This is a piece I did for a Educational reader a little while back. It’s interesting how the original story differs from the Disney version that so many of us are familiar with. It’s much darker.

An animator who learned the hard way offers some sagely advice.

Historian and filmmaker John Canemaker will host the conversation with the master character animator.

Hot New Releases & Popular Kids Stories This month is all about middle grade mania; plus a bonus young adult novel! Here are our picks for five kids books that we feel represent some of the best new kids stories releasing this month.

Actor Robin Williams has died at the age of 63 from an apparent suicide.

Stop back next Friday to read the four first pages that agent Quinlan Lee at Adams Literary will critique this coming week.

Quinlan is a published author of numerous books for young readers and more than 15 years of business and project management expertise. She has been a part of the Adams Literary team since 2008, representing clients in all genres from picture books to YA. She enjoys meeting others who share her love of children’s literature and is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and a founding board member of the Charlotte Chapter of the Women’s National Book Association (WNBA).

You can meet her at the New Jersey SCBWI June Conference this year.

Quinlan graduated from Tulane Univeristy and has lived all over the United States—from the mountains of Western Colorado to the Garden District of New Orleans to downtown Chicago—and for the past eleven years she’s been raising her family in Charlotte with her husband, Steve. She has three children who keep her busy with book clubs, homework and identifying creatures in the creek behind their home.

In other news:

At Simon & Schuster Children’s, Alyson Heller has been promoted to editor at Aladdin. In addition, Krista Vossen has been promoted to art director, while Michael McCartney moves up to associate art director and Karina Granda has been promoted to designer.

At Macmillan, Jill Freshney has been promoted to the new position of senior executive managing editor at Macmillan Children’s.

Liesa Abrams has been promoted to associate editorial director,  Aladdin and Simon Pulse.

At Putnam, Liz Stein has been promoted to associate editor.

At Random House Children’s Books, Sharon Burkle and Lora Grisafi have both been promoted to associate art director, while Krister Engstrom moves up to senior designer.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Thank you, PiBoIdMo participants, guest bloggers and illustrators. Do you know what you did?

You helped me raise $433.62 to donate to RIF, Reading is Fundamental.

Your purchases via the PiBoIdMo CafePress Shop made it possible.

With Carol Hampton Rasco, CEO of RIF

For every $10 donated, RIF is able to distribute four books to a child in need.

FOUR BOOKS!

So last month I made my way down to RIF Headquarters in D.C. I toured their offices and talked with RIF staff about the important work they’re doing.

One staff member had just returned from a county in Appalachia, where 28% of the schoolchildren were officially homeless, and where even more lived in crowded trailers with multiple families apiece.

The school Principal told RIF that amazingly, their test scores rose from 9th percentile to the 22nd percentile in just one year. To what did they attribute that growth? RIF! Now that these children have books of their own, they’re able to continue learning at home and over the summer break instead of being left behind. Books are AMAZING. But you already knew that, right?

As part of my trip to RIF, my publisher, the Aladdin imprint of Simon & Schuster, donated 100 copies of THE MONSTORE to the children at Bancroft Elementary in Washington, D.C. I was honored to appear at the school to talk to the children about writing and to personally sign every copy.

The best moment of the day? When I told the children they’d each be going home with a copy of my book. They cheered and hoorayed, and two besties in the front row hugged each other so tight they tumbled over in joy. Now that’s a great day for any author. Thank you, Aladdin and RIF!

I have something else important to tell you.

RIF’s donations have taken a plummet in recent times. The economy has hit them hard. So please consider donating directly. Remember $10 = 4 books!

Donate here. Or here.

And again, thank you for making the PiBoIdMo donation possible!

After three years of tryouts and short runs in a total of four different cities, Disney Theatrical’s version of "Aladdin" finally opened on Broadway March 20th at the New Amsterdam Theatre. So now that it's here, how does it compare to the animated "Aladdin" we all know and love? After seeing the musical a few days ago, here are my observations.

Before I get into the nitty gritty..

Kristin Varner grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah and graduated with a BFA in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design in 1995. Kristin has been operating as KBoom, an illustration and design studio since 1998. Some of her picture books for children include ‘Big Feelings’ and ‘Aladdin – A Tale from the Middle East’. Kristin has lived in Seattle, New York City and just recently moved to Berlin, Germany. To see more of her work, please visit her website at http://www.kboom.com

We are so lucky to see the illustrations for Kristin’s book PINK CUPCAKE MAGIC written by Katherine Tegen that is coming out in January. She has also agreed to give-a-way a signed copy of PINK CUPCAKE MAGIC as soon as she receives her copies. The book comes out in January, which isn’t too far away.

Here is how it will work: Anyone that leaves a comment will get their name put in the hat one time. If you would like to collect more entries into the hat you can do the following:

1 entry everything you tweet this link (One a day).
1 entry for putting this link on facebook

1 entry for putting up this post on your blog.
2 entries if you reblog this post.
5 entries if you talk about the book on your facebook page or blog.

Please come back and leave an update on what you did by December 1st in the comment section, so I know how many times to put your name in the hat for the drawing. I will announce the winner on Wednesday December 4th. Good Luck!

Here is Kristin explaining her digital process:

I always start my work by sketching in my sketchbook. I scan my sketch, resize, manipulate, tweak and clean it up and as needed within Photoshop.

I then flood my sketch with a wash of red. For some reason I just love the way the red reacts with the colors laid on top of it.

I then start painting directly onto the sketch using Corel Painter.

I do a complete underpainting to get down initial colors. Then I go back over with detail brushes for a final rendering.

Final.

Acrylic process

This image was created as a sample for Henry Holt. It landed me my book deal for PINK CUCAKE MAGIC, but it was never actually used in the book.

Final sketch that was initially drawn by hand, and then scanned and manipulated within Photoshop.

When I’m painting with Acrylics rather than working digitally, I have an extra step to get my sketch transferred onto my paper. I stretch a medium weight, hot press watercolor paper and then coat it with a layer of gesso to create a nice textured surface to paint on. If I have the time I will transfer the sketch myself using carbon paper. If it’s a book job and I have several paintings to kick out,  I choose a paper that is thin enough to be run  through an oversized commercial printer and I print my sketches out at the local copy shop, which saves me a ton time.

I flood the image with a wash of my favorite color…..cadmium red.

I then do a complete underpainting in acrylic to block in colors.

I work over the underpainting and render in details.

Final image. Now back to the interior images of the PINK CUPCAKE MAGIC below.

How long have you been illustrating?

I received my first paid illustration assignment in the winter of 1996. So as a “professional”, I’ve been illustrating for a little over 17 years.

I see you lived in Utah and attended graduated with a BFA in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design. How did you decide to attend RISD?

When I was applying to art schools and universities around the country, I was a bit naïve about RISD’s solid reputation. It wasn’t until I was well into my first semester that I realized how fortunate I was to have chosen such a reputable school. But, at the time, I was eager to get out of the conservative influence of Utah and experience something completely new. I was intrigued about living on the East Coast and attracted at what RISD had to offer – especially it’s partnership with Brown University and the opportunity to attend classes at an Ivy League University, which I did indeed do my Sophomore and Junior years.

Can you tell us a little bit about that school?

When I was attending RISD, I felt like the basic fundamentals of art and design were hammered into us. It was a pretty tough environment. I had amazing professors and great classes, but they pushed us hard and we were in studio classes all day and I would work on projects well into the night. I loved it. RISD taught me how to see the world in an entirely new light.

What types of things did you study there?

The first year is foundation and everyone takes the same courses – drawing, two dimensional design, three dimensional design and art history. After declaring my major in Illustration I took the mandatory courses like drawing, painting and conceptual illustration, but for the remaining 3 years I was free to explore within and out of the department, dabbling in mixed media courses, watercolor, poster design, children’s book and editorial illustration, photography, printmaking and on and on.

What classes were your favorites?

I loved almost all of my classes in the Illustration department. I also took a class called “New York, New York” that was in the sculpture department.  We hopped on a bus every other early Friday morning and drove down to New York City where we spent the entire day running after our professor (Ellen Driscoll) who would drag us to museums, galleries, random installations, meetings with art dealers, studio visits and any other nook and cranny in the city that had something interesting going on. It was pretty amazing and unrelated to all of my other illustration studio courses, but I found it to be totally inspiring.

Did the School help you get work?

Only indirectly. I landed some work and made connections by being associated with RISD. It was only a few years later that I found some assignments through RISD’s online job/internship publication called Artworks.

Do you feel that the classes you took there have influenced you style?

Yes I do think my style was somewhat influenced from school, but it’s an on-going process. My style continues to develop the more I experience and continue to research and find inspiration, albeit slowly!

What was the first thing you did where someone paid you for your artwork?

For the first several years after I graduated from RISD, I was doing a lot of editorial work for magazines. My first paid gig was an editorial spot for Utah Business Magazine. It actually turned out quite nice.

Did you move back to Utah after you graduated?

Yes, I unsuccessfully shopped my portfolio around the children’s book publishing houses in New York City for 6 months before finally giving up and I moved back to Salt Lake City, Utah (where I promptly found work!). I stayed in Utah for two years, then moved up to Seattle for eight years and eventually made my way to Brooklyn, New York where I happily lived for another four.

What made you move to Berlin, Germany? How long have you been there?

My musician boyfriend at the time (now fiancé) was itching to leave New York and was drawn to Berlin predominantly for the music scene. We both loved the idea of living in Europe and I’d always wanted to really experience another culture, relish in the cuisine, learn the language etc. I’d spent time In Berlin in 2001 and was fascinated by the history of the city as well as how it’s continuing to rebuild itself today into a creative, modern metropolis. We lived in Berlin just over 3 years.

Do you find the German illustrating market different than the US?

The german children’s book trade market is very different than the US. My first year in Germany, I attended the Frankfurt Book fair and met with several German, Austrian and Swiss publishing houses. I was completely caught off guard when they told me that my style was  “too american” .  German kids books are beautiful. They are sophisticated and often more edgy – sometimes border-lining on the bizarre.  The color palette is much more subdued. Although my work is still punchy and very “american,” I do like to think that the german influence did permeate my style a bit.

Do you think you will move back to the United States?

I loved my life in Berlin and thought we’d never leave, but a big job opportunity came up for my fiancé that we couldn’t pass up on and that brought us back to the States in March. We are living in Seattle now, and even though we were not yet ready to leave Berlin, it is nice to be back in the States with all it’s conveniences and closer to family. It’s funny though, we do find ourselves constantly assessing the pros and cons of living in the two countries.

What was the first illustration work you did for children?

It was actually a job for Macy’s department store in Seattle. They funded an annual mothers day celebration in partnership with the Woodland Park Zoo called “Mom and Me at the Zoo”.  I was hired to create the illustration for the event. I believe that was in 2004.

How did that come about?

The art director at Macy’s found me through my website.

When did you decide you wanted to illustrate a children’s book?

It was 7^th or 8^th grade when I started collecting books solely for their imagery. At that time, I was especially into fantasy art. I can remember flipping through pages of dragons, wizards and magical landscapes and realizing that I really wanted to be illustrating these kind of books as well.

What was your first picture book? Who was the publisher?

“Big Feelings”, published by Parenting Counts

Can you tell us the story behind you getting this job?

I was living in Brooklyn when this book actually came to fruition. It was written by Talaris Institute, who publishes picture books as well as books on childhood development and educational materials for parents. They were a client of an art director, friend of mine back in Seattle. She had used an illustration that I did of an Elephant in a design comp for one of their brochures. Years later, as they were working on the manuscript for BIG FEELINGS, a book all about emotions as told through animals, they re-discovered my elephant painting from years back and contracted me for the job.

Did you do anything specific to get the contract to illustrate ‘Aladdin – A Tale from the Middle East’?

The Aladdin book was for Macmillan UK over in England. They hired me directly through my children’s book agent.

How did you get the opportunity to illustrate a book written by Katherine Tegen?

This opportunity also came about through my agent, although not in typical fashion. My agent routinely sends samples out to publishers and art directors. Katherine Tegen happened to see my samples at Henry Holt and thought my style would be perfect for her book. Since Tegen is an editor and has her own imprint at HarperCollins, she had the pull to get me on board. Holt was a bit nervous in the beginning, risking a no-name illustrator like myself to do a book for a big-wig like Tegen, but they sent me the manuscript and asked me to create a sample for them. In the end, they were pleased as punch and we were off and running.

Is this the first book that you have done with Henry Holt?

Yes.

How excited were you to get to illustrate a book by a famous editor and children’s publisher?

I was absolutely thrilled! It was by far my biggest accomplishment to date. My only apprehension was that I was 7 months pregnant when I landed the contract! I had no idea how I could handle a baby and complete a major picture book in the first several months of becoming a new mom. It all worked out just fine in the end.

Have you done any work for children’s magazines?

Yes, I’ve worked with Highlights HIGH FIVE, Scholastic’s LETS FIND OUT, Scholastic’s “GO!” and I just recently finished a piece for CLUBHOUSE JR.

Have you worked for educational publishers?

The educational market is the bread and butter of my survival as an illustrator. I’ve done countless small readers for educational publishers such as Pearson, MacMillan/McGraw-Hill, Harcourt, Houghton Mifflin and Oxford University Press, to name a few.

Do you have an artist rep or an agent? Could you tell us how the two of you connected?

I’ve been represented by Maggie at Byer-Sprinzeles Agency for about 8 years now. She is also a fellow RISD alumna and she came across my work on the ispot website where I was advertising my portfolio at the time. She sent me a complimentary note about my work and then the dialog progressed toward the possibility of representation. It’s been a wonderful relationship.

Would you ever like to write and illustrate your own book?

Absolutely. I have a few ideas that I’ve been working on, but haven’t put anything on paper just yet.

Are you open to illustrating for self-published authors?

I get approached by at least a half a dozen or so writers every year who are looking to self-publish their manuscript. In most cases the authors have not done much research and have a very limited budget. I have yet to consider taking one on and I don’t think it would be wise for me to do so at this point in my career, unless it was under extraordinary circumstances, or the opportunity to work with a close friend.

What types of things do you do to find illustration work?

These days most of my work is derived directly through my agent and I rely on her to do the majority of my promotion as well. I also advertise my portfolio on the childrensillustrators.com website.

What is your favorite medium to use?

Acrylic paints.

Not counting your paint and brushes, what is the one thing in your studio that you could not live without?

Music. I don’t like working in silence and depending on my mood the genre can vary. I just feel like I’m much more productive when I have tunes on.

Do you try to spend a specific amount of time working on your art?

I don’t have a set time per se but I’m quite a regimented person and my time is more limited these days. When I do have my scheduled work time, I try to make the most of it. If I’m not working on an assignment, I try to sketch or write down ideas for new projects or promotions.

Do you take pictures or do any research before you start a project?

I like to do a ton of research. If I’m working at my drafting table, I will make loads of printouts so that I have a collection of images for reference. I also use books with sticky notes so I can easily flip between pages. I find the bulk of my imagery off google images or getty but I will shoot my own pictures as well if I can’t find the correct angle I’m looking for.

Do you think the Internet has opened doors for you?

Yes. No question about it. The ease of having a portfolio online has provided an opportunity for my work to be seen by art directors, agents, and publishers all over the world.

Do you use Photoshop with your illustrations?

I use Photoshop after I’ve scanned my sketch. Sometimes I’ll spend hours within Photoshop, scaling pieces of my sketch, moving things around, changing proportions,  tweaking and rearranging until I’m happy with the composition. If the illustration is going to stay digital, I will then take the sketch into Corel Painter for a painterly look, or Adobe Illustrator if it’s a more graphic approach. If I’ll be using my acrylics to paint, I will print the sketch back out and transfer it onto watercolor paper.

Do you own or have you ever tried a graphic Drawing Tablet?

Yes I use the basic Intuos Wacom tablet. I can’t function with a mouse anymore. I am very tempted to try using a Cintiq.

N

Have you ever won an award for your writing or illustrating?

The “Aladdin – A Tale from the Middle East” book won the 2011 Language Learner Literature Award in the Young Learner category. Otherwise, I’m terrible about submitting my work to competitions and seem to be about two weeks late when finally getting around to those call for entry forms.

Do you think your style has changed over the years? Have your materials changed?

My style has certainly changed since my early days. I still have slides of my portfolio from high school and my RISD years. I always document my work for my own personal library, whether I think it’s horrible or stupendous. I keep an active folder on my computer containing a catalog of all my current and past pieces. It’s very gratifying for me to occasionally go back and review past projects and see how my work has progressed. My materials have not changed. I’m still using acrylic paints, but over time I’ve developed a specific process of how I’m using them. The same goes for when I’m working on the computer. I have my own method that has evolved over time.

Do you have any career dreams that you want to fulfill?

#1. I’d like to start writing my own books as well as illustrating.

#2. I’d like to have my work shown in galleries.

#3. I love teaching. I taught Adobe Illustrator classes to professionals in New York at Noble Desktop and I think teaching is my true calling. I’d like to teach again, perhaps an illustration course focusing on the Children’s  Market on a collegiate level.

What are you working on now?

I’m wrapping up a small assignment for Pearson Education right now and will be starting on a few small Young Readers starting in October.

Do you have any material type tips you can share with us? Example: Paint or paper that you love – the best place to buy – a new product that you’ve tried – A how to tip, etc.

I use Golden for my acrylic paints. I find them to be especially fluid to work with. They’re a great company. I had issues with some faulty caps when I was right in the middle of working on a big educational book assignment. They overnight, shipped me brand new tubes of paint over to Germany without any hesitation.

Any words of wisdom on how to become a successful writer or illustrator?

I had a professor at RISD who’s advice has stuck with me over the years. He said that as an illustrator, we should always create our best possible work, even when the client or job seems insignificant. Treat every assignment as if it were golden. I truly believe that persistence pays off at some point down the line….just be patient!

What are some of the companies you have worked with?

Partial client list:

Children’s Museum of Utah Crocodile Creek Hartcourt Brace & Co. Highlights for Children Houghton Mifflin Company Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Oxford University Press Parenting Counts Press PBS Kids Quarasan Scholastic Pearson Education Sun Dance Publishing

Thank you Kristin for sharing your talent, expertise, and journey with us and double thanks for giving us a chance to win a signed copy of your book. It looks like so much fun. You can visit Kristin at: www.kristinvarner.com

Don’t miss your chance to win and leave a comment about Kristin illustrations and book. See above to see what things you can do to increase your chances to win.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

Among the juicier dramas surrounding the production of the megahit Despicable Me 2 is Al Pacino’s sudden departure from the film. Six weeks before the film’s premiere at Annecy, Pacino quit the film as the voice of the antagonist El Macho. Neither side will say what happening, simply citing ‘creative differences.’

At that point, the production was nearly finished and the animation had already been locked. This sent Illumination head Chris Meledandri scrambling to find a replacement, which turned out to be Benjamin Bratt. Since no new animation could be created at that late stage, Bratt re-recorded the dialogue by matching the existing animation, and in true Hollywood fashion, they fixed it all in post.

The controversy serves as a perfect case study for one of the long-running debates in the animation world, which is whether celebrities make any box office impact on the success or failure of an animated feature.

Back in the early-1990s, when Robin Williams provided the voice of the Genie in Aladdin, he earned scale pay for his performance, which was less than $100,000, so it hardly mattered whether celebrities affected the bottomline. But today, celebrities demand lucrative fees for their voices and drive film budgets up by tens of millions of dollars. Owen Wilson took home $2.5 million for Cars 2, Cameron Diaz had a $10 million payday for Shrek Forever After and Tom Hanks earned a reported $15 million for Toy Story 3.

What would happen if you took a celebrity out of one of these films? Would audiences still show up? That’s exactly what happened with Despicable Me 2. The result? It was the fourth-biggest opening ever for an animated feature in the United States.

Those who create animation know the reality: audiences don’t go see animated features because Al Pacino is in it. They go see animated films because they want to be entertained, and the quality of the animation performance and storytelling are far bigger factors than who voices any particular character. The most popular characters in Despicable Me 2, the minions, are voiced by two no-name French actors—Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin. They’re not well known actors because they were the directors of the film.

The celebrity culture of animated features won’t change anytime soon. Studios believe that they derive benefits from having A-listers in films because audiences love celebrities. But there’s no empirical evidence that audiences are attracted to famous voices in the same way that they are attracted to seeing those actors in the flesh.

Still, celebrities do play one hugely important role in the animation process. They pad the egos of fragile animation executives who would otherwise be embarrassed to tell people they produce animation. At Hollywood parties, these execs can tout to their friends that they, too, are working with A-list Hollywood stars. Because after all, who would want to tell their friends that the stars of their hit film is two French dudes named Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin?

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious does not even begin to describe the week I’ve been having! I know, I know, why should YOU care? Frankly, I don’t know. The fact that anyone other than my mother reads this blog blows my mind.

First, on Friday, my agent said she loves the 900-word picture book I just wrote. Who knew that many words was possible? I tend to stick to the 500-is-best rule, but this story was too ambitious to fit in such a tiny space. So it’s busting out into the world and I hope it writes home soon. Au revoir, dahlink!

Next, I spoke at the RUCCL One-on-One Plus conference. And people thanked me for my speech! To know that I helped a few mentees feel less nervous that day—whoa! Mission accomplished.

And now, I have an announcement!

Drum roll please….

Oh, you’re an animal, Animal!

I have an illustrator for I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAR BOOK (Aladdin/S&S, 2014)!

And he is full of awesome sauce! (Although he’s from the UK, so that might be called “admirable gravy” across the pond, I dunno.)

Without further ado (and I do a lot of ado), it’s…

(No, that’s not Benji in the picture. Although I think that may be me on a non-showering day.)

Benji is the admirable gravy behind such books as DINO PARADE and HODGE THE HEDGEHOG (which I mistakenly thought was about John Hodgeman), plus the delightful interactive book app series from Nosy Crow, BIZZY BEAR.

So can you tell I’m absolutely tickled to have him working on my book?

This is one of the most exciting parts of being a picture book author—finding out who your illustrator will be and falling in book love. (Not to be confused with marriage love, as I am already taken by a dashing computer geek. And yes, you can use the words “dashing” and “computer geek” in the same sentence. Although to the computer geek, it may have a programming connotation.)

So check out Benji’s work, congratulate him, and also give him fair warning that he’s working with an absolute nut. He may require counseling after the book launch.

After all, I called him “admirable gravy”!

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

I have been interested in The Goddess Girls for a while, but I was reluctant to go back and try to catch up on the series.  Medusa the Mean is the eighth installment, and when I had the opportunity to be part of a blog tour, I jumped at the chance.  I ‘m glad that I did, too.  I had no problems following along with the plot, and found this to be a very fun MG read.

Medusa has a few issues.  She wants to be popular, and she wants super hottie Poseidon to notice her.  The problem? Nobody is tripping over themselves to be her friend.  Who wants to be BFFs with a mortal girl with snakes for hair?  Her own parents don’t even seem to care for her, so it’s easy to see how Medusa developed an Olympus sized chip on her green shoulder.

I was extremely sympathetic toward Medusa.  She is one of the only mortals to attend Mount Olympus Academy, and she feels that she doesn’t fit in.  She longs to be immortal and to have powers like her sisters.  It’s hard being the only triplet  without special powers!  Medusa is so desperate to obtain immortality that she falls for gimmicks that keep getting her into trouble.

Despite her desire to have friends, Medusa is wary of her peers.  Being the object of ridicule will do that, and Medusa is often the butt of jokes and teasing.  It seems that only her snakes accept her for who she really is.  With her trust issues, she keeps rejecting the friendly overtures from the girls she longs to be friends with.  I could relate to Medusa and her social awkwardness.  It’s hard to make friends when you worry constantly that people are only setting you up for a joke.  Instead, she reacts with snarky comebacks, or worse, ignores everyone in the vicinity.  While she keeps finding fault in herself, she feels that she must also find fault in others.

Medusa the Mean is a quick, feel good read.  Though I was starting to worry that Medusa would never catch a clue, she eventfully learns that being friends is a two-way street.  She learns that if she wants people to like her, she can’t be selfish and self-absorbed.  Most importantly, she has to accept herself for who she is, and stop judging people based on their looks, instead of their personality.  I enjoyed the characters and the setting, and wouldn’t hesitate to read more books in the Goddess Girls series.

Grade: B

Review copy provided by {teen} Book Scene

Hi, Team Canterwood,

I hope you’re all having a good summer so far! I thought I owed you all an explanation about some changes to come. This will give you a heads up about what to expect from me and all things Canterwood.

Some of you may be familiar with the vlogs I’ve done from the Canterwood covers photo shoot…the vlogs where I chat with the models, interview the stylists and give TC all-access behind the scenes. I’ve been receiving a few e-mails and comments asking when you would get to “meet” Lauren Towers and the new cast of characters. You guys are so sweet and I love that you’re all interested in LT!

Unfortunately, I will not, and nor will Kate, be allowed to attend the latest shoot next month. My imprint, Aladdin, has issued an across the board policy that extends to all authors. None of us, even if we have previously attended cover shoots, are able to be present for future shoots. I was just told that this new rule went into effect recently, so I will not be able to introduce you to Lauren and her friends/frenemies. Of course, this was saddening news for a number of reasons, but mostly because I'm prohibited from bringing you content I was so looking forward to sharing.

But! Here’s what I will be doing:

Releasing new covers to you as I’m given them so we all can get excited together

Posting new head shots from the upcoming covers photo shoot when they are ready

Creating trailers for the upcoming books

Keeping up with Lauren on her new blog: http://laurentowers.blogspot.com

Checking out LT’s Offical Tweets (FYI: No other characters have official Twitter accounts that are monitored by me) @Lauren_Towers

Vlogging on my own

Continuing to blog to keep TC in the know about the latest happenings

As I mentioned, I’m sorry about this new rule because you are the ones who lose in the end. But I am looking forward to writing the books you love and offering you as much as I’m able.

xx

The war against terror didn’t end with Osama. Now it’s time to go after the root of Islamic terrorism — Disney’s 1992 feature Aladdin. The Tea Party Youth LA is starting its campaign in Orange County, home of Disneyland and patriotic Americans fighting terror.

The video was created by Sameer Asad Gardezi, a staff writer for TV series like Modern Family, and Outsourced. He created the satirical piece as a response to the fervid anti-Muslim rally (linked above) that took place a few months ago in Yorba Linda, California, which is Gardezi’s hometown.

(via Angry Asian Man)

Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation | Permalink | 2 comments | Post tags: Aladdin

Right now, I feel like I've consumed ALL of these:


Because...

My amazing editor, Kate Angelella, who is a total , has decided that she's willing to put up with my overly caffeinated phone calls, Twittering in her presence and my obsession with R Pattz and has asked me to write books 9-12 in the Canterwood Crest series!!

Dance party! :)

This means Sasha and friends get to ride on for four more books!

To everyone who made it happen (again!!) I'm so, so grateful and am thrilled to have all of you on Team Canterwood! Aladdin MIX = awesome.

I'm in total shock right now and can't even find the words to express how happy I am to be able to continue the stories of Sasha and her friends. I *never* thought I'd have twelve books. Never. And it would not have happened without the amazing, continued support of people who've backed me all the way.

I looked back through my blog and my last book deal was in December. So many things have changed since then, but my intense love for my books hasn't. If anything, it has grown because of the wonderful fans who love the books and show it!

And this time last year? I was squeeing on the phone with EK when she sent me the cover for TAKE THE REINS, my first book.

Insane.

*breathes*

The books will continue on the bi-monthly pub schedule, so stay tuned for dates, covers and all of that fun stuff coming soon.

Again, I want to thank Kate for working side-by-side with me on this crazy schedule, for loving the books as much as I do and for listening to all of my insecurities and being the first one to know that I can do this. I'm beyond grateful to you for everything.

I read DORK DIARIES: TALES FROM A NOT-SO-FABULOUS LIFE yesterday and am crazy about this book! Okay, okay, so the cover alone was enough to draw me in. I know--wrong way to pick a book, huh? It was also in the book's favor that it was edited by the super talented Liesa Abrams. I knew it would be good.

DORK DIARIES is laugh out loud hilarious and I couldn't put it down. The illustrations (also done by author Rachel Renee Russell are fab) and I loved the story line. Nikki is your every girl and her situations are so real and engaging. This book is from Simon & Schuster's Aladdin line and while aimed at tweens, I (at 22) totally loved it.

Find it here!

I am reading BOY MEETS BOY right now and then am off for drinks with fellow Aladdin MIXers PG Kain and Taylor Morris. They're taking me to The Flatiron Lounge. The Website looks super cool. :)

Today's Ypulse Youth Advisory Board comes from Megan Reid who weighs in on some of the recent debates sparked by Disney's upcoming "Princess and the Frog." Remember, you can communicate directly with any member of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board... Read the rest of this post

New Agent Q&A:
Mark McVeigh, The McVeigh Agency...

With years of editorial experience under his belt—most recently as Editorial Director for S&S imprint Aladdin Books, with prior stints at Dutton, Scholastic, Random House and HarperCollins—Mark McVeigh established The McVeigh Agency early in 2009.

"I am a very hands-on, old-school agent who likes to edit manuscripts as much as I like to negotiate deals." he says. "My favorite agents were always what I called 'honest sharks,' out to get the best deal for their client, always looking ahead, but always conduced business in such a way that everyone came away as happy as possible. In short—they had integrity and determination to represent their clients to the best of their abilities, and that’s what I aspire to."

After working in editorial for so many years, what made you put on the agent hat ?

To be honest, I've always been a strong advocate for the creative people behind the books, and agenting seemed like a new and exciting way to get even more involved with them.

You said: “If a person has a unique idea, concept, or vision and a voice, I'll do all I can to help them shape it into a manuscript that can work in today’s market.” Sounds like you plan to have a very hand-on agenting style. What will you do for your clients?

I'll always be an editor. And every editor knows the agents who spend the time to read and critique a writer's draft—working with them to make sure they're putting out their best work—before sending it out. So I anticipate working closely with authors who like feedback so that when the manuscript finally makes its way to an editor, it has been polished to a high sheen.

What type of material are you looking to represent?

I'm doing everything from adult fiction, nonfiction and art books to every kind of children's book known to humankind—and beyond! Click here for more information.

Are you open to unsolicited submissions? If so, how do you want material submitted?

E-mail queries to [email protected] are best.

Are you planning to attend any upcoming conferences or events at which writers could meet you?

I'll be making the rounds of SCBWIs--the best thing to do is check the various regional listings.

My website is up as of April 2009: www.themcveighagency.com and I hope all of your readers will visit regularly to see what my wonderful people are up to.

• For more information about all things agent, visit Chuck Sambuchino's Guide to Literary Agent's blog.
• If you'd like information about our book Guide to Literary Agents, click here.
  

Spring. A false promise when you live in Montreal where the groundhog shrugs in February and doesn't even bother checking on his shadow. Spring just lingers on the sidelines as the long days full of sunlight trick us into thinking the warmth will soon follow. And it will follow. But it will be in May.

Spring. A busy time for me. MILO is now in front of me and as I jump in with my fabulous editor at Aladdin, Liesa Abrams, I get to re-visit the story and fix my boo-boos and strengthen some of the connective fiber that feels a tad flabby.

What I am loving is getting my cartooning muscle back into shape as I add and fix the cartoons that make Milo the special project that it is. I love the feeling. And love how my narrative can stop and then a cartoon makes the punctuation mark. Like in this cartoon from MILO - where he and his friend Hilary have just had a heavy talk and then Milo sees some older kids and wishes he could be as cool and wear a wool cap all year long...


...and then back in the narrative Milo gets it. And vows to burn all his wool caps when he gets home.

Being busy is a good thing. And watching your work grow and bloom is a springtime gift even if I still have to wear my winter coat. It's springtime in my office. And for now, that's good enough for me.

by E. L. Konigsburg illustrations by Gail E. Haley, Mercer Mayer, Gary Parker and Laurel Schindelman Atheneum 1971 I would have hated this book as a kid. I would never have picked it up. I would have started the first story and felt alienated by the language of it, an almost disjointed voice. I would have jumped around and looked at the illustrations for the stories and would have walked