NCTE REPORT

What to say about my first-ever, amazing, inspiring, crazy NCTE annual convention?

Yeah. Amazing, inspiring, crazy.

Here are some of the highlights:

Attending the Nerdy party and meeting so many awesome book-lovers, including the one and only Colby Sharp!

Lindsey Leavitt, Colby Sharp, Irene Latham

Attending the secondary section luncheon with keynote Sherman Alexie. 

Yes, Sherman is as good a presenter as he is at writing books. He was all sorts of inappropriate, had us all in the palm of his hand as he told an amazing story that started with a snowy morning in Minneapolis with he in only cotton and included a Somali cab driver... then he landed the big reveal: it was only a story after all, an example of how the writing mind is always working, creating, witnessing.

In fact, that was his big message: a writer's job is to witness, to pay attention, and of course, to write it down.

Another something that caught my ear: "we celebrate the ones who leave, but what about the ones who are left behind?" His companion book to DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN will address this very thing. Can't wait!

Irene Latham & Sherman Alexie

Meeting the amazing marketing folks at the Macmillan booth! Thank you THANK YOU Angus, Emily, Michelle and Summer for showing me some book-love and sharing your stories!

Summer, me, Angus, Emily & Michelle

The POETS. Oh my goodness, what a happy day it was to finally meet IN PERSON these people whose work I admire?? While Sylvia Vardell was greatly GREATLY missed, it was all kinds of fabulous meeting panel-mates Amy VanDerwater, Mary Lee Hahn, Janet Wong, Leslea Newman and Laura Purdie Salas. We've need to do it again, gals! And yeah, didn't we work the pink... Publisher's Weekly Children's Bookshelf thought so too!

Amy VanDerwater, Leslea Newman, Mary Lee Hahn,
Irene Latham, Janet Fagal, Janet Wong, Laura Purdie Salas

Last but not least: seeing a book I ADORE in ARC form just waiting for readers at the Bloomsbury booth, GOING VINTAGE by Vegas girl Lindsey Leavitt. So great to hang out with you, friend! And the OMG cookie from Max Brenner? OMG, indeed!