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Last night I scheduled my newest spring speaking engagement. As I was adding it into my calendar today, it occurred to me that I should make my schedule public so that if I'm going to be somewhere near you, you can come visit with me. I like being able to put faces with names even if I never seem to remember either one. So without much ado:

March 15 -- San Antonio SCBWI monthly meeting
April 15-18 -- TLA in Dallas (I'm not speaking, but I will be manning our booth. Yuck.)
May 28 -- Agent/Editor Pitch Session hosted by Writer's Digest at BEA (So, this one isn't confirmed yet, but I shall cry if I don't end up getting to do this. As far as I can tell, I'm the only person even sort of excited by the prospect of 2 straight hours of having authors pitch to me for three minutes.)
May 27-31 -- BEA (I'll be in LA for BEA although we don't have a booth. However, I'll happily meet up with anyone who is going to BEA too.)

Now if you're looking at this and thinking, but I live nowhere near these places, then I have only one solution for you. You have to start your own conference and invite me to speak. I jest. But if you do know of a conference in your area, and you think I should be speaking at it, either recommend me to them or tell me about the conference and I'll recommend myself. Either way we'll all eventually meet up someday.

OK, must leave early, early Tuesday morning to get there in time.

Just received this notice from the Young Adult Roundtable about upcoming TLA conference:

Tuesday afternoon, April 15

At 2:00-3:50pm, Texas author Rick Riordan will moderate the panel,

STRONG VOICES, OTHER WORLDS: YA FANTASY AUTHORS, featuring John Flanagan, Cinda Williams Chima, Jacqueline Kolosov, Libba Bray and Suzanne Collins.

Swoon!

One of the wonderful things about TLA is the chance to meet and talk with other librarians from far away school districts (and in Texas, districts can be VERY far away.)

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At the Children's Round Table breakfast I met a librarian from Corpus Christi who is planning a Percy Jackson party to celebrate The Titans Curse on May 1. She has preordered the books so the kids can get them that day! There is going to be a whole lot of reading going on at that school that day.

I thought the idea of hosting the celebration at the school library was splendid. I hope she sends the photos to RRR. I would love to see them.

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As different as school districts and libraries are, we all have so much in common. Had a very thoughtful conversation with a librarian who had recently been through a book challenge with the book Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn. We discussed the parent's objections to the book (subject of abortion) and agreed that it is ironic that students are asked to examine the "deeper" meaning in the books they read but book challengers are not. Abortion is not presented as a happy outcome in this story at all. Did the parents want a story where it was a portrayed as something to party about?

I have pointed out that there are parents who have sincere and honest concerns about the books their kids are reading. I continue to applaud their interest in their child's reading life.

I do have a test question about book challenges: who did the parent go to first about the book--was it the librarian or the principal?

Ah, in this case they went to the principal first.

Sorry, folks, this pushes you a little closer to the "nutter" category. If a child is having trouble in school, do you talk to the teacher first or do you go straight to the principal, blustering and threatening? If you go to the principal first, without talking to the teacher, then I'm thinking it is not really about your child.

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Finally, Grace Lin has a link to a Robert's Snow project at Hancock Elementary School in Houston. What a beautiful idea librarian, Heather Jankowski had to involve her students.
Do not miss this! <-- (Soul-Sister Alert!)

The much awaited TLA Day 2. If it seems long and boring, then I have accurately portrayed the experience.

I have my new walkin' shoes (I like the pink swooshes) and I go to San Antonio for the Texas Library Assn. annual conference today.

My first TLA conference, many moons ago, was in San Antonio and I think I walked around with a happy grin the entire time. At that first conference I heard Brian Jacques and Gerald McDermott and Rosemary Wells.

This time I hope to see Chris Barton, Grace Lin, Stephenie Meyer, Cynthia Leitich-Smith, Teri Lesesne, Avi, Sharon Creech, Walter Dean Myers, Sarah Weeks, Darren Shan, Tim Wynne-Jones, Scott Westerfeld, Justine Larbalestier, Sharon Draper, JOHN GREEN, Helen Hemphill, Don Tate, Brian Anderson, and MO WILLEMS, and more that I haven't even identified yet.

I will need a time-turner though. Lots of the sessions run at the same time. I'll do my best!

Holidays seem to play havoc with my ability to post. You would think I'd have more time, but I don't have any less work, and then I have to add family obligations on top. I'm at my in-laws watching my 15 month-old nephew destroy the house. My 5 year-old nephew relunctantly went to church with his Nana. I'm enjoying adult conversation with my sister-in-law, and I'm attempting to get this post up. I have much to say, and I'm worried that this week I won't have time to say it all. You see we go to TLA this week. For those not up on industry conferences, TLA is the Texas Library Association. It's the only conference that Blooming Tree exhibits at. I'll also go to BEA and Frankfurt this year, but not as an exhibitor - more a lurker.

But I plan to try to post and even take some video from our booth. Also, if anyone is going to be attending, come by and say hi. We like to have folks to talk to. We'll be at booth 1940. And if you come by you'll get a free reader of Bad Girls Club, our debut YA novel. And that right there, should be incentive enough to visit.