Of This and Other Worlds

First, to all my lovely readers in the UK who have finished reading Knife and Rebel and are now e-mailing me to ask when Arrow will be published and whether I can make it happen any sooner -- I am afraid that January 2011 is the very soonest the book can possibly come out, because I have still not finished writing it yet! But I am working on the story just as fast as I can. Believe me, I want to know what happens next, too!

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Second, I'm delighted to report that I will be one of the guest speakers at the SCBWI Canada East "Spring Thing" conference, to be held at the Kempenfelt Conference Center in Barrie, ON (1 hr. north of Toronto) from April 23-25, 2010.

Over the weekend I'll be giving a seminar on "Revision: The Magic Key to Successful Writing", as well as participating in a couple of panels and doing some manuscript critiques. I'm very excited about it, as I love SCBWI events and this is the first time I've been able to attend one as a speaker. If you're within driving distance and are interested in writing for children and teens, you might want to check this conference out...

Here's something for my fellow authors and other bookish folk: BookCamp Toronto, a proposed unconference (meaning it's free, no-frills, and anyone can get involved) dealing with the future of books, writing, publishing, and the book business in the digital age. It's being held in a state-of-the-art facility in downtown Toronto, and so far the tentative registration list includes publishers, editors, authors, librarians, teachers...

I'm contemplating the possibility of taking part in some way (hey, it's free and it's reasonably close, what's not to like?). Anyone else interested? *looks pointedly at the other members of Y-Eh*

First, a little random Threadless love:

lizbee, I found you a new shirt.

Also, am I the only one who thinks this design is very New Who S1-ish? If the Eccleston-era fen aren't all over it yet, they should be.

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And now, the report I promised on my trip to New York City a couple of weekends ago.

Erm... it was good?

( More details, including flying frogs, the Queen of Narnia, and Claudia Gray )

Oh, and did I mention that my kids were horribly ill all weekend while I was gone, and well into the week when I came back? And that now two out of the three are feverish and queasy again? I feel like I'm just barely fighting off the same virus myself (thus my rather dismal Valentine's Day post -- I spent nearly that whole day drugged up on Gravol and lying in bed). I can only hope we all get better soon.

I'm back from the SCBWI-MI Fall Conference and it was so. much. fun. Simon Rose is hilarious ("What was I talking about again?"). halseanderson is a total sweetheart (she hugged me! Twice!) and a fantastic inspirational speaker (although her "Guaranteed Formula for Writing Success" ratio of 1 hour of Internet/TV time to every 5 hours of reading time and 10 hours of writing time made me hyperventilate -- not that I have any real doubt she's right, but wah, I love my Internets!). And the organizational committee did a terrific job of scheduling and keeping the whole thing running smoothly.

At meals and break times, I met a lot of nifty people at various stages of their writing careers. I was able to encourage some of them from my own experience, and commisserate about rejection and disappointment and uncertainty while at the same time urging them to keep working and trying and not give up. Some are just beginners still learning how the craft and the business of writing works, but a lot of them are truly talented and well-informed people and I'm sure that at least some will be getting agents and/or publishing contracts within the next year.

The drive both ways went smoothly and pleasantly -- even the border crossing, to my great relief -- and when I came home just now after two days' absence, the house was clean. I could have wept with happiness. My husband is SO not going to regret doing that, I can tell you.

I took tons of notes at the conference and will try to share some of the great insights from the sessions I attended as time and opportunity permit. But right now I am just happy to be home safe and sound, and to have enjoyed this opportunity to relax and renew my creative energy with people who love children's literature as much as I do.

I attended SCBWI-Michigan's Fall Conference last year and loved it. The location (Gull Lake, near Kalamazoo) was gorgeous, it was worth every penny of the registration fee and every minute of the five-hour drive, and now that the information for this year's conference is up I can't wait to go again. Even though I'm no longer searching for an agent (or a publisher, even) I know that there will be many interesting and useful seminars by professionals (Laurie Halse Anderson, people!), plus some great networking and friendship opportunities.

What I'm wondering, though, is whether there are any other Ontario-based writers who might be interested in coming to the conference as well -- and whether there'd be any chance of carpooling. I'm two hours west of Toronto, pretty much on the way to the conference, and while I've no objection to driving solo, it would be nice to have company on the trip.

The conference will be held from Friday, Oct. 12th to Sunday, Oct. 14th; the cost is $300 US which includes all meals and accommodation; and deadlines are Sept. 1st for those signing up for critiques and Sept. 24th for general registration. You can find all the relevant info on the conference at the SCBWI Michigan Page under "Events".

So, are any of my fellow Canucks planning to go? Or if you know someone on your f-list who might be interested, would you be so good as to point them here? Thanks!

SCBWI CANADA EAST SPRING CONFERENCE

Location:
Saturday June 23, Barrie, Ontario, Kempenfelt Conference Centre
Just 10 minutes from downtown Barrie or 40 minutes north of the Hwy
400/401 intersection

Featuring:
* Agent Stephen Barbara from the Donald Maass Agency, NY talking about what an agent does, do you need an agent, how to get one. He acquires YA and middle-grade novels plus adult literary fiction and nonfiction. [Yes, he does fantasy/SF -- Ed.]

( More Details )

*** If you'd seriously plan on coming please drop Lizann a note at lflatt@muskoka.com or ra@scbwicanada.org as soon as possible. We need to judge attendance numbers because we will have to cancel if it doesn't look like we can cover our costs. ***

Anyone else interested in this? James and Erin? *dangles shiny new agent*