NYPL teen author symposium

I read from pages in SELLOUT during the NYPL teen author symposium
(Photo by Lindsey Cuddeback)

NYC Teen Author Fest symposium

These are a few of the many wonderful and inspiring teen authors featured during the Teen Author Fest symposium at the New York Public Library! And yes, that is Jacqueline Woodson!

Five borough read: Countee Cullen Branch

In this photo: Ebony, Lynn Weingarten, Donna Freitas, Rachel Vail, and Eliot Schrefer
Place: Countee Cullen Branch, NYPL Harlem

The NYC Teen Author Fest 2010 is happening right now! Here are the remaining events, it's not to late to attend!

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 6-8:30)
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 (18 W 18th St, 2-6)
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
245-3:30 -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 ScottCourtney 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

NYC Teen Author Fest 2010

I'll be reading tomorrow morning if you're in the area:

Five Borough Read, 10 a.m. @ Countee Cullen Branch, NYPL, 104 W 136th St
featuring: Donna Freitas, Eliot Schrefer, Rachel Vail, Lynn Weingarten, and Me!

Get an Agent!

A friend of mine just finished writing a picture book and asked me how I went about finding an agent. First, I wanted to stress how important it was to GET AN AGENT! Negotiating the terms of a book contract may seem like cake, but it's really difficult. Plus, we're writers and it's much more fun to focus on the writing and let a professional read through the contract stuff.


After writing SELLOUT, I found a publisher first and then began the search for an agent. I searched the Internet for awhile and then finally took the recommendation of a friend before finding my wonderful agent, Alyssa Eisner Henkin. But there are others ways of getting connected and finding the right agent for you and your work!

-Here are a few books I consult often for updates on everything from Publishing houses to ways to submit a manuscript for the first time:
Children's Writer Guide 2010
Writer's Handbook 2010

-This is the course (fee) I completed before going for my MFA writing degree. At the Institute of Children's Literature you can submit your work to editors who will critique your work and give you feedback on how to improve before submitting to agents. http://www.institutechildrenslit.com.

-Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators - This organization is for writers and illustrators and they provide community, advice, contests, grants, agent listings, etc...http://www.scbwi.org.

-Here is a list of websites to find agents. Remember, don't pay to have someone read your work. You should be able to submit for free. And make sure to try and match your topic/style writing with exactly what the agent is looking for because the agent will work that much harder for work they love as much as you do.
1. http://www.andreabrownlit.com/agents.php
2. http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/agents.html
3. http://agentquery.com/search_advanced.aspx
4. http://querytracker.net/index.php
5. http://www.1000literaryagents.com/index.php

I hope this information helps and Good luck in your search!