Category: Readings

The Boston Book Festival from the Comfort of Your Computer

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I talked a little about my experiences at the Boston Book Festival here, but obviously I couldn’t capture all that the presenters had to say. Fortunately, the BBF has posted audio of most panels online. How cool is that? I attended:

YA: Overcoming Adversity: Kathryn Burak, Jo Knowles, Barry Lyga, Host: Amy Pattee
YA: The Future Is Now: Rachel Cohn, Cory Doctorow, Gabrielle Zevin, Host: M.T. Anderson

You can also check out the festival slideshow to get a sense of the atmosphere of the day:

Thanks for continuing to rock, Boston Book Festival team!

Read Alouds with Neil Gaiman and Other Awesome People

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Coraline by Neil Gaiman is the perfect near-Halloween reading choice–it’s creepy and adventurous and not a typical scary reading choice. And now you can listen to Neil Gaiman and other famous people read it to you!

Chapters 1-8 have been posted thus far, so there’s plenty of time to catch up.

Also, Neil Gaiman’s reading voice is very Alan Rickman-y. Reason #521 why he’s awesome?

Author Events and Public Speaking

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Confession: I hate public speaking.

The few readings I’ve done have been preceded by me telling my husband that fiction writers shouldn’t be expected to talk in front of other people, and that public speaking is a bizarre form of hazing. Nothing bad has happened–usually things go well–but they still make me nervous.

For the next one, I’m definitely going to reread Cynthia Leitich Smith’s post about how to handle public speaking events and potential problems like hecklers, not having enough time, and small turnout. Lots of really helpful advice and great anecdotes. I especially like her suggestion for how to politely respond to awkward or obnoxious questions.

Also, something very important to keep in mind about all kinds of author events:

“Say thank you, no matter what. The vast majority of children’s-YA book event planners are volunteers and among the most formidable champions of your field.”

Public speaking can be overwhelming, but it’s really helpful to keep in mind that the people planning and attending the events love these books. They’re not out to get you or make you feel awkward. They want to listen to you speak because you make something they love. And then you get to talk to them, too, and engage with them about their own reading and writing experiences. How cool is that?

Have Fun and Be Cool at Bookstore Events

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For most people, public speaking is scary. Everyone’s watching you and listening to you. If you’re giving a reading, you’re also sharing your creative work, which can be intensely personal (even if the story has nothing to do with your actual life). And you’re supposed to read for an hour and then answer questions about yourself? Who invented this kind of torture?

Fortunately, Jennifer Laughran looks at what makes a successful bookstore event. Hint: it’s not reading for an hour. One part I liked:

“Tip #6: Visual aids raise interest level. Kids especially love to see visual aids. I know one prolific author who has ALL his jackets taped together and unfurls them like a scroll and has kids hold it up – it stretches across the room! People think it is cool if you show off all the book jackets from around the world or early versions of book jackets that didn’t make it, or a funny story you wrote as a kid, or a writing notebook with a thousand cross-outs in it, or your own embarrassing childhood photo, the menu from the restaurant that inspired the book, or whatever. People love “behind the scenes” stuff and “making of” stuff, and kids love knowing that fancy published authors were just kids like them once upon a time.”

I love all the ideas here that aren’t related to you reading a selection of your book. That’s important, but I think these “behind the scenes” looks at the life of an author and the creation of the book. Once I attended a reading by Shannon Hale and for the most part, she talked about how she became a writer. She even showed us a giant roll of rejection letters she’d received from literary journals–a few of which I’d gotten myself. It was a huge relief to know that someone like Shannon had worked through rejection to get The Goose Girl published (and all her other amazing novels that followed). Thinking outside the standard reading box can be so much fun for your audience, who tend to expect the standard “reading followed by a Q&A.”

Jennifer gives a lot of info and suggestions, so make sure to check out the whole post. Have you attended any cool readings? Do you do anything to make your readings stand out?

Katherine Paterson in Lowell for Talk About Historical Fiction

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Grrr, I’m booked that night, but this presentation by Katherine Paterson sounds fantastic:

When: 7 p.m. Thursday, May 3, 2012
Where: UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center, 50 Warren St., Lowell, MA

Paterson, the Library of Congress’s 2010-2012 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, will talk about how historical research, a compelling plot, and a feisty female character combine to create a novel that breathes life into the story of Lowell’s 19th-century textile mills and the labor activism of “mill girls.”

Click through for more info. Apparently you need to reserve a space in advance. I had the opportunity to see Katherine Paterson at another NCBLA event, and she was fantastic. I’d love to hear her thoughts on creating compelling historical fiction.

(via The National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance)

New Voices in YA Reading Recap

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The last week has been filled with writerly goodness. This weekend I was at the annual NESCBWI conference (more on that later); before that, I was part of the Brookline Public Library’s New Voices in YA and Children’s Literature series. It was awesome!

Confession: readings (or any kind of public speaking) make me nervous. I’ve never had a terrible experience, but I always get anxious a few hours before the actual event. Fortunately, the vibe at the reading was so enthusiastic and low-key that I quickly forgot about nerves.

I read with three other YA writers, two of whom (Beth Brenner and Mike Dwyer) are good friends. We all have fairly different styles, so it was cool getting to hear everyone’s readings. A few topics covered: girl detectives, reincarnated guards, magical families, and drivers ed. I’m sure it’s hard to plan for different styles in advance, but it worked out really well. Fellow New Voices writers, I need to hear more of your work, immediately.

Series organizer Dorrie was wonderful to work with. She made sure we had necessary info and felt taken care of beforehand, and she kept things interesting during the reading. Usually I stress about Q&A sessions, but Dorrie came up with fun questions that we all got into answering. Dorrie also included a drawing of a bird Amelia Earhart in the program handout. How cool is that?!

Many thanks to everyone who came out to hear us read. It made a huge difference to have so many friendly faces in the audience. And thanks to the wonderful librarians and staff at the Brookline Public Library for putting together such a cool event.

New Voices in YA Reading in Brookline–Including This Very Blogger!

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Hey there, Boston-area YA fans! Tomorrow night (Thursday, April 19) from 6:30-8pm I’ll be taking part in the Brookline Library’s New Voices in Y.A. and Children’s Literature series. Three other YA writers and I will read from our work and talk a little about what it means to write YA. Two of the other readers are also two extremely good friends and excellent writers, so it’s sure to be a fun time.

The details:

New Voices in Y.A. and Children’s Literature Reading
Thursday, April 19
6:30-8pm
The Public Library of Brookline
YA lit, new writers, refreshments, and general awesomeness

And if you’re headed to NESCBWI this weekend, you can consider this an unofficial conference kick-off event. (I sure am!)