Many fun things are happening for The Magic Words in the next two months! You can find me at all of these events:
August 13-14: Writer’s Digest Annual Conference in New York City. I’ll give a talk called “YA Fiction: What It Is, Why It's Hot, and How to Break Through.” The Magic Words will be available for sale for the first time at the conference bookstore.
September 7, 7-8 p.m.: The Strand Bookstore in New York City. I'll participate in a panel on writing and publishing great children’s and YA books with Alvina Ling, VP and Editor-in-Chief, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Kass Morgan, author of The 100 series; Brooks Sherman, agent, the Bent Agency; and moderated by Eliot Schrefer, author of many excellent books, including the National Book Award nominees Endangered and Threatened. This will pretty much be the launch party for The Magic Words, so I'd be delighted if you were there!
September 10: The BookMarks Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I’ll give a presentation on “Writing for Kids and Teens” and participate in two “Slush Pile Live” sessions (aka first page sessions), as well as doing a book signing. The festival is free, with a terrific lineup of authors, including Kate DiCamillo, Joseph Bruchac, Jacqueline Woodson, Lauren Tarshis, Sarah J. Maas and Renee Ahdieh, Victoria Schwab . . . It’ll be quite a day! (And somewhere in there, I’ll need to get barbecue.) Full schedule here.
September 13: New York Metro SCBWI. I'll moderate a panel called “Crossing the Desk: Editors Who Write," featuring Daniel Ehrenhaft, editorial director of Soho Teen and author of many YA novels, including The Wessex Papers; Andrea Davis Pinkney, editor-at-large, Scholastic Press, and author of many books for children, including A Poem for Peter: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats; and Jill Santopolo, editorial director at Philomel Books/Penguin Random House, and author of two YA novels and many middle-grade books, including the Sparkle Spa series. Is it possible to separate the authorial and editorial mindsets—and if so, how? How does it feel for an editor to be edited, and what lessons have they taken from their publishing experiences? In this panel featuring four editors who write, we’ll discuss the pleasures and challenges of doing both kinds of creative work. You can buy tickets here.
September 20, 6-8 p.m.: Cass County Library Northern Resource Center, 164 Cedar Tree Square, Belton, Mo. My hometown book launch will also be a fundraiser for the Cass County Public Library Foundation. (There may also be another event in Kansas City.)
September 21, 7 p.m.: Left Bank Books, St. Louis, Missouri. I’ll give a presentation and sign books.
September 27: Park Slope Barnes and Noble in Brooklyn, New York. Presentation and signing.