Laurie Halse Anderson's Blog

Whew!

I spent yesterday snoring on the couch, recovering from the wonderful, high-energy weekend at the National Council of English Teachers Annual Conference. Thank you, thank you to everyone who stood in the long lines and who shared their stories of the impact my books have had on their students. You guys made me cry more than once - happy tears. Those stories humbled and honored me.

I am still fairly wiped out from the whole shebang, so let me pull my photos out of my back pocket and share ...

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Since Laurie is running around like a Mad Woman, and being true to her inner Mad Woman in the Forest, I thought I would share, once again, her bookstore schedule for this weekend! Yes, it is time for her to travel to Philly for NCTE (no, she is NOT packed yet!). Besides the wonderful conference, she is scheduled to appear tomorrow (Friday) night at a Public Event at Doylestown Bookshop from 7PM until 9PM!! Can you be there? If you are in the area, please stop in and say hello! She would ...

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I'm writing.

Come back tomorrow.

Scribble...scribble...scribble...

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I revised all weekend. What about you? If you are working on NaNoWriMo or just putting pedal to the medal to finish a draft, you might want to read the Tips on Writer's Block I wrote for the NaNoWriMo Young Writers Program.

Because of the intense revision schedule I'm on, I need to issue a blanket apology to all my friends for not answering email or phone calls right now. I'd grovel too, except I'm too busy writing.

It's almost Thanksgiving and that means... The National Council of Teachers of...

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::sounds a fanfare::

Without further ado, I bring you the greatest gift a writer can ever receive:

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This is how to start the week off with a smile: CHAINS has been nominated to the longlist of the Carnegie Medal!  What is the Carnegie Medal, you ask? It is the top award for children's novels in England, sort of a combination of the Newbery and the National Book Awards. I am completely blown away by this - honored, stunned and very, very happy.


  British hardcover                                British paperback




I had a blast at the American Association of School Librarians conference this w...

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Do we teach about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 in American schools? Should we?

Remember, remember the fifth of November,The gunpowder treason and plot,I know of no reasonWhy the gunpowder treasonShould ever be forgot.


And there is the great speech from V Is For Vendetta. My favorite quote, "Words will always retain their power."



LOOK! I buried the lead! WINTERGIRLS made the Publisher's Weekly Best Books of 2009 list!

And from the Misc. List, Bookavore has a great idea for how to get...

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Time has mysteriously condensed again.

I have been writing like, well, like a possessed crazy woman who lives in a forest. Tomorrow I hop a plane south so I can speak at the American Association of School Librarians in Charlotte, NC.

When I get back, I will have very happy news from overseas to share with you. Until then, keep writing, keep revising, keep scribbling!!!

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November is the month for words - the best one ever. That's why NaNoWriMo takes place starting today.

From their website:

"National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been s...

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Thanks to everyone who voted for Zoe in the last couple of weeks, and to everyone who put up with me blathering on about voting for Zoe in the last couple of weeks. I'm pretty sure she didn't make the Top 5. We'll know for sure in January. It was a blast to have a book that was even considered breakfast food for the mind; I'm a happy camper.

A Facebook Friend (thanks Chris!) pointed me to this interview with Kristen Stewart for Irish television. She mentions playing the lead in the SPEAK movie...

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