MotherReader

In a retro way, I pulled together a document of names, blogs, and web addresses of the KidLitCon attendees. Looking over, I can say that I interacted with every person on that list. And that's a pretty cool thing.

So Friday, after an overpriced slice of pizza, Jen, Sarah, Charlotte and I headed over to the iSchool for the pre-con Meet and Greet. Kelly, Kimberly, and Leila were waiting expectantly for us. (Leila had even sent a tweet into the void, "@MotherReader where are you?") Set-up was easy, and we soon had piles of ARC's from Bloomsbury and bound books from First Second Books, along with ARC's and books that our attendees were sharing. The book table was a real draw, as everyone grabbed the titles they had missed and gave enthusiastic recommendations.

After everyone was loaded down with armfuls of books, we headed to a local Mexican restaurant. Through the evening, I had Jen, Sarah,  and Lee Wind on my right and we chatted about family stuff and overloaded schedules and our own insecurities. It was deep. On my left, I had author Molly Blaisdell to talk writing and college applications. In front of me I had chips, tacos, and a beer. It was a good night.

Back at the hotel, we hung out at the tech station near the bar with a series of laptops and iPads to show each other books, apps, and apparently Candy Crush. I finally got to catch up with Melissa and talk kids and colleges. There was more beer.

The day of KidLitCon went smoothly. The venue at St David's was so perfect, and inexpensive as well. (Contact me if you want info for an Austin event at a fraction of the price, and twice and nice.) I made sure that local do-everything librarian Jen Bigheart and local author Chris Barton met the facilities manager, because people need to know about this place!

Cynthia Letich Smith gave a wonderful keynote speech, with great advice, humor, and inspiration. And she gave away books too! I loved Lee Wind's talk about diversity in our world, and how that can and needs to be reflected in children's and young adult literature. I was inspired by Maria Burel's story of how writing a blog ended up connecting her with a friend who became her agent. The panel discussion on blogging of Sheila Ruth, Jennifer Donovan, Sarah Stevenson,  Lee Wind  and Leila Roy led to the great words round-up of KidLitCon: Literacy. Connection. Community. Opportunity. And my fav, Kindred Spirits.

After the official sessions (which I've chosen not to describe, but are done well on other blogs), we went to Scholtz Garten for dinner. And beer. Of course beer. Here I got to chat bookstores, Cybils, and atrocious books with Maureen, Melissa, Charlotte and Paula. Rosemond Cates gathered the stragglers of the group together for a photo, before some headed out to a local bookstore and others back to the hotel bar. Guess which group I was in?


Actually, I didn't drink at the bar, but enjoyed the procession of characters in the lobby which included attendees of a Marine Ball, a bachelorette party, a bunch of band roadies, possibly some hookers, and that guy that played Darryl on The Office. I'm not kidding.

I got in one more outing before Jen took me to the airport, and that was brunch at the Blue Dahlia Bistro which had food so lovely that I took a picture. But instead, I'll share the one of our little Breakfast Club.

As we walked back, I was able to talk with Sherry Early, who I met for the first time that weekend. She confirmed the feeling I'd had all weekend, that the smaller scale had made it so easy for people to really get to know each other. I know that I was glad to have met her and another long-time blogger Camille Powell, because KidLitCon came to Texas. Overall, a great time.

I'll be rounding-up posts at KidLitosphere Central, so look for more details - or any details - about sessions there. Thanks again to all who came and all who supported KidLitCon 2013.

After coming home from KidLitCon, I had dinner, watched some TV, wrote an email, and then slept for twelve hours. It was a good weekend, but I'm soooo worn out.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, let me put off my descriptive posting with this photo from the dinner at Scholtz Garten. Everyone having a great time, hanging out with blogger friends new and old. And, you know, beer.



I am so grateful to my fellow organizers for making this happen and keeping it real. I'm also grateful to the KidLitCon attendees for making it special and keeping it going another year. Details later here and round-ups coming at KidLitosphere Central. For now, for me, some rest.

At KidLitCon this weekend I'll be presenting my "Beyond the Blog" session for authors, focusing on what resources and connections are out there for kidlit/YA authors and illustrators. While I won't be able to touch on every aspect of building a blog for this community, I will be going over some basics. Basics that far too many authors and illustrators are missing.

Since I maintain the KidLitosphere Central site, I need to check the hundreds of links to blogs to make sure that they are still active. I don't have time to spend on each blog, I know what I'm looking for, and I expect to find it in seconds. Often I don't, and it signals to me a problems that may be unique to our kid lit and YA authors, so often humble individuals. It's time to fix that, staring with:

1. Your Name
Seriously, your author name belongs on your author blog. I'm baffled as to why this is even an issue. Sometimes it's authors or illustrators using only a first name or a cute nickname. Sometimes - and I'm looking at you LiveJournal - the format makes it hard to find and tech-challenged writers left it alone, leaving their online ID as 'writergirldeb' and me wondering who the hell this is. If you want a cute blog name, be my guest. But then your full name belongs on the first page of the blog.

2. Your Book(s)
This is where I suspect the humble streak of so many kid lit and YA authors/illustrators comes into play. You don't want to brag about your work. But you are not doing yourself, your readers, or your potential readers any favors by leaving off the books that you have written or illustrated. A list of titles is barely okay. Images in the sidebar is much better. The visual impact makes connections for the blog reader far faster - especially in this era of single-word titles like Torn, Entice, Dangerous, and Papaya. And I'm not even sure which of those titles I'm making up. If you have to narrow it down, your most recent and best known books should have cover images on your blog, on the first page. Not after the archives, followers, and cute blogging awards like "Hot Mama Blogger." (Again, not sure if I'm making that up)

3. Dates
Not your social ventures or fig-like fruit fetish. The dates of your blog entries. As a reader, I want to know if I'm reading an active blog. Also, why it's November and I'm reading about your spring book tour. I prefer the date at the top of blog entries, because it provides a time context for what I'm about to read - especially if you don't update a lot. The date at the end of the entry is acceptable. No dates anywhere, is not.


If you are in the Austin area - and I'm including all Texas in this, because what do I know of Texas - you can learn more about kidlit and YA blogging at KidLitCon on Saturday, November 9th. I'll be presenting more on this topic and offering to look at author/illustrator blogs with my critical eye. Registration is available online and on site. Oh, and we've added an afternoon-only option for SCBWI members who may be attending one of the local events that morning. Hope to see you there!

With the planning coming to a close, it was exciting to see this article from YAInterrobang covering the seventh year of KidLitCon so well. The emphasis on connection versus size, people versus swag, and casual versus sleek, represents my own experience of attendance at all six previous conferences.

I know my fellow organizer and best blogging friend Jen Robinson won't mind if I lift her quote:

"KidLitCon isn’t about catching a glimpse of big-name authors, or getting books signed, or scoring free books. Instead, KidLitCon is a chance for the community of children’s book bloggers and authors, many of whom interact with one another online, to meet in person. It’s about turning virtual friends into real world friends."

That's it. She nailed it. And the reminder was uplifting, because this has been a hard conference to organize. Mostly because all the people organizing it, myself included, are absolutely swamped with other conflicts. For heaven sakes, Jackie is a new mom, a working mom, and had surgery in the middle of getting the schedule together. None of us had planned on this level of involvement. Truly.

But it's a labor of love. It's too important a conference for our online community to not have it. Even if it's difficult or running behind schedule. Even if room selections fell through, leaving us wondering if maybe we could just quietly set up shop on the grounds of the capitol. Even if arranging a block of hotel rooms was more like getting an IRS audit. Even if we found that we were conflicting with another event in the morning targeting our exact potential attendees. It hasn't been easy.

But this week, I hope that I'll have a chance to turn more virtual friends into real world friends. We're keeping registration open, and I hope that you'll consider joining us. Visit the KidLitCon website for more information and register today.

The fun starts on Friday, November 8th with a Meet-and-Greet session where authors/illustrators can talk about their books and everyone can share in the freebies and food. Then join the group for a KidLit Drink Night at a local restaurant.
On Saturday, after the keynote address by Cynthia Leitich Smith of Cynsations, the sessions lineup offers:

• Ctrl+Z: 3 Things Every Illustrator and Author Needs To Know About Digital Art, presented by Laura Jennings of The Highsong Project
• Blogger Burnout: Suggestions for Getting Your Groove Back, presented by Jen Robinson and Sarah Stevenson of Jen Robinson’s Book Page & Finding Wonderland
• Diversity in Kid Lit: Nurture More, Blog More, Get More, presented by Lee Wind of I’m Here. I’m Queer. What the Hell Do I Read?
• Soft Sell Marketing, presented by Molly Blaisdell of Seize the Day.
• Critical Reviews & Why They Matter, presented by Kelly Jensen and Kimberly Francisco of STACKED.
• Beyond the Blog for Authors and Illustrators, presented by Pam Coughlan of MotherReader
• Don’t Fear the Code: Spice up Your Blog with HTML and CSS,  presented by Sheila Ruth of Wands and Worlds
• Blogging the Middle Grade Books, presented by Charlotte Taylor of Charlotte’s Library
• Kidlit Blogging Roundtable: Our Past, Present, and Future, moderated by Sarah Stevenson of Finding Wonderland

Thinking today about ways to contribute to our online kidlit community, the KidLitosphere.

1. Register for KidLitCon 2013
KidLitCon is a conference bargain, especially at the early registration rate of $55. Register by Monday - I'm extending early registration because I can - and you'll also be entered in a drawing for a special prize package of books and treats, lovingly put together by your conference hosts. PLUS you'll also have access to the discount rate to our block of rooms at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Austin. It's about a half a mile from the conference site, and will be populated with some of your favorite bloggers who like to hang out by the bar. However, this rate of $189 a night is only available until Monday, so I hope you'll sign up soon. Since I spent all my energy writing up the basics of registering, I'll leave the why KidLitCon is so amazing to Jen and Kelly and Leila and (earlier) me. Since I've been to all seven of them - that's right bitches! - here are my 2012 reflections and an earlier round-up of KidLitCons.

2. Nominate for Cybils
Cybils nominations are coming to a close next week, so get in your book nominations for these special online awards. We are looking for quality books, and we know they are out there. Look to the lists for what has been nominated already, and then submit overlooked titles. Some bloggers have been putting out suggestions, so take a look at Semicolon and more Semicolon, Jean Little Library, Great Books, Charlotte's Library and more Charlotte's Library, Family Bookshelf, Finding Wonderland, and Miss Print. These are OUR awards - from, by and of the KidLitosphere - so please, participate.

3. Publicize Cybils and KidLitCon
I'll admit that I've been doing a terrible job with this aspect. Though to be fair, I am running components of both of them which is a lot of work in itself. We could use your help to get out the word about ongoing Cybils nominations and our upcoming KidLitCon in Austin. If you have a post about KidLitCon or Cybils nominations that you'd like to share, please leave a comment with the link.

The conference began, as so many do, with me auctioning off extra ARC's on the front steps of the library. After our group's visits to the publishers, we realized that we couldn't take home so many books. Yes, I could have waited for the Leave-an-ARC-Take-an-ARC cart, but what would have been the fun in that. Also I didn't know that it was there or that I would take yet another bunch of books with a bonus tote bag. But it was fun hanging out with new blogger friends Amy and Alyssa just giving away books.

Entering the impressive New York Public Library building, I started off with a session on Twitter led by blogger icon Teri Lesesne, The Goddess of YA Literature. A true believer, she even let us use the computers to tweet during her presentation. I followed a few of her suggested folks as she was talking and I noted #titletalk, #nerdybookclub, and #mglitchat to get me into the world of chats. Best of all, she made me feel a more comfortable in exploring Twitter and on setting limits - time or otherwise - on my involvement.

Art of the Picture Book was an exciting opportunity to learn more from an art student who talked about the divide between the "craft of illustration" and "fine art." With examples, selections, and videos from illustrators Jess Ferro used her expertise and passion for picture book illustration to help get through the divide. I hope later to link to her talk as it was fascinating!

After lunch, everyone attended the Critical Reviews session. The panel was packed with knowledgable people, and I was taking notes throughout trying to keep up with the discussion. Liz gave us some great funny bits, while Monica blushed about her relationship with Philip Pullman.

Next was a panel discussion on the Changing Relationship between the Author and the Reader in the Age of Social Media with authors Michael Northrop, Gayle Forman, Alyssa Sheinell, and Adele Griffin. The main topics on the table were the social media needs of an author and the right public/private life balance. It was interesting to me how much time authors put into correspondence - especially if they write books about sensitive issues.

The keynote speech was different in that it was at the end, and that speaker Marueen Johnson used the little-known Phone a Friend option for it. It was a causal discussion along with her good friend Robin Wasserman on a meandering path of social media and branding and critical reviews and author meltdowns. I'm not sure I liked it, but I'll certainly remember it.

We had to move out to the library pretty promptly at the close, and we fit in a stop at the hotel to freshen up before the KidLit Drink Night. I also grabbed a slice of pizza because I knew I wouldn't have a real chance to eat. And I did not, though I was able to talk to Melissa, Maureen and Charlotte about kids and conferences. I chatted with Monica and Sondy about possible Newbery award winners for this year. I introduced two Cybils Chairs - Terry and Mary Ann to each other in actual real life. I had a brief exchange with the woman of the weekend, Betsy Bird, who pulled together one fantastic conference and got a little more face time with Greg before he hit the jet-lag wall.

After a wine-fueled attempt to find my favorite junky store and a cupcake shop - both of which were closed - we had to call it a night. Which really meant more talking back in the room about the great time we had at KidLitCon 2012. Hope you join us there next year, in Austin.

Traveling light, I left for New York City with a purse and an ingeniously packed laptop bag containing a change of clothes, toiletries, and an iPad that I barely know how to use. I came back from KidLitCon 2012 with much, much more including fifteen ARC's, ten hardbacks, five F&G's, four tote bags, three notebooks, two mini-shampoos, and a Ganesha's Sweet Tooth toothbrush.

Of course, I also came back with great memories, new friends, and a fresh perspective. And I have a representative photograph of that... which I took from Kelly at Stacked.


I took the bus in on Friday and missed the first session of publisher previews, but did get to have lunch with old friends Liz Burns and Kelly Jensen. I was particularly excited to meet another longtime blogger friend in actual real life, Leila from Bookshelves of Doom. Then it was off to Penguin, where I was unfortunately late for guest authorGayle Forman, but was treated to a preview of upcoming titles. I loved the the enthusiasm displayed each editor for the books coming out of their division and was excited to bring home a bag of some of the talked about titles. The marketing department shared their thoughts and book trailers as we munched on cupcakes, and the art department gave a very interesting presentation on book covers and how they come to be.

After talking to a few other bloggers, I headed to the hotel room that I shared with Liz and Kelly, where I met up with Lelia and her charming friend Amanda, and we all traded books from our various previews. Reviewing middle-grade and picture books like I do, I got more books than I could take home, but I also gave away most of my YA titles.

After a brief tidying up, we headed to the KidLit dinner at Ichi Umi, which features the longest buffet of sushi and such ever. I was able to touch base and share table space with Greg Pincus as we tried to remember which yummy morsels we had put on our plates. (The monk fish liver was fabulous.) I had exchanged brief hellos with our speaker, Grace Lin, and made cutesy faces at her adorable baby. Yes, she brought her baby. What a treat! (Thanks for the picture, Sondy.)

Of course the real treat was her presentation of her journey as an artist. It was personal and meaningful, exploring her revelation to find her own style by looking to what moved her and incorporating her cultural and individual identity. The lovely talk was followed by a signing of her new book, Starry River of the Sky.

The day was over before the karaoke could begin, though some of us stopped at the bar on the way back home. (Yeah, I'm looking at you, Maureen.) We closed the night pretty early though, saving our energy for the upcoming big event: KidLitCon.

The KidLitosphere needs your help. If you have ever been to a KidLitCon or plan on going to the next one, please fill out this short online survey. It only takes a few minutes, and you have the opportunity to comment or make suggestions to the next committee for KidLitCon 2011. To spur your suggestions, I thought I’d spend today talking about my experiences with the four conferences I have attended.

In 2007, it was just a lark. Robin Brande thought it would be cool if we got together for a potluck dinner, and the idea grew. So many people were on board that she realized that it actually could happen. With her taking the lead on location and dinner and hotel reservations, everyone pitched in to come up with sessions. What I remember most about the Chicago conference was the leap of faith we all took to be there, and how amazingly well it turned out to be. I met my blogging friends for the first time and it was incredible. These people I “knew” online? It turned out that I did know them, as so many folks were exactly like their blogs. I credit that personal interaction with keeping me going with this whole blogging thing.

In 2008, the conference moved to Portland under the direction of Jone and Laini. While the first conference introduced me to my already-blog-friends, this one found me in the company of brand new friends. I met Lee Wind, and we hit it off so well that we began doing this Comment Challenge together. I knew Colleen from Chasing Ray, but was intimidated by her blog persona — so smart and intellectual. Well, she is smart and intellectual... and funny and sharp and opinionated and so much fun to hang out with. Colleen, Jackie and I spent a lot of time together, and I’m looking forward to working with them on the 2011 conference. I remember Jone taking me to see Multnomah Falls on the Sunday after, where we talked about conference planning because I had agreed to take on the next year’s event. Gulp.

In 2009, it was my show, so I remember far more about it than I can convey here. While I went the sessions, my mind was generally on the logistics of the next event and it was hard to concentrate. No matter, as I got so much out of the planning. I was determined to take some of the best parts and lessons learned from the two previous conferences and turn them into something great. I could talk about this at length, so I’ll try to bring it down to a few high points for me. I loved how many people turned out for the informal Friday night dinner. It was a blast. Along with scheduled meals for Saturday breakfast and dinner, and a free lunch time, it gave everyone many opportunities to hang out together and meet new people. I loved the casual feel of the meet-the-author session, and learned about some great new books. My personal favorite thing was the charity raffle. The format of it gave a little something to do during cocktail hour, and I liked putting together the packages with my daughters and family friend. It was also a treat watching them announce the winners, and just basking in that kind of support from my family. I’ll never forget my DC experience.

In 2010, I took myself to Minneapolis with a need to energize among my friends. I got that in spades, hanging out with old blogging friends and meeting new ones. I reconnected with Kelly Herold, who is now back to blogging at Crossover. I loved the author event on Friday, going to hear Maggie Stiefvater, Brenna Yovanoff, and Tess Gratton talk about their critique partner relationship. The location at Open Book was fantastic, and just a short walk from the hotel. I found the meaning of these conferences in one line from Amy, “Ah… there was a whole VELVETEEN RABBIT feel to the whole #kidlitcon day. Everyone is real at last!” So true.

Hopefully my little trip down memory lane has got you thinking about KidLitCon. So take that energy and those opinions and fill out the online survey. The future of KidLit Cons depends on it.