MotherReader

It is officially time to sign up for the KidLitosphere Conference, taking place on October 17th, 2009, at the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel. The conference is open to bloggers — and wannabe bloggers — in children’s and young adult literature. Yes, this includes YA/Kidlit authors, illustrators, editors, and publishers who blog or would like to blog.

So what’s the conference like, other than awesome? The day starts with breakfast from 7:00 to 8:00 a.m, where you can catch up with old friends or meet new ones. The sessions go from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and will cover:

• The Blog Within: An Interview With Your Inner Blogger
  
• Building a Better Blog: Best Practices, Ideas, and Tips
  
• Split Reviewer/Author Sessions:
  It’s All About the Book: Better Book Reviews
  It’s Not About Your Book: Writing Ideas for Blogging Authors
  
• Split Reviewer/Author Sessions:
  Social Networking for Fun (and Profit?)
  
• Authors, Publishers, Reviewers (and ARCs): A Panel Conversation
  
• Coming Together, Giving Back: Building Community, Literacy, and the Reading Message (KidLitosphere Central/PBS/RIF/Literacy)

There will also be a “Meet the Author” time at the end, where writers and illustrators can bring their books. A fun dinner to mix and mingle is scheduled for 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. with the continuing party moving to the hotel bar. The registration fee for all of this — including the breakfast and dinner — is only $100. It’s a total bargain.

Informal outings will take place on Friday and Sunday. We’re hoping to arrange a Library of Congress tour for Friday afternoon and we’ll gather for dinner near the hotel around 6:00 p.m. Sunday’s expedition may involve a local DC bookstore, Politics and Prose. If I can get some authors to register soon, we may even be able to arrange a reading.

Rooms are currently on hold at the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel for the amazing rate of $109 a night. They will only be held until September 16th, and if our block is filled before then, that low rate may not be available. Book soon. Since I’ve held rooms with two double beds, you could bring your family along to visit DC or share with a blogger buddy.

It should be noted that the hotel is a mile from National Airport and free shuttle service is available. A Metro Station is on the same block, allowing travel to Washington in minutes. In fact, downtown DC is only two miles away. The hotel is right next to the Crystal City Shops and a few blocks from the upscale Fashion Center at Pentagon City. If you want more information about the hotel, visit the website of the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel.

The registration form is available at KidLitosphere Central. There are a limited number of spaces available, so please sign up soon. Here are some of the bloggers who will be coming to the conference:

• Abby — Abby (the) Librarian
  
• Laurel — Bewilderblog
  
• Jennie — Biblio File
  
• Melissa — Book Nut
  
• Anamaria — Books Together
  
• Liz — A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy
  
• Charlotte — Charlotte’s Library
  
• Maureen — Confessions of a Bibliovore
  
• Carrie — Dog Eared and Well Read
  
• Michelle — Galleysmith
  
• Greg — Gotta Book, Happy Accident
  
• Jen — Jen Robinson’s Book Page
  
• Pam — MotherReader
  
• Gina — PBS Booklights
  
• Paige — Pink Me
  
• Terry — Reading Tub
  
• Sara — Read Write Believe
  
• Sheila — Wands and Worlds
  
• Wendie — Wendie’s Wanderings
  
• Susan — Wizards Wireless
  
• Kelly — Writing and Ruminating
  
• Mary Lee — A Year of Reading