On Saturday, I attended my second Pougkeepsie Book Festival. In a word, it was . . .
AWESOME!
Below are a few photographic highlights:
I would like to shout out a super huge thank you to John Torres, the Poughkeepsie Public Library, and to all the hard-working volunteers who made the day extraordinarily special. Can’t wait for next year’s festival!!!
Sincere apologies for being M.I.A. from the blog lately but the fall has been crazy busy with book festivals, conferences, revisions, writing, and book deals.
Reader: Wait one second! Did she say book deals?
Why, yes I did.
I am thrilled to finally announce that the third book in The Wilcox & Griswold Mystery Series, The Case of the Bad Apples, illustrated by the amazing Deborah Zemke, will be out fall 2020. Heartfelt thanks to Liza Fleissig, Ginger Harris, Marissa Moss, and to everyone who read, reread, and re-reread drafts of the book.
There’s more good news to come on this front . . . so please stay tuned. YIPPEE KI YAY!
Now, as we all know, being crazy busy for an author is AWESOME! Below is a quick recap of where I’ve been.
First stop, the Highlights Foundation, Honesdale, PA. If you’ve never been, I have one word for you. Go! Actually, two words. Go now! You won’t regret it. Not sure if it’s the pixie dust in the Honesdale air or just the to-die-for food, but Highlights is pure magic. It was beyond wonderful to have a few days to focus on work, and then just be able to ask an editor a question or two.
Sample Author-Editor Discussion Simulation
Me: Do you have a minute to read something? Is this working? Does it need another beat? Is it funny enough because my dogs always laugh when I read that line.
Editor: Do you give your dogs treats when you read that line?
Me: Maybe.
I’d like to shout out a very big thank you to Jennifer Jacobson, Juana Martinez-Neal, Gareth Hinds, Nikki Grimes, Padma Venkatraman, Neal Porter, Kathleen Merz, Laurie Calkhoven, and Alison Morris for sharing their words of wisdom, time, and for their encouragement and support, and to the above and beyond amazing Highlights staff for making the weekend extraordinarily special.
My adorable cabin.
Second stop, Collingswood Book Festival, Collingswood, NJ. This is one of my all-time favorite book festivals and it was such a treat to be there with so many author friends, including Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and Laura Shovan, as well as so many friends from the KidLit Authors Club, including Hallee Adelman, Jodi Moore, Charlotte Bennardo, Darlene Beck-Jacobson, David Neilsen, Jeffry Johnston, Jennifer Robin Barr, and Kell Andrews.
Third stop, West Jersey Reading Council’s Fall Conference, Pennsauken, NJ. The West Jersey Reading Council provides educators, administrators, and parents with literacy-based enrichment programs. This year Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen and I presented on Using Picture Books to Teach Empowerment and Inclusion. We also participated in the author meet and greet.
(Note: If we look like drowned rats in the photos, it’s because it was POURING cats and dogs.)
Fourth stop, Easton Book Festival, Easton, PA. Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend the first ever Easton Book Festival. The book festival was the brainchild of Andy Laities, the former manager of the Bank Street Bookstore. In a word, it was AWESOME!
A quick side story . . . one of my first book signings was at the Bank Street Bookstore. Since I have a detective book, naturally I thought the kids would enjoy a fingerprinting activity. Well, this was a very bad idea. Not just a very bad idea but an exceptionally bad idea. The children were running around the store with ink on their hands while Andy was chasing them down with wipes. (So, if you have a detective book, I strongly advise against any kind of fingerprinting activities.) P.s. I’d like to note that I LOVE Bank Street Bookstore and am so thrilled that I wasn’t banished from the store.
Here are a few photographic highlights from Easton:
There was a spectacular author dinner, with belly dancers.
I’d like to shout out a super huge THANK YOU to Andy Laities, Sarah Laities, and to all the volunteers for making the Easton Book Festival unforgettable. Can’t wait for next year’s festival.
Where will Robin be next? NerdCampLI on November 2nd and the Huntington Public Library’s Picture Book Palooza on November 10th.
And in the words of the great Porky Pig . . .
On Saturday I had the privilege of attending the first annual Kids Read: A Book Festival in Poughkeepsie, New York, with 35 plus authors and illustrators. It was DY-NO-MITE!
Here are a few photographic highlights:
Aram Kim
Karen Kaufman Orloff
David Neilsen
Timothy Young
Me and Kelly Purdy, teacher extraordinaire
Diana Murray
Nick Bruel and Charlotte Bennardo
A VERY HUGE THANK YOU to John Torres, head of Youth Services for the Poughkeepsie Public Library District, Friends of the Poughkeepsie Public Library District, Our Lady of Lourdes High School, Dutchess County, Dutchess Reads, Merritt Bookstore, and to the amazing staff and volunteers for bringing this incredible day to fruition. Can’t wait for next year’s festival!
Dear Santa,
What a wonderful surprise to see you at the Princeton Club of New York last Saturday! And let me tell you, you look marvelous! Was that a new suit? You know, not a lot of people can wear a bright red suit but on you it looks fantastic.
I hope you enjoyed story time with the amazing Roxie Munro, Laura Schroff, and Rocco Staino. I managed to take a few photos.
Now, I know you’re quite busy these days but I’ve been a reasonably good author this year. Okay, I’ll confess that I didn’t write every day but I can honestly say that I did mull over my stories and revisions daily. Then, I felt extreme guilt for when I wasn’t writing. Does that count for anything?
My list hasn’t changed much since last year. Here goes:
Also, if you’re looking for last minute gifts, might I recommend some AWESOME books from the KidLit Authors Club?
For more information about these wonderful books,
please visit the KidLit Authors Club.
Hope you have a wonderful holiday! Here’s to a great new year of reading and writing.
Much love,
Robin xo
Yesterday James H. Boyd Intermediate School in Huntington, New York was invaded by those unusual creatures known as nerds.
For those unfamiliar with nerds, they come from the dweeb genus and the nerdasaurus phylum (pronounced nerd-a-sau-rus). They have unusual and distinct characteristics, including, but not limited to, bags under their eyes from staying up way past their bedtimes to finish a book; bruises from crashing into walls while reading a book they can’t put down; and they often experience heart palpitations when their favorite librarian sets aside a book they’ve been dying to read. 🙂
So, what are nErD Camps? Great question. nErD Camps are free “unconference” education camps focused on literacy. They are participant driven by teachers, librarians, authors, and illustrators. Upon arriving, participants are given post-its to fill up a session board with topics for discussion. Anyone can create a session, participate in a session, or leave a session to attend another session of interest. It’s a day of free flowing ideas with the single goal of figuring out how we as teachers, librarians, authors, and illustrators can inspire kids to become lifelong readers.
This is my third nErd CampLI. This year I had the opportunity to take part in a wonderful session on author visits. I also attended three fabulous sessions, one by David Neilsen about “Inspiration is everywhere! Unlocking Students Imagination,” and another by Jackie Azua Kramer focused on “I wish my teacher knew … The question that can change everything for kids.” There was also a “mini” session about #KidsNeedMentors.
David Neilsen
Jackie Azua Kramer
#KidsNeedMentors is the brainchild of Jarrett Lerner, Ann Braden, Kristen Picone, and Kristin Crouch. The program pairs authors with schools for an entire year. Once a month, authors touch base with their schools where they share books and their thoughts on reading and writing. I have been paired with third graders at Locust Valley Intermediate School and Longridge Elementary School. It’s been an absolute privilege to work with these AMAZING third graders.
Kristin Crouch, Ann Braden, Kristen Picone, Jarrett Lerner
If you are an author interested in participating in #KidsNeedMentors, please send an email to jarrett.lerner@gmail.com or annbbraden@gmail.com. There are still many schools interested in participating that have been waitlisted.
I received this wonderful letter is from Locust Valley Intermediate School third graders.
Here are a few photographic highlights from nErD CampLI ’18:
Artie Bennett, Timothy Young, JoEllen McCarthy
Members of the KidLit Authors Club
Timothy Young, Artie Bennett, me, David Neilsen, Jodi Moore, Laurie Wallmark
I would like to shout out a HUGE THANK YOU to the superhero organizers of nErD CampLI, JoEllen McCarthy, Alison McDermott, and Kristen Picone, and to all of the teachers and librarians who arrived at 8 am and gave up their Saturday to be there.
I can’t wait for nErD CampLI ’19. And be sure to save the date for nErD CampNJ on May 18, 2019 at Chatham High School.
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