Announcements

UTAH CHILDREN'S WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS

Announcement List--August 3, 2005


School's almost back in session! (Except for you year-rounders, who are already hard at work.) Now's a great time to start thinking about bringing an author or illustrator to your school.
A guest artist can help inspire your students to higher levels of creativity.

This month's profile is of illustrator Sherry Meidell.


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CONGRATULATIONS

to Shannon Hale, whose book PRINCESS ACADEMY received a starred review from Kirkus.

to Chris Crowe, whose book GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER: THE TRUE STORY OF THE EMMETT TILL CASE was named by the American Library Association as a "'Best of the Best,' Top 100 YA Books,
1994-2003." It's also a finalist for the Teen Buckeye Award(Ohio), the Rhode Island Teen Book Award, and the 2006 Garden State Teen Book Award (New Jersey).

to Chris Crowe again, whose book MISSISSIPPI TRIAL, 1955 is a finalist for the Maud Hart Lovelace Award (Minnesota) and the Isinglass Teen Award (New Hampshire).


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NEW BOOKS

from Nathan Hale, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW, a picture book, Walker and Company.


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COMING SOON


Fall, 2005

from Michael Spooner, a historical novel, LAST CHILD (a sequel to DANIEL'S WALK), from Henry Holt.

from Hala Wittwer, illustrator, MEOW, a picture book by Jane Yolen.

from Kim Justesen, MY BROTHER THE DOG, a YA, from Tanglewood Press.

Sept, 2005

from Carol Williams and Sherry Meidell, LATTER-DAY TIMES: THE JOSEPH SMITH EDITION, a picture book, from Leatherwood Press.

from Guy Francis, illustrator, MRS. MCBLOOM, CLEAN UP YOUR CLASSROOM! a picture book by Kelly DiPuchio (Hyperion)


Spring, 2006

from Kim Justesen, three books in the "Hey, Ranger" series.

from Guy Francis, illustrator, SHELLY, a picture book by Margie Palatini (Dutton)


Fall 2006

from Anne Bowen, WHAT DO TEACHERS DO? a picture book, from Carolrhoda Books

from Greg Swearingen, illustrator, FAIRY QUITE CONTRARY, a picture book by Mem Fox.

from Dana Kessimakis Smith, MY DADDY'S A GRIZZLY BEAR, a picture book, from Hyperion Books for Children.

from Shannon Hale, CITY OF RIVERS, a YA, from Bloomsbury.

from Gloria Skurzynski,VIRTUAL WAR CHRONOLOGS BOOK FOUR, THE CHOICE.


March, 2007

from Sharlee Glenn, JUST WHAT MAMA NEEDS, a picture book, from Putnam.


Spring 2007

from Carol Williams, OH THE GAMES YOU CAN PLAY ON A CHECKERBOARD, from Gibbs Smith.


2008

from Carla Morris, THE BOY WHO WAS RAISED BY LIBRARIANS, a picture book, illustrated by Brad Sneed, from Peachtree.


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APPEARANCES AND EVENTS

1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month, from 3:30-5:00 pm, Carol Lynch Williams runs the Springville Young Writers Group, a free critique/writing group for children. Call Vivian Milius at the Springville Library for information.

August--Shannon Hale will be participating in the readerville.com young adult reader groups discussion of GOOSE GIRL and ENNA BURNING.

August 8, 2005--Rick Walton will be visiting the Children's Museum of Utah. From 2:00-2:20 he'll be reading bunny books and making bunny origami (with his wife Ann's help) for ages 2-6.
From 2:30-3:30 he'll work with ages 5 to 12 on coming up with story ideas.

August 25-27, 2005--Randall Wright will be appearing at the Mt. Timpanogos Storytelling Festival.

Fall, 2005þKim Justesen will be teaching Introduction to Writing and Fiction Fundamentals for the Life Long Learning program at the University of Utah.

September 1-5, 2005--Gloria Skurzynski will be in Seattle taking part in Cascadia Con, the North American Science Fiction and Fantasy convention. She'll speak at a morning-long workshop for educators titled Introduction to Using Science Fiction in the Classroom, be part of several panels, and give a solo presentation about capturing teens' attention in a virtual world.

September 9-11, 2005--Shannon Hale will be the young adult keynote speaker at the Park City Literary Festival.

September 16, 2005--Chris Crowe will be keynote speaker at the conference on The Murder of Emmett Till and the Struggle for Civil Rights at Stillman College, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

September 16-17, 2005--Sherry Meidell and Rick Walton will be presenting at the League of Utah Writers Convention.

September 23, 2005--Chris Crowe will be keynote speaker at the Fort Hays State University English Workshop, Hays, Kansas.

September 24, 2005--Shannon Hale will be presenting at the Baltimore Book Festival.

September 26, 2005--Rick Walton will be visiting Delta South Elementary.

September 28, 2005--Rick Walton will be visiting Corinne Elementary.

September 28, 2005--Rick Walton will be visiting Discovery Elementary in Brigham City.

September 30, 2005--Chris Crowe will receive the Golden Sower Award acceptance at the Nebraska Library Association convention in Lincoln, Nebraska.

October 6, 2005--Becky Hall will be doing two student assemblies at East Sandy Elementary. The topic is The Writing Life. After school she will present to the teachers on Using the 6 Traits in Teaching Writing.

October 10, 2005--Rick Walton will be speaking to the Granite Council of the IRA.

November 1-4, 2005--Rick Walton will be visiting schools in Vernal, Utah.

November 11, 2005--Shannon Hale will be speaking at the English Department Reading Series.

Nov-Dec. 2005--Rick Walton will be visiting schools in the greater Mesa, Arizona area.

Jan-Apr, 2006--Rick Walton will be teaching a picture book writing class at BYU on Tuesday evenings.


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ILLUSTRATOR PROFILE: SHERRY MEIDELL

BORN: Logan, Utah

PARENTS: Yes

SPOUSE: David Meidell

EDUCATION: Clerk Typist Certificate from LDS Business College, Two year Commercial Art Course at Utah Technical College, various workshops and night classes on watercolor, illustration and writing.

PLACES LIVED: Logan, Salt Lake, Bountiful, North Salt Lake, West Bountiful

OTHER JOBS HELD: Killed flies at Gil's Burger Depot, Operator at Western Union, Made Posters for Lagoon, Ralph Butler and Associate's (a commercial art shop in Salt Lake) various free lance art jobs. Raised and raising five boys, now they're five young men, fist fights, nose bleeds, stitches, snakes, frogs, iguanas

HOBBIES: Painting, mountain biking, hiking, camping, racquet ball

PHOBIAS: Yes

RECENT BOOKS ILLUSTRATED:
"The Day the Picture Man Came" by Faye Gibbons,
"The Great Grape Problem" by Mary Lou Carney, and
"The Latterday Times The Joseph Smith Edition" by
Carol Williams.

PUBLISH WITH: Deseret Book, Boyds Mills Press

SCHOOL VISIT ACTIVITIES: Assembly, workshops: How to make a picture book and Getting the Research Right

WEBSITE FEATURES: Articles on being an artist


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SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES

BRING AN AUTHOR OR ILLUSTRATOR TO YOUR SCHOOL
When kids get to meet and learn from real authors they get excited about reading and writing. It's a great way to bring books to life. For information on presentations, fees, and contacts, go to www.ucwi.org/visit.htm, or check out the author/illustrator websites below. If you've never held an author visit and don't know what to do, go to www.rickwalton.com/utahauth/bringing.htm for information, guidelines, and advice.

A DEAL FOR SPECIAL CAUSES
If you want to get books into the hands of kids who need them--e.g., kids in shelters, kids in hospitals, kids in foreign countries, kids in summer reading programs--we can get you select novels, picture books and joke books at rock bottom prices. You can get hardcover books at prices lower than a cheap paperback. Contact Rick at rick@rickwalton.com or Carol at
carolthewriter@yahoo.com for more information.

GET BOOKS INTO THE HANDS OF YOUR STUDENTS
Rick Walton has a supply of deeply discounted books. If you buy one copy for each of the students in your school, Rick will do a day long visit at your school for free. For more information see www.rickwalton.com/aboutric/deal.htm.

SIGN UP FOR RICK WALTON'S MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Rick Walton's monthly newsletter provides information on upcoming books and appearances, first drafts and discussion of his published books, and Six Degrees of Literary Separation. Send a blank e-mail to rickwalton-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to subscribe.


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UTAH AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR WEBSITES

Check out our website, www.ucwi.org, where you'll find information on local authors, their books, and their appearance information, and past issues of this newsletter.--Utah Children's
Writers and Illustrators -- www.ucwi.org

Matthew Armstrong -- www.matthewart.com
Ken Baker -- www.bravemonster.com
Anne Bowen -- www.annebowenbooks.com
Ann Edwards Cannon -- www.aecannon.com
Chris Crowe -- www.chriscrowe.com
Alane Ferguson -- www.alaneferguson.com
Guy Francis -- www.guyfrancis.com
Sharlee Glenn -- www.sharleeglenn.com
Shannon Hale -- www.shannonhale.com
Mette Ivie Harrison -- www.metteivieharrison.com
Kim Williams Justesen -- hometown.aol.com/kimorchid/myhomepage/profile.html
Sherry Meidell -- www.sherrymeidell.com
Robert Neubecker -- www.neubecker.com
Michael Nordenstrom -- www.riversoffire.com
Julie Olson -- www.jujubeeillustrations.com
Gloria Skurzynski -- gloriabooks.com
Dana Kessimakis Smith -- www.danasmithbooks.com
Will Terry -- www.willterry.com
Laura Torres--www.lauratorres.com
Michael O. Tunnell--www.michaelotunnell.com
Rick Walton -- www.rickwalton.com
Kevin Wasden -- www.kevinwasden.com
Hala Wittwer--www.artbyhala.com
Carol Lynch Williams -- www.carollynchwilliams.com
Randall Wright -- www.booksbywright.com

UTAH WRITER AND LITERATURE ORGANIZATIONS WEBSITES
BYU Children's Book Review -- http://cbpr.lib.byu.edu Children's Lit. Assoc. of Utah (Beehive Book Awards)-- www.clau.org
League of Utah Writers -- www.luwrite.com
UCTE/LA -- http://community.weber.edu/uctela
UT Council/International Reading Assoc. -- www.utahreading.org
Utah Children's Writers and Illustrators -- www.ucwi.org

If you have a Utah organization related to children's literature, please send it to us and we'll add it to the list.



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Are you, or do you know an author or illustrator of books for young readers? Are you sponsoring a children's literature related event? Is there something else related to this list that we should announce? Send announcements to rick@rickwalton.com.

Are you interested in writing for kids? If so, you should join the Utah Children's Writers listserv. Get involved with other writers in discussions about writing, reading, and marketing literature for kids. To join, send a blank e-mail to utahchildrenswriters-
subscribe@yahoogroups.com.


To find out more about the children's book writers and illustrators who live in Utah, who they are, what they've published, how to contact them, their public appearances, and more, go to www.ucwi.com.

Feel free to forward this announcement to anyone who might be interested.

To subscribe to this group, send a blank email to utahwriters-subscribe@yahoogroups.com