Tag Archives: angst

Damn. I just told my husband today that my hope to make it in this business slowly but surely dies a little more with each passing day, that I wish I could just kill it outright and move on with my life. Then something like this announcement appears in my mailbox, and I get all excited again. 

The best independent bookstore on the planet will hold its annual DNA Lit Fest March 28 & 29. 

Two years ago I took No. 1 Son to the first day, which is for children. We watched Chris Raschka recreate his Caldecott-winning drawings for The Hello Goodbye Window. After he spoke, No. 1 Son showed Mr. Raschka his own drawing he’d made during the talk, which was of Chris Raschka drawing the hello goodbye window. 

Later, as we waited out in the hallway of the auditorium for Kate DiCamillo to finish her presentation, No. 1 son met a gentleman wearing a dull gray suit and holding a bulky case. His name? Daniel Handler. He and No. 1 Son talked for several minutes, until Mr. Handler’s handlers whisked him backstage. No. 1 Son enjoyed the day, but of course had no clue how cool it truly was. That year the lineup was Handler, Raschka, DiCamillo, Molly Bangs, Lisa Brown and Naomi Shihab Nye. 

This year the line-up is also made of awesome. Jane Yolen. Linda Sue Park. Giselle Potter (who will illustrate my friend and fellow JWKCer Ann Ingalls’ book THE LITTLE PIANO GIRL), Jon Muth (Zen Shorts), Laurie Keller (The Scrambled States of America) and the father-daughter team of Kate and Jules Feiffer (she of Double Pink and he of Phantom Tollbooth fame).

(And if you followed the best independent bookstore on the planet link above, you saw who will speak January 28 at 7pm at the Plaza Library.)

Damn.