Tuesday, November 30, 2010

A Novel Gift: readergirlz + First Book

BREAKING NEWS! readergirlz & First Book are giving away more than 125,000 brand-new books to low-income teen readers. 

They’re great books, too, donated by generous publishers. Among the three dozen choices are P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast’s HOUSE OF NIGHT series and Alyson Noël’s SHADOWLAND.

We need your help getting the word out about the A Novel Gift campaign. Right now! Right now! As in, now!

Let's get organizations serving these teens registered with First Book so they can be matched with inventory during the holidays.

Here’s what we'd love for you to do:

Post to Facebook and tweet your beak off about these books using the hashtag #novelgift.

Here’s a tinyurl link to their registration page: http://tinyurl.com/2a5mwpj.

Or you can link to this blog post: http://readergirlz.blogspot.com/2010/11/novel-gift-over-125000-free-books-to.html 

Then, get in touch with every group you can think of that works with young adults–schools, after-school programs, church youth groups, community centers, etc.—and let them know that these books are available now.

The five-minute online registration these groups can use is here:
http://booksforkids.firstbook.org/register/.

First Book is also eager to answer questions, either by email to help@firstbook.org, or by phone at 866-READ-NOW or 866-732-3669.

If you participate, drop us a note at readergirlz@gmail.com to be included in our blog roll of thanks to run December 31.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgiving


Giving Thanks for Strength

So blessed this year with my children's sweet strength...

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Possibilities





My first Polyvore collage, fierce and cute just like my protagonist in RETURN TO ME.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Walden Award


A humble thank you to the Adolescent Literature Action Network (ALAN) for naming 
NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL as one of the finalists for the 2010 Walden Award. ALAN's members are among the most influential (and rocking cool) librarians, reviewers, professors, and high school educators in the country. 

I am profoundly disappointed that I had to cancel my trip to Orlando for the Awards Ceremony on Monday...especially since this Award means so much to me personally. It's given for the three attributes that matter most to me as a writer:  a positive approach to life, teen appeal and literary merit.

Congratulations to this year’s winner, Kristin Cashore, for her imaginative work, and my other finalists, including:

MARCELO IN THE REAL WORLD by Franciso X. Stork
THE MONSTRUMOLOGIES by Rick Yancey
THE SWEETHEART OF PROSPER COUNTY by Jill S. Alexander

Thursday, November 4, 2010

To Be Heard


My friends, Jim and Jill, have produced their first documentary...called TO BE HEARD.  Powerful...it's the film soulmate of one of my favorite all-time verse novels by my gifted friend, Nikki Grimes:  Bronx Masquerade.  I had to cancel my trip to attend their premiere. Profoundly disappointed but so happy for them and all the lucky viewers who have yet to be touched by their film.