Dear Readers,
Happy July! I hope you are keeping calm and staying cool in whichever order is preferable for you. I have some wonderful events finally confirmed in the next few months, as an editor and for The Magic Words, so this special edition of the newsletter is devoted to them -- plus, of course, the Marlster. Without further ado:
July 28-31: GeekyCon in Orlando, Florida. This always-fabulous fan convention has a killer YA lineup this year (including three of my personal favorite writers, Varian Johnson, Megan Morrison, and Daniel José Older); I’ll appear on several panels on the YA Lit Track. Also, the eighth Harry Potter story, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, will be released at midnight on the Saturday of the convention, so I’m excited to be with people reading and then furiously discussing it all day Sunday! If you love YA lit or Harry Potter, there won’t be a better way to spend next weekend. You can register here.
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 6: THE MAGIC WORDS goes on sale at fine bookstores everywhere!
September 7: 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; Mallory Kass, senior editor, Scholastic Press; 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 public 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.) Details here and full schedule here.
September 13: New York Metro SCBWI. I'll moderate a panel called “Crossing the Desk: Editors Who Write," a panel featuring Daniel Ehrenhaft, editorial director, 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 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 19 or 20 (date to be confirmed): Cass County Library in Belton, Missouri. 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: 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.
Whew! It will be a busy month. I hope to see many of you at one of these events. If you aren't able to make it, you can still preorder The Magic Words via any of the sites here. And should you need a feline opinion, well, this dude seems to like the final book....
Thanks for reading, and happy writing,
Cheryl
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