Next week is Book Expo America at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, and I'm super excited to be making the trip up for it. I get to visit with all my New York buddies, plus share my two new books The Troublemaker and Nana in the City at the conference. It's going to be a fun few days!
·Wednesday, May 28th: BEA kicks off with the 20th Annual Children's Book Art Silent Auction
This is one of my very favorite events of the year! If you're attending BEA (even if you're not, but happen to live nearby) come to the Javits and bid on some great original art to raise money for the ABFFE (click on the link for all the deets). This little guy below (from Nana in the City) is looking to go home with a new friend.
·Thursday, May 29th: day away from the Javits
I'm going to skip the conference to hang out with my friend and former editor, Frances Foster, along with my good friend (and editor extraordinaire) Noa Wheeler. One of the things I miss most about living in NYC is being able to easily take the subway to the UWS to visit Frances and her husband Tony. I haven't seen them since I moved away from the city in January. It's going to be really nice to spend the afternoon with the Fosters :)
·Friday, May 30th: full day at the Javits
12-12:30 pm -- I will be in the
Autographing Area, signing and giving away a buncha
Troublemaker's. Info is
HERE. Please come snag a copy and say hello!
3:30 pm -- I'll be at the
ABC/CBC Author and Illustrators Tea, chatting about
The Troublemaker and
Nana in the City with a group of awesome booksellers. I wish there was a way to clone myself so that I could also sit at the tables of the other authors— what a lineup (It's crazy to think I'm even going to be in the same room with all these guys)! Info is
HERE. Right after the Tea I'll be hopping on a bus back to Baltimore. A short but full trip! I hope that if you are also heading to BEA next week, I will get to run in to you some point . . .
Wishing you all a lovely Memorial Day weekend. Hooray, summer is almost here!!!
The New Jersey SCBWI annual conference approaches. Are you attending? I hope so!
As excitement builds for the event, so does anticipation for what will be offered at the Silent Auction this year. Plus, there will be critiques to bid on, offered by our generous NJ-SCBWI published members, as well as editors and agents. Great opportunities for writers! All proceeds go to the scholarship fund.
Donations are needed and being accepted up until the conference dates. Let me know if you would like to be a part of these auctions. Your participation will be most appreciated! There will be a Power Point Presentation with slides of what is donated and by whom. At your earliest convenience, let me know what you are bringing, and include a picture, please.
If you would like to donate but are unsure what to do, consider making a basket. Each year, the Whispering Pines Writer’s Weekend Retreat has a silent auction featuring baskets made and donated by the attendees. Always fabulous! First, you pick a theme, and then fill a basket or container to your heart’s desire. Add ribbons, colorful tissue, and whatever else to make the presentation pop. Finish off with a creative sign listing the contents of your basket. Each year, I love putting together the baskets I donate to both regions: NE-SCBWI and NJ-SCBWI.
Don’t you want to have fun? AND, this year, WE ARE HAVING A CONTEST FOR THE MOST CREATIVE BASKET/CONTAINER! Every conference attendee will get to vote on their absolute favorite, most creative basket being offered in the Silent Auction. The lucky winner, who kindly donated a basket/container will receive a $25 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble.
Now that I have your creative mind thinking about the challenge, here are some suggestions:
1. A Relaxation Basket for Weary Writers – include a bottle of wine, or two, bubble bath, chocolate, more chocolate, an eye mask, and perhaps a relaxation CD. 2. Basket of All Things Dinosaur – (for those writers with young children or grandchildren) include dinosaur books, dinosaur toys, perhaps a dig-your-own dinosaur fossil. 3. Think Pink, Pink, Pink For Those Precious Princesses in Our Lives – include a crown, nail polish, a princess book, etc. 4. I Got Another Rejection, Now What? - a ‘no’ button, a box of kleenex, stamps and envelopes for sending the submission right back out into the world, chocolate, bubble bath, and a mirror to look into, which has the words Only Your Manuscript Has Been Rejected, Not You. 5. Basket of Award Winning Children’s Books
These are only examples to help you with ideas. Now, what can you come up with?
If you are attending the conference, please partake in the Silent Auction. You could look as happy as Carlyn Beccia is in this photo after her winning streak at Whispering Pines.
So start thinking about basket themes, and I look forward to hearing from you! Thanks for all the generous
On Friday night, January 7, 2011 at the San Diego Midwinter Meeting, you have the opportunity to bid on several baskets filled with good reads and treats for evenings at home on a cold winter’s night. Two of these are:
- The 2011 Quick Picks Committee has chosen a delightful selection from their current list with delicious treats from twelve different states. Be prepared to discover new titles for your teen readers as well as new snacking favorites.
- Spend time exploring the new Popular Paperback Books Lists with a selection of paperbacks from four new lists— “Thrillers and Killers”, “What’s Cooking”, “What If…”, and “Zombies, Werewolves and Things with Wings”. All books are selected by the 2011 Popular Paperback Committee members. Surprise treats are also included in this basket.
Don’t forget you can see all of the items that will be up for bid at YALSA’s Not So Silent Auction on the YALSA Midwinter Wiki Not So Silent Auction signup page.
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This all sounds SO appetizing, Betsy! I can’t wait!