Announcements

UTAH CHILDREN'S WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS

Announcement List—July 3, 2007

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CONGRATULATIONS!

To Alane Ferguson, whose book, THE CHRISTOPHER KILLER, was nominated for an Edgar Award this year.

To Jessica Day George, whose first book, THE DRAGON SLIPPERS, was chosen as a Book Sense pick.
To Shannon Hale, whose first adult book, AUSTENLAND, was chosen as a Book Sense pick. And whose Newbery Honor book, PRINCESS ACADEMY has been on the New York Times Bestseller list in paperback for 5 weeks!
To Sara Zarr, who has sold an option for a film of STORY OF A GIRL (now in its fourth printing) to Mixed Breed Films, Kyra Sedgwick and Emily Lansbury producing.
To our new author, Ann Dee Knight Ellis, whose first book, THIS IS WHAT I DID, was nominated as a "Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers." 
To Nathan Hale, whose book YELLOWBELLY AND PLUM, was featured in Publishers Weekly.
To Michael Spooner, whose new book CHAT ROOM: A COMEDY just sold to Margeret McElderry Books (spring 2009).
To Anne Bowen, whose WHAT DO TEACHERS DO (AFTER YOU LEAVE SCHOOLS?) is one of the books chosen for the CBC Children's Choices 2007 and is an honor book for the Society of School Librarians International 2006.
To Shaunda Wenger, who has just had four books published at Benchmark Education Company: CATERPILLAR CAN'T WAIT! WATCH BUTTERFLY GROW! FARM STAND MYSTERY and HOW MANY MUFFINS.

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NEW BOOKS

from Ann Dee Knight Ellis, THIS IS WHAT I DID by LITTLE, BROWN.

from Gloria Skurzynski and Alane Ferguson, NIGHT OF THE BLACK BEAR, from National Geographic (May).

from Nathan Hale, author/illustrator, THIEVES LIKE US, and YELLOWBELLY AND PLUM, from Putnam.

from Becky Hall, 1-2-3 COUNT WITH ME: A UTAH COUNTING BOOK, a pb, to Sleeping Bear Press.

from Becky Hall, THE BIOGRAPHY OF MORRIS FRANK, to Albert Whitman.

from Mette Harrison, THE PRINCESS AND THE HOUND, a fantasy YA, from Harper Eos.

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

from Danna Kessimakis Smith, WHAT BEST FRIENDS DO, from Hyperion.

Fall 2007

from Shannon Hale, BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS, Bloomsbury.

from Anne Bowen, CHRISTMAS IS COMING, Illustrated by Tomek Bogacki (Carolrhoda Books, Fall, 2007)

2008

from Kim Williams-Justesen, sequel to MY BROTHER, THE DOG, 2008

from Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, RAPUNZEL'S REVENGE, illustrated by Nathan Hale, January 2008.

from Gloria Skurzynski, SWEAT AND BLOOD: A HISTORY OF AMERICAN LABOR UNIONS.

from Sharlee Glenn, JUST WHAT MAMA NEEDS, by Harcourt.

from Danna Smith, WHAT BEST FRIENDS DO, by Hyperion.

from James Dashner, THE JOURNAL OF CURIOUS LETTERS by Shadow Mountain.

2009

from Anne Bowen, I KNOW AN OLD TEACHER, Illustrated by Stephen Gammell, (Carolrhoda Books, Fall, 2009)

from Kristyn Crow, THE MIDDLE CHILD BLUES, Fall 2009.

From Danna Smith, MY DADDY'S A GRIZZLY BEAR, Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger, Hyperion, Spring 2009

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APPEARANCES AND EVENTS

July 7, 2007—Shannon Hale will be signing at Borders on University Ave in Provo at 2 p.m.

July 12, 2007—Becky Hall will be speaking to the "Young at Heart" Book Group at The King's English at 7 p.m.

July 19, 2007—Michael Tunnell will be speaking to a book group at The King's English.

July 21, 2001—Ann Dee Ellis Knight will be having a book launch party for her THIS IS WHAT I DID at Soel Boutique in the Riverwoods in Provo. Reading at 6 p.m. Signing at 6:30 p.m. More details on her website.

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SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES

Randall Wright is now available for storytelling for birthday parties, church socials, business meetings, school events, etc. He tells original stories, folk tales, ghost stories, etc. For information and prices email him at randall.w.wright@comcast.net.

Sara Zarr is now the ALAN State Representative for the State of Utah. ALAN is the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents, an affinity group of NCTE (National Council for Teachers of English), and is considered the leading society dedicated to the study of Young Adult Literature. Sara wants you to know that for a mere $20, you can be a member! With your membership, you become a subscriber to the gorgeous print journal The ALAN Review, published three times a year. The journal contains articles on YA literature and its teaching, interviews with authors,
reports on publishing trends, current research on YA literature, a section of reviews of new books, and ALAN membership news. For more information about ALAN, visit http://www.alan-ya.org. To download a
membership form, go to http://alan-ya.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=31. You can contact Sara Zarr at sara@sarazarr.com if you have any questions.

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.

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UTAH AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR WEBSITES

Matthew Armstrong -- www.matthewart.com  
Ken Baker -- www.bravemonster.com 
Anne Bowen -- www.annebowenbooks.com 
Ann Edwards Cannon -- www.aecannon.com 

Ann Dee Knight Ellis – www.anndeeellis.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 -- http://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 -- http://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.carolinutah.com 
Randall Wright -- www.booksbywright.com 

Sara Zarr and Ann Dee Knight Ellis are both a part of the Class of 2K7--a group of about 40 debut novelists across the country who are all publishing in 2007. They have an ezine for the group that will come out quarterly for anyone who is interested. There will also be a pamphlet, a movie (a short short movie), and some other pub stuff. The official website has more details. www.classof2k7.com. It's turning into a very cool project! Check it out!


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.