From Susi Parks Grissom, YART Chair:

The spring edition of the YART newsletter, YA ROUND TABLE REVUE, is now online!

Go to the YART website and click the YART NEWS link at the top of the page to access the REVUE. Many thanks go to REVUE Editor Judy Baldwin, librarian at the Kinkaid School in Houston, for all of her work on getting the REVUE formatted and online for you to read.

The spring REVUE contains LOTS of information about the terrific YART programming at TLA this year -- just two weeks away! You can also read about the launch of Texas Teens Read! (a new summer reading program for Texas teens) and all the people and organizations who support the work of YART throughout the year.

Stay tuned for an email about the YART General Business Meeting and Lone Star/Tayshas booktalks (Thursday, 2:00-3:20pm). You'll want to print and complete the coupon at the bottom of that email page for the chance to win Lone Star and Tayshas books. Look for it!

Congratulations to our new officers!

Chair-Elect: Kate DiPronio, Round Rock ISD
Secretary: Robin Henry, Frisco ISD
Councilor: Mary Faye Randolph, Austin ISD
Councilor Alternate: Heath Rezabek, Austin Public Library

The new officers will be introduced at the YART membership/book talking meeting on Thursday, April 17 at 2 p.m.

Joanna Nigrelli
YART Chair-Elect
Teen Librarian-Austin Public Library

It has come to our attention that Cedar Park Librarian Marian McTrusty passed away on March 30th. Marian volunteered on a committee for YART and she will be dearly missed.

I am providing a link to Cynthia Leitich Smith's blog because I thought her post on Marian was so lovely.

It is my pleasure to announce the Young Adult Reading Incentive Award for 2008. This year we had so many wonderful entries. The committee had an arduous task! Our award this year goes to

Claws – a reading initative for 10th grade

Submitted by Martha Jordan, South Grand Prairie High School Librarian

Please join me in congratulating Martha. I hope that many of you will apply next year. We want to showcase the wonderful programs that you have and all the work you do for young adults in Texas.

Sincerely,

Jeana Actkinson, Librarian
Past YART Chair, 2006-2007
Texas Library Association

We are starting a new, and hopefully fun, feature on our blog where we interview authors who will be at TLA.

Our very first author is Jacqueline Kolosov, author of The Red Queen's Daughter (Hyperion Books for Children). She is speaking at TLA on Tuesday from 2-3:50 p.m. as part of the Strong Voices, Other Worlds: YA Fantasy Authors panel.

1. Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for new authors?

I attended TLA for the first time last spring. My advice is to soak it all in and meet as many teachers, librarians, and fellow writers as possible. It’s an extraordinary opportunity.

2. The theme for TLA 2008 is "Books, Bytes and Beyond". How would you describe yourself in 4 words?

Intense, generous, heart-driven, moody

3. What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop, longhand, typewriter?

I write at the computer because I can type faster than I can write, and when the story is coming along, I think fast. Too, when it’s slow, I can move through the text, and that often sparks an idea.

4. What are you reading right now?

I just finished Libba Bray’s latest, Cures for Heartbreak by Margo Rabb, and I am reading Cinda’s The Wizard Heir. I am also a poet, and I write fiction for adults. That list includes White Stone by Stephanie Bolster—a collection of poems based on Alice in Wonderland.

5. Movie you've loved in the past year

I had a baby in January 2007. I have not seen a movie all year.

6. The perfect vacation is...

Hiking, swimming, yoga, plenty of wide open space and quiet, good food, my husband and daughter and corgi alongside me.

7. Which do you prefer? Zombies or Vampires?

Vampires, without question. They are better conversationalists.

8. Do you have a blog or website that you would like to share with us?

www.jacquelinekolosov.com

Cinda Williams Chima will also be speaking at TLA on Tuesday from 2-3:50 p.m. as part of the Strong Voices, Other Worlds: YA Fantasy Authors panel. Her book The Warrior Heir (Hyperion Books for Children) was on the 2007-2008 Lone Star Reading List.

Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for new authors?
ANSWER: I have not attended TLA before, so I am looking for advice!

The theme for TLA 2008 is "Books, Bytes and Beyond". How would you describe yourself in 4 words?
ANSWER: I’m a fantasy writer. I need way more than four words.

What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop, longhand, typewriter?
ANSWER: I’m always in search of a keyboard. If I have to write more than three words by hand, I throw a fit. And you don’t want to try to read it, either.

What are you reading right now?
ANSWER: I’m reading Truck: A Love Story by Michael Perry. Before that The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

Movie you've loved in the past year
ANSWER: I don’t get out much. But I love the idea of going to the movies. Maybe when I quit the day job.

The perfect vacation is...
ANSWER: A warm ocean, a quiet beach, my main squeeze, a good read.

Which do you prefer? Zombies or Vampires?
ANSWER: Vampires for sure. Zombies never have anything to say for themselves.

Do you have a blog or website that you would like to share with us?
ANSWER: Read my love note to librarians and visit my Website

Susan Vaught, author of 2007-2008 Tayshas Reading List book Trigger (Bloomsbury), will speak on the Taste of Tayshas panel on Wednesday from 2-3:220.

1. Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have
for new authors?
No! Haven't attended. Am quite fearful I need a cowboy hat. I don't have a cowboy hat.

2. The theme for TLA 2008 is "Books, Bytes and Beyond". How
would you describe yourself in 4 words?
shy
happy
quiet
cowboy-hatless

3. What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop,
longhand, typewriter?
Laptop for fiction, so I can endlessly edit without ripping out my hair. Longhand for poetry because my poems only come from the tips of pencils. I'd drop-kick a typewriter from here to Maine without much prompting.

4. What are you reading right now?
Re-reading Octavia Butler's FLEDGLING

5. Movie you've loved in the past year
I AM LEGEND

6. The perfect vacation is...
Jekyll Island for at least a week. I loooove Jekyll Island.

7. Which do you prefer? Zombies or Vampires?
Zombies. Definitely Zombies. Less angst, more eating.

8. Do you have a blog or website that you would like to share with us?
www.susanvaught.com (which has a link to my blog) www.susanvaught.blogspot.com (which has a lot of ranting about my new and annoying parrot)

Jim Murphy will be speaking at TLA on Wednesday from 12-1 p.m. as part of the YA Nonfiction: Not Just the Facts. Jim's latest book is THE REAL BENEDICT ARNOLD published by Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin.

1. Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for new authors?

Yes, I’ve attended TLA in the past. My advice to first time visitors, especially non-Texans? Remember, everything in Texas is BIG, convention centers included, so allow lots of time to locate your next meeting or autographing session. I have a nightmare story involving the San Antonio Convention Center, but it’s too scary to go into here. Oh, yes, you should go with the flow and enjoy yourself.

2. The theme for TLA 2008 is "Books, Bytes and Beyond". How would you describe yourself in 4 words?

Inquisitive, determined, happy, lucky.

3. What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop, longhand, typewriter?

I write on a PC, then print a hard copy and do very nasty editorial notes on my ms. Then I rewrite on the computer (cursing myself for writing so many notes).

4. What are you reading right now?

I’m in the middle of reading: Year of the Hyenas by Brad Geagley (it’s a murder mystery set in Ancient Egypt), Thomas Paine and the Promise of America by Harvey J. Kaye, and a really wonderful novel called Small Island by Andrea Levy.

5. Movie you've loved in the past year

I saw a number of movies last year that I liked a lot. But since I love to cook, I think I’d have to say the only one I’d see again is Ratatouille. Yes, it has a lot of the usual sentimental, stereotypical trappings, but it’s also eclectic and surprising. And it made me want to cook a great meal!

6. The perfect vacation is...

The perfect vacation? Wow, that’s a big one. I think I’d like to drive through Spain, France, Italy and Greece stopping at as many great restaurants as possible along the way. Since this is a dream, I insist I get to drive a 1929 SSK Mercedes-Benz, stay at tiny, family owned hotels and can drink any wine on the menu. Why wasn’t I born super-rich?

7. Which do you prefer? Zombies or Vampires?

I’ll take a vampire any day…er, night. Zombies kinda lumber through their days in a daze and seem glum and depressed. Vampires, on the other hand, are party animals, flitting from one nightspot to another, dressed to kill, and spouting one-liners with real bite.

8. Do you have a blog or website that you would like to share with us?

I have a website: jimmurphybooks.com

That’s it. Have a great TLA everyone. Jim Murphy

Will Weaver will be speaking on the Taste of Tayshas panel on Wednesday from 2-3:20. His book Full Service (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux) is on the 2007-2008 Tayshas Reading List.

1. Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for new authors?

WW: No, but I have lots of great readers in Texas. I’ve been to schools in Houston, and next month (May 08) I’ll be visiting schools in Sinton and Hallettsville.

2. The theme for TLA 2008 is "Books, Bytes and Beyond". How would you describe yourself in 4 words?

WW: “Fiction Beats Video Games”

3. What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop, longhand, typewriter?

WW: Laptop, with my feet up and my head in the clouds.

4. What are you reading right now?

WW: YELLOW FLAG by Bob Lipsyte and some adult stories by John Updike

5. Movie you've loved in the past year

WW: SWEET LAND (a shameless answer, as it’s a feature film based on one of my short stories)

6. The perfect vacation is...

WW: On the beach, anywhere.

7. Which do you prefer? Zombies or Vampires?

WW: That’s not a hard choice—zombies for sure. You can spot them sooner, plus they really can’t run after you all that well.

8. Do you have a blog or website that you would like to share with us?

WW: check me out at willweaverbooks.com, and my link to motornovels.com, which is all about race cars. The first novel, SATURDAY NIGHT DIRT, has just been released. We (my publisher and I) also have a stock car (a real one!) that’s part of the novel series. See photos at motornovels.com

Robert Lipsyte is one of our "Guys" for our In the Clubhouse with the Guys: Conversation with YA Authors program on Thursday from 10-11:50 a.m. His book Raider's Night (Harper Collins) is on the 2007-2008 Tayshas Reading List.

Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for new authors?

TWICE. WHAT HAPPENS AT TLA STAYS AT TLA.

The theme for TLA 2008 is "Books, Bytes and Beyond". How would you describe yourself in 4 words?

HAPPY TO BE HERE.

What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop, longhand, typewriter?

I WRITE ALL FIRST DRAFTS BY PENCIL ON YELLOW LEGAL PADS, ALL THE NEXT TEN DRAFTS ON THE COMPUTER.

What are you reading right now?

JUST FINISHED 'RAIDERS NIGHT' AND STARTED 'YELLOW FLAG.' I ALWAYS RE-READ MY OWN BOOKS BEFORE TLA IN CASE SOMEONE ASKS ME A QUESTION ABOUT THEM.

Movie you've loved in the past year

ONCE A YEAR I SEE 'GALAXY QUEST' MY FAVORITE MOVIE.

The perfect vacation is...

EVERYBODY IN THE FAMILY OFF ON THEIR PERFECT VACATIONS SO I CAN SIT IN A QUIET HOUSE ALL ALONE AND WRITE.

Which do you prefer? Zombies or Vampires?

THERE IS NO QUESTION, VAMPIRES. THEY HAVE SPIRIT, WIT, STYLE, WHILE ZOMBIES ARE MERELY UNDEAD REPUBLICANS. I COULD SEE MYSELF AS A VAMPIRE. IN FACT, WHY DON'T YOU COME A LITTLE CLOSER.

Do you have a blog or website that you would like to share with us?

THE ONLY WEBSITE I READ RELIGIOUSLY IS ROBERTLIPSYTE.COM WHO IS THAT GUY?

Brent Hartinger is another one of our "Guys". Come see him for that program on Thursday from 10-11:50 a.m. as well as his other appearances, which should dub Thursday as "Go See Brent Hartinger Day":
Thursday 8-9:50 for the Ideas and Influence: Fantasy and Science Fiction for Teens (co-sponsored with GLBT Interest Group and PLD)
and
Thursday from 2-3:50 for the Super Heroes, Ghosts, and Gay Teens: GLBT YA Literature sponsored by GLBT Interest Group

Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for new authors?

I have never attended TLA before, but I've attended MANY conferences. My advice is to relax. You can't do it all, and you'll regret it if you try. It's better to make two genuine connections than to shake hands with 150 people. But bring business cards anyway.

The theme for TLA 2008 is "Books, Bytes and Beyond". How would you describe yourself in 4 words?

Newbery Award-winning author. Wait, does it have to be an accurate description? Well, in that case, scratch that.

What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop, longhand, typewriter?

What is longhand exactly? And what is this "typewriter" of which you speak? I write on my desktop's ergonomic keyboard. I honestly can't imagine not having the "search and replace" feature, not to mention the thesaurus.

What are you reading right now?

I just finished The Things They Carried, the Vietnam novel. Just when you think nothing more can be said about a topic, you read something that reminds you were wrong.

Movie you've loved in the past year

I liked Waitress and Sunshine a lot. I found quite a few of the Oscar contenders really over-rated, especially Juno. And while I liked No Country for Old Men, I thought the ending was just plain bad.

The perfect vacation is...

It used to be "an adventure in some unfamiliar place." But lately it's becoming more and more, "Some place with an all-you-can-eat buffet and where I can sit on my ass and read undisturbed." But I'm NOT getting old and I resent the implication that I am!

Which do you prefer? Zombies or Vampires?

Oh, God, I am sooo seriously sick of vampires. Zombies too, frankly, but I wrote a book about them (Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies), so that's what I have to go with.

Do you have a blog or website that you would like to share with us?

http://www.brenthartinger.com

Kenneth Oppel is the 3rd of our 4 "Guys". See him with Lipsyte, Hartinger, and Trueman on Thursday from 10-11:50. His book, Airborne (Harper Collins) is on the 2006-2007 Lone Star Reading List.

Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for new authors?

This is my first time, and I'm really looking forward to it.

The theme for TLA 2008 is "Books, Bytes and Beyond". How would you describe yourself in 4 words?

Contrarian ecoholic control freak. But that makes me sound pretty unappetizing, doesn't it. How about: Buoyant amusing outgoing optimist.

What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop, longhand, typewriter?

Longhand for notes (for the speed and mobility of jotting things down), then onto the computer for the actual writing (because it makes rewriting so much easier -- and you always have a back-up copy of your work!) .

What are you reading right now?

Just finished Before Green Gables, the prequel to Anne of Green Gables, and am now onto The Great Gatsby. I think I read it before in high school, but I can't remember.

Movie you've loved in the past year.

I can't say I was totally in love with anything, but I did enjoy "Once," and "Across the Universe".

The perfect vacation is...

I've already had it. Sorrento, Italy with my family, having after-dinner drinks and playing cards on a terrace overlooking the Bay of Naples, while bats flitted overhead in the dusk.

Which do you prefer? Zombies or Vampires?

Vampires; they've just got more flare, and have better personal hygeine.

Do you have a blog or website that you would like to share with us?

Please take a look at www.kennethoppel.com or www.airborn.ca.

Catherine Gilbert Murdok is the author of Dairy Queen (Houghton Mifflin books for Children) a 2007-2008 Lone Star and Tayshas Reading List selection. She will be speaking on the Shine On: Lone Star Reading List Authors panel from 8-9:20 on Thursday.

1. Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for new authors?

No, this is my first time, and my only second trip to Texas. Very excited about both!

2. The theme for TLA 2008 is "Books, Bytes and Beyond". How would you describe yourself in 4 words?

Check my website bio.

3. What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop, longhand, typewriter?

Laptop definitely gets first prize, though in a pinch I can write longhand. It’s depressing, though, to see how little I’ve written once I type it up. Longhand is best for revisions, and thank you notes.

4. What are you reading right now?

Both Unwind and Alfred Kropp are on my bedside table, but I’m really saving them for the plane – book tours are a delicious time to get all my overdue reading in. To be honest what I’m devouring is William Cullina’s Native Trees, Shrubs and Vines. I read it last spring and marked it with approximately 150 post-it notes. Now I’m trying to figure out what the different colors mean. So far I’ve determined yellow = “of general interest.” Beyond that I’m flying blind, but happily so.

5. Movie you've loved in the past year

Just saw Leatherheads Saturday night with the family, and couldn’t have adored it more. I wrote my dissertation on Prohibition, so it was nice to see the era brought so deliciously to the big screen. Plus there were all these little Prohibition jokes that probably no one got but me. I also loved Michael Clayton and Enchanted, though not at the same time.

6. The perfect vacation is...

A quiet corner (which means most of it) of Virgin Gorda, one of the British Virgin Islands. Stay as far away as you can from “the Baths,” which should be renamed “Grand Central Station at Rush Hour,” and you’ll have the loveliest, most relaxing experience of your life.

7. Which do you prefer? Zombies or Vampires?

Ewww! Neither, thanks. You want to freak me out, just send a house centipede my way. I’m normally pretty good with insects – adore cicadas, for example – but those things give me the dry heaves.

8. Do you have a blog or website that you would like to share with us?

Why yes (see question #2  ) – it’s catherinemurdock.com.

Sarah Cortez will be speaking on the Young Latino Writers Open Up panel on Thursday from 12-12:50. She is editor of a collection of short memoirs entitled Windows into My World published by Arte Público Press.

Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for new authors?

I have not attended TLA before, although I have read about it. I'm thrilled to be attending this year -- both as a presenter and as an avid lover of books and librarians. (As a child, one of my dreams was to be a librarian. I couldn't imagine a better life than one in which I worked with books all day long.)

The theme for TLA 2008 is "Books, Bytes and Beyond". How would you describe yourself in 4 words?

Organized, smart, intuitive, hard-working.

What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop, longhand, typewriter?

Longhand. When one types, then too much energy is used in the process of mechanical tasks. I feel that writing longhand allows the brain and subconscious to feed into the writing in a way that typing does not allow. The connection of the blood in the hand to the page is very important.

What are you reading right now?

Janet Evanovich

Movie you've loved in the past year

I don't watch movies.

The perfect vacation is...

someplace tropical with beautiful skies, an luxury hotel with a fine kitchen, no alarm clocks, and old Catholic churches with hand-painted saints and the Virgin Mary.

Libba Bray will be speaking on Tuesday from 2-3:50 on the Strong Voices, Other Worlds: YA Fantasy Authors panel. Her book, A Great and Terrible Beauty, is on the 2005-2006 Tayshas List. The final book in that trilogy, The Sweet Far Thing (Random House), was released in December.

Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for new authors?

For non-Texans, “y’all” is plural, and if we tell you the dish “has just a little kick,” it will probably make your head explode.

The theme for TLA 2008 is "Books, Bytes and Beyond". How would you describe yourself in 4 words?

Surprisingly, still at large.

What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop, longhand, typewriter?

Laptop. And lots of complaining.

What are you reading right now?

Junot Diaz’s THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO. Rachel Cohn’s YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND ME. Kelly Link’s forthcoming short story collection, PRETTY MONSTERS. Amazing, all.

Movie you've loved in the past year?

Oh, wow. I’ve seen so few movies—once you pay for a babysitter, movie tickets, and refreshments in New York City, you could have made a down payment on your child’s future college tuition, so I pretty much have a close personal relationship with my Netflix account. I really liked “Juno.” Also “Stardust” and “Hot Fuzz.” Those all happened last year, didn’t they? Oh man, I really DO need to get out more...

The perfect vacation is...

Vacation? Writers get to take vacations? Since when? The perfect vacation is anywhere I can hang out with family and good friends.* Corny but true. *(But not if it involves camping. I don't do bugs and outdoor toilets. Just sayin'.)

Which do you prefer? Zombies or Vampires?

Vampires are easier to dance with (no sudden detaching of body parts) and often know a lot about history, but they’re smug, as immortals can be. Zombies are kind of like pets. Pets who sometimes like to eat people’s brains. Once you get past the shuffling and the cannibalism, they’re really quite charming. So I have to go with zombies for the win.

Do you have a blog or website that you would like to share with us?

You betcha. It’s www.libbabray.com

Author Terry Trueman will speak twice this TLA. His first appearance will be Wednesday from 10:15-11:20 on the Working with Teens on the Edge panel. His second appearance will be as one of the "Guys" with In the Clubhouse with the Guys on Thursday from 10-11:50.

1. Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for new authors?

TT: I have not been to TLA before but have heard great things about it; I’m very excited to attend.

2. The theme for TLA 2008 is "Books, Bytes and Beyond". How would you describe yourself in 4 words?

TT: 4 words huh? Excitable. Unreliable. Recalcitrant. Handsome.

3. What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop, longhand, typewriter?

TT: I work on a computer and my vastly preferred method is my big dinosaur desk top at home, it could be nicknamed the rock grinder.

4. What are you reading right now?

TT: Am heading into Raider’s Night and just finished Ball Don’t Lie.

5. Movie you've loved in the past year

TT: I loved Michael Clayton and Once.

6. The perfect vacation is...

TT: Lying on my couch at home staring out the window.

7. Which do you prefer? Zombies or Vampires?

TT: Teens

8. Do you have a blog or website that you would like to share with us?

TT: I do have a website, www.terrytrueman.com

Just got home from a fabulous TLA conference! I hope most of you got to attend a few great sessions.

I knew we were in for a wild ride when the first session - Strong Voices, Other Worlds: YA Fantasy Authors - had a packed house. And who can blame us for showing up in droves? Libba Bray, Suzanne Collins, Cinda Williams Chima, John Flanagan, Jacqueline Kolosov and Rick Riordan as the moderator!!!

They had us laughing (Bray and Flanagan may not be allowed to sit together again), nodding in understanding and just plain enjoying ourselves.

Please share your favorite memories of the 2008 TLA conference and don't forget to fill out your evaluation form on the TLA website so more wonderful programs can be planned for next year. See you in Houston!

Jennifer Smith
Lone Star Reading List Chair

Librarians-

Yesterday, YART Chair, Joanna Nigrelli visited Anderson High School Library in Austin and e-mailed about the fabulous display that Mrs. Fuller, the librarian, had for Tayshas books. I thought it would be fabulous to gather up pictures of everyone's Tayshas displays and post them as a slide show on the Tayshas website. Please e-mail me photos with complete descriptions if you would like what you are doing to promote Tayshas books at your library displayed on the Tayshas portion of the TLA website. I am so excited about this. I think it will be a wonderful way to illustrate the use of Tayshas books in our libraries. My e-mail is rdyer@wisd.us. I look forward to seeing your amazing displays.

Renee Dyer
Head Librarian, Weslaco East High School
Tayshas High School Reading List Committee, Chair
Texas Library Association
rdyer@wisd.us
(956)-969-6845 W
(956)-975-7680 C