Books and People I Love: AWP15 & TLA Conference Pics
Howdy, friends! The past few weeks have been amazing. Nightingale’s Nest won the Texas Institute of Letters award (I already bookmarked the award money for new bookshelves, yippee!), I went to the huge AWP conference in Minneapolis to serve on two panels and do school visits, and then the TLA conference was in Austin. I signed with Permabound and Penguin at TLA, went to fancy dinners and cocktail parties, chatted about great books with great librarians, and even judged a book cart drill competition!
Oh, and during all that, I finished my WIP and a proposal, sent it back to my agent, and read a TON of books. Really, really great books.
So, I’m exhausted. And that’s why I’m just going to smoosh a whole bunch of photos in here for you to see what fun looks like. If you see a book here, consider it a FIVE STAR recommendation, and read it NOW. If you see a librarian? FIVE STARS and go buy her a latte. If you see another author? THESE ARE FIVE STAR AUTHORS. Buy their books! You will thank me later.
Here we go, AWP first…
Laura Ruby’s transcendent Bone Gap. Airplane paradise reading.
Jewell Parker Rhodes reading from her WIP at AWP.
Ah, the literati! Janet Fox, Laura Ruby, me, Anne Ursu, and Kristen Kittscher. FUN!
Pure energy in a woman-shaped package: Pamela Klinger Horn. She set up a ton of school visits for me in Minnesota!
Ran into Brian Bliss at last! The End Times must be near. 🙂
My super smart Geography of Nowhere panel: Janet Fox, me, Kirstin Cronn-Mills, and Geoff Herbach.
The ARC of my newest favorite MG read – Bayou Magic by Jewell Parker Rhodes. BUY NOW.
And now for TLA:
Coffee with bloggers! The amazing Celeste Pewter from a Reading Nook Reviews, and Xander!
Bethany Hegedus, Evan Turk, and Arun Gandhi signing the glorious Grandfather Gandhi!
Joy Preble signing her newest YA, Finding Paris!
Anne Bustard first MG, Anywhere But Paradise, and me grasping my first copy… of many. 🙂
Annie Gaughen (A. C. Gaughen) – Apocalypsie Power!
Pam Munoz Ryan and one of my favorite librarians ever, Diane Collier!
And another one of my favorite librarians: Steffanie Audel!!
OMG! I finally met librarian Cynthia Alaniz!! Who was holding my book when we ran into each other. SO MUCH FABULOUS.
Alicia Trader at the Permabound booth, who made me feel like a princess and I cried when she left town. Come back, Alicia!!
Wow. Me, Lindesy Lane, and Guadalupe Garcia McCall. Please, do yourself a huge favor and go read their books this instant. They are unforgettable.
And finally, Paige Britt signing The Lost Track of Time for Scholastic. Her book made a LOT of waves at TLA!
Friends, I would love to go back in and add links at some point, but I have a speaking engagement in a few minutes, and I need to get ready. Have a great week! I’m writing up a storm (and not just blog posts) so if I seem crazy happy? It’s because I’m drafting again. I love this job.