Erin E. Stead's Blog, page 2

Indies First (Or Come Be a Book Geek with Erin and Philip on November 30)

Well, hello. How have you been? Hopefully well.

I have a confession. I hate shopping. Most blog thieves do. We usually like to tuck into shadows and stick to ourselves so, in turn, busy stores with lots of people overwhelm us. Unless – and this is a big unless – we are shopping at bookstores. The nice thing about bookstores is all of the bookshelves we can hide behind and the hardcover books we can use to shield our faces as we roam from shelf to shelf. So we get pretty excited about shopping when it comes to books. Which is why I’m happy to tell you about a wonderful idea Sherman Alexie, winner of the National Book Award and one of Erin and Philip‘s favorites, had to celebrate independent bookstores.

Here’s the deal. It’s called “Indies First” and the gist of the plan is that “book nerds become booksellers”. (Now, I’m not calling Erin a nerd but let’s be honest. She might be getting pretty close to being a book nerd, no?) What this really means is authors and illustrators go to their local independent bookstore and talk to customers about their favorite books, make recommendations, maybe sign a book or two and just generally spend a day sharing books which, I think, makes everyone involved a little happier. You can read Sherman Alexie’s whole letter here.

The date set for Indies First coincides with Small Business Saturday, which is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses throughout the country. It’s the Saturday after Thanksgiving so mark your calendars! Erin and Philip will be selling books at at Nicola’s Books (2513 Jackson Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI) on Saturday, November 30 from 2 p.m. until they drop. (And I’ll be the one in the corner with the book in front of my face.)

Yours in peaceful blog theivery,

nicole

Fall Steadevents

Hello, people of the internets!

This is your faithful (if lately neglectful) blog thief, Nicole, here. Erin and Philip have been hard at work making art lately but I can tell they’re getting antsy to venture out of the studio for a little while and visit some bookstores. How can I tell? Well, they just told me about their plans to visit eleven bookstores around the country in early September! Nothing gets by me. Here’s a list below of where they’ll be (though please note times may change slightly so you may want to follow the link to the host store’s site for updated timing). I hope you will join them if they’re in a city near you!

September 9, 2013

6:30 p.m.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Nicola’s Books

September 10, 2013

1:00 p.m.

Los Angeles, California

Children’s Book World

September 11, 2013

10:30 a.m.

Pasadena, California

Vroman’s Bookstore

September 12, 2013

10:30 a.m.

San Francisco, California

Books Inc.

3:00 p.m.

San Jose, California

Hicklebee’s

September 13, 2013

4:00 p.m.

Salt Lake City, Utah

The King’s English Bookshop

September 14, 2013

11:00 a.m.

Boulder, Colorado

Boulder Book Store

September 15, 2013

2:00 p.m.

Denver, Colorado

Tattered Cover Book Store

September 17, 2013

10:00 a.m.

Boston, Massachusetts

Porter Square Books

September 18, 2013

4:00 p.m.

Manchester Center, Vermont

Northshire Bookstore

September 19, 2013

11:00 a.m.

Shelburne, Vermont

The Flying Pig Bookstore

Whale Prints! (Wait! Look Away!)

Hello again,

Erin doesn’t know I’m writing today and I really hope in doing so that I’m not spoiling your reading of If You Want to See a Whale. See, I am about to post the artwork from a page in the book where the elusive whale is finally revealed. And, well, I am of the belief that this page should be a complete surprise the first time you read the book. So, if you haven’t read it yet, perhaps look away.

…

I mean it.

…

Did you look away yet? Well let me suggest that you come back after because you may love the whale so much that you’d like to have a print from the book in your home. And that’s why I’m here! I just wanted to let you know we have added a print from Whale to the print sale site.

Here it is:

If you’d like more information about this print or any other prints from Philip and Erin’s books, just click here.

Cheers,

nicole

Today May Be a Good Day to See a Whale

Hello out there,

Erin’s newest book, If You Want to See a Whale is out today – happy Whale Day!

Also, Erin and Phil will be at Ann Arbor’s newest bookstore, Literati, this Thursday evening to officially launch the book. If you’re around town and would like to join, here are the details:

If You Want to See a Whale - Book Launch

Thursday, May 9

6:30 p.m.

Literati Bookstore

124 E. Washington Street

Ann Arbor, MI

If you happen to be closer to New York, the Steads will join Whale’s author, Julie Fogliano, for an event there on Saturday morning. Here are those details:

If You Want to See a Whale - Story Time

Saturday, May 11

11:00 a.m.

Greenlight Bookstore

686 Fulton Street

Brooklyn, NY

I hope you can join them for an event to help celebrate Whale’s arrival!

Best wishes,

nicole

A Thursday Out on the Town

Hello!

I just wanted to share some news about an upcoming event at which both Philip and Erin will be speaking. The 7th Annual Sarah Marwil Lamstein Children’s Literature Lecture will take place on Thursday, April 11 at 5:10 p.m. in the Helmut Stern Auditorium at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (525 S. State Street, Ann Arbor, MI). The event is presented by the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan and you can read more about the series here. I think it should be a nice little Thursday night so feel free to come out if you can!

Yours Truly,

Nicole

(Blog Thief/Harmless Sharer of Events)

A Trailer and Some Practice

Hello out there,

I was in the mood to steal Erin’s blog again today so I could tell you about the new trailer Philip just made for her next book, If You Want to See a Whale. Would you like to join me in watching the trailer?

If you liked the song Phil wrote for the trailer, you can download it for free here.

There are 56 days left until May 7 when If You Want to See a Whale is released. This gives us some time to practice waiting…which I hear is a skill you will need when you want to see a whale.

Yours Truly,

Nicole

(Stead Studio Assistant and Blog Thief)

Lots and lots of bookplates.

Signing bookplates for the new book that comes out in may. These will go to indie stores, of they are kind enough to carry the book. Pictures of the book coming soon! I just got the final copy yesterday!

Business meeting!

Getting some work done at one of our favorite places.

New baren for printing!

It has 612 ball bearings. Neat.

A few penguins have appeared recently.

I am not sure what their names are.