The "Engaging Young Readers" Part of the Writing Life

One of my favorite parts of being an author is engaging with young readers. Some of the ways I do this include participating in author visits and book readings (virtual, in-person, and through events such as World Read Aloud Day), joining special occasions such the Book Song Challenge, and collaborating with other makers to create materials and resources that support and enrich learning. 

The 2021 Book Song Challenge hosted by the team at Way Past Books has just begun. There is still time for young readers to create and share a song for their favorite book. You can read all the details on Way Past Books' Instagram Account. 

The song for Lucy's Blooms was featured today. 

You can listen to the full song on musician Maiah Wynne's YouTube channel (and if you visit today, you'll have a chance to enter to win a signed copy of Lucy's Blooms (U.S. Addresses only, please.)

Enjoy! 

Collaboration Station

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of participating on a panel with other KidLit folks at the Pacific NW Bookseller Association's Trade Show and Convention. The other participants included authors Jane Kurtz and Chris Kurtz, A Children's Place bookseller Billie Bloebaum, and Andrea Milano, youth services manager at the Lake Oswego Library.

The main topic of discussion was collaboration amongst authors/illustrators, booksellers, librarians (both public and school), and educators. We talked about a myriad of different types of collaborations such as:

and collaborations with organizations such as SCBWI

 We also talked about the issue of funding. Here were some funding ideas that were shared:

The panelists and participants were engaged and engaging. Many folks wanted to continue the conversation beyond the scheduled time. I offered to create a blog post about the topic, so that the conversation could continue, virtually. 

Please use the comment section below if you want to converse about this topic (and/or "meet" others who are interested in this topic). I should also mention a longstanding (but not yet very active) Facebook group about this topic, created a few years ago by fellow author, Deb Lund. It can be found at this link. 

What collaborations have you tried? What collaborations would you like to try? What are your questions or concerns relating to reaching out to various stakeholders? 

I am hopeful this conversation will "take off," but even if it doesn't, hopefully some of the ideas summarized in the slides above will generate inspiration for some authors/illustrators, book sellers, teachers and librarians. And if that's the case, I hope you will share YOUR inspiration and ideas below!