Kate Messner's Blog, page 50

How They Got Here: 2009 Debut Author Jennifer Brown

This post is part of a year-long series of blog interviews I'll be hosting with my fellow 2009 Debut Authors, called "How They Got Here." 

It should be an especially helpful series for teens who write, teachers, and anyone who wants to write for kids.  2009 debut authors will be dropping by to talk about how their writing in school shaped the authors they are today, what teachers can do to make a difference, how they revise, and how they found their agents and editors.  (You'll even be able...

THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. Book Club Contest!

Since THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. was released, I've heard from a handful of parents, teachers, & librarians who have already tagged it as a choice for their book clubs.  This thrills me to no end.  Why?  Because I love the sense of community and the conversations that book clubs create.  So today, I'm announcing...

THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. Book Club Contest!

Would you like to read THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. with your book club?  It can be a mother-daughter group, a class litera...

The Burlington Book Festival is this weekend!

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On Saturday from 1:00-2:00, I'll be part of a panel discussion on Writing for Children and Young Adults at Fletcher Free Library, along with the  authors of these amazing books.





























Julie Berry (THE AMARANTH ENCHANTMENT)
Linda Urban (A CROOKED KIND OF PERFECT and MOUSE WAS MAD)
Jo Knowles (LESSONS FROM A DEAD GIRL and JUMPING OFF SWINGS)
Tanya Lee Stone (ALMOST ASTRONAUTS, SANDY'S CIRCUS, and more)

We'll be talking about both the craft and business of writing for kids.  What would you like to know?  F...

Newtonville Books and "Seeing Songs"

You know how some bookstores are so bright and cozy and wonderful you'd just like to set up a cot and move right in?  Newtonville Books is like that, and I was so happy to have an event for THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. there this past Saturday.  There were even beanbag chairs!



Thanks so much to store owner Mary Cotton, whose hard work just shines in this place, and to everyone who came out to meet Gianna and me.

And just in case they're reading...thanks to my husband and kids, too.  As alway...

Disorganized, red-headed artist girls are the new vampires.

Okay, not really.

I just said that to get your attention, so I could say this:

Thank you.

In the two and a half weeks since the official release of THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z, I've opened up my email and smiled like crazy at least a thousand times because people -- and by that, I mean you guys -- have been so amazing about helping to spread the word about this quiet, funny, quirky book about a girl and a leaf collection project, with not a single vampire in sight.

I've been sent links to blog...

For Boston Friends...

[image error]Gianna Z. and I will be in your neck of the woods this weekend!

I'll be reading, answering questions, signing books, and doing some fun leaf identification activities with kids this weekend at Newtonville Books.  I've heard such great things about this independent bookstore, and I can't wait to visit!  Here are the details:


THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. Author Event
Saturday, September 19th
2:00 PM
Newtonville Books
296 Walnut St.
Newton, MA



If any of your friends are teachers or parents of middle ...

GIANNA Z. Launch Chapter 2: The Koffee Kat Book Bash

After teaching all day, then heading straight to my favorite coffee shop for this afternoon's GIANNA Z. launch party, and signing books for two hours straight...I am pretty much out of words tonight.  Pictures will probably do a better job anyway, of capturing the brilliant fun and sheer joy of sharing this book launch with such amazing friends, colleagues, and students. 














Thanks so, so much to everyone who stopped by today - it was an afternoon I'll never forget.

When You Reach Me, A Tale of Two Cities, and Mr. Caisse

Today in my 7th grade classroom, we started our first read-aloud of the school year, Rebecca Stead's amazing WHEN YOU REACH ME.   If you read my review, you know how much I love this book.  I've already read it aloud to my eight-year-old daughter, who swooned over it just as much as I did and cannot wait to see Rebecca at the Rochester Children's Book Festival in November to ask her how she made everything fit together so perfectly.

When I finished reading the first two chapters to my classes...

First Day of School

The kids came back today!  We had teacher meetings yesterday, but the first day isn't really the first day until the seats in my classroom are full of 7th graders.  I'm always excited for the start of a new school year, but this year brings some extra joys.
One of my former students is all grown up and working as a teaching assistant in our school.  She's helping out students in my classroom one period a day, and she is every bit as smart and kind now as she was when she was twelve.  I'm so...

A bit of advice for new authors

Helpful tip #1:

It's probably not a good idea to try out trail running for the first time, on unfamiliar trails, an hour and a half before you need to leave for a book signing.

Even if your son, who just started running cross country and claims to know the trails, really wants you to go with him.

Because if you have fall allergies, there will inevitably be lots of ragweed.  And your asthma will kick in and you will be the wheeziest runner the trails have ever seen.

And then you will probably trip...