhelming, but
http://photos.latimes.com/backlot/gallery/coraline is a terrific photo gallery at the LA Times, and there's a really good article about Laika studios and Henry and the Coraline team from the Oregonian at http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/09/huge_artistic_stakes_are_ridin.html.

Several people wrote to ask what I thought about Eoin Colfer writing a new Hitchhiker's book -- for example,

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/fiction/article4773155.ece

In regard to the above, did they ask you to do it, and would you have accepted if they had?

Nobody asked me to do it, but then, when Douglas asked me if I'd like to adapt Life, The Universe and Everything for radio I said no, and that was with Douglas alive and asking. (Dirk Maggs did it, and did an excellent job.) It seemed a thankless task.

I like Eoin very much, and wish him well with the book. He'll probably write a sixth Hitchhiker's book with more enthusiasm, and certainly faster, than Douglas would have done. But it won't be a Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's book.

For the record, if I don't get around to writing a sequel to something while I'm alive, I'd very much rather that nobody else does it once I'm dead. It should exist in your head or in Lucien's library, or in fanfic. But that's me, and not every author feels the same way.

Hello Neil,

This is almost a dangerous question to ask you, because it is about something John Byrne has said. But as a large proponent of libraries, I was curious as to your thoughts on something he recently stated regarding trade paperbacks in libraries:

"Ever since I started writing for a living, I have found myself viewing libraries somewhat differently than once I did. I think we are all in agreement that libraries are A Good Thing -- but are they A Good Thing right across the board? When we have niche products like comics, is it really a good idea for them to be available in libraries?"

I don't think it's a dangerous question, and it has a remarkably easy and straighforward answer, which is, Yes, it's a very good idea for them to be in libraries.

Hello Neil,

First off, I hope this email finds you well.

I've planned to attend the Library of Congress book festival and just wanted to know if there are any general rules of etiquette for your signings.

Is there a book limit for signing?

Can a say a few words about how much I enjoy your work in person? I promise it won't last longer than 15 nervous seconds.

Most importantly, how early should I arrive before the likely rush of other frothing fans?

These questions constantly roll in my mind. I'd hate to add extra weariness to a likely hot, humid, noisy,(yet still awesome) festival.

Thanks for coming to the southeast!

Sincerely,
Dan

The book limit will depend on how many people there are, and how many people I can get through in the time I've got. It'll be announced at the signing, but it won't be more than three books, and it may well be only one.

And of course you can talk to me. Most people seem to use the signing line as an opportunity to say thank you, and most authors are pleased to hear that they've made a difference, or just to be thanked. We like it if you say hello, honest.

How early you should get there? I don't know. Each time I've signed at the LoC Book Festival it's been different. According to the website this time it's:

Teens & Children Pavilion

11:45-12:15 pm (This is a short reading from The Graveyard Book, and a Q&A).

Book Signing

1-3 pm (and it'll probably go longer if they don't need the space, but may be cut off if they don't have anywhere to move it to, or have something else planned for me at 3.00pm).

We may wind up with people who would like to be at the reading/Q&A who skip it in order to be early in the signing line. But that's if they've actually told people where to line up for the signing, which they may or may not do.

Last time people were in the signing line before dawn. I don't think that would work this time, as I'm not doing a morning signing.

Hey Neil,
I would love to know what time the Columbia University reading is taking place on September 30th. I am very excited t go but don't know what time to arrive. Thanks.

-Dan

The details are now up at http://www.neilgaiman.com/where/ -- according to which it starts at 7.00pm.

I see in "Where's Neil" that you'll be doing a signing in New York City and Philadelphia. With New Jersey right in between, why not a stop here?

Because the people who aren't on the East Coast, some of whom are travelling hundreds of miles to get to the readings, would rise up as one person in their anger at the unfairness of it all, and destroy New Jersey in their rage. Which would be sad, because there are lots of bits of New Jersey that are actually quite nice.

When Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, she (allegedly) attempted to get books she didn't approve of out of the public library. This is scary. Are free speech organizations like the CBLDF and the First Amendment Project going to take this issue on?

No. They are too busy fighting actual cases of censorship from all the way across the political spectrum, to bother with partisan silliness. (Here's the Snopes report on Palin's non-existent Bookbanning.)

What you fight is specifics: bad laws, bad arrests and the like. People trying to ban books and comics and people trying to stop other people selling or publishing or creating comics and books and suchlike.

You don't fight "alleged attempts to get books out of a public library" ten years ago. To "take this issue on" I suspect would consist, Father Ted-like, of people walking around Sarah Palin with placards saying "Down with This sort of Thing" and "Careful Now", which would probably not result in increased freedom of speech.

Hi Neil! This Andrew Drilon (I was the creator "Lines and Spaces", the Alex Niño tribute comic which won the Philippine Graphic/Fiction Award last year). I've been making lots of short comics since then, under the banner title Kare-Kare Komiks, and they've gotten nice comments from people like Emma Bull and Warren Ellis, so I thought you might be interested:

http://www.chemsetcomics.com/category/kare-kare-komiks/

Anyway, I'll be posting "Lines and Spaces" there tomorrow, for those who are planning to enter the contest this year (the deadline's at the end of the month), and I'm hoping you can help spread the word.

Consider it posted.

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I love to read nonfiction – history, biography, environmental essays, memoirs, kid’s books, adult books – and I love to write nonfiction. But last fall I hit a wall.

Before I started writing for children back in the early 90s I wrote nonfiction (art reviews and features and travel features mostly.) I wrote scripts (nonfiction) for interactive educational multimedia programs. Since then I’ve written nonfiction for early and middle grades and I've loved it all.

So what happened last fall? I had just returned from six weeks in Italy and France: singing in Italian cathedrals, basking on Lake Como, bicycling from Geneva to Nice, lolling on the Riviera. Now I love my hometown, Los Angeles, and I love my work. So when jet lag had faded I surveyed my hard drive. I saw several works in progress, and one I was especially eager to complete. But, for the first time in my life….. I didn’t want to write. I was afraid even to think the phrase wr***r’s bl*ck. Or maybe I just wanted to go back and sit by the Mediterranean, sipping cappuccino and eating croissants still warm from a French oven.

At first I didn’t worry: I had heaps of business to take care of. I traveled to Washington DC for the National Book Festival where my latest book, Jeannette Rankin: Political Pioneer, was featured at the Montana State booth. Back home again, nothing had changed. I dared to think the words wr***r’s bl**k and felt worse. My editor wanted another biography from me. I had an idea or two, but nothing stirred the heart. I read my works in progress. Yawn. I slogged through a revision or two. Then I panicked. Was I finished as a writer? Was I doomed to return to Italy and eke out my days drinking cappuccino by Lake Como? (Ha!)

Three months into spinning-through-denial-slogging-and-anxiety, I attended a guided meditation. I lightly floated “my work” into the cosmos and got a reply: “Focus.” I knew just what it meant: work on one genre, rather than skipping from picture book fiction to biographies to middle grade novels – as I have done for years. Furthermore I knew where to focus: biography. I did have those drafts, I did have an editor wanting more.

Now, epiphanies are common as dirt – just like story ideas. Less common are completed stories and epiphanies made manifest. But this one worked for me. With “focus” lighting the way, I finished one biography, began a second, found a third subject while researching the second, and stumbled across a fourth subject while on a field trip for the third.

So what was my problem? Why the writer’s block? Back to the meditation evening. Jotting down thoughts of my experience, I dared put into words what I didn’t like to admit: I have been a slave to status. Just as children’s writers are the proles of the literary world – “anyone can do it!” – with literary novelists as reigning monarchs, my feudal world of children’s literature was ruled by Baron and Baroness Novelists, surrounded by picture book author courtiers. Below stairs in the scullery, lived the – wince – nonfiction writers. None of this was rational, mind you. I know nonfiction to be just as gorgeous – and difficult – as fiction. But my neuroses dwell not in reason’s realm. Anyway, coughing up my dirty secret allowed me to see that it was – to misquote Mr. Scrooge -- just "a bit of undigested beef.” (And I’m a vegetarian!)

I’m happy to report that while I still long for croissants warm from a French oven, I am working again, neither scullery maid nor duchess, but a (mostly) contented scribbler – writing biographies, telling the best stories I can.

Besides, I’m off to Paris in April, thanks to a winning raffle ticket. More about that next month.

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I love Firefox. Have I mentioned that I love Firefox? I was browsing the add-ons this morning and found some good, good stuff. 1-Click Weather, for example: a handly little extension that puts current-weather icons in the status bar at...

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