INK Sisters Write

Dear Kim, Remember that letter I sent you way back in October? (You remember October-- back when all things seemed possible.)  The letter,  COMP TITLES and THE QUERYING WRITER , shared details from our Novel Nuts & Bolts class with Empire Literary Agent Carrie Howland. (I may have referred to her as "agent-extraordinaire" in another post .) Though today's post will be my third about Carrie, it is titled "Part II" because my querying journey seems sequel worthy. I started looking for an agent soon after you and I met at the NYC SCBWI conference in 2012 . I had nice feedback from an agent at a conference and sent him my work. His response was kind (which I've found most responses from agents to be.) But my writing wasn’t ready. The novel he saw was the first I’d ever finished. I wasn't ready. I swallowed that little voice that said, SEND! SEND! SEND! for two more years until I entered #PitchWars -- Brenda Drake’s crash cou...

Dear Kim, Focus on books. Focus on books. Look to ALA and focus on books. That's my mantra today. Does it work for you too? ALA Midwinter is a hive of book buzz right now with just a few days until the announcements of the annual ALA Youth Media awards. From http://www.ala.org/news/mediapresscenter/presskits/ymapk It is an exciting time for the children's book world as we await to see if our favorites will wear foil seals. Award committees may miss one or two of our favorites, but overwhelmingly do a nice job of highlighting the very best in children's literature each year.  What a task serving on such a committee must be, equal parts heavy responsibility and utter joy. I'm always pleased when the committees help me find new books to love, like Dan Santat's BEEKLE or THIS ONE SUMMER by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki. Both were so far from my radar. So I say, THANK YOU, COMMITTEES for bringing them to me! I don't read enough m...

Dear Kim, That was a pretty sweet way to end #AuthorApril. The month culminating with our SCBWI Eastern PA crew at the Highlights Foundation, and a certain faculty member whose name fit our #AtoZChallenge perfectly. (Almost like we planned it!) It helped that Zachariah was such a good sport! This year's retreat was all about character. We kicked off the weekend with a costume party, celebrating favorite children's book characters. Hey, there you are with Effie Trinket!! Then we got down to business with our amazing faculty: Ame Dyckman, Zachariah OHora, Sean McCarthy, Leila Sales, Lauren Rille, and Meg Medina. Each faculty member shared techniques to help our writers develop strong, memorable characters. We also had Ky Betts, professional caricature artist, take our writers from flesh to sketch; highlighting the character found in all of us. Can you tell which faculty member had this caricature made? To learn more about Ky, click here. I had the oppor...

Dear Kim, Although e.E. Charlton-Trujillo has only one "N" in her mighty name, her revolutionary organization counts for our challenge, as a matter of fact, it is called NEVER COUNTED OUT . Never Counted Out Co-founder, e.E. Charlton Trujillo I met E. at a screening of her powerful documentary, At-Risk Summer, at the 2015 NCTE Conference in Minneapolis. I was beyond inspired by her documentary, I was charged. My heart and head raced with ideas. She asked for literary activists. She asked for folks to join her revolution. The entire room leaned in and screamed yes. I may have been crying. Ok...I definitely was. E. brought me to tears with her big heart, her big ideas, and in time, with the story of Fat Angie . The book that carried Charlton-Trujillo across the country for her At-Risk Summer book tour. Winner of a 2014 Stonewall Book Award Relationships are at the heart of Fat Angie . Angie's relationship with her presumed-dead war-hero sister. Angie...

Dear Kim, Thank you for sharing a bit about your new INKSpell publishing family . Those covers! Shoot. They are all awesome. I cannot wait to see your cover for Starr Fall. Speaking of covers. How about this one? Dumplin' . Yes, D  - fucking fabulous -  umplin! I love so much about this book, and its author, Julie Murphy that I may start to ramble a bit on this, the day of "J" in #AuthorApril. But, my dear Kim, I know that you appreciate a good ramble, so here I go... -Me devouring Dumplin circa September 2015, Cocoon Coffee House I was intrigued last spring when the buzz for Dumplin' started and was full on hooked by the time I saw this... Do you think I pre-ordered? Oh, you know I did. That Julie Murphy-- I am going to give her all the credit here, marketing teams be damned-- she knew how to run a pre-order campaign. I wore my Dumplin' pin with pride. (Secretly a bit jealous of the curvy lady it portrayed who was brave enough to w...