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Fun Fact: Remember that Re-Seussification Project I posted?  And how it happened to come out the day before the birthday of the good doctor himself?  Total coincidence.  I had no idea.  At the same time The Lorax has come out in theaters.  Know how I know?  Because every other minute there’s an ad on my television featuring the Lorax.  Seems he’ll sell anything these days.  Chaps my hide.  Chaps Stephen Colbert’s too, I’m happy to report.

Full credit to this next link.  This compilation of Judy Blume pop culture references has earned my respect, partly because it included the two I already knew of (Sawyer reading her book on LOST and the Saturday Night Live skit).  Very fun to watch.

Which, naturally, leads to this.  And I suppose it isn’t workplace appropriate.  But it is sweet.

That was recorded almost half a year ago.  I assume they’ve met by now, yes?  I mean, she is married to a Newbery winner.

I think this is applicable to our usual subject matter today.  After all, I suspect that there are a few authors out there for kids that still use typewriters.  I used one as recently as 2006 in conjunction with my job.  Plus this is a great little piece.

Thanks to Playing By the Book for the link.

I’ve shown the video of Christopher Walken reading The Three Little Pigs before.  This one, though, is new to me.  We never see him who I’m not wholly convinced it’s actually him.  It’s a possibility, though.  A distinct possibility.

Thanks again to Playing By the Book for the link.

And finally, for our off-topic video, what can I say?

Baby otters.

Thanks to Dan McCoy for the link.

Zynga is launching a stand-alone platform on Zynga.com (for fans that want to play its games outside of Facebook. The move isn’t a complete break from the social media giant, though — users will still buy in-game items using Facebook... Read the rest of this post

• “I just finished a poem where St. Francis and St. Clare double-date with Thoreau and Evita and it just makes me very happy.”  My mother was the winner of the 2011 Prairie Schooner Book Prize because she is as good as it gets.  No brag.  Just fact.  Prairie Schooner recently interviewed her as well and I recommend looking at it, partly because this my mother we’re talking about and she makes me very proud and partly because it raises the old interview bar, so to speak.  Clearly I need to put more work into my own.

• Once in a great while my husband’s occupation and my own will intersect.  He is a screenwriter and will alert me to interesting news items on the cinematic side of things.  This week he pointed me to a ScriptShadow piece.  If you are unfamiliar with the site it’s where a fellow going by the name of “Carson Reeves” reads and reviews the scripts that have recently sold in Hollywood and critiques them long before they are turned into films.  Each Friday Carson has something he calls Amateur Friday where folks submit their own screenplays for his review.  Last Friday someone handed in a script called Fifi, A Monkey’s Tale.  Those of you familiar with the story behind Curious George will recognize this as the original title of that manuscript.  The script essentially tells the tale of the Reys’ escape from the Nazis in WWII.  Only to punch it up a bit the screenwriter (and I kinda love this) rewrote history so that Goebbels himself wants Mr. Rey destroyed.  Something you have to see for yourself, I think.

• Do you like awards?  Do you like children’s books that come from countries other than America?  Well then, folks, have I got great news from you.  After her recent trip to Italy to judge the awards, Jules at 7-Imp let me know that the winners have been announced:

The 2012 Bologna Ragazzi Awards have just been announced! Here are links for interested folks:

Fiction winner and mentions: http://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/en/boragazziaward/images_award/fiction;
Nonfiction winner and mentions:http://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/en/boragazziaward/images_award/non_fiction;
New Horizons winner and mentions:http://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/en/boragazziaward/images_award/new_horizons;
Opera Prima winner and mentions (Opera Prima is for new artists):http://www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com/en/boragazziaward/images_award/opera_prima.

• I long for the day Save NYC Libraries can be shut down, but until that happy day occurs it’s a hugely useful and well-organized site for fighting mayoral cuts.  Recently the mayor rolled out his old budget again and yep.  You guessed it.  We’re
  5 Comments on Fusenews: Shelve the books but shelve them slant, last added: 2/24/2012
  Display Comments
  tanita said, on 2/23/2012 1:15:00 AM
  

  Your mom is, as always, kind of amazing. I aspire to her grasp of the sestina…

  Ed Spicer said, on 2/23/2012 5:53:00 AM
  

  And all this time I have been here in Kalamazoo reading about and admiring yet another astonishingly good writer from the Kalamazoo area… I never knew. I can see your mother in you. Wear that pride proudly!

  Ed Spicer said, on 2/23/2012 6:01:00 AM
  

  Thanks, too, for posting the various award lists–I always appreciate seeing what is available internationally (and then become seriously miffed that we don’t have places close to my home that will have the actual books).

  Elizabeth Bird said, on 2/23/2012 8:53:00 AM
  

  Thanks, Tanita! And Ed, if you ever stopped by the Athena Bookshop back in the day you would have run into her. These days she does do some work with the libraries. FYI!

  Ed Spicer said, on 2/24/2012 10:07:00 AM
  

  Loved Athena and visited often. Was sad to see it go away. I’m sure I must have had several conversations with you mom (and George Hebben). The staff in general was excellent and they also provided all the books for the KPL events.

  Add a Comment

The amazing JUDY BLUME was a surprise guest at the 40th anniversary SCBWI Conference this summer! What a treat! She sat down with SCBWI President Lin Oliver to talk shop, and all us attendees got a little insight into the brilliant Blume and her writing process.

Judy Blume’s Thoughts on Her Writing Process:

Typewriter vs. Computer:

• Before computers she used to write through a first draft (start to finish). She’d get the draft done. But with a computer she doesn’t do that anymore. Now she can go back and keep revising. That’s bad in her opinion. It was better before when she’d go through a whole draft first.
• When she wrote on a typewriter she would do five drafts and then send it to her editor.

On  Writing First Drafts:

• “I’m a terrible first draft writer! I’m a reviser!”
• The first draft is about finding the pieces to the puzzle. The second draft is putting it together. And you go on from there.

On Revision:

• She likes to print out and scribble all over her drafts with a pen.
• It took her 23 drafts to write the book “Summer Sisters”. She didn’t feel like she knew what she was writing. It took her three years to write and it was so painful she said “I’m never doing this again.”
• She says she’s never really understood the creative process, but she has enough faith (after 40 years) that it will come to her again.

On Plotting:

• “I’m so sucky at plot! It’s not how the story comes to me.”
• Her son says she’s the least analytical person he knows.

How to Start a Book:

• When she gets an idea she lets it percolate for a long long time before writing.
• She says she knows she will start a book on the day something different happens. Sometimes she has to write pages and pages and pages before that moment and the real book starts.

When You Know It’s Working:

• “I love it when I laugh out loud. I cry a lot. If I’m writing a sexy scene and I’m not turned on it’s not working!”
• The stuff that’s gonna work is what’s coming from deep deep inside.

Judy Blume is one of the most widely read authors of juvenile and teen fiction. Her many books include: Tiger Eyes, Are You There God It’s Me Margaret, Blubber, Forever, The Fudge Series, and Just as Long as We’re Together. Her novels have exceeded sales of 80 million and have been translated into 31 languages.

1. Judy Blume. How can I even begin to describe what it was like to be so close to THE Judy Blume? The woman was so gracious, so kind, so intelligent, and so very REAL. The first novel I think I ever read was Are You There God? It's me, Margaret. I remember that special feeling of being entirely wrapped up in Margaret's world. I loved it. I loved it so much that I never stopped reading and seeking new worlds with new characters. Hearing about Judy's process and journey was inspiring beyond belief. 
2. Norton Juster. The first fantasy book I ever read was The Phantom Tollbooth. It was also the first book I ever read more than once. I had the opportunity to tell Norton Juster that, to which he looked me dead in the face and replied, "Fantasy? That's my life." How can I not love him? How can I not love a book that's remained AMAZING after 50 years, and that my own son loves just as much as I did? I think I might have to go read it again...
3. Laurie Halse Anderson. Speak. She gave voice to difficult subject matter that may make some uncomfortable, but saves lives on a daily basis. At the conference, she taught me to embrace my creative need for self-expression, and to nurture the "seed" in my soul. 
4. Donna Jo Napoli. Her speech was possibly my favorite. And that's really saying something as I gave more standing ovations than I have in my life. It was titled: How Writing About Terrible Things Makes Your Reader a Better Person. And she spoke to not just those who need to see others who've gone through similar things, but to the sheltered who benefit from exposure to truths beyond their own. 
5. Libba Bray. I saved my favorite for last of course. My hero. Her speech was just as amazing as I hoped and so was she. Funny, intelligent, friendly, and talented. Libba - I would have voted you Prom Queen in high school. I'm just sayin'. She let us know that even the super stars go through rough times, and are plagued by self-doubt. 

Editor Phyllis Grann will retire from her position at Doubleday. In a letter written by editor-in-chief Sonny Mehta, he praised Grann “as a brilliant editor and savvy businesswoman.”

Grann has worked in publishing for four decades. Prior to Doubleday, she held editorial positions at William Morrow, Simon & Schuster, and Penguin Group (USA). She has worked with several celebrated authors including Tom Clancy, Judy Blume, and Patricia Cornwell.

Grann explained: “Doubleday has allowed me to continue doing what I love. And as much as I have enjoyed the work, I now feel it is time to step back.” Following her last day on June 9th, she will be available as a consultant and freelance editor.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

A lot of people stop by this site because they’re curious to learn what it takes to not only write a children’s book, but to write a successful one. Some authors appear at workshops where they charge hundreds of dollars to dispense such insider tips. Not me. Today, I’m giving the good stuff out for free. I only ask that you thank me in your acknowledgements and cut me in on any foreign rights. It’s a fair trade for this invaluable wisdom. Let’s get down to it.

First off, the old advice is often the best advice. Write what you know. Do you know a puppy that’s a bit poky? How about some teenagers who hunt each other for sport? Connecting with children is about connecting with the world around you. A few monkeys don’t hurt either. That’s right. Forget wizards, vampires and zombies. Monkeys are what distinguish great children’s books. Try to imagine The Secret Garden without Jose Fuzzbuttons, the wisecracking capuchin whose indelible catchphrase “Aye-yaye-yaye, Mami, hands off the yucca!” is still bandied about schoolyards today? I don’t think you can.

Of course, the magic that is artistic inspiration must find its way in there. So how do you grab hold of it? Christopher Paolini swears by peyote-fueled pilgrimages to the Atacama Desert. I’m more of a traditionalist. A pint of gin and a round of Russian Roulette with Maurice Sendak always gets my creative juices flowing. Have fun. Experiment. Handguns and hallucinogens need not be involved. Though I see no reason to rule them out. Find what works for you.

Now, you’ll inevitably face a little writer’s block. There are two words that cure this problem and cure it quick. Public Domain. Dust off some literary dud and add spice to it. Kids dig this stuff. For instance, you could take some Edith Wharton and inject it with flatulence. The Age of Innocence and Farts.  Done. Easy. Bestseller.

I give this last bit of advice with a caveat. Resist the temptation to write unauthorized sequels to beloved classics. I speak from experience. My manuscripts for You Heard What I Said Dog, Get Your Arse Outta Here! and God? Margaret Again…I’m Late have seen the bottom of more editors’ trash cans than I care to mention. Newbery bait? Sure. Immune to the unwritten rules of the biz? Hardly.

Okay, let’s jump forward. So now you’ve got your masterpiece, but how the heck are you going to sell the thing? Truth be told, you’re going to need an advanced degree first. As anyone will inform you, kid lit authors without PhDs or MFAs are rarely taken seriously. If you can’t work Derrida or Foucault into a pitch letter, then you certainly can’t survive a 30-minute writing workshop with Mrs. Sumner’s 5th period reading class. So invest 60-100K and 3-6 years of your life. Then let the bidding war begin.

In the off chance that your book isn’t going to sell for six figures, try blackmail. Sounds harsh, but the children’s book industry runs almost exclusively on hush money and broken kneecaps. I mean, Beverly Cleary doesn’t even own a car. So why is she always carrying a tire iron?

Money is now under the mattress and the editorial process begins. Don’t worry at all about this. Editors won’t even read your book. They’ll simply call in Quentin Blake for some illustrations and then run the whole thing through a binding machine they keep in the back of the o

Judy Blume Journal Contest

"Tell us your Judy Blume story or memory and enter to WIN an iPod Touch®, personalized message from Judy Blume, iTunes® gift card, and a collection of audiobooks! The five entries with the most votes will become finalists."

• Contest is open to all legal residents of U.S. and Canada (excluding Québec) who are age 13 years or older as of January 3, 2011.

• Contest will run from Jan. 3, 2011 - Feb. 18, 2011

As we head home for the weekend, we wanted to make sure you had plenty of publishing headlines to keep you busy. Email GalleyCat to get all our publishing stories, book deal news, videos, podcasts, interviews, and writing advice in a daily email newsletter.

You can now RSVP for our eBook Summit Book Pitch Party on November 3rd. Sign up to enjoy the party or submit your book proposal for a chance to win a free ticket to the summit.

Peter Jackson started work on his adaptation of The Hobbit as casting rumors flew. While you wait, watch the English translation of a Finnish Hobbit miniseries embedded above.

In a smart local strategy, Harvard Book Store launched a bicycle delivery program.

Jay-Z scattered pages from his memoir around the world.

We showed you how to type in your own handwriting on your computer.

Salman Rushdie inked a deal for his unfinished memoir.

Judy Blume wrote a script for Tiger Eyes; her son will direct it.

We unveiled two petition to get authors on Dancing with the Stars.

Still want more? Check out our Weekend Reading archives.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Hillary Clinton tells teens 'It Gets Better' (giving the anti-bullying social media campaign a nice dose of political legitimacy — I especially like that she tells LGBT youth who are struggling to "ask for help." Meanwhile, GLAAD urges... Read the rest of this post

I write this post with some hesitation. First off, the question in the title is not my own. It’s a search term that someone used to click-through to this blog. But my hesitation doesn’t arise from a fear that the quesioner might be reading the blog now, because I didn’t provide the type of information he or she seeks. They saw that I deal in pure ridiculousness and vowed never to return. The reason I hesitate is because it makes me sad. Every time I think about it. Writing about it is worse. It causes me to imagine two scenarios:

1. A boy has just started dating his first girlfriend. He adores her. He stays up late, writing poetry about her. He even imagines marrying her some day. But he’s not quite ready for that. Kissing comes first. He meets her somewhere quiet – a park, maybe a trail behind the school that leads to creek. They hold hands. They sit on a rock and try to kiss. Their teeth strike into each other. They give it another go. It’s soft and sweet and not what either of them imagined. But it’s nice. They haven’t told anyone about their relationship yet. They like to imagine that their love is star-crossed, that their parents wouldn’t approve of something so intense and true. It’s all very Alex Chilton. The next day, the boy goes to school. He’s beaming. He’s not one to kiss and tell but he tries to steer conversations to his new girlfriend. He expects his pals to say things like, “she’s the greatest girl that ever lived,” or “she’s what rainbows are made of.” Instead they say, “That girl? She’s ugly. Even uglier than Penny Dobson.” It would be an understatement to say this deflates the boy’s sails. He wonders if he has to end it now before anyone finds out. But he’s not going to jump the gun. He’ll do his research first. He consults Google. He starts by searching “Are Any Girls Uglier Than Penny Dobson?” Not very helpful. So he goes general. “Are Some Girls Uglier Than Others?” The Indubitable Dweeb provides little help in this department, but other sites lead him down a rabbit hole to disillusionment and heartbreak.

2. A girl comes back from a family vacation to Florida. The women on the beaches were like nothing she’d ever seen in real life. Perfectly molded into their bikinis. Tan and TV-worthy. She’s grown past reading Judy Blume and now thumbs through her older sister’s copies of Cosmo. She doesn’t get it all, but that’s the appeal. In the cafeteria, she watches from behind her bagged lunch as the eighth grade girls come and go. She gauges their levels of development, imagines them in bikinis. Back at home, in the mirror, she takes a ruler and measures her nose, her ears, etc. She logs the measurements and wonders if there’s some computer program you can enter such things into. Does the data reveal incontrovertible facts? Still, she has a strong sense of what she really wants to know. It’s simple. It’s obvious. She feels almost stupid for writing it, because it’s something a kid would write. But in the back of her mind she thinks that maybe there’s a scientific study that proves conventional wisdom wrong, that exposes middle school cliques for what they are. She goes to Google. She does her search. She finds The Indubitable Dweeb. As she sighs and checks the other search results, her Mom

Looking Back on CWIM: The 1998 Edition
In which I Interview Judy Blume and edit Richard Peck...

There were some intimidating moments as I worked on the 1998 CWIM. First Richard Peck agreed to write a feature for me Looking at YA Past & Present (which he composed on a typewriter just as he did his novels) and I went through revisions with him. It was my fifth edition of CWIM, I was still in my twenties, and I feeling a little like a baby editor.

But that was nothing compared to interviewing the woman who arguably had more influence on my childhood than anyone else: Judy Blume.

I met Judy at an SCBWI conference autograph party to which I arrived ridiculously early so I could be at the front of her line. As I said in my article intro, after she told me she was open to doing an interview, "I ran up to my hotel room and called my husband, my mom, my sister and a few of my girlfriends to tell them I talked to Judy Blume and somehow managed not to wet my pants." (After the book came out and Judy got her copy, she sent me a letter thanking me for the interview. It said "I'm so glad you didn't wet your pants," which she underlined in the purple pen she used to sign her name. I framed the letter and hung it next to my bookcase.)

Here is part of our conversation from the 1998 CWIM in which we talked about teen sex, birth control, my chubby childhood, and masturbation, among other things:

What's your advice for writer who are tackling [controversial subjects]?

For me the best thing is to not even know there's a problem, and to write from the place deep inside, where you're not thinking about anything but telling the best story you can tell. And if it becomes an issue, deal with it afterwards. One of the great fears, with this climate of censorship we have today, is that writers will censor themselves and the losers will be the kids. Writers are hungry. They want to be published. If they think they can't be published by writing about something, then maybe they won't write about it.

The '70s was a very writer- and kid-friendly time because there was less fear in the marketplace and more concern about publishing the best books and getting them to the kids, books kids could really relate to. All publishing has changed drastically in the last couple of years. The whole marketplace--everything has changed. That's a topic I'm probably not even qualified to talk about, but it's become much more like the movie business--it's driven by the bottom line. It's all economics, the way things are marketed now. So if you just look at children's publishing--has it changed? Yes. Is there more fear now in publishing? I don't know. There was, but maybe now people are sick of pandering to the censors.

If you would have begun writing in, say, 1995 instead of the late '60s, do you think it would have been more difficult for you to get your work published?

Some Friday Afternoon Led (stats) for Your Head...

File this under apropos of nothing/just for fun, but I felt the need to share my IT professional brother's latest word research here on my CWIM blog.

My brother and my classic-rock-digging teenage niece were listening to Led Zeppelin in the car, he tells me, and they had their usual discussion about how a rock song can't be a true rock song without the word babe or baby in it, or a reference to a female. "So," says my bro, "I decided to find a way to count the frequency of each word in all Led Zep songs. I included the titles of the song in my search, and used a lyrics list compiled by an obsessed fan who painstakingly documented what Robert Plant actually sung in their songs."

Here are my brother's Led Zeppelin word counts. Should I set him to work on the Judy Blume catalog? On what three occasions does Plant sing "lollipop"? And why isn't Houses of the Holy on my iPod?

Click here for the online word frequency counter my brother used. Might be fun to apply to your WIP!

821 the
695 i
673 ah
632 you
603 oh
548 a
491 my
441 yeah
399 to
384 ooh
360 and
332 baby
313 me
291 it
234 love
231 of
202 know
193 on
193 la
189 your
181 all
177 in
166 that
161 now
155 i'm
148 it's
144 is
138 no
138 hey
129 gonna
128 so
128 do
123 ahh
119 down
111 ya
109 for
108 don't
107 whoa
104 be
103 when
98 time
94 way
93 just
90 got
89 but
88 go
87 come
82 babe
80 well
73 she
73 from
72 with
72 what
72 we
69 one
69 i've
69 good
68 woman
68 hoo
68 been
65 let
65 keep
65 can
64 if
64 have
62 tell
60 see
58 how
57 ain't
56 they
56 take
56 little
55 will
55 light
54 that's
54 her
54 gotta
53 feel
53 day
53 can't
53 back
52 said
52 bring
52 alright
51 wanna
50 away
49 night
49 home
49 get
48 really
46 mama
46 ha
45 woo
44 uh
44 as
43 was
43 never
43 are
42 she's
42 right
42 like
42 give
41 hear
40

National Coalition Against Censorship Salutes Judy Blume :

Some people may have difficulty finding humor in the issue of censorship. Thankfully, celebrated author Judy Blume isn't one of them. Nor were the many actors, comedians, authors, and supporters who gathered on Monday evening for “A Night of Comedy with Judy Blume & Friends.” Presented by the National Coalition Against Censorship, the event was both a celebration of the Coalition's 35th anniversary, as well as an opportunity to honor Blume, who has actively battled censorship of her books.

Every month the Library of Congress hosts numerous events through The Center for the Book. Yesterday, a colleague and I were able to listen to Leonard Marcus, one of America’s most respected authorities on children’s literature, along with special guest author Jon Scieszka, who is currently the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.

Leonard Marcus began the discussion by talking about his new book Funny Business: Conversations with Writers of Comedy. In this book Marcus interviews thirteen favorite children’s book authors and asks them “what makes funny, funny?”

The book details stories from authors such as Judy Blume, Daniel Handler and Jon Scieszka who explain their first experiences with humor, their sources of inspiration, and how comedy has played a role in their lives. Jon and Leonard discuss the many different types of humor and how capturing the essence of humor on paper is a difficult, and often undervalued, skill. If you are interested in finding out what makes funny, funny – check out Leonard’s book today!