ALA Youth Media Awards

As part of the recent American Library Association conference in Seattle, the annual awards for the best written and illustrated books for children and teens were announced.

To see the complete list of honoured books, please go here.

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists!

Seattle Conference

I'm back from the ALA conference in Seattle and it was spectacular! Thank you to my publisher, Tundra Books, for inviting me to attend and sign my new book in their booth.

It was wonderful to meet the librarians who stopped by for a chat. Many were from various corners of the USA, some were from Canada, and one (at least) was from the UK. It was good to meet so many great folks who love books! Apparently, 12,000 librarians were registered. Wow!

One librarian told me she was a proud bibliophile and was surprised that I knew the word. I told her I also adored books and had a houseful myself.

Maybe you were at the conference, too. If so, I hope you had a fabulous time and picked up many new books to read.

Cheers!

ALA Midwinter Conference

The American Library Association Midwinter Conference begins in Seattle next weekend and I'm happy to say I will be attending. If you're going to be there too, stop by the Tundra booth #2638 and say hello. I will be signing my new book, Rescuing the Children: The Story of the Kindertransport, on January 27 at 10:00 am.

For details on the conference, please go here.

Hope to see you there!

Writing for Children: Getting Started

If you're interested in writing or illustrating a book for children and you live in the Vancouver area, you might want to attend the upcoming panel discussion at the Vancouver Public Library on how to get started.

It's always a great night — full of information and inspiration. I hope you get inspired!

Cheers!

Forging Ahead in 2013...

The New Year has begun and it is always a wonderful experience to ponder what lies ahead in the coming months. Do you have new projects on the horizon? A long list of resolutions? Wherever you are and whatever you have planned, I wish you the best of luck.

As for me, I have some new projects to start and some resolutions to keep. I'm looking forward to tackling both!

And, I'm happy to report some good news that came my way recently. My book, Rescuing the Children: The Story of the Kindertransport was selected by the American Library Association to be on their "Lasting Connections of 2012" List. I am thrilled! To read more about the list, please go here. (You'll need to scroll a long way down to see my book, but you'll find lots of great titles on your way.)

Happy 2013! May your year be a good one.

Cheers!