Kate Messner's Blog, page 43

Newbery Medal Author Rebecca Stead at the Flying Pig

I'm on the other side of a school author visit this morning, as the coordinator because REBECCA STEAD IS VISITING OUR SCHOOL TODAY!!!

Sorry...didn't mean to shout,  but...well, you know.  It's Rebecca, who is so kind and nice and funny and who wrote the amazing WHEN YOU REACH ME, which won the Newbery Medal, and she's HERE!!!!

I mean...ahem...we are very much looking forward to her presentations.

Yesterday, Rebecca gave a reading and talk at the fantastic Flying Pig Bookstore in Shelburne, Verm...

Lake Champlain's Winter Art

We've had crazy weather on Lake Champlain this week. First, it was a snowstorm that dumped about a foot of snow at my house and way more in places like southern Vermont.  And it was a heavy, wet snow that somehow managed to turn the shoreline area of Lake Champlain into a sort of slushy swirl.  This photo doesn't entirely capture it, but this was something I'd never seen before.  That's not ice...it's floating snow-slush.



Last night, it rained, and the wind blew what was left of the lake ice n...

Thank you, Lake Placid Middle School!

I had a great morning visiting Lake Placid Middle School kids.  We talked a lot about books and writing, and they got a sneak peek at the cover for my upcoming figure skating book, SUGAR AND ICE.  Sharing that secret was extra-fun because the school is quite literally in the shadow of the Olympic Center, where much of SUGAR AND ICE takes place.



Another cool thing about this particular school visit?  The principal and I share a last name.  (No, we're not related!)


Dr. Dave Messner, Me, and

FINALLY by Wendy Mass

So I want to tell you how much I loved this book.  

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But first I need to tell you a story.

I didn't have any author obligations at ALA Midwinter last month, so I took my kids, both avid readers, to ogle the upcoming books in the exhibit hall.  My eight-year-old daughter knows enough about the publishing industry to know that one can sometimes snag advance reader copies of books by one's favorite authors at such events.  She also knows that ARCs have a job to do, that they actually cost more to ...

An Author's Olympic Dreams: February Vacation Edition

I'm on school break this week, so in addition to lots of reading and writing time, we're on a mission to take part in as many Winter Olympics sorts of activities as possible.  Though we are having fun, I've noticed that our endeavors often turn out...well...less than Olympian.  But you be the judge...

On Monday, the boys decided to do some downhill skiing at Whiteface, while E and I opted for cross-country skiing on the groomed trails nearby at Cascade.  It was lovely in the woods, and we saw ...

"That Skating Novel" finally has title! (and other bookish news)

After much wrangling, brainstorming, arranging of tiny slips of paper, and discussion (and many thanks to all of you who chimed in with ideas!), my December 2010 middle grade figure skating novel with Walker/Bloomsbury has a new title.  The book is about a figure skater from a small-town maple farm who earns a scholarship to train with the elite in Lake Placid and quickly realizes that her sweet dream come true has more sharp edges than she could have imagined.  The title?

SUGAR AND ICE

I'm del...

"Coolest" thank you notes ever!

A couple weeks ago, I had a Skype author visit with a terrific group of 6th graders in Oelwein, Iowa.  We chatted about THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. and writing. The kids read GIANNA Z. as a class and did some great activities to go along with their reading, which their teacher Karla Duff (she's the fabulous @teacher6th on Twitter!) posted on the class blog.  They also blogged about our Skype visit!

This particular visit was tough to schedule because of trouble with snow days and winter wea...

The Top 10 Reasons You Should Come to the NESCBWI Conference

10. This year's theme is "Moments of Change."  The publishing industry is evolving. We can lament that and snivel a bit, or we can be involved in the process and shape it creatively, in a way that values story and writers and readers.

9. This year's conference chair is Anindita Basu Sempere, one of the most organized human beings I've ever met. This will mean good things for the conference, I'm sure.  Anindita has already posted a FAQ here.  Conference registration begins on Sunday, and...

The D.C. Snowstorm: When Life Imitates Art...

So I just have to say...I'm finding the TV news reports of the snowstorm in Washington D.C. this weekend a little eerie.  The book I've been working on for the past six months -- the scene I was revising Friday night, in particular -- focuses on a record snowstorm that shuts down a D.C. airport.

From Chapter 9...

"What you're suggesting should be impossible.  But..."   He glanced out the window, where a million huge, feathery snowflakes swirled in the runway lights. It looked as if giants were...

Kindling Words Inspiration

I spent this past weekend at Kindling Words, a retreat for children's writers, illlustrators, and editors.  It was four blissful days of workshops, group meals, and talking with other people who discuss fictional characters with the same passion as if they were real family members or friends.  And writing.  Lots of writing. 

I didn't take many photos this year, but I came away from the long weekend with two picture book drafts that are now complete, a chapter one of a new maybe-project, and a...