Annual Assembly: July 27-30 in Austin
Joanna Nigrelli
Information about Annual Assembly is now up on TLA's site. Registration is free.
YART's meetings are open so if you can make it to Assembly on Tuesday, please check them out.
Lone Star Reading Committee, Maverick Graphic Novel Reading Committee, Texas Teens Read Advisory Committee: TUESDAY 8 am-12 pm
YART Executive Board: TUESDAY 1:30 pm - 5:30 pm
(Tayshas Reading Committee will not meet during Assembly.)
See you next month!
YART folks in ALA -- Congrats!
Jennifer Smith
Congratulations to Susi Parks Grissom (past, past chair of YART) for being elected Director-Elect Region VI of the American Association of School Librarians
and
Congratulations to Monique Franklin (Texas Teens Read advisor) and Jeanette Larson for being elected to the YALSA Nonfiction Committee
and
Congratulations to Ty Burns for being elected to the Sibert Committee.
Lone Star and TAYSHAS video booktalks
Jennifer Smith
posted on behalf of Lori Loranger, Lone Star Chair
Our fabulous YART webmaster is working on getting the digital booktalks posted. Our YART webmaster is working with the TLA webmaster so it involves some coordination between them and I know they both have a lot to do to get conference information posted. We are very appreciative of all the interest we have seen regarding the digital booktalks and we appreciate your patience.
Some of the programs we used to create our videos were Windows Movie Maker, Photostory, Animoto, and iMovie.
Lori Loranger
Chair, Lone Star Reading List Committee
Authors blog about TLA and YART
Jennifer Smith
We had so many great authors at TLA 2009. And it sounds like they had as much fun as we did. Check out these blog postings. (If you find any others, please post them in the comments for us all to share).
Meg Cabot
http://www.megcabot.com/diary/?p=705
Ally Carter
http://www.allycarter.com/2009/04/in-which-ally-takes-pictures-with.html
Justine Chen Headley
http://justinachenheadley.blogspot.com/2009/04/texan-librarians-throw-big-conferences.html
Derek Kirk Kim
http://derekkirkkim.blogspot.com/2009/04/tla-and-emerald-city-comicon.html
Justine Larbalestier
http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/2009/04/02/liar-is-now-out-there/
Melissa Marr
http://melissa-writing.livejournal.com/360756.html#cutid1
Margo Rabb
http://margorabb.com/blog/?p=723
Sara Zarr
http://www.sarazarr.com/?p=1051
Jennifer Ziegler
http://jenniferziegler.livejournal.com/36683.html
YART at TLA 2009
Jennifer Smith
I hope everyone had a great time at the 2009 TLA conference.
Did you check out the fabulous new display at the YART booth?
I had a great time meeting our authors and listening to their stories.
What was YOUR favorite YART session?
Jennifer Smith
YART Chair-elect, 2009-2010
Graphic Novels @ TLA
Joanna Nigrelli
If you want to know where the graphic novels will be at TLA, take a look at this list! Kasey Hyde and Cindy Boyle at TLA created this comprehensive list of GN exhibitors.
Please note that the program "Mavericks of YA Graphic Novels" will take place on Friday from 8-9:20 a.m. in General Assembly C. Presenters will be Terry Moore, Derek Kirk Kim, Svetlana Chmakova & Kean Soo. See you there!
2009 YARI Award Winner
Joanna Nigrelli
Congratulations to Susan Geye, librarian at Summer Creek Middle School (Crowley ISD), who has been selected as the 2009 Young Adult Reading Incentive (YARI) Award winner!! The YARI Award is given annually to honor a librarian who has shown exceptional ability in motivating young adults to read by developing and implementing a reading incentive program for young adults in grades 6-12. When you're in the Exhibit Hall at the TLA Annual Conference, stop by YART Booth # 1240 to see Susan's display on her winning project, "Reading Race to the Library."
You could be a YARI winner, too! As you plan special reading incentive programs, remember to document each step of the process, from planning through implementation and impact of the project. You'll then have the documentation you need for a great YARI nomination of your own!
Susan will be presented with her award at YART's General Business Meeting on Thursday at 8 a.m. preceding the Lone Star and Tayshas booktalks.
Lone Star 20th Anniversary Program at TLA
Jennifer Smith
Be sure to join us at the "Celebrate 20 Years of the Lone Star Reading List" program at the 2009 TLA Conference. The program is on Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Ballroom A.
Joan Bauer and Neal Shusterman will be on the panel along with Tracy Lerner from Random House Children's Books and Sharyn November from Viking Children's Books. Past Lone Star chairs Susan Allison and Leigh Ann Jones round out the group.
We will have special 20th anniversary Lone Star buttons (also available at the YART booth). Past Lone Star members will receive special recognition.
Help us celebrate 20 years of great books for middle school children. Hope to see you there!
Lone Star is on Facebook!
Jennifer Smith
Are you a FBer?
Join the "We LOVE the Lone Star Reading List" group on Facebook.
Hope to see you there.
Meet Illustrator Emily Fiegenschuh
Joanna Nigrelli
Illustrator Emily Fiegenschuh headlines her own program at TLA on Thursday, April 2, from 2-2:50 p.m. Emily is the illustrator for the 2009 Texas Teens Read! summer reading program "Time Twistin'". Check out her artwork for the manual and see our post about Texas Teens Read!
1. Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for
new authors?
No, this is my first time. I'm honored to have been invited, but I think someone needs to give ME advice!
2. What is your preferred method for creating art and why?
My preferred method of creating art is using traditional materials. I have experience with Photoshop, but the "feeling" of painting on a computer is still very foreign to me. My favorite mediums are pencil, gouache and watercolor. When I have spare time (which is very rare these days) I like to sculpt using Super Sculpy, which is a polymer clay that can be found in craft stores and can be baked to cure right in the oven–just not at the same time as the chocolate chip cookies.
3. Favorite books of the past year
This is kind of embarrassing to answer because I have so little time to read these days. The last book I finished was Neuromancer, by William Gibson, which I enjoyed. I'm currently reading Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. It's fascinating to learn how such seemingly simple events in prehistory shaped the fabric of the world's societies today.
4. Favorite books from your YA years
I loved Roald Dahl as a kid and read almost anything by him I could get my hands on. I also enjoyed the Redwall series by Brian Jaqcues, although I never got through the entire series. One book that I will always remember was Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. (What's up with me and literary rodents?) And Charlotte's Web is one that I will also always love. I read it a few times growing up and would actually like to reread it again in the future. I even liked some of the stuff they "made" us read in school. I read Brave New World in high school and it turned out to be one of my favorite books.
5. Finish this sentence. The perfect vacation is...
The perfect vacation is staying at a tranquil place with a lot of natural beauty, where I can see the sights but also relax. One of my favorite vacations ever was visiting Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York and staying in a cabin on site. It was so peaceful and we woke up to the crowing of roosters.
6. MySpace or Facebook?
Neither, actually. The only networking site I belong to is like Facebook for artists and it's called CG Hub.
7. BBQ or Tex-Mex?
BBQ tempeh and tofu are very tasty!
8. Finish this sentence. Libraries are...
Libraries are a great place to find reference and inspiration for my next piece of artwork. They're also a great place to work! During college I worked at the library on campus.
9. Do you have a blog, website, or other online presence that you
would like to share with us?
Yes, please visit my web site at www.e-figart.com! You can also check out my gallery at the aforementioned CG Hub at
http://emilyfiegenschuh.cghub.com/
Finally, if you would like to read about the guinea pig rescue my husband and I work with, please check out our rescue blog at
http://wisconsinguineapigrescue.blogspot.com/
