Kate Messner's Blog, page 46

Because I loved too many 2009 books to have a Top Ten...

Here is a big, whomping list of 2009 titles that I read and loved. They're linked to my reviews, author interviews, or IndieBound, and sorted in ways that I hope will help you buy them for holiday gifts. Everyone needs books. Especially these...

For your dystopian fiction fan...
CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins (but you already knew about that one, huh?)
CANDOR by Pam Bachorz
GENESIS by Bernard Beckett
GIRL IN THE ARENA by Lise Haines

For your supernatural romance fan...
NEED by Carrie Jones
HUSH,...

Great Books Coming in 2010: WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON

When I attended NCTE last month, I came home with a pile of advance reader copies of 2010 novels. (So many, in fact, that at one point, the bag in which I was carrying them exploded in a rather spectacular fashion, strewing ARCs in about a ten foot radius around the conference center floor, but that is a whole 'nother story.)

Anyway, because I understand how important these early copies are to authors and publishers and because I know they cost a lot to produce, I only take them with a prom...

NYC: A story of snow, signing, sparkles, & soup dumplings

This weekend's Books of Wonder signing in Manhattan was one of those author-moments I'll tuck away and keep for pretty much ever. It was just that special, in part because we made a family weekend of the event, driving down to New York Saturday afternoon. We actually stayed here...



...in a tiny bed & breakfast that a delightful artist runs out of her three-bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side. The place was beautifully decorated, cost about a third of what a hotel room would have run on th...

Books of Wonder This Weekend!!!

I am soooo excited! Hope to see some of you there!

Twitter, Teaching, & Books of Wonder

Today is a mish-mash of teaching-writing-bookish things.
We're talking about setting in creative writing class this morning -- how descriptions of a character's surroundings can be not only a way to give a sense of place but also of the character's state of mind. A cold, brisk, rain-soaked day is going to be seen (and felt) differently by different characters, depending on where they are in their journeys. In class today, we'll be describing a setting from different points of reference....

Novels in verse, discovery drafts, writing music, & Skype

A few weeks ago in the advanced creative writing class that marjorielight and I co-teach, one of our 7th grade girls had a question about writing novels in verse that stumped us. "Is it better for me to just write these poems as they come to me, do you think? Or should I have an outline first?" Having never written a novel in verse, I wasn't sure how most people approach the process, but never fear... a talented author and Skype came to the rescue!

Lisa Schroeder, the author of I HEART YOU, ...

GIANNA Z. Event at Books of Wonder in NY Sunday Dec. 6th!

This coming Sunday, December 6th, I'll be in New York City signing copies of THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. with a whole group of 2009 debut authors from 1-3 at Books of Wonder. Here's the official Facebook invitation in case you'd like to RSVP there...and by all means, feel free to pass along the invitation to any FB friends who might be interested.

The event will feature an eclectic mix of middle grade and YA folks, including Deva Fagan, Sarah Cross, Neesha Meminger, Michelle Zink, Megan C...

Thankful for Books, Kids, and a pumpkin named Gianna Z.

Since I got home from NCTE Saturday night, I've been devouring books. This happens to me when I've just finished a big project (I turned in the final revision for SUGAR ON SNOW after an afternoon of work in a Philly coffee shop!) - I have a sudden need to go on a reading binge before I move on to something else, so that's what I've been doing. I've finished Cynthia Omololu's fast-paced, compelling YA debut, DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS, which comes out from Walker in February. Then it was Bonnie Shim...

Holiday Book Recommendation: The Espressologist

I am a writer who is mighty attached to my mocha lattes...so when I heard about Kristina Springer's YA debut, THE ESPRESSOLOGIST (FSG, 2009), I couldn't wait to read it. The premise? A teenaged barista does some match-making with her customers, based on their favorite coffee drinks and ultimately, finds love of her own.

This book made me want to be sixteen again (just for a minute, because most of sixteen was traumatic) so that I could get all my friends together to read THE ESPRESSOLOGIST an...

Stories and Standards: Pairing Fiction & Nonfiction (from NCTE)

On Friday afternoon, I was part of an author panel at NCTE on the topic "Stories and Standards: Pairing Fiction & Nonfiction" along with Loree Griffin Burns, Jenny Moss, and Tanya Lee Stone. We spoke about curriculum connections for our books and suggested other titles that would pair well with them in the classroom. Here's the presentation, via SlideShare.

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Our facilitator for this session was the Goddess of YA Literature herself, Teri Lesesne, (she's professornana here on LJ) wh...