So…a few weeks ago, I went into my publisher’s headquarters (Simon & Schuster) and did a short video interview for the S&S website. I sat in a little room with a videocamera in my face and a microphone clipped on me while they asked me questions about The Rock and the River and me as a person. I have to say, at the moment it felt very glamorous. But some of the questions were hard!
They said, “Describe yourself in eight words….” I was like, “Umm…” (Can “umm…” be one of my words, please?)
So, why am I bringing this up now? Well. It’s getting to be about the time when I can email my editor and ask if I can see it. The video people will have done their editing work, and they’ll send me a nice shiny copy. I’m half eager about this, and half not. I always think I look a little funny on camera, so I’m nervous to see it! The camera man said it was good. The interviewer said it was good. My editor said it was good. But I am still nervous.
The Hunger Mountain Spring Fundraising Auction will feature manuscript critiques with notable authors and literary agents as well as limited edition letterpress broadsides!
All items will be available for bidding at The Hunger Mountain Store, beginning at noon EST May 2. Bidding ends at noon EST on May 9. One-on-one critiques in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, writing for children, writing for young adults, and writing for the stage will be conducted by phone, email, or snail mail.
Also available are signed broadsides from the Stinehour Broadside Award Series including work by authors Alice Hoffman, Neil Shepard, David Rivard, and Lucia Perillo. These letterpress broadsides are all signed and numbered, limited edition, and frame worthy, making them the perfect gift for anyone who appreciates the artistry of literature!
All purchases are charitable in support of Hunger Mountain‘s non-profit mission to cultivate engagement with and conversation about the arts by publishing high-quality, innovative literary and visual art by both established and emerging artists, and by offering opportunities for interactivity and discourse.
I’m pleased to report that The Rock and the River was reviewed on Richie’s Picks today! Richie says of the book…
“In the course of Sam Childs’ coming of age story, amidst the American history I thought I knew so well, author Kekla Magoon has radically altered my understanding of the Black Panther Party. In her debut novel, Magoon, who studied history as an undergraduate, does an exceptional job of integrating many sides of very complex racial and political issues into this tense tale of an adolescent who has grown up in the Civil Rights Movement.”
Calling all YA and children’s writers! We are thrilled to present the inaugural Katherine Paterson Prize for YA and Children’s Writing in Hunger Mountain.
Hunger Mountain, the arts journal of Vermont College of Fine Arts, will launch our new online arts journal early this summer. Our new site will include YA and Children’s Literature; we’ll feature articles on hot topics and trends in YA and children’s literature, interviews with publishing industry insiders, and fiction selections by well-known and up-and-coming YA and children’s authors. Upcoming issues will feature pieces by Katherine Paterson, Carrie Jones, Cynthia Leitich Smith, K.A. Nuzum, Rita Williams-Garcia, Sara Zarr and many others!
Writers of Young Adult Fiction, Middle Grade Fiction, and Picture Books are encouraged to enter the Katherine Paterson Prize for YA and Children’s Writing for a piece of fiction NOT yet under contract or under consideration by a publisher. Newbery Award-winning author Katherine Paterson will judge. One winner will receive $1,000.00 and publication in Hunger Mountain online, and two honorable mentions will receive $100.00 each.
Entries may include: Young Adult Fiction (novel excerpt or short story) Middle Grade Fiction (novel excerpt or short story) Picture Book (text only)
Submission Fee: $20 per entry
Deadline: Entries must bepostmarked by June 30th, 2009
Contest Guidelines: Your packet should include four items: 1. A one-page cover sheet that includes: –Your name, address, email and phone number –The title of your manuscript –The category of your manuscript (YA, MG, PB) –A brief (one to two paragraph/200 word) bio of yourself –A brief (one to two paragraph/250 word) synopsis of your manuscript 2. Your manuscript: –Up to 5,000 words of middle grade/young adult fiction, or one picture book manuscript (text only) –Entries must be double-spaced, with margins of at least 1” –Please number the pages of your entry, and label each page with the title –Please DO NOT label the manuscript with your name (entries will be judged anonymously) –Please paperclip (do not staple) your entry 3. Entry Fee: –Check or money order for $20, payable to Hunger Mountain 4. Self-addressed, stamped envelope for notification of award winners –Plus, a self-addressed, stamped postcard for us to acknowledge receipt of your entry (optional)
Packets should be mailed to: Katherine Paterson Prize for YA and Children’s Writing Hunger Mountain Vermont College of Fine Arts 36 College Street Montpelier, VT 05602
This week I’m in my hometown, Fort Wayne Indiana, for some library visits and book signings.
The first was at Pontiac Library, where I got to speak to kids in the after school program there. It was my first visit to this particular library branch, which had recently been remodeled. A very nice facility, that seemed popular with neighborhood teens.
They loved my interactive Readers’ Theatre; I had more volunteers than I had speaking parts in the piece! Well, it’s something to keep in mind for next time: Create a readers’ theatre that involves ten readers instead of six!
We did a raffle to see who got to take home each of the three copies of my book that I signed for them. The winners (and friends) lined up for a picture.
For several years now, I’ve been able to refer to myself as WRITER. Recently, I upgraded to calling myself AUTHOR. Sometimes, if I’m feeling complicated, I call myself AUTHOR/WRITER. Now that the book is out, and I’m doing school visits, I’ve amended even that to read AUTHOR/WRITER/SPEAKER. Now, I’m excited to announce that I can also call myself EDITOR.
I have recently been named co-editor of the YA and Children’s literature section of Hunger Mountain, the arts journal of Vermont College of Fine Arts. My fellow co-editor is author Bethany Hegedus, already a close friend and colleague of mine. Thus far, Hunger Mountain has been a print publication with adult-market material only. Now, we’re launching an online component to the journal, which will include children’s and YA. Very cool.
We’ll be getting this ball rolling over the next few months, and I’ll keep folks updated about any information related to Hunger Mountain. Exciting!
So, I’ve gotten into the mode of speaking to groups of kids and teens about The Rock and the River, and that is totally fun. But every once in a while, I get the chance to talk to grown-ups, as well. This is hit or miss, as far as actual “fun” is concerned. I find most formal adult gatherings to be boring or downright stuffy. Yawn.
So imagine my surprise when I was invited to speak to a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution about one of my non-fiction books, The Salem Witch Trials. The DAR is soooo not my target demographic. But I agreed to do the speech. I went, and lo and behold – it was fun! The ladies were cool and very interested in my books. I made my presentation and they were very into it. It just goes to show that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, so to speak. Here I am with some of the DAR ladies.
Perhaps what surprised me most about this occasion was that I was totally confident and comfortable going into it. I had done my research and written my book, so I knew what I was talking about. I wasn’t even nervous.
Why is this a big deal? Well. I think of myself a quiet person; a listener, not much of a talker. I guess was a chatty little kid, but I had turned fairly shy by the time I was a teenager. Now it seems to be spinning back the other way. Turns out, I like to talk. A lot. Who knew?
Last night I attended the release party for Between Us Baxters, by my friend and fellow YA author Bethany Hegedus. Yay!!
I’m one of the lucky ones who got to read the book for the first time a few years ago, long before it was published. So it’s especially exciting to see it in real book form for all the world to see.
