Marc Tyler Nobleman's Blog, page 138

"Boys of Steel" interview for B'nai B'rith

In high school, I was an eager member of the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO).

Recently, B'nai B'rith International Magazine interviewed me about Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman, and about superheroes and Jews in general.

Edward is the Phoenix: surprise for an author

Finding out that Edward Ormondroyd, author of the 1957 YA novel David and the Phoenix, was still with us (at age 86) was a highlight of my summer.

Contacting him and convincing him to let me interview him for my blog was as well.

Yet in terms of moving experiences, both turned out to be mere prologue to the Edward-related event that unfolded in Trumansburg, NY, on 12/2/11. I believe it is unprecedented in the known history of author visits at schools.

Like the fabled Phoenix of his book, Edward (as author) has risen again, and it didn't require a pyre or fire of any kind.

In the interview, Edward said that, but for two "unofficial" (my term) exceptions, he never spoke in schools, as many children's authors do today.

A humble and happy man, he didn't say this with any discernible hint of regret or longing, but I saw an opportunity just the same.

By pure, freakish chance, at the same time I had been tracking down Edward, I was also booking an author visit at Trumansburg Elementary in Trumansburg, NY…which, I would soon learn, happens to be the town in which Edward lives.

Yet apparently, the fact that he is a published author is largely unknown among the townsfolk.

More broadly, David and the Phoenix remains beloved by certain adult readers yet largely unknown among the current generation.

I believed kids and Trumansburgians alike would be most interested in Edward's books and in Edward himself.

So I asked Purple House Press, the exclusive publisher of David and the Phoenix, if they would discreetly donate copies of it to the school so the kids could take turns reading it in the month leading up to my appearance. The publisher kindly obliged and sent 30 paperbacks at no charge. The kids were not told that their assignment to read Edward's novel had any connection to my upcoming author visit.

Edward had already planned to attend my talk—anonymously, he thought. But about halfway through, I ambushed the whole room.

I flashed a picture of David and the Phoenix, citing it as a childhood favorite. I innocently asked the kids if they knew the book. As I suspected, their reaction was excitement—and disbelief: what are the chances this guest author would mention the very book by an unrelated author that they all just so happened to read?

Then I announced that Edward just so happened to be in the room. I gestured to him to "introduce" him to the crowd—a surprised author greeting surprised fans...for the first time. He stood and endearingly bowed.

For the Q&A segment with which I close my program, I encouraged students to ask questions of either of us (not having cleared this in advance with Edward). To my great pleasure, upon hearing this, quite a few kids turned to Edward and shot up their hands.

Here are both segments on film—the intro (unfortunately, Edward is cut off, except for his bow) and the Q&A:



Edward's wife and friend had accompanied him; later, his wife said Edward was touched and his friend said seeing Edward get such long-deserved attention brought tears to his eyes. Edward told me he had not thought I would involve him in my presentation, let alone even mention him.

After the presentation, Edward and I posed in front of an important word:


Edward requested this pose.
His wife shrugged and said authors of books for children
never fully grow up.

As if this weren't memorable enough, the Ormondroyds kindly invited me to their house for dinner (featuring vegetables they grew themselves) that evening. Adding to the honor, fellow author Bruce Coville (whom I'd run into online but never in person) joined us.

Taken in Edward's library, this photo shows (as Bruce commented) "three generations of David and the Phoenix"—the author (holding the lone first edition hardcover he owns), a fan from circa the first edition (Bruce), and a fan from circa the 1981 Scholastic edition (me):

Let's recap how many surprises were bundled into this story:

surprise on me: that Edward lives in same town as a school I was booked to speak atsurprise on Edward: that I was going to shine the spotlight on him during my presentation and that the kids read David and the Phoenix in prepsurprise on the kids: that Edward was there and that they'd read David and the Phoenix because Edward was going to be theresurprise on the people of Trumansburg: that Edward lives in town
The press release I'd sent began with this plea: "Due to the surprise nature of this event, please do not run story (or even discuss locally) until after!" The Ithaca Journal (the region's daily paper) covered it; the Fox TV affiliate WICZ told me they would be there, but they were a no-show.

The day prior, I had seen the film Hugo, in which a younger person shows an older person (silent era filmmaker Georges Méliès) who had a creative influence that he (the older person) is still fondly remembered. I felt like this Edward Experiment was a Hugo moment of my own.

Special thanks to Trumansburg Elementary librarian Gail Brisson who eagerly agreed to take on this additional effort and who managed to keep the whole thing a secret for a month, even from Edward's wife…who, it just so happens, volunteers in the school.

A warm hometown school vi

On 11/30/11, I had the pleasure of speaking in my hometown at Garrett Park Elementary in Bethesda, MD.

Their welcome sign made my surname gender-neutral. (I know it was simply a space issue so it didn't bother me—in fact, I smiled at it—but a kind school staffer apologized for it as soon as I walked in.)

They had booked my presentation for a mere two weeks before the entire school will move to its new facility, so obviously they like a challenge!

A good number of parents volunteered to supervise the kids during the presentation. Though I do encourage it in my contract, parents other than the PTA liaison rarely attend my school presentations, so this was a treat for me.

Bonus: the school sold a good number of Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman beforehand and are now going to feature some of my books at their upcoming book fair.

Searching for Gordon from "Sesame Street"

Thanks to their new movie, the Muppets are back at the forefront of pop culture, but I remain a bigger fan of Sesame Street…even more so once I learned that the show has gone to the web to find the man who played Gordon only once, in the unaired 1969 pilot.

This is a kind of thing I love. This is a kind of thing I've done. So I feel their hope.

It's been two weeks since the Sesame Street search went public and I haven't seen any follow-up. This seems the kind of thing that, if anyone knows, the details would be forthcoming immediately. So this episode is brought to you by the letter W, for worried—if even the mighty and beloved Sesame Street can't find their man, then what chance do the rest of us mere Muggle/Muppet handlers have?

The title of my 2012 picture book on Batman is…

…Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman. Twitter-unfriendly, but still on schedule for a 7/1/12 release.

On 11/22/11, I was thrilled to learn that the book was named a Junior Library Guild selection. (Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman also was, but I didn't find out about that until the March prior to publication—in other words, four months later than this time!)


What this honor means, and could mean (graphic from the JLG site):

Batman's in charge; I'm just the sidekick.

Vanished: The Movie Trailer

I was thrilled to stumble across a trailer for a (nonexistent) movie based on my nonfiction compilation book Vanished: True Stories of the Missing. I don't know the person who made it but sure would like to!

Those glimpses of Indiana Jones and the Little Prince are not false advertising; both do figure into a story in the book. I especially love the text treatment at the end.

Leftover labels

© Nickelodeon; no reuse without permission.

Original research for picture books

Before Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman, few of the books I'd written involved original research. And while I was writing Boys of Steel, I don't think I stopped to think about the fact that I was doing original research. Now I find myself choosing projects because they'd require original research. It's a good kind of addictive.

By "original research," I mean digging up previously unpublished information, typically by looking in places no one else has before.

It takes longer. It often leads to more dead ends (how can you be certain you'll find something useable in any given direction if you're the first to check?). But it's also more fulfilling, and not only for the writer.

Just because a subject has never been the focus of its own book before doesn't mean the research for that book is original. (The reverse, of course, is also true.)

For example, my 2012 book on Bill Finger, uncredited co-creator of Batman, is the first book to focus on Bill, but not because no one before me could find enough material on him. I could've written it using only published books such as Batman: The Complete History by Les Daniels (who passed away 11/5/11) as my source material. But that wouldn't have told the whole (to the extent that's possible) story. It certainly wouldn't have told some of the most interesting parts of the story.

While I did refer to Daniels's book, among others, I also interviewed dozens of people who had not been interviewed about Bill before and tracked down documents no other writer had referred to before.

I don't know how recently authors of nonfiction picture books began doing original research but this development has gotten some attention lately in the publishing media. The fact that it's a topic at all is a symptom of the myth that books for young people are (a) not "real" books, (b) easier to write than adult books, and (c) simplistic in both subject and prose. (Can you imagine seeing an article focusing on how the author of a biography for adults did original research?)

In creating nonfiction (or fiction, for that matter), I feel original research is as critical as original writing. It's not enough to have a good story. We should strive for a good story that is also a fresh story. Adding to the record gives meaning and lends permanence.

Gone South Carolina

A lovely time of year to visit the Lowcountry. On 11/17/11 and 11/18/11, I spoke seven times at four Charleston area schools. It was so tight because I had to book my flight before knowing how many bookings I would get, and when more came in afterward, I had to ask each school for their understanding with regard to the juggling act that ensued.

At both of the 11/17/11 schools, I happened to know the mom of one of the students, and got to see both. At one of the 11/17/11 schools, I also got to see this:




At the other, I happened upon this cheeky way to recycle an old card catalog:

This took one person two full days!

On 11/18/11, my schedule was so tight that I had to cut short the last presentation to have ample time to refuel and return the rental car and make my flight. Of course, this was the first time in forever where a school's laptop froze during my PowerPoint...meaning we lost even more time while they retrieved and booted up a replacement. Luckily, the kids and staff were most patient and I felt I still fit in most of the material.

My PSA for PBS Guam

I talked extra slowly because they told me to. I didn't smile because they didn't tell me to. And upon seeing this finished cut, I wish I had talked slightly faster and flashed teeth more.

But overall, it was fun and I am pleased, especially with the zooming-backwards-through-bookshelves effect, which was not a typhoon (common in those parts) but rather just some movie magic.