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Stranger Things, I credit you with this finally happening.
Let’s think about doing a Girl With the Silver Eyes film next! Thanks to Liz Burns for the link.
Now when I heard that Nieman Marcus was offering 36 Caldecott Award winning picture books for $10,000 . . . *checks notes* I’m sorry. I typed the wrong number there. I’ll begin again.
When I heard that Nieman Marcus was offering 36 Caldecott Award winning picture books for $100,000 (that’s better) I was a bit baffled. Perhaps these would be books that were all signed by their authors and illustrators? Well, they are first printings, or early editions, yes. But one can assume that you could purchase 36 such similar titles for far less money. This is part of Nieman Marcus’s “Fantasy Gifts” collection, and the idea is that they’ll donate $10,000 to their own charity if you buy this collection.
Now the collection of 36 has been curated by Johnnycake Books and E.M. Maurice Books. Here is the video that accompanies it. See if you see what I saw. Click on the image below:
Did you notice the books chosen to appear on this list? I am a librarian, so my take on curation is going to be different from that of a bookseller. That said, I have to wonder how many booksellers today would hand a child a stack of Caldecott books that included problematic titles like They Were Strong and Good. This is not to say that I think the book should be removed from library or bookstore shelves or anything like that. But if you’re looking for books that speak to kids today, then for the love of all that is good and holy switch that book out for something with some contemporary gravitas like Jerry Pinkney’s The Lion and the Mouse. My two cents. Thanks to Sharyn November for the link.
Oo! This is neat. Matthew Reinhart goes in-depth on pop-up books.
Interesting that he cites Transformers toys as being so influential on him. Sorry, Autobots. Thanks to 100 Scope Notes for the link.
This is neat. Kidlit TV created a livestream of the Bank Street Bookfest this year, and now the full series of events is available in full. Would that the Newbery/Caldecott/Wilder Award ceremonies were done in the same way. I dare to dream!
I know some of you out there harbor unkind thoughts about Amanda Palmer. That’s fine. But she apparently has an album out with her dad, Jack Palmer, who has a pleasant Leonard Cohenish quality to his voice, and one of their songs was turned into an animated video akin to the Brothers Quay. I just like the song:
And if you prefer, you could watch this one with the world’s GREATEST sleeping baby. Seriously. He wakes up ONCE in the course of this film (if you don’t count the end). I don’t think that’s a trick. Plus it was filmed with the cast of Welcome to Night Vale. So. Right there.
In terms of this latest Series of Unfortunate Events trailer, my thoughts are that they get two points for including Klaus’s glasses (thereby already improving upon the film) but one point is deducted for Violet’s hair ribbons, or lack thereof. Interesting that they made her SO much older. Not that I wanted a 12-year-old mock-married to Olaf. Ugh.
Zut! I wish I’d seen this next book trailer before Halloween! It would have tied in so beautifully. I tell you, it is hard to come up with an original trailer for picture books in this day and age. Perl knocks it out of the park.
As for our off-topic review of the day, this one’s a no-brainer. There really isn’t a connection to children’s books here, and I should probably save it for Christmas but . . . aw, I just can’t. For the Stranger Things fans out there:
5 Comments on Video Sunday: Creepiness Abounds!, last added: 11/6/2016
But doesn’t Violet use the hair ribbons when she needs to think, chew over something? I don’t recall her wearing them all the time. I’m guessing they will appear when called for.
Monica Edinger said, on 11/6/2016 1:07:00 AM
Also, I work in a middle school and 12 year-olds come in a remarkable range of sizes. This Violet looks plausibly the correct age to me:)
Dana Frank said, on 11/6/2016 8:09:00 AM
“See if you see what I saw.”
I don’t know what you saw, but I heard him say Arthur Lobel’s Fables is about some of the best know fables. Mr. Lobel made up his own fables because he thought some of the traditional ones were boring!
Dana Frank said, on 11/6/2016 8:12:00 AM
Oh, and it is Arnold Lobel! Not Arthur. He and I made the same mistake
Elizabeth Bird said, on 11/6/2016 11:35:00 AM
Perhaps the Brett Helquist art has turned my head on the matter.
Baby on board musician/provocateur Amanda Palmer and hubby did in waiting Neil Gaiman staged a pretty spectacular event at the New York Public Library yesterday, as the eight months pregnant Palmer recreated Damian Hirst's statue Verity with body paint. The event was well captured in social media.
2 Comments on Naked, pregnant Amanda Palmer recreates Hirst statue for literacy at NYPL (nsfw), last added: 8/21/2015
Writer Cory Doctorow has taken it upon himself to produce the audiobook edition of his book, Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free: Laws for the Internet Age.
According to Doctorow’s blog post, actor Wil Wheaton served as the narrator for this project. It also features “a mixdown by the wonderful John Taylor Williams, and bed-music from Amanda Palmer and Dresden Dolls.”
McSweeney’s released the hardcover version back in November 2014. Both Palmer and her husband Neil Gaiman wrote forewords for this project. (via Neil Gaiman’s Tumblr page)
Rock star Amanda Palmer unveiled a book trailer for The Art of Asking. She became inspired to write her new nonfiction book after she gave a TED talk in 2013. In the video embedded above, Palmer plays piano and shares her ideas on asking—do you have any regrets about not asking for something?
At the night of the book launch, she celebrated the publication with an event at Porter Square Books. Click here to listen to her lead the crowd in singing the “Happy Birthday” song to her husbandNeil Gaiman. Do you predict that Gaiman and Palmer may collaborate on a writing project one day together?
Newbery Medal winner Neil Gaiman sat with TOON Books publisher Françoise Mouly and Pulitzer Prize winner Art Spiegelman to discuss his new graphic novel, Hansel and Gretel. The video embedded above features the entire conversation.
Gaiman confesses that the “Hansel and Gretel” fairy tale really frightens him, but he does believe that children must be exposed to dark stories. Gaiman thinks that “if you are protected from dark things then you have no protection of, knowledge of, or understanding of dark things when they show up. I think it is really important to show dark things to kids—and in the showing, to also show that dark things can be beaten, that you have power.”
The American Booksellers Association has recruited Newbery Medal-winning author Neil Gaiman and his rockstar wifeAmanda Palmer (both pictured, via) to serve as spokespeople for this year’s Indies First campaign.
Gaiman and Palmer penned an open letter calling for fellow writers to participate. Those who answer the call will be serving as volunteer sellers at their favorite independent bookstores on Saturday, November 29th (aka “Small Business Saturday“).
National Book Award winner Sherman Alexie conceived of the idea and helped to launch this initiative last year. More than 1,100 authors participated in the 2013 event including Kelly Barson, Cheryl Strayed, and Jon Scieszka.
Coraline author Neil Gaiman was challenged by his wife, musicianAmanda Palmer, to take on the #IceBucketChallenge. The video embedded above features Gaiman performing the act with assistance from a group of friends.
In addition to having a bucket of ocean water and ice thrown over his head, Gaiman names a new set of challengers that includes A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin. Gaiman calls Martin a “murderer of characters.”
It's been ages, and I kept promising myself I'd do a blog update, and then other stuff would happen, and somehow in there the blog never got updated.
So. Right. Lots of stuff has happened since the last time I posted. (OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE came out in paperback in the UK and US. It's still on the US bestseller lists. Please read it. I'm very proud of it. I did a tour for THE TRUTH IS A CAVE IN THE BLACK MOUNTAINS, with Eddie Campbell and the FourPlay string quartet, and we sold out The Warfield and Carnegie Hall and the Barbican and we very nearly sold out Usher Hall in Edinburgh. CHU'S FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL came out for little kids. I helped Amanda edit in the last three days before she handed in her book, which was wonderful, and I handed in the manuscript for my next short story collection, TRIGGER WARNING... although I'm still finishing the last story in the book.)
(Backstage at Carnegie Hall, with Maddy.)
On Wednesday I went to LA for a few days of meetings and such. I learned what's happening with the AMERICAN GODS TV series (all good and on-track), with the John Cameron Mitchell movie of my story "How To Talk to Girls At Parties" (it's all looking wonderful. Elle Fanning will play Zan, the second of the girls that Enn meets at the party. The story continues after the short story is done, and is still set in 1977, in Croydon). Other things, just as good. I saw a preview of my old friend Cindy Shapiro's rock opera Psyche (http://www.psycherockopera.com/), and was really impressed by how powerful the music and staging of the myth were.
While I was talking to people, my wife Amanda (rock star, just wrote a book out in November) was working at Bard College with a director and some young actors.
Amanda's step brother Karl, a few years older than her, whom she idolised, died when he was in his mid-twenties, of ALS, so when Chris Anderson of TED challenged Amanda to do the ice-bucket challenge, she did. In a wonderful video.
And then she challenged me.
I thought about it. I was in LA (where the Californian water shortage is a very real thing. It's a drought). I wanted to be informative (because people sent me icebucket challenge videos to watch, and I had to go and google to figure out what was going on). I wanted to make it clear you could donate AND challenge. And I wanted it to me memorable.
Amanda gave me the key. She pointed out that she had done her challenge fully dressed. And not, as people might have imagined, naked or semi-naked.
I called Allan Amato and Olga Nunes, fresh off the Temple of Art Kickstarter, and they agreed to come and film me on the beach that afternoon.
And to bring Death. Because ALS is a fatal condition. So I packed my novelty bowtie, and headed out...
Please watch it. If you like it, share it...
(All of us post-bucketing, except for Best Boy Cat Mihos, who took the photo.)
MusicianAmanda Palmer has revealed the jacket of her forthcoming book. What do you think?
Grand Central Publishing will release The Art of Asking on November 11, 2014. Over at her blog, Palmer has shared several (NSFW) behind-the-scenes photos from the cover shoot.
Looking for something good to read this summer?
TED Talks speakers Elizabeth Gilbert, Melinda Gates, Bill Gates, Rashida Jones, Clay Shirky, Uzoamaka Maduka, Amanda Palmer, Stanley McChrystal and Blood Orange have put together their lists of recommended reads.
Check it out: "Summer: the season for cracking open a good book under the shade of a tree. Below, we’ve compiled about 70 stellar book recommendations from members of the TED community. Warning: not all of these books can be classified as beach reads. And we think that is a good thing."
I’m honestly a wreck after finishing a novel. I don’t know why. I guess I feel like I’ve just murdered my characters … until the rewrite, at least. But yes, it will be nice to take a break
mirkabreen said, on 10/2/2013 4:52:00 PM
I raise a glass of vanilla soy milk, and clink-clink you!
Leandra said, on 10/2/2013 7:20:00 PM
Congrats! And great title, btw! As for a toast, I’m offering up a diet vanilla coke. *clink*
It wasn't the piece I originally wrote, though, which was a short story. Or rather, it was the piece I originally wrote. Ira Glass wasn't sure about the personal one, when I sent it over, and wanted a short story, so I wrote a short story instead, but the producers preferred the personal memoir, and outvoted him, so that was what I recorded.
Ira Glass still liked the short story, and mentioned to Dave Eggars that I had a short story that he liked that nobody had read, and Dave Eggars wrote to my agent and asked if he could read it for McSweeneys, and I was happy that it wasn't going to be completely forgotten forever (I'd already forgotten it existed, and hadn't given it to anyone or submitted it anywhere, so it was just sitting getting dusty on a hard drive somewhere). I wasn't sure if it was any good, and had to be nudged by Dave several times to send it. It was called Adventure Story.
Having emailled it to Dave I forgot about it again. And then, in the post, this arrived:
I opened it. And I thought, I've got story in McSweeneys!
I read the story, a little nervously, now it was printed, and thought, and it's good.
It's a great issue of McSweeney's. The Jason Jagel comic insert, Topsy Turvy, is wonderful, the collected writing is, as always, excellent, varied, powerful (the book 2 account of a week in Rwanda; the writing that inspired the Egyptian uprising...). Beautiful production values.
I'm really happy and proud and thrilled to be in it. Thank you, Ira Glass.
...
The New York Times has a page of me talking about books and what I'm reading and suchlike on it. (The blue picture is Jillian Tamaki's wonderful picture of me from it.) (They edited out the bit where I had President Obama talking about a hooker eating a man with her nether bits, which in retrospect might have been wise, but made that section less funny.)
Wait, do you think those things are exclusive? That books can only be one or the other? I would rather read a book with all of those things in it: a laughing, crying, educating, distractin
0 Comments on An extremely exciting week as of 1/1/1900
It's such a sweet, funny video. Even if you have no interest in my wife or what she does, you should click on it and watch it.
Her Kickstarter went live at 7 this morning, and it's already 93% funded, mostly so far by people who are using it to pre-order the limited edition version of the CD. (Given the number of people who seem sad that they did not use Kickstarter to order an EVENING WITH NEIL GAIMAN AND AMANDA PALMER CD - which turned out, given the amount of money the Kickstarter raised, to be a 3CD set with a special, will-never-be-for-sale bonus extra CD as well -- I am not at all surprised that people are buying. I love the way that Kickstarter allows people both to be patrons of the arts and to directly support the creation and manufacture of the thing they want, cutting out the middlemen.)
And it's her birthday today too.
Last night I saw some students at Harvard perform an immersive dance piece inspired by The Graveyard Book, and it was one of the sweetest, most haunting, life affirming things I've attended, and a wonderful way into her birthday.
Today, we're taking a quiet day together. In a few minutes we'll wander out and get some juice and walk in the sunshine.
I'm writing a speech I will be delivering in Chicago next week, with the working title of "What the [very bad swearword] is a Children's Book anyway?" It's about, well, what Children's fiction is, something the book I'm writing right now has me thinking about all the time. It has a seven year old hero, and magic, and terror, but it doesn't feel like a kids' book, and the attitudes and content are profoundly adult.
Anyway. So much to catch up on here. I hope you enjoyed the Stephen King interview.
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.
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.
I went to Chicago on Friday and took part in the recording of the "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me... Royal Pain In The Year" 2011 Special. It airs on BBC America (TV) and on Public Radio on December the 23rd. I was the "Not my job" guest, and answered three questions. Whether or not I got any of them right, you will have to wait until the 23rd to find out.
There's a conversation between Shaun Tan and me in the Guardian right now, and it's fun. We talk about art and suchlike. In the photo above we were standing behind the Edinburgh Book Festival authors' yurt taking it in turns to point at imaginary interesting things.
ST: I don't know about you but when someone first mentions an adaptation, I have, probably a little bit inappropriately, a feeling of weariness at revisiting that work after I'd struggled with it for so many months or years. But then the second thought is "Wow, what a great opportunity to fix up all those dodgy bits."
NG: It's so nice to hear you say that. Somebody asked me recently if I plot ahead of time. I said yes I do, but there is always so much room for surprise and definitely points where I don't know what's going to happen. They quoted somebody who had said: "All writers who say that they do not know what's going to happen are liars, would you believe someone who started an anecdote without knowing where it was going?" I thought, but I don't start an anecdote to find out what I think about something, I start an anecdote to say this interesting thing happened to me. Whereas I'll start any piece of art to find out what I think about something.
0 Comments on It's beginning to look a lot like a Christmas Card out there as of 12/4/2011 12:51:00 PM
First of all, a thousand thanks to everyone who gave anyone else a scary book, or encouraged other people to, for All Hallow's Read. Thank you!
Craig Ferguson and the Late Late Show was fun. Amanda was meant to record her bit at 4:20, my section around 5 ish, but a newly added dance number at the opening of the show meant we didn't leave until about 6:30pm... and the rest of the evening squirmed and coped as best it could...
Left to right: Moby, Amanda Palmer, Stephin Merritt. Pay no attention to that toy pianist at the back.
The Haggis came from Macsweens via scottishfoodoverseas.com, ace haggis importers. My assistant Lorraine did all the hard work, at one point enlisting both Mark Evanier and Wil Wheaton in her secret haggis-importing clan, and sending around emails that said things like:
Hello all, First of all, THANK YOU for be willing to accept our Haggis. And tend it. And keep it safe. True friends, indeed...
Sadly, Mark didn't copy me when he replied to Neil that he was a couple of blocks away, and Neil was in the cities at the time taping NPR and by the time I got Mark's note it was too late, the Haggis
0 Comments on If this is thursday then where on earth did the last week go? as of 1/1/1900
American Gods author Neil Gaiman and musician Amanda Palmer raised more than $80,000 for a five-show tour on the North American west coast. Above, we’ve embedded a video about the project.
The literary duo tried to raise $20,000 on Kickstarter to fund the recording costs and merchandise production. However, within forty-eight hours they raised $70,000. Currently, they have more than $85,000 in pledged funds. Every backer who submitted $1 or more will receive a digital recording of the show.
Here’s more about the show: “we’ll have a piano, a ukulele, and maybe some other weird instruments, as well as some unpublished and uncollected Neil Gaiman stories and poems. we’ll both probably switch up what we’re presenting from night to night. we’ll be taking questions from the audience, chat-style, and trying to do special things in each venue, busting out a few surprises, and more or less trying to feel like we’ve connected with you…” What do you think?
Arrived in Hobart yesterday afternoon, and shortly after was reunited with Amanda.
We saw Amanda's Lexington friend (and, these days, my friend) Ron Nordin, and my Tasmanian friends (and, these days, Amanda's friends) Dianna and Mark for a drink.
They all drank wonderful things like honey martinis with honeycomb in them while I drank English Breakfast tea in the hope that it might keep me awake. Then Amanda and I went off and had the first meal together we'd had since we've been married, while I tried to stay awake and enjoy it all properly.
I woke at 6 am to the patter of rain on the hotel roof with a new wife fast asleep beside me, and I was amazingly happy. I let her sleep until I decided, a couple of hours later, that unless I had breakfast the world would end, and then I woke her.
Went for a walk together. I love Hobart. First came here in '98, for an Australian National Convention, and decided it was one of the fine, secret places of the Earth. And I'm still convinced that this is true. I came back in 2008, and loved it again. We got back to the hotel to hear Amanda being interviewed on Triple-J, and dedicating The Magnetic Fields song "The Book of Love" to me, because it was played, by Daniel Handler, at our wedding.
I know. It's all sort of sweet and a bit melty over here in my blog-land right now. It'll go back to normal soon enough, I expect.
Tonight Amanda plays a secret midnight practice gig as a rehearsal for her new Australian band (it's at the Brisbane Hotel. You didn't hear it from me), and she's invited me along to do something onstage, but I suspect that if I've been up since 6 am, I may not feel like performing or even feel like being awake at midnight. We'll see.
Tomorrow both Amanda and I play at the Mona Foma Main Stage (it's on the other side of the white building in the photo). I go on at 8 pm to read THE TRUTH IS A CAVE IN THE BLACK MOUNTAINS, with FourPlay accompanying me, and Eddie Campbell paintings (and, I hope, Eddie Campbell there too, but am not yet certain about Eddie: he's coming from flooded Brisbane, after all).
Amanda goes on at 9:30pm.
We get to grab a couple of days of honeymoon, then to Melbourne for a couple of days to see friends, and then on to Sydney for a concert.
Amanda's playing Sydney Opera House Main Stage on the 26th of January, and she's decided she wants other people up on the stage, for guest spots, and, because I loved playing the Opera House last year, I've agreed to be one of them.
Not sure what I'll do yet -- either some "Best Of..." moments, or something completely new.
Amanda goes to work, once I've gone, and will play gigs in Brisbane, Melbourne, Byron Bay, Adelaide (at the Fringe, as herself and, with Jason Webley, an Evelyn Evelyn show), Perth, Canberra, Newcastle and, in New Zealand, Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland.
0 Comments on I took my love to Hobart in the rain as of 1/1/1900
I was pleased to hear that the nuptials of Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer have at long last taken place. Apparently Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket) played the accordion. Just prior to that, however, Palmer and Gaiman and some friends made this little ode to Henson’s Labyrinth (which some will tell you is based on Sendak’s Outside Over There). Someone once told me that David Bowie’s dance sans jockstrap was the heterosexual girl equivalent of many a boy’s Princess Leia’s gold bikini. I’m just happy that Palmer recreated this scene shot for shot. Thanks to Aunt Judy for the link.
I haven’t avoided talking about Salman Rushdie’s newest children’s book (Luka and the Fire of Life) on purpose or anything. I just wasn’t particularly interested in reading it when it came out. I did read his previous book for kids, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, which sort of struck me as meaningful in the context in which it was written, but ultimately an example of an adult author trying a bit too hard to write for kids. The newest may be different. Here’s its trailer.
A little disjointed but I like the kid who plays Luka certainly.
I’m often surprised by the talents of untrained student actors when reenacting their favorite children’s books. But let’s raise the bar a moment. Not only shall we have children acting out a kid’s book. Not ONLY will they have fabulous costumes. But they’re going to do it in an entirely different language. Woah. The students of Zhejiang A&F University in Lin’an China made the costumes and acted in this video of the American children’s book The Fuzzy Philosopher by Becky Ances and Ryan Wilson.
Geez. Even the lighting is good. And the camerawork. And everyone should always include a cookie recipe at the end of their book trailers (whether it makes sense or not). Thanks to Ryan Wilson for the link.
Picture, if you will, an entire blog dedicated to book trailers and book videos for kids. It sort of sounds like a version of good old Book Trailerpark (now sadly defunct). In fact, it exists at Watch. Connect. Read. and is hosted by the superb K-5 teacher librarian Mr. Schu. Now Mr. Schu is the rare personage that first came to my attention through, of all mediums, Twitter. Yes, it’s true, kids. If you’re good at Twitter you can gain fans in the real world. This next video comes from Mr. Schu’s site and spoke to me. I recently hosted Simpsons writer and children’s author Mike Reiss in my library. Mr. Reiss has done many a book with the elusive illustrator Mr. Catrow, but he has never met him. In fact, I myself didn’t even know what the fella looked like. Mystery solved:
Julie Fortenberry, I kiss your tiny feet. I’ve known for years that Shaun Tan had been transferring his efforts from books to filmmaking, but I’d not seen the fruits of his or anyone else’s labor. Now we have a trailer for his remarkable The Lost Thing. My sole regret is that there is nowhere for me to watch it in full as of yet. Thanks to Children’s Illustration for the link!
This next video does a darn decent job of explaining how a real world Quidditch game actually works. It also clarifies some details for me that I was a bit foggy on. Like Travis, I apologize for the ad at the beginning.
I do a regular Storytime Suggestion series on this blog where I read aloud a good book for a toddler or preschooler storytime. Someone once asked if this was a copyright violation, and I don’t think that it is. If it were, wouldn’t this absolutely adorable video for the Vivian Schwartz book There Are Cats in this Book be in trouble? Instead, it’s charm incarnate.
There’s not a day goes by when I don’t regret not reviewing that book.
You may not have heard but recently Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer got married . . . after a fashion. Not official, mind you, but cute just the same. Warning: May contain statue snogging.
Chance for amends/redemption: “There Are NO Cats in This Book” – it’s the sequel, released Sept 2010…
(I too love the first one dearly. Still need to get my hands on the follow-up…)
Elizabeth Bird said, on 11/21/2010 7:10:00 PM
The thought did occur. I dunno. Might be too little too late. I go back and forth on it. You should definitely get your hands on it, though. Cute doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Last year, the winner of the Moth auction of "tea with Neil Gaiman" met me for tea, and it all went a bit wrong.
The winner was the mother of a very nice young lady, and she had paid $4,400 for her daughter to have tea with me (all the money goes to support The Moth, which is something I love and care about: people telling true stories about their lives. Check out their podcast). Unfortunately, when the nice young lady and I went to the tea place they explained that they'd never heard of us, and for that matter they didn't even serve tea, and it all went so wrong that I took the young lady in question up to DC Comics (she had told me that she loved comics, Vertigo in particular, and wanted to edit comics when she graduated) and then DC Publisher Paul Levitz, who was passing by, gave her an hour's masterclass in matters editorial and said something about a summer internship.
I saw her at the signing for the Year's Best American Comics last month and the young lady told me that she'd just done a summer's internship at DC Comics, and loved it, and that the failed tea had been a wonderful thing better than any actual tea could possibly have been, and she was incredibly happy and grateful..
I cannot guarantee you that the tea with me this year will go anywhere nearly as wrong as that. But the Moth are at it again. Also, you could be a "neighbourhood person" in the Onion.
I turn fifty on Wednesday. Ivy Ratafia gets in there early, with a birthday LJ post for me.
And I am putting it up here because Ivy answers one of the great questions of the universe here, viz. Which were the nine true panels in this two-page comic? In 17 years, no-one has been able to guess it correctly.
You should probably read the comic first before you read Ivy's explanation. It comes from a 1993 "Roast" comic done for the Chicago Comic Convention, and was drawn by Scott McCloud and written by Scott and Ivy.
I really don't do much journalism, and I'm amused to see that the only pieces I've done in so long are both being published-on-the-web on the same day. Since I typed that first paragraph, SPIN MAGAZINE just posted an article I wrote for them yesterday.
They asked me to review the Dresden Dolls Hallowe'en show.
I'm not sure that that was quite what I gave them, although it's that as well. I'm happy with it, and I'm not normally happy
0 Comments on A gallimaufry. as of 11/5/2010 7:43:00 PM
No. Wait. Scratch that. But I have been to a couple of marvelous parties as of late. Under normal circumstances I don’t mention them all that often, but this week I’ll make an exception. [Note: If you don’t like party posts, avoid this one at all costs. Even if it does involve Lemony Snicket on a merry-go-round built for two . . .).
The two parties were very different, but of great interest to all parties involved. The first I will mention was the party held last week to which all Kidlit Drink Night attendees were invited. Mr. Robert Forbes (yes, THAT Mr. Forbes) was kind enough to invite us to attend a little soiree at The Forbes Gallery here in New York City. Why would he want grimy children’s literature people mucking up his space? Well, Mr. Forbes recently published a book of children’s poetry called Let’s Have a Bite, illustrated by the illustrious Ronald Searle.
Now, I had never been to the Forbes Galleries. Truth be told, I had no idea that they were (A) open to the public and (B) awesome. In point of fact, they are both. And if you happen to be interested in visiting (which I highly recommend) I would suggest that you do so before November 22nd. You see, until that moment in time the galleries have a magnificent selection of toy soldiers, toy boats, and old Monopoly games on display. And what a display! There is an art to their presentation. A skill to the little hidden rooms in which you will locate them. To top it all off, there was a retrospective of Searle’s from the last 40-50 odd years. Should you be nowhere near New York right now, much of that same work is visible in this recent interview he conducted:
And what of the book itself? Well, a special side room exists in the Galleries of the work Searle did for Mr. Forbes’s newest. The two collaborated back in 2007 on a similar book called Beastly Feasts. Both books contain poems with accompanying illustrations. In what I imagine must be very much the spirit in which Mr. Searle works, Mr. Forbes served us lots of tiny food made out of the very animals featured in the poems. Grilled octopus, turtle of some sort, as well as a little cheese fondue that was liable to tempt you into thinking that you’d never had anything quite so good ever before (a little mouse appears in each of the paintings in Mr. Forbes’s book).
As for Mr. Forbes himself I was rather expecting him to look like his portrait here:
I am weeping copiously right now with sheer envy. What a night, you lucky lucky girl!
Cynthia von Buhler said, on 10/11/2010 11:38:00 PM
Hi Betsy, Daniel/Lemony was on the guestlist because I’m friends with his wife Lisa Brown and Adele Griffin (Picture the Dead). Lisa couldn’t make the party because she had a book event elsewhere. I introduced you to Adele, remember? I’m connected to Neil and Amanda because I illustrated the Evelyn Evelyn graphic novel which will be out next Spring. I’m glad that you enjoyed yourself. May I use a couple of these pictures for my upcoming blog post? Cheers, CvB
Elizabeth Bird said, on 10/12/2010 5:59:00 AM
But of course! Use any and all pictures you prefer, though I wish they were of better quality.
I think I knew the Lisa Brown/Adele Griffin connection, but I was baffled by the Snicket/Gaiman link. Good to know!
JMyersbook said, on 10/12/2010 7:45:00 AM
Oh! Oh! Oh! Dare I hope that the title of today’s blog truly is the opening from the Noel Coward poem of the same name? (“I have been to a marvelous party/With Noonoo and Nada and Nell./It was in the fresh air and we came as we were/And we STAYED as we were, which was hell…”)
JMyersbook said, on 10/12/2010 7:50:00 AM
Well, DANG! I was so enchanted/distracted by all of your glorious photos that I skipped right OVER the opening line of today’s blog, which would have assured me that YES, you know you some classic Noel Coward (and isn’t some of his stuff just ducky, even today?) Happy sigh of contentment….
Elizabeth Bird said, on 10/12/2010 1:07:00 PM
I’m just pleased that someone got the Noel Coward reference at all. I thought about sneaking in more lines, but then decided that I’d be overplaying my hand. I do love me my Noel Coward, though I admit to knowing this particular work of his best because of the group Divine Comedy.
jone said, on 10/12/2010 2:29:00 PM
Oh lucky, lucky you on both accounts. This was just so much fun to read. Thanks.
MH said, on 10/13/2010 7:33:00 AM
Just so you know, the male half of the awesome couple to your left is Franz Nicolay, former keyboardist/accordionist for the Hold Steady, World/Inferno Friendship Society, Against Me!, and other such bands.
Amazing party.
Elizabeth Bird said, on 10/13/2010 9:57:00 AM
Oh so? Well that just goes to prove that only the undeserving ever get to stand next to the big musicians. I’ve heard of Hold Steady and . . . . yeah, that’s about it.
Eric Carle Honors 2010 (Also Known as More Party P said, on 10/13/2010 9:02:00 PM
Writer Cory Doctorow has taken it upon himself to produce the audiobook edition of his book, Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free: Laws for the Internet Age.
The American Booksellers Association has recruited Newbery Medal-winning author Neil Gaiman and 
10 Comments on I’ve Been to a Marvelous Party, last added: 10/13/2010
But doesn’t Violet use the hair ribbons when she needs to think, chew over something? I don’t recall her wearing them all the time. I’m guessing they will appear when called for.
Also, I work in a middle school and 12 year-olds come in a remarkable range of sizes. This Violet looks plausibly the correct age to me:)
“See if you see what I saw.”
I don’t know what you saw, but I heard him say Arthur Lobel’s Fables is about some of the best know fables. Mr. Lobel made up his own fables because he thought some of the traditional ones were boring!
Oh, and it is Arnold Lobel! Not Arthur. He and I made the same mistake
Perhaps the Brett Helquist art has turned my head on the matter.