Minnesota Book Awards and St. Peter Reads

Rachael Hanel's Blog about being a finalist for the MN Book Awards

Her memoir, We'll Be the Last Ones to Let You Down is worth the read! It's a lovely, powerful book about being a gravedigger's daughter.

I'm in one of her pictures, too! Rachael is in our writing group, and we are oh, so proud. This is our second writing group finalist for a Minnesota Book Award (Kirstin Cronn-Mills was a finalist a couple years ago for The Sky Always Hears Me).

We had a grand afternoon and evening at the Awards.  Here is Rachael Hanel (left) before the awards ceremony, talking to her husband David, while she is ready to sign books.  Beside her is Melanie Hoffert, who won the category for her memoir Prairie Silence.

Here are the members of our writing group in attendance:

Judith Angelique Johnson, Kirstin Cronn-Mills, Rachael, and me. Our friends Steve Deger and Leslie Gibson joined us for dinner and for the festivities. Here they are with Leslie's and my favorite outfit spotted at the Gala. We have no idea who this lovely and creative woman is, but she was willing to pose with Leslie and Steve!

Also, notably, sitting at Rachael's table,  were several of us who usually ride the Minnesota Ironman together. We had to take a picture becasue we've never been photographed together while NOT wearing lycra/spandex.

Left to right: Loretta (Rachael's mom), Renee (Rachael's sister), me, Rachael, and David Hanel (Rachael's hubby, who often lets us draft on long rides).

Before we dressed and went to the event, Angie and I wandered around downtown Minneapolis while Kirstin was at a meeting. Here I am being Mary Tyler Moore. :)

And since I'm telling this story backwards, I want to include that I started the day in St. Peter at the St. Peter Reads event. It was a blast. Nicole Helget did a brilliant job as keynote speaker with an extended metaphor comparing baseball and writing. She was captivating, as always.

Twelve of us writers were invited to a "Moveable Feast" (Great name) where we sat with one breakfasting table of interested readers for fifteen minutes and then moved to another. We got to meet many readers and fascinating community members this way. It's a GREAT event, and I encourage any local reader or writer to attend next year.  

AWP Panel

AWP: Our panel, "What I Wish I'd Known Before I Started Writing for Children and Young Adults," seemed like a success. At least we had a good time. It seemed as if our audience did. At least there wasn't much shuffling, squirming, and reading of programs while we were talking. :)

Heather Bouwman organized us and moderated the panel. My buddies from my writing group, Shelley Tougas and Kirstin Cronn-Mills, and I joined Sheila O'Connor to fill out the panel.

We all are used to talking in front of groups, so we were surprised by how nervous we were beforehand.

I wonder if everybody who gives presentations runs over what they forgot to say or wish they had said during the program. I do that in school, too, but then I get to see my students again in a few days, so I can add or correct or fix what I missed. There's no second chance when it's a conference.

Anyway, one thing I wanted to say is that I think every writer should write poetry, even if he or she never publishes any...It's such a terrific exercise in conciseness and paying attention to language and lyricism. I think writing for kids uses those skills, absolutely and entirely.
I never felt that as fully as when I wrote Beauty Missing, Hair Hissing: Medusa Tells All for the "Other Side of Myth" series published by Capstone. That book started out as a longish lyrical poem and then condensed itself into the snarkier voice of Medusa in which it was published.

Anyway, AWP was fun, and I had a grand adventure with my two buddies. We were reduced to uncontrollable laughter several times.
We became the Three Musketeers of Vehicular Safety (in our cab to the airport), and the Three Musketeers of Row 19 (in the aircraft). Yeah, we tried to be reasonably quiet. Not sure how well that worked. But we had fun.

A delightful writerly weekend

BOOKOLOGY, Children's Literature Network, Nov. 3, 2012

With my buddy Kirstin Cronn-Mills (new novel: Beautiful Music for Ugly Children), Molly Beth Griffin (Silhouette of a Sparrow), and my dear friend Pamela Klinger-Horn, who supports writers and all good books! 

With Pamela and John Coy (Crackback, Top of the Order and many more). I got to sit at the same table with John and three librarians/teachers. We had a BLAST and tied winning the identify-the-author-by-"ten-things-you-don't-know-about-me" game!

See more photos at http://www.facebook.com/childrens.literature.network

It's Mary Tyler Moore! Back in St. Paul! (the hat is so high it's out of the picture, maybe?)

Oh, no. I guess it's author and my buddy Kirstin Cronn-Mills, on the street outside ADDENDUM book store, where she read Saturday afternoon. I loved the event. Not only did our friends Justin and Brian show up (below, listening attentively), but every single person in the store was "sucked in" and listening or asking questions by the time Kirstin was done! 

Trying to catch up...

Wow. I've been editing Slider's Son every spare second, so I haven't taken time to blog for ten days. So much to say, and so little time.

Rainbow theme:
First, Kirstin Cronn-Mills was on a panel last night at the loft, discussing GLBT YA literature, and the evening was fascinating and fun. So far to go in getting full acceptance of honest literature. Kirstin was the "token straight ally" author. I want to read every book represented there. Marion Dane Bauer, David LaRochelle, David Levithan, and Pat Schmatz. See my facebook page for a photo of the rainbow snacks provided (Jello made by DivaE, aka Kirstin).

Makes me delighted that in our upcoming anthology Girl Meets Boy, the stories include at least one gay romance.
I'm also gratified that in Chasing AllieCat,  the issue isn't an issue--it's just part of who a character is. 

David Levithan and Brian Farrey both read from their recent novels, and they ROCKED.

We're lucky to live in Minnesota with such a supportive writing community!

Posts coming in the near future (in between or after editing): Kurtis Scarletta, Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna, and some thoughts on fall cycling...:) stay tuned.

Guest outlaw on Kirstin's Blog

Not often one gets to be a guest outlaw. Kirstin is hosting me on her blog today. Thanks for the kind words, DivaE, aka KCM, aka Kirstin Cronn-Mills, fellow Flux author!

http://kirstincronn-mills.blogspot.com/