Almost Like Being There?

My webstats have been down the last few days. Perhaps because of BEA? Those of us who don't venture far from home can try to catch up on what's going on at this year's BEA in LA by reading ShelfTalker for the next few days. Elizabeth Bluemle and Josie Leavitt of The Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, Vermont are guest blogging there, and they are at BEA. Which makes me wonder who's minding the store.

Speaking of not venturing far from home, I'm considering attending part of this year's Readercon, a conference on imaginative literature. In part because I do have some interest in the subject, but mainly because I can.

Registration Time

It's registration time. No, not for school. It's time to start registering for The Rabbit Hill Festival of Literature on October 25, 26, and 27 in Westport, Connecticut.

I just registered for the Saturday Symposium. What's more, you can register on-line.

Kidlit News For Southern Connecticut

The Rabbit Hill Festival of Literature (note that the website isn't totally updated yet) will be held October 25 to 27 this year with the following authors in attendance: Jeanne DuPrau, Gail Carson Levine, Andrea Davis Pinkney, Rick Riordan, and Neil Shusterman.

Yes, BDT, if you're reading this. I said Rick Riordan.

Registration begins in August.

There will be a dinner with the authors on Friday night and a symposium on Saturday. I am not one to venture far afield, but even I can get to Westport. And I did so, back in 2002 when I attended that year's symposium.

I'm going to make sure the Festival people still have me on their mailing list.

Familiar Names At SCBWI Conference

I just received the announcement for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators summer conference. A number of familiar names appear on the faculty list: Kelly Herold, Gina Ruiz, and Cynthia Leitch Smith. In addition, Tamora Pierce and Tony Abbott, two authors whose work I read for the first time this past year, will be serving as faculty. And Ellen Wittlinger, who I heard speak at I'm a Reading Fool's library, will be there, too.

March Events In New England

A number of things are happening in Connecticut and Massachusetts at the end of March.

The Connecticticut Writing Project (at the University of Connecticut) will be conducting its Fifth Student and Teacher Writer Conference (follow the hyperlink to the brochure) at the RHAM Middle School in Hebron, Connecticut on March 27th.

The School of Education at The University of Massachusetts will hold its 37th Perspectives in Children's Literature Conference on March 31st on the Amherst Campus.

And, as I've mentioned before, The New England Roundtable of Teen and Children's Librarians will be conducting a program entitled Leave 'em Laughin'- Humor in Children's and Teen Literature on March 23 at Worcester State College. I am one of the speakers at that one, and I am busily working away at my speech. Which may be accompanied by slides. I haven't decided.

Another Day, Another Conference

On Saturday I attended the Rabbit Hill Festival of Literature in Westport, Connecticut. The festival, in its second year, was named for the home of Robert Lawson. Now, if you're like me, you've never heard of Robert Lawson. However, like me, you've probably heard of some of his books--The Story of Ferdinand, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and Ben and Me. He's the only author/illustrator to win both the Caldecott and Newbery Medals. He lived in the first half of the last century, back in the days when people (at least people in Westport) named their homes. (For years I've been trying to think of a name for my raised ranch. They only things I can come up with wouldn't look very nice engraved on stationery.)

Anyway, the festival's theme was "Authors of Historical Fiction." The festival began on Thursday night with an opening address, which I missed. On Friday the guest authors visited public schools in Westport. There was a dinner with the authors on Friday night, which I didn't manage to get to. On Sunday there was a puppet show. I think I was visiting relatives that day. However, on Saturday morning the Festival organizers held a symposium on writing historical fiction for young people, and that's what drew me to Paul Newman's home town. Joseph Bruchac spoke on turning to oral tradition for inspiration in writing history and talked about 'lost history' of such people as his own Abenaki ancestors. Patricia MacLachlan explained that the story behind Sarah, Plain and Tall came from her great-grandmother's experience and her own early life living on the prairie. Richard Peck suggested curriculum changes for public schools. The keynote address was given by Katherine Paterson. She explained that, though she writes historical fiction, current events have an impact on her choice of time periods to write about.

In the afternoon, the authors led workshops. I attended one led by
Patricia Reilly Giff, whose advice to writers was to take a character, put him in a situation, and give him a problem.


The really interesting thing about this symposium was that the authors were all really fine speakers. Some of them even had marvelous sounding voices.

I stumbled upon a Web site called All About Patricia Reilly Giff by "Amanda." She says that Ms. Giff's hobbies are "sitting on the beach, wearing her bathrobe, and reading in the bathtub." Those are my hobbies, too! Except for sitting on the beach.