Live in California?

If you’re anywhere near Turlock, CA, this weekend, be sure to stop by the Borders in Turlock to meet paranormal author Kitty Keswick:

Ready to Party??

Art by Salvatore Vuono

Although Tuesday is the first day of sessions at BEA (BookExpo America) in New York City, one of the highlights of the day will be the Teen Author Carnival held that evening from 5-8 pm at

Jefferson Market Branch Library
425 Avenue of the Americas [at 10th St.],

Hosts of the event are: Devyn Burton, Mitali Dave, and Korianne Wey.

Here’s the star-studded list for that event:

Author List:

1. Heidi Kling – Website
2. Jeri Smith-Ready – Website
3. Holly Cupala – Website
4. Michelle Zink – Website
5. Stephanie Kuehnert – Website
6. Elizabeth Scott – Website
7. Judith Graves – Website
8. Alexandra Diaz – Website
9. Barry Lyga – Website
10. Jon Skovron – Website
11. Tonya Hurley – Website
12. Amy Brecount White – Website
13. Linda Gerber – Website
14. Melissa Walker – Website
15. Kieran Scott – Website
16. Courtney Sheinmel – Website
17. Michael Northrop – Website
18. Lauren Oliver – Website
19. Ned Vizzini – Website
20. Melissa Kantor – Website
21. Susane Colasanti – Website
22. Violet Haberdasher – Website
23. Eliot Schrefer – Website
24. Sarah Darer Littman – Website
25. Gayle Forman – Website
26. Sarah Ockler – Website
27. Sarah Mlynowski – Website
28. Maryrose Wood – Website
29. Kody Keplinger – Website
30. Simone Elkeles – Website

So if you’re ready to party, this is THE place to be on Tuesday, May 24, 2010.

Next Up: BEA

Art by Salvatore Vuono

So I’ll soon be off to the Big Apple and have lots of plans while I’m there. One of the first is to meet all the cool authors in the Class of 2k10. These authors have been working hard to promote their titles as a group.

They’re following in the footsteps of other classes before them. Class of 2k7 kicked things off when Greg Fishbone gathered a group of that year’s debut MG & YA authors together to help promote their books. Authors from that first year include (from the list on Greg Fishbone’s website):

Class of 2k7 Alumni

Spring Semester 2007

• Ruth McNally Barshaw – Ellie McDoodle: Have Pen, Will Travel (Bloomsbury)
• Kelly Bingham – Shark Girl (Candlewick)
• Julie Bowe – My Last Best Friend (Harcourt)
• Laura Bowers – Beauty Shop for Rent (Harcourt)
• Paula Chase – So Not The Drama (Dafina/Kensington)
• Cassandra Clare – City of Bones (McElderry Books)
• Rosemary Clement-Moore – Prom Dates From Hell (Delacorte)
• Karen Day – Tall Tales (Wendy Lamb Books)
• Aimee Ferris – Girl Overboard (Penguin)
• Paula Jolin – In the Name of God (Roaring Brook)
• Carrie Jones – Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend (Flux/Llewellyn)
• Rose Kent – Kimchi and Calamari (HarperCollins)
• Constance Leeds – The Silver Cup (Viking)
• Elizabeth Scott – Bloom (Simon Pulse)
• Joni Sensel – Reality Leak (Henry Holt)
• C.G. Watson – Quad (Razorbill)
• Sara Zarr – Story of a Girl (Little Brown)

Summer Session 2007

• Sarah Beth Durst – Into The Wild (Razorbill)
• Ann Dee Ellis – This Is What I Did (Little Brown)
• Jeannine Garsee – Before After and Somebody In Between (Bloomsbury)
• Judy Gregerson – Bad Girls Club (Blooming Tree Press)
• Stephanie Hale – Revenge of the Homecoming Queen (Berkley Jam)
• S.A. Harazin – Blood Brothers (Delacorte)
• Thatcher Heldring – Toby Wheeler: Eighth Grade Benchwarmer (Delacorte)
• Marlane Kennedy – Me and the Pumpkin Queen (Greenwillow)
• Melissa Marr – Wicked Lovely (HarperCollins)
• G. Neri – Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty (Lee and Low)
• Rebecca Stead – First Light (Wendy Lamb Books)

Fall Semester 2007

• Sarah Aronson – Head Case (Roaring Brook)
• Jay Asher – Thirteen Reasons Why (Razorbill)
• A.C.E. Bauer – No Castles Here (Random House)
• Autumn Cornwell – Carpe Diem (Feiwel)
• Greg R. Fishbone – The Penguins of Doom (Blooming Tree Press)
• Sundee T. Frazier – Brendan Buckley’s Universe & Everything In It (Delacorte)
• Jo Knowles – Lessons from a Dead Girl (Candlewick)
• Eric Luper – Big Slick (Farrar Straus & Giroux)
• Suzanne Selfors – To Catch a Mermaid (Little Brown)
• Heather Tomlinson – The Swan Maiden (Henry Holt)
• Tiffany Trent – In the Serpent’s Coils (Mirrorstone)

Recognize any names? Bet you do. Many of those authors went on to make names for themselves. So I’m betting the Class of 2k10 will too.

So pack your bags and join the fun. Follow the Class of 2k10’s slogan:

So who’s in the Class of 2k10? Here’s the list of this year’s stellar authors:

• Swati Avasthi
• Michele Corriel
• Leah Cypess
• Shannon Delany
• Alexandra Diaz
• Bonnie J. Doerr
• Janet Fox
• Judith Graves
• Rhonda Hayter
• Jacqueline Houtman
• Jennifer Hubbard
• Denise Jaden
• Kitty Keswick
• Irene Latham
• Tom Leveen
• Shari Maurer
• Kristina McBride
• Mara Purnhagen
• Laura Quimby
• Jame Richards
• N.H. Senzai
• Jeri Smith-Ready
• Laura L. Sullivan

Flyleaf Authors: Soul Enchilada and Island Sting

I thought I’d share a bit about the authors I’ll be signing with this weekend. With such a long list, I’ll highlight them 2 at a time. First up will be David Macinnis Gill and Bonnie J. Doerr. Interestingly enough, both of them are teachers and have written YA novels.

If you haven’t already done so, check out David’s website. I’m not going to say any more and spoil it for  you, but I think it’s one of the coolest I’ve ever seen.

David Macinnis Gill
Soul Enchilada, a BBYA 2010 and Kirkus 2009 Best Book
Black Hole Sun (August 2010)
from Greenwillow Books, an imprint of   HarperCollins
www.davidmacinnisgill.com
Bug Smoot, on her own at 18 after all her family members died off one by one, broke, about to lose her cruddy apartment and her job delivering pizza, finds that fate has dealt her one more blow. Apparently her grandfather had sold his soul to the Devil for a Cadillac, but when he died he somehow escaped collection. So now the Devil’s minion, Beales, wants the car and Bug’s grandfather’s soul, and if she can’t deliver, he’ll take hers instead. But Beales may have more on his mind than a simple repo job.

David Macinnis Gill is the author of the YA novels, Soul Enchilada and the forthcoming Black Hole Sun, from Greenwillow/Harper Collins. His short stories have appeared in several magazines, including The Crescent Review and Writer’s Forum. His critical biography of young adult author Graham Salisbury, Graham Salisbury: Island Boy, was published by Scarecrow Press. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English/creative writing and a doctorate in education, both from the University of Tennessee.

Watch David’s book trailers below.

Bonnie J. Doerr
Island Sting (Leap Books)
www.bonniedoerrbooks.com
book trailer:   www.youtube.com/watch?v=L54xiWa8IDc

When city girl Kenzie Ryan moves to a Florida wildlife refuge, she plunges straight into an eco-mystery. Kenzie trades New York streets for Keys pollution cleanup, and now, instead of hailing cabs, she’s tracking down a poacher of endangered Key deer. Her new home does have some benefits—mainly Angelo, an island native, who teams up with her to nab the culprit. But will they both survive when the killer turns from stalking deer to hunting humans? Island Sting includes notes on the endangered Florida Key deer and the National Key Deer Refuge.

A lifetime educator, Bonnie J. Doerr has taught students from kindergarten to college in eight states. Degrees in reading education, combined with a brief post as a science teacher, led her to write ecological mysteries. Her novels celebrate caring, involved, “green” teens who take action with attitude and a touch of romance. Bonnie is a member of the Class of 2k10, a group of exciting MG & YA debut authors who are working together to promote their novels.

See Bonnie’s book trailer and one from the Class of 2k10 below.

DAVID’s

BONNIE’s

CLASS OF 2K10’s

Celebrate Children’s Book Week

I’m lucky enough to be part of this illustrious group of authors who will be celebrating Children’s Book Week at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC. Here’s a press release about the event:

CELEBRATE CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK WITH SEVEN LOCAL AUTHORS

Chapel Hill, NC, May 16, 2010—Join seven local children’s and young adult authors for a reading, question-and-answer session, and booksigning. Hear excerpts from David Macinnis Gill’s award-winning Soul Enchilada (Greenwillow); Bonnie J. Doerr’s eco-mystery Island Sting (Leap Books); Carolyn McAlister’s retold folktales ¡Holy Molé! (August House) and Brave Donatella and the Jasmine Thief (Charlesbridge); Maryam Tabibzadeh’s poetic Persian Dreams (Dream Books); Laurie J. Edwards’ biography of R&B singer Rihanna (Lucent) and thriller/romance from the anthology Summer Lovin’ (Wild Rose Press); Adrienne Ehlert Bashista’s picture books on Russian adoption, When I Met You and Mishka: An Adoption Tale (DRT Press); and Anne Runyon’s seasonal picture book, The Sheltering Cedar (Portal Press).

Attendees will be treated to a sneak peek at two of Leap Books’ most recent paranormal releases: Freaksville by Kitty Keswick and Under My Skin by Judith Graves. These teen novels have unique graphics and illustrations by Canadian artist Val Cox.

Leap Books, a newly launched publisher of teen and tween books, is sponsoring this Children’s Book Week . Featured authors are all local members of SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), an international organization that provides networking, education, and support for authors and illustrators of children’s books at all stages of their careers.

The American Booksellers Association began Children’s Book Week in 1919. In 1944 the Children’s Book Council (CBC) took over the role of promoting reading and literacy through Children’s Book Week activities. Each year in May, CBC sponsors a nationwide week of events to encourage children and teens to read. A list of these events, as well as related online activities, can be found at the CBC website.

Share the Love…

For those of you interested in collecting badges, here’s # 6 of the Leap Book collection. They’re spreading around the Internet at a rapid rate. Teen bloggers from around the world are collecting them. And now that Leap Books authors have been posted on the 2010 Debut Author Challenge and gone public with the Class of 2k10, they’re being asked for more ARCs (advance reader’s copy). Leap Books had so many requests for ARCs that they’re holding a contest to award ARCs. That’s what this badge is all about. So if you’re interested in trying for an ARC, snag the badges, post them on your blog or social media sites, then let Leap Books know by emailing them at  . Find out more about the contest here. And see the rest of the badges.

And two of the authors–Bonnie J. Doerr and Kitty Keswick–have started on their blog tours… so watch for them on the teen blogs. Author Judith Graves will soon follow. as will Jacqueline Horsfall. Get ready to Leap!

http://leapbks.blogspot.com/2009/11/leap-badge-no6.html