On February 13, family, friends and fans joined sisters and coauthors Ann Ingalls and Maryann Macdonald at Reading Reptile in Kansas City. The reason: celebrate the release of their new picture book Little Piano Girl, illustrated by Giselle Potter. The biography of jazz legend Mary Lou Williams was a true labor of love for the sisters. Congratulations!
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Archived Posts from this Category
February 15, 2010
Highlights from launch party for LITTLE PIANO GIRL
Posted by crcook under Uncategorized[2] Comments
October 9, 2009
Hello to all of you!
Posted by crcook under Uncategorized | Tags: friday five, kid stuff, poetry friday |[18] Comments
Been away for, oh, a few months now, but jumping right back in with a Friday Five/Poetry Friday combo:
1. I’ve been away too long, but for good reason. *drumroll, please* I actually will be published next year. OK, OK, before you break out the party horns, it’s Work for Hire through Rosen Publishing. Bethany Bryan is the lovely editor who assigned me the task of writing KENTUCKY, PAST AND PRESENT. So whoot for me, I’ll be a legit children’s author next fall. That’s my big news. I know I’ve missed lots of big news from many of you, so pipe up! I have a bottle of champagne here just itching to be uncorked.
2. I’ve also, thanks to the five-knuckled incentive support of lovely writers Jenn Bailey, Lisha Cauthen, Sue Ford and Kim Peek, spent the past spring/summer/fall revising WOLF and CLEMENTINE. And let me tell you, they both need serious work. Painfully so. I shudder to think I subbed them as is. Apologies to all those agents.
3. And speaking of Sue Ford, SCBWI’s Kansas Regional Advisor and ferret hunter: She has asked me to serve as the KSCBWI secretary and program director. So all you writers, editors and agents out there, beware. I’ll likely be badgering you to come to Kansas. Soon.
4. No. 1 son’s transition into middle school has been fraught with growing pains. I cringe to see his report card next week.
5. Despite his failing grade in Creative Writing, he did manage to hand in this accrostic poem about his obsession: skateboarding. I found it quite lovely. So here it is, No. 1 Son’s contribution to Poetry Friday:
Soaring above the concrete
Kicking the ground to go faster
Air in my face when I zoom down ramps
Trying not to crash
Elbows, knees, and ribs sting when I fall
August 24, 2009
Check out this excitingcool post from my buddy
August 3, 2009
Shorter than flash fiction, longer than six words, Hint Fiction is what it sounds like: 25 words that reveal a story and hint at a more complex tale.
A contest at http://www.robertswartwood.com/?page_id=8 is looking for the best hint fiction to be included in a W.W. Norton anthology, tentatively scheduled for Fall 2010. Here’s what they’re looking for:
It’s possible to write a complete story in 25 words or less — a beginning, middle, end — but that’s not Hint Fiction. The very best Hint Fiction stories can be read many different ways. We want stories we can read again and again and never tire of. Stories that don’t pull any punches. Stories that make us think, that evoke some kind of emotional response.
Check it out! Winners get $25, too!
July 23, 2009
Kansas SCBWI Conference Sept 11-12
Posted by crcook under Uncategorized | Tags: conferences, scbwi |[4] Comments
Kansas SCBWI has planned a rip-roarin’ conference for children’s writers and illustrators. Yes, we got authors! Bruce Coville, Cheryl Harness, Jennifer Brown, Dian Curtis Regan, LD Harkrader. We got illustrator Tom Nelson, agent Ted Malawar of Firebrand Literary, editor Eve Adler of Henry Holt and Company. We got manuscript critques and portfolio reivews and sessions on characters, voice, humor, structure and more!
Get the lowdown here. Hope to see you there!
