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Saturday, March 27, 2010

A Peek into JUSTIN CASE


In celebration and can't-wait-itude about the upcoming publication of my new book

JUSTIN CASE: School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters

I am going to give some sneak peaks into the book itself. It'll be easy and fun, because the book is set up so that instead of chapters, there are days -- every day from September 1st through the whole third grade school year, you get to see what Justin is thinking about that day. And I used a calendar, of course. The calendar for this year. So -- what's up with Justin today? So glad you asked. Here it is!

March 27, Saturday

Before Little League, Dad and I did extra pop-up practice.
Dad said when he was a kid, he always used to imagine playing center field for the Yankees. He asked if I ever imagine doing that.
I shook my head. I said sometimes I imagine I am in a bakery.
Dad didn't seem so impressed with that imagining.



That's your look inside JUSTIN for today.

What do you imagine?

Hope your day/weekend is great.

Lots of love,
Rachel Vail

Saturday, March 20, 2010

The Biggest Booksigning Event Ever

(I am not actually sure if that's true. But it is gonna be BIG.)

I will be signing books at Books of Wonder from 5 - 5:45 today -- along with so many amazing authors. Please stop by and say hello, pick up a few autographed books, meet some of your favorite writers, and have a cupcake.

Here are the details:

Sunday afternoon:
Books of Wonder Signing (2-6)

NOTE: Because of the number of authors, signings will be in shifts. Below is the approximate schedule, which is subject to change

2:00-2:45
Alma Alexander
Nora Baskin
Cathleen Davitt Bell
Judy Blundell
Libba Bray
Coe Booth
Elise Broach
Alexandra Bullen
Nick Burd
Sarah Burningham
Susane Colasanti
Matt De La Pena
Violet Haberdasher
Maggie Stiefvater

2:45-3:30
Tom Dolby
Heather Duffy-Stone
Sarah Beth Durst
Elizabeth Eulberg
Gayle Forman
Aimee Friedman
Jenny Han
Alice Hoffman
Carla Jablonksi
Melissa Kantor
Kristen Kemp
Michelle Knudsen
Peter Lerangis
David Levithan

3:30-4:15
Sarah Darer Littman
Barry Lyga
Robin MacCready
Carolyn Mackler
Sarah Maclean
Marianne Mancusi
Amanda Marrone
Wendy Mass
Lauren McLaughlin
Neesha Meminger
Sarah Mlynowski
Michael Northrup
Robin Palmer

4:15-5:00
Diana Peterfreund
Shani Petroff
O.Rhuday-Perkovich
Matthue Roth
Marie Rutkoski
Lisa Ann Sandell
Samantha Schutz
Elizabeth Scott
Kieran Scott
Courtney Sheinmel
Sara Shepard
Abby Sher
Jon Skovron

5:00-5:45
Jennifer Smith
Natalie Standiford
Rachel Vail
David Van Etten
Siobhan Vivian
Adrienne Maria Vrettos
Melissa Walker
Robin Wasserman
Suzanne Weyn
Lynn Weingarten
Martin Wilson
Jake Wizner
Maryrose Wood
Michelle Zink

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Cool Video, Warm Day


Thanks to my friend (and wonderful author) Mitali Perkins for this:


"Discouraged about teens and books? Watch this short, brilliant DK video from start to finish":


http://bit.ly/aRkIa6



and thanks to the weather, for the sunshine that dragged me away from this computer and out into the park, and then to the little bodega on the corner to buy these tulips for my table...

and thanks to my mom, for having a sense of humor despite the fact that she has no heat, no electricity, and a basement where everything is still floating...

Now if I can convince my husband to leave work early and meet me for a glass of wine at Cafe Du Soleil, I will be a perfectly happy girl.

Hope you're having a happy day, too.

More on NYC Teen Book Week tomorrow...

Love,
Rachel Vail

Saturday, March 6, 2010

CrazyCakes Censorship News starring Meg Cabot and Judy Blume...


Read about the latest in attempts to make sure kids never read anything that might challenge, comfort, or interest them, as explained by my pal Meg Cabot...



Wacky times, my friends, wacky times.

What can we do? All suggestions very welcome, and most kindly-offered snarky comments are, too.

Love,
Rachel Vail

more Censorship Crazicakes News


Hard to believe the stuff being banned now, and why. Read the latest, from Judy Blume:


Love,
Rachel Vail

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

TEEN READ WEEK IN NYC!

SAVE THE WEEK OF MARCH 15TH--19TH FOR TONS OF FANTASTIC YA EVENTS ACROSS THE CITY!



(I'LL BE SIGNING AT BOOKS OF WONDER ON SUNDAY, MARCH 21ST, FROM 5 - 5:45 PM)


Monday, 3/15 (NYPL, Tompkins Square Branch, 331 East 10th Street, 6pm):

First Draft to Final Draft – Talking About the Writing Process

featuring:
Gayle Forman
Daphne Grab
Carolyn Mackler
Sarah Mlynowski
Blake Nelson
Marie Rutkoski
Eliot Schrefer
Natalie Standiford



Tuesday, 3/16 (Barnes & Noble Tribeca, 97 Warren Street, 7pm):

Getting Inside the Mind of a Teen Boy

featuring:
Nick Burd
Matt de la Pena
Gordon Korman
David Levithan
Barry Lyga
Michael Northrup
Jon Skovron
Jake Wizner



Wednesday, 3/17 (Mulberry Street Branch, NYPL, 10 Jersey St, 6pm):

The Treasure Map to Going Bovine with Will Grayson(s)
(or, an evening of readers’ theater)

featuring:
Libba Bray
John Green
David Levithan
E. Lockhart



Thursday, 3/18 (Five Borough Read, 10am):

Authors read to high school students and the public in libraries across the city.

Manhattan:

Countee Cullen Branch, NYPL, 104 W 136th St

Donna Freitas
Eliot Schrefer
Rachel Vail
Lynn Weingarten
Ebony Wilkins


Jefferson Market Branch, NYPL, 425 6th Ave

Gabe Guarente
Carla Jablonksi
Kristen Kemp
Barry Lyga
Samantha Schutz


Muhlenburg Branch, NYPL, 209 W 23rd St

Emma McLaughlin
Lauren McLaughlin
Courtney Sheinmel
Jennifer Smith


Mulberry Street Branch, NYPL, 10 Jersey Street

Angie Frazier
Aimee Friedman
Alice Hoffman
Robin MacCready
Sarah Maclean
Amanda Marrone


Seward Park Branch, NYPL, 192 East Broadway

Cathleen Bell
Susane Colasanti
Matt De La Pena
Gayle Forman
Daphne Grab


Yorkville Branch, NYPL,, 222 East 79th St

Micol Ostow
Robin Palmer
Shani Petroff
Robyn Schneider
Abby Sher
Jake Wizner
Michelle Zink


Brooklyn:

Central Branch, Brooklyn Public Library, Dweck Auditorim, 10 Grand Army Plaza

Emily Horner
Melissa Kantor
O.Rhuday-Perkovich
Matthue Roth
Siobhan Vivian
Adrienne Maria Vrettos
Melissa Walker
Robin Wasserman


Bronx:

Bronx Library Center, NYPL, 310 East Kingsbridge Road

Coe Booth
Sarah Darer Littman
Neesha Meminger
Maryrose Wood


Queens:

Broadway Branch, QPL, 40-20 Broadway, Long Island City

Jessica Blank
Sarah Burningham
Heather Duffy-Stone
Marianne Mancusi
Elizabeth Scott


Staten Island:

West New Brighton Branch, NYPL, 976 Castleon Avenue

Elizabeth Eulberg
David Levithan
Michael Northrup
Kieran Scott


Thursday Evening, 3/18 (Books of Wonder, 18 W 18th St, 6-8pm):

Sourcebooks Fire Launch Party

featuring authors Lisa Brown, Anne Eliot Crompton, Helen Ellis, Adele Griffin,
AND
the rocking tunes of Tiger Beat! (with Libba Bray, Dan Ehrenhaft, Barnabas Miller, and Natalie Standiford)


Friday, 3/19 (South Court, 42nd Street, 2-5 and 7-9:30)

NYC Teen Author Festival Symposium

Afternoon

2:00 Introduction

2:10 – 3:00: Using Genre to Tell the True Story of Adolescence

featuring:
Judy Blundell
Sarah Beth Durst
Lauren McLaughlin
Diana Peterfreund
Sara Shepard
Maggie Stiefvater
Robin Wasserman


3:00 – 3:30: Making a First Impression – 2010 Debut Authors

featuring:
Angie Frazier
Emily Horner
Alyssa Sheinmel
Ebony Wilkins


3:30 - 4:15: Grief, Loss, and the YA Novel

featuring:
Alexandra Bullen
Heather Duffy-Stone
Donna Freitas
Alice Hoffman
Sarah Darer Littman
Lisa Ann Sandell
Samantha Schutz


4:15 – 5: The Boy You Can’t Have

featuring:
Susane Colasanti
Elizabeth Eulberg
Robin Palmer
Elizabeth Scott
Melissa Walker
Maryrose Wood

5-6: Break

Evening

6:00 – A Tribute to Regina Hayes

featuring:
Sarah Dessen
Joy Peskin
Jacqueline Woodson


6:45 – 8:30: What it Feels Like for a Girl – Writing in a Teen Girl’s Voice

featuring:
Jessica Blank
Eireann Corrigan
Sarah Dessen
Jenny Han
Terra Elan McVoy
Siobhan Vivian
Adrienne Maria Vrettos
Jacqueline Woodson


Saturday, 3/20 (Bartos Forum, 42nd Street, 1pm):

Stuff for the Teen Age Event
Come check out Stuff for the Teen Age, The New York Public Library’s list of the hottest books, movies, music, and video games from 2009. Talk with your favorite authors. Rock out to your favorite songs. Have fun. Hear a very special presentation from keynote speaker, Libba Bray, the author of Going Bovine.


Sunday afternoon:
Books of Wonder Signing (2-6)

NOTE: Because of the number of authors, signings will be in shifts. Below is the approximate schedule, which is subject to change

2:00-2:45
Alma Alexander
Nora Baskin
Cathleen Davitt Bell
Judy Blundell
Libba Bray
Coe Booth
Elise Broach
Alexandra Bullen
Nick Burd
Sarah Burningham
Susane Colasanti
Matt De La Pena
Violet Haberdasher
Maggie Stiefvater

2:45-3:30
Tom Dolby
Heather Duffy-Stone
Sarah Beth Durst
Elizabeth Eulberg
Gayle Forman
Aimee Friedman
Jenny Han
Alice Hoffman
Carla Jablonksi
Melissa Kantor
Kristen Kemp
Michelle Knudsen
Peter Lerangis
David Levithan

3:30-4:15
Sarah Darer Littman
Barry Lyga
Robin MacCready
Carolyn Mackler
Sarah Maclean
Marianne Mancusi
Amanda Marrone
Wendy Mass
Lauren McLaughlin
Neesha Meminger
Sarah Mlynowski
Michael Northrup
Robin Palmer

4:15-5:00
Diana Peterfreund
Shani Petroff
O.Rhuday-Perkovich
Matthue Roth
Marie Rutkoski
Lisa Ann Sandell
Samantha Schutz
Elizabeth Scott
Kieran Scott
Courtney Sheinmel
Sara Shepard
Abby Sher
Jon Skovron

5:00-5:45
Jennifer Smith
Natalie Standiford
Rachel Vail
David Van Etten
Siobhan Vivian
Adrienne Maria Vrettos
Melissa Walker
Robin Wasserman
Suzanne Weyn
Lynn Weingarten
Martin Wilson
Jake Wizner
Maryrose Wood
Michelle Zink

Monday, March 1, 2010

JUSTIN CASE, read aloud -- what happened



That was so much fun! Wahoo!

JUSTIN CASE is such a fun book to read aloud, thank goodness. The fifth-graders I read to were terrific, laughing in all right places and serious and wide-eyed when that was exactly what an author would most wish for. Their questions and comments were great, too.

Some of my favorites:

"This is a perfect book for fifth graders and probably sixth, too -- because we have been through those problems that Justin is having, so we can tell when he is making a really bad choice! Or even when he might be misunderstanding what somebody said to him. So it is especially funny for kids our age and up. But probably younger kids would like it too. They just might not get all the funniness we do, but they'd definitely love it."

"Will you please write a sequel? We need to know what happens to Justin in fourth grade and fifth and eleventh and all the other grades."

"I like that Justin didn't have just one big problem but lots of little problems he has to figure out all at the same time."


They have promised to write down their reviews officially -- so I promise to share them with you (even the bad ones, because I am trying to be as brave as Justin...)

For now, the sun is shining on the snow here in NYC. I just did 61 push-ups and 61 sit-ups and wrote a chapter in my new book... so on we go. If I could just write more and faster... no. No recriminations today. Just keep going, I am telling myself. One foot in front of the other is the only way to get anywhere.

Love,
Rachel Vail

PS Congratulations to my friend Carin Berger on the publication today of her beautiful and important picture book, Forever Friends. Check it out -- it is really a special book, a companion to her award-winning The Little Yellow Leaf.

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