Why Does Spell Check Refuse To Believe in the Word “Dystopian”?

Why Does Spell Check Refuse To Believe in the Word “Dystopian”?

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I’ve fallen behind my updates.  Take this then while I try to sort out the veritable plethora of goodies I found in the past day or so.

  • From Cynopsis Kids:  "Production has begun on Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning , a 3-hour TV movie slated to premiere on CTV in 2008. A prequel to the original Anne of Green Gables TV mini-series (1985), A New Beginning takes place prior to Anne arriving at Avonlea. Produced by Sullivan Entertainment in association with CTV, the movie co-stars Rachel Blanchard and Barbara Hershey, who portrays Anne as a woman in her 50s reflecting on her past. Twelve-year-old Hannah Endicott-Douglass plays the role of young Anne Shirley. The new and past movies are based on the Anne of Green Gables books by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. The movie will shoot on location in Ontario now through November 7, 2007."
Make of it what you will.
  • Shaken & Stirred summarizes a review and counter-review surrounding the Pat Murphy middle grade novel The Wild Girls. Gwenda Bond hadn’t heard of this one before, and neither had I.  Oh, Viking publicity department . . . . . .  Until they answer my call is anyone willing to jump to the book’s defense?
  • From Mark Newgarden (author of Bow-Wow Bugs a Bug) came one of the more eclectic invites I’ve seen: "Truth Seekers: I’m an artist-in residence at Dixon Place this month, doing my show ‘The Musical Underbelly’ every Thursday at 8:00. The show is a guided tour through music from cults, secret societies, mediums, sorcerers, abductees, charlatans, scarlet women, and pedagogues. It includes music that supposedly came from caves, outer space, and long-dead composers; music by Lewis Carroll, the African-American Rosicrucian and sex magician Paschal Beverly Randolph, Athanasius Kircher, Rameau’s Nephew, and the Count 0f Saint-Germain. There are playing card tunes, agricultural plainchant, a demonstration of Solresol, and many other strange and lovely things. I’m on voice, piano, and Venezuelan cuatro; David Gold is on viola.Dixon Place is at 258 Bowery, Manhattan; shows are $12. For more info consult (212) 219-0736 or http://www.dixonplace.org/.
Y’all wanna come with?  Sounds like fun to me.

Hot Men of Children’s Literature, Part 45 in a Series

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These usually come out on Tuesday but, eh.  Who’s counting?

So today’s fellow is a gap.  A man I intended to include, nay PROMISED his editor to include, and then never did.  Large gaps fill my brain to bursting, it seems.  Really, it wasn’t until I bumped into him at the Eric Carle Honors that I thought to myself, "Betsy, that is a hot man."  And then, "Didn’t I already feature him?"

Yeah, not so much.  Which is a shame considering his talents.  With two websites (one here and a delightfully droolly one here), some great picture books, and hopefully more in the works, I proudly present the one, the only . . . .

PETER BROWN!!!



This is my favorite because he’s all broody but you can take your pick:


Aw.  So sweet..  And how many of you were aware that Peter did the covers for Barkbelly and Snowbone, hmmmmm?  Now go and locate his book Chowder if you haven’t seen it before.  It’s a beaut.

Improper Round-Up

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I’m doing some major freelance work these days, so forgive me if I haven’t time to do a proper round-up.  Impropriety RULES!


  • I don’t indulge in YA-related matters, but this is small enough and easy to relate too. Sara Zarr describes on her blog how she found out that she won a National Book Award nomination.
  • I’m not the only person who reports on the award ceremonies she attends. The 2007 Horn Book Awards have been commented on. J.L. Bell selects one sentence or phrase from each recipient that struck his fancy. Loree Griffin Burns has photographs and a bit of reporting as well.  Thanks to Read Roger for the links.
  • My favorite independent bookstore?  It should be a children’s store here in town, but I’ve a special soft place in my heart for good old Powell’s in Portland, Oregon.  Andlookee!  They apparently have all kinds of kid-friendly stuff that I never even knew about.  Gosh I miss their coffee shop.
  • You know, I’m willing to believe that a lot of children’s authors have had odd jobs in the past.  But last year I read the delightful (if poop-o-rific) book Out of Patience by Brian Meehl and never, not for one SECOND, suspected that the man responsible once played this guy professionally:

Swear to God.  Don’t believe me?  Check out his bio.  Thanks to Semicolon for the tip.

Reporting: The Rutgers One-on-One Conference (Part One)

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The best kept secret in New Jersey?  Possibly. 

So pop quiz, hotshots.  What is the Rutgers One-on-One Conference?  Is it,

A) A tournament conducted by the Professional/Amateur Pinball Association (or PAPA)?
B) A yearly meeting organized for the Professional Kiteboard Riders Association (or PKRA)?
C) A committee-based gathering done on behalf of the Garden State Sheep Breeders?
D) A conference where professional authors, illustrators, editors, and agents of children’s books come together to share insights and experiences with people just beginning in the field?

As they say in Kalamazoo, I’ll give you three guesses and the first two don’t count.

Yes, the Rutgers One-on-One Conference is a volunteer-based gathering where new names can meet with insiders in the field and get some much needed advice and guidance.  And no, I’d never heard of it either.  Librarians don’t make much of an appearance at these kinds of things, and so when I was invited by agent Linda Pratt to speak on a five-person panel I was very flattered and mildly baffled.  I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that I’d be speaking to authors/illustrators, agents, and editors instead of my own kind.  "So… what you’re trying to say is that there will be NO librarians in the audience?  Really?"  Since this conference fell on the same day as Bookfest at NYPL, I suppose I could have been the only local librarian there anyway.  Timing-wise and all.

This year the conference was held on Saturday, October 13th.  I hitched a ride with some very kind editors and agents and I’d like to give a shout-out to Ellen Greene at Harcourt for sending along for me the lovely full-color illustrated reissue of The Life of Pi.  Have you guys seen this book? Stunning.

Anyway, after I managed to get the car lost within 10 minutes of stepping into it (all true) we made our way to Rutgers and its lovely campus.  Now the conference is set up so that mentors eat their breakfast in one room and mentees in another.  In the mentee room the arrivals listen to an author or illustrator who was once like them and has since gone on to success.  You may recognize the speaker since this year it was none other than magnificent blogger and author of Defining Dulcie, Paul Acampora.  I found myself in a room of mentors instead.  All about me they were carefully reading the works of the people they would soon be paired with.  That suited me to a tee since I had a presentation to give on advice re: blogging.  I’m not one for speeches but I’ll have to give a couple in the next few months and I felt this might be a good way to test my public speaking skills.  So while everyone else was line editing, I was hyperactively writing notes in my margins on top of my already existing notes in the margins.

Author Vivian Grey is the Council Chair for this event (the Council on Children’s Literature, to be exact).  She gave the welcome and then we broke for the one-on-ones.  I was unencumbered (they offered me a mentee but I figured that my advice would be better suited towards drafting people into library school).  I sat in on one discussion and found it to my liking.  Issues were addressed.  Advice given.  All that good stuff.  Truth be told, I spent much of it staring at the clock in a kind of deadened fascination as it ticked closer and closer to the moment when I would have to speak.  After the break I was up.

And up I was!  My fellow panelists included agent Alyssa Eisner Henkin (who also shared my car ride) with Trident Media Group, editor Nancy Mercado of Dial (anyone fond of Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of the Tree can credit Nancy with that discovery), illustrator Thomas F. Yezerski, and two time Newbery Honor winner, author Jim Murphy.  Mr. Yezerski gave a great speech and Jim Murphy’s a hoot!  I wish I’d remembered he’d written Desperate Journey last year.  I seriously thought that was a great book that didn’t get enough attention.  As it fell out, I was placed between these two artists, which made me second in line to talk.  My speech was okay.  The ending dribble off and I don’t think I used enough time, but people said nice things and Judy Freeman, bless her soul, actually gave me a very useful written critique.  Therefore I’m going to say that on the Suck-o-meter I rank somewhere around a mild, "Meh" and a Gaul-like shrug. 

Lunch was delish and I ended up talking with author Susan Campbell Bartoletti.  Not too long ago I saw her speaking on a PEN panel discussion.  She’s a great lunch companion and with her on my one side and Judy Freeman on my right we had a high old time.  Good food too. 

(CONTINUED IN PART TWO)