Kate DiCamillo's Blog, page 12
July 15, 2014
I was out walking yesterday and stopped to read a sign that someone had posted i...
I was out walking yesterday and stopped to read a sign that someone had posted in their garden.
The sign urged passersby to pick the berries in the yard to their “hearts content.”
I looked around and saw that there were raspberries.
I picked one. And then another and another.
The sun beat down.
A bee buzzed past me.
I kept picking.
My heart was content.
The sign urged passersby to pick the berries in the yard to their “hearts content.”
I looked around and saw that there were raspberries.
I picked one. And then another and another.
The sun beat down.
A bee buzzed past me.
I kept picking.
My heart was content.
July 10, 2014
This sparkler is from last week.
It is a fourth of July sparkler.
Last night as...
This sparkler is from last week.
It is a fourth of July sparkler.
Last night as I was falling asleep I thought: I miss sparklers.
And then I thought: why don’t we light a sparkler every night of the year?
Sometimes, it seems to me that each day is miraculous--sparkler-worthy.
What a wonder it is to be here.
It is a fourth of July sparkler.
Last night as I was falling asleep I thought: I miss sparklers.
And then I thought: why don’t we light a sparkler every night of the year?
Sometimes, it seems to me that each day is miraculous--sparkler-worthy.
What a wonder it is to be here.
July 8, 2014
Here, as promised, is a picture of me in the dress.
I am standing with (left t...
Here, as promised, is a picture of me in the dress.
I am standing with (left to right) Holly McGhee (my agent), Karen Lotz (President and Publisher of Candlewick Press) and Andrea Tompa (my editor).
And here, also, is a link to the speech I gave while wearing the dress: http://www.ala.org/alsc/sites/ala.org.alsc/files/content/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newbery-14.pdf
I can’t tell you what it was like to say these words aloud to that roomful of people.
I can only tell you that I felt lifted up, h...
I am standing with (left to right) Holly McGhee (my agent), Karen Lotz (President and Publisher of Candlewick Press) and Andrea Tompa (my editor).
And here, also, is a link to the speech I gave while wearing the dress: http://www.ala.org/alsc/sites/ala.org.alsc/files/content/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newbery-14.pdf
I can’t tell you what it was like to say these words aloud to that roomful of people.
I can only tell you that I felt lifted up, h...
July 3, 2014
Walter Dean Myers was the man who ushered me into the role of Ambassador for You...
Walter Dean Myers was the man who ushered me into the role of Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.
I said to him, “I don’t know if I can do this.”
And he said, “Of course you can do this.”
He sat next to me at the induction ceremony.
And sitting beside him made me feel brave.
Today, the day after his death, I am thinking about his words, his stories.
I am thinking about the gentle man he was.
I am thinking that no one can ever discount the power of words, because the life of Walter Dean...
I said to him, “I don’t know if I can do this.”
And he said, “Of course you can do this.”
He sat next to me at the induction ceremony.
And sitting beside him made me feel brave.
Today, the day after his death, I am thinking about his words, his stories.
I am thinking about the gentle man he was.
I am thinking that no one can ever discount the power of words, because the life of Walter Dean...
July 1, 2014
I am just back from the Newbery Caldecott Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas.
Everybod...
I am just back from the Newbery Caldecott Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas.
Everybody always asks if there is an “actual medal.”
The answer is: yes.
Here it is.
The actual medal.
It is sitting on my desk.
I am exhausted and overjoyed.
I will write more on Thursday.
And I will also post a picture of the dress.
Everybody always asks if there is an “actual medal.”
The answer is: yes.
Here it is.
The actual medal.
It is sitting on my desk.
I am exhausted and overjoyed.
I will write more on Thursday.
And I will also post a picture of the dress.
June 27, 2014
From the Candlewick Press team - A great segment on Kate via NBC Nightly News !...
From the Candlewick Press team - A great segment on Kate via NBC Nightly News ! Never give up -- A message worth "sharing"
http://www.nbcnews.com/#/nightly-news/award-winning-author-shares-personal-struggle-write-n142251
A Lesson In Perseverance: Award-Winning Author Shares Personal Struggle to Write
Video on msnbc.com: Kate DiCamillo is an award-winning author, has more than 20 million copies of her books in print, and has had two of her books turned into movies. But ask her about how she got...
http://www.nbcnews.com/#/nightly-news/award-winning-author-shares-personal-struggle-write-n142251
A Lesson In Perseverance: Award-Winning Author Shares Personal Struggle to Write
Video on msnbc.com: Kate DiCamillo is an award-winning author, has more than 20 million copies of her books in print, and has had two of her books turned into movies. But ask her about how she got...
June 26, 2014
I hate to dress up.
I am a jeans and flip-flops kind of girl.
Tomorrow, I leave...
I hate to dress up.
I am a jeans and flip-flops kind of girl.
Tomorrow, I leave for Las Vegas.
I have a very fancy dress in my suitcase. Also: high heels.
I will wear it all without a murmur of complaint.
I am going to the American Library Association’s annual conference.
I am going to the Newbery-Caldecott banquet.
I am going to give a speech.
I am thrilled, honored and so very grateful to be doing this.
In a dress.
In high heels.
With the whole of my heart.
I am a jeans and flip-flops kind of girl.
Tomorrow, I leave for Las Vegas.
I have a very fancy dress in my suitcase. Also: high heels.
I will wear it all without a murmur of complaint.
I am going to the American Library Association’s annual conference.
I am going to the Newbery-Caldecott banquet.
I am going to give a speech.
I am thrilled, honored and so very grateful to be doing this.
In a dress.
In high heels.
With the whole of my heart.
June 24, 2014
I left alone early on Friday morning to drive north, to join friends at the cabi...
I left alone early on Friday morning to drive north, to join friends at the cabin.
First, it was foggy.
After the fog, there were clouds.
After the clouds, there was rain.
And then, an unseen hand pulled the curtain back and this world appeared: green, blue, bright beyond all reckoning.
When I got to the cabin, they had just finished breakfast, and had saved a plate for me.
It was still warm.
First, it was foggy.
After the fog, there were clouds.
After the clouds, there was rain.
And then, an unseen hand pulled the curtain back and this world appeared: green, blue, bright beyond all reckoning.
When I got to the cabin, they had just finished breakfast, and had saved a plate for me.
It was still warm.
June 19, 2014
Sometimes, the right words appear at exactly the right time.
For instance: these...
Sometimes, the right words appear at exactly the right time.
For instance: these words from Hannah in New Jersey.
“Dear Ms. DiCamillo, I absolutely loved the book Despereaux. How do you think of all these ideas? You did a very very very very very great job writing the book!!”
I struggled (doubted, fretted, wrote and rewrote and rewrote) for a very long time with Despereaux.
And now, here I am—doubting, fretting, writing and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting—working on another novel.
These...
For instance: these words from Hannah in New Jersey.
“Dear Ms. DiCamillo, I absolutely loved the book Despereaux. How do you think of all these ideas? You did a very very very very very great job writing the book!!”
I struggled (doubted, fretted, wrote and rewrote and rewrote) for a very long time with Despereaux.
And now, here I am—doubting, fretting, writing and rewriting and rewriting and rewriting—working on another novel.
These...
June 17, 2014
So, I’m working on this novel.
Actually, I’ve been working on this novel for q...
So, I’m working on this novel.
Actually, I’ve been working on this novel for quite some time.
But finally--and at last--I have a complete draft of it.
On Friday, I printed up that complete draft and I put it to the left of my computer and I opened up a new file and I started typing.
I began at the beginning.
I am hopeful (maybe everything will come together!) and afraid (will everything come together?) and grateful.
I am grateful because I realize as I write that I am on a journey.
I’m typi...
Actually, I’ve been working on this novel for quite some time.
But finally--and at last--I have a complete draft of it.
On Friday, I printed up that complete draft and I put it to the left of my computer and I opened up a new file and I started typing.
I began at the beginning.
I am hopeful (maybe everything will come together!) and afraid (will everything come together?) and grateful.
I am grateful because I realize as I write that I am on a journey.
I’m typi...
