Sunday, March 18, 2007

A weekend of authors!

I spent the weekend at the VSRA Conference at the Hotel Roanoke. It's always one of the best conferences of the year. I was very active in the Virginia State Reading Association before I had my daughter, so it was good to get to go back this year. I had the chance to hear 5 authors speak. The Virginia Readers' Choice 2007-2008 list was given out, and I made it through my own presentation: "Reading Like a Writer" before an overflowing room of enthusiastic teachers.

I will try to highlight an author a day this week.

The last author I heard speak was Kim Norman, a fellow Mid-Atlantic SCBWI member, and e-mail friend.

Kim's long-awaited picture book Jack of All Tails will be available in June 2007. Kim is a wonderful singer and enthusiastic presenter, so I was entertained by her entire presentation. She read the text of Jack of All Tails and showed the accompanying illustrations (when they were still in their sketched form).

The family members all become hired out as pets for neighborhood families. Kristi, the protagonist, keeps trying to be all sorts of animals before she finds a perfect fit for herself. This book is laugh-out-loud funny. I can't wait to buy it for my daughter. I know it will be a favorite bedtime story.

1 comment:

Kim Bookwriter said...

Hi Marcie! It was so great to meet you this weekend, to put your smiling face with your always cheerful, helpful emails. Thank you for your kind words about my presentation!

It was a nice conference, wasn't it? (In SPITE of the rain.) Lovely hotel. I may come back some time and bring the whole family.