Are you ready? TLA is fast approaching! If you haven't registered yet, check out more information here: http://www.txla.org/conference/rates.html

Tuesday is a BIG day! Although YART is not sponsoring a pre-conference this year, we do have 2 terrific programs in the afternoon.

Our kick-off event is ...

Women of YA Lit + 1
2-3:50 p.m.
Patrick Jones moderates a panel of female YA authors who will talk about themes, characters, and plots that hook teen audiences.

Cassandra Clare, author, Simon and Schuster; Patrick Jones, author, Bloomsbury & Walker; Justine Larbalestier, author, Bloomsbury & Walker; Margo Rabb, author, Random House Children’s Books; and Nancy Werlin, author, Penguin Young Readers Group.

and after that check out a TLA favorite ...

If You Give a Kid a Book: Booktalks for Tweens and Teens
4:00 - 4:50 PM

Want to connect your youth with literature? A public and a school librarian show how they collaborate and booktalk a variety of recommended titles for grades 4-12 to promote recreational reading. A bibliography of featured titles will be available.

Susan Allison, assistant director, Richardson Public Library; and Nancy Kubasek, librarian, Richardson High School, Richardson ISD

Dia Calhoun will present on the panel Readergirlz: Making Literacy Hip and Relevant for Today's Teens! See her with Lorie Ann Grover and Justina Chen Headley on Thursday, April 2, 2-2:50 p.m.

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

I have not attended TLA before. So it's going to be a wonderful new experience!

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

Laptop! Laptop! Laptop! I always loved writing on the computer—rough drafts, notes, revisions—everthing! All that fluidity that comes with word processing programs spurs my writing to greater heights. But I missed the freedom of pencil and paper—the freedom to write in any setting. I felt so stuck in my office. THEN, a miracle called the laptop came along and now I have all the benefits of mobility and freedom that a writer has with a pencil. Every summer I spend every other week at my husband’s family 40 acre orchard in Eastern Washington. I sit out on the deck with my laptop and write while the deer wander by. Paradise!

3. Favorite books of the past year

I loved the ADORATION OF JENNA FOX by Mary Pearson. All those delicious questions about what makes us human. I also loved Justina Chen Headley’s NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL.
Another book filled with haunting questions.

4. Favorite books from your YA years

THE WIZARD OF EARTH SEA, THE KEEPING DAYS, UP A ROAD SLOWLY, BALLET SHOES, THE HUNDRED DRESSES.

5. Finish this sentence. The perfect vacation is...me in a hammock by a sunny river with a good book and a fly fishing rod nearby.

6. MySpace or Facebook? Facebook

7. BBQ or Tex-Mex? Tex-Mex!

8. Finish this sentence. Libraries are ... cathedrals of other worlds.

9. Do you have a blog, website, or other online presence that you would like to share with us?

www.diacalhoun.com
www.readergirlz.com

Margo Rabb will be speaking on our YART kick-off program Women of YA Lit + 1 on Tuesday, March 31, 2:30-3:50 p.m. She joins Justine Larbalestier, Nancy Werlin, Cassandra Clare, and Patrick Jones.

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

This is my first time, and I’m so excited! The only library conference I’ve been to before is the Association of Jewish Libraries conference—I had the most amazing time there, and became friends with some wonderful people.

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

My first rough drafts of novels and short stories are always written by hand in little notebooks, and then typed into my laptop. I feel freer when I write longhand, since I know that no one will ever read it. I don’t use a manual typewriter, but I fantasize about pecking away on one like Snoopy, typing “It was a dark and stormy night…” and then ripping out pages and crumpling them up, which seems very satisfying.

3. Favorite books of the past year.

My two favorite books that I read last year are Peter Cameron’s Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You and Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home.

Every once in a while I read a book that’s so beautiful I don’t want to finish it, since I’ll never again have the experience of reading it for the first time. Someday was one of those books for me. Fun Home was a different kind of experience—I read it in one sitting and stayed up all night finishing it. I recommend both books to everyone I know.

4. Favorite books from your YA years:

In Summer Light by Zibby Oneal (I have an essay about this book coming out in Lizzie Skurnick’s Shelf Discovery, which will be published by Avon in July), Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume, Beginner’s Love by Norma Klein, Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, and poetry by Edna St. Vincent Millay and Emily Dickinson.

5. Finish this sentence. The perfect vacation is...

in Paris, kissing on a bridge over the Seine, and then going off to eat a huge, delicious, endless meal featuring lots of puff pastry and raw cheeses.

6. MySpace or Facebook?

Facebook! MySpace kind of gives me a headache.

7. BBQ or Tex-Mex?

I would like to marry the Salt Lick BBQ brisket sandwich and have its babies.

8. Finish this sentence. Libraries are…

my favorite places to go whenever I feel heartbroken or depressed. They always, always, always cheer me.

Do you have a blog, website, or other online presence that you would like to share with us? My website is www.margorabb.com and my blog is http://margorabb.com/blog/

Melissa Marr will present on the panel Tayshas: Hot High School Authors on Wednesday, 10:15-11:50 a.m. She joins authors Lisa Klein, John Green, and Sara Zarr.

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

I am one of the authors needing the advice. In the past 2 years, I’ve attended ALA Summer and NCTE/ALAN, but this will be my first TLA.

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

I almost always write on the PC. When I travel, I have a journal or notepad to write longhand and, if necessary, my laptop. I prefer being at my desk though. When I write, I tend to get lost in the story, so I try to avoid writing around people because if they speak to me, I have a blink-and-stare response that embarrasses me a bit.

Favorite books of the past year

I read a couple books a week minimum, so I have a lot of titles that I enjoy every year. If I only picked one book (out of adult, YA, & MG), it would by The Graveyard Book (Gaiman). If I can pick a few others, the YA ones I’d add include Graceling (Cashore), Impossible (Werlin), What I Saw and How I Lied (Blundell), The Adoration of Jenna Fox (Pearson), Night Road (Jenkins). There were also three I read advanced copies of that I loved: Wintergirls (Anderson), The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Ryan), and Immortal (Shields).

Favorite books from your YA years

I was reading classic lit and philo (Faulkner, Kerouac, Baudelaire, Nietzsche, et al), fantasy (Weiss and Hickman’s Dragonlance series, Piers Anthony, Anne McCaffrey), my mother and grandmother’s romance and ghost stories. I’ve never stuck to any one genre.

Finish this sentence. The perfect vacation is...

with my kids and spouse somewhere we can explore a mix of ruins, landscapes, and museums.

MySpace or Facebook?

For access by the world at large, I am on both MySpace and Livejournal.

BBQ or Tex-Mex?

I’m afraid neither are strong cravings.. I’m pretty bland in my appetites: I like fresh fruit, raw veg, breads, potatoes of any and every sort, and the occasional steak.

Finish this sentence. Libraries are…

essential. The first thing we do at every new address is get our libraries cards. We generally have books checked out before the movers arrive with our belongings. Without libraries, I couldn’t have afforded satisfying my children’s reading appetites (or my own).

Do you have a blog, website, or other online presence that you would like to share with us?

I’m online at www.melissa-marr.com. Blog, MySpace, & Flickr are linked to that site.

HarperCollins author Tim Green headlines his own program at TLA this year. Join him on Wednesday, April 1, 12-12:50 p.m. for Tim Green on Sports and Getting Boys to Read.

Have you attended TLA before? If so, what advice do you have for new authors?
I HAVEN'T BEEN TO TLA BEFORE, BUT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO IT VERY MUCH. I'VE HEARD GREAT THINGS ABOUT TLA AND THE FOLLOWING IT HAS FROM LIBRARIAN ORGANIZATIONS FROM OTHER STATES.

What is your preferred method of writing and why -- laptop, longhand, typewriter?
I USE ONLY A LAPTOP. THIS ENABLES ME TO WRITE IN A LOT OF DIFFERENT PLACES. WHILE MY FAVORITE SPOT (WHICH IS WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW) IS MY LIBRARY OVERLOOKING SKANEATELES LAKE (CAN YOU SAY: SKINNY-ATLAS?) I ALSO WRITE IN CARS, PLANES, TRAINS, HOTELS, AIRPORTS, AND HOTELS. I NEVER KNOW WHEN I'M GOING TO GET A GOOD IDEA, AND, IF I HAVE MY LAPTOP, ALL I HAVE TO DO IS PLUG IN MY HEADSET AND LISTEN TO SOME MUSIC TO DROWN OUT ALL OTHER DISTRACTIONS.

Favorite books of the past year
MY FAVORITE NOVEL FOR GROWN-UPS WAS "AMERICAN RUST" BY PHILIPP MEYER AND MY FAVORITE BOOK FOR YOUNG READERS WAS "THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX" BY CATE DICAMILLO.

Favorite books from your YA years
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS COUNTS AS A YA, BUT "LORD OF THE RINGS" AND "COUNT OF MONTE CHRISTO" WERE MY TWO FAVORITE BOOKS AS A TEEN.

Finish this sentence. The perfect vacation is...
ON A BEACH, IN THE BRIGHT SUNSHINE, WITH A GOOD BOOK, AND A COLD DRINK.


MySpace or Facebook?
I DON'T DO EITHER, BUT I DO HAVE A WEB SITE WITH SOME VIDEO FROM MY DAYS AS A FOOTBALL PLAYER AS WELL AS SOME OF MY WORK ON TV AND MY THOUGHTS ON BOOKS AND READING AND SPORTS FOR KIDS. ALSO, I ANSWER EMAILS FROM READERS REGULARLY. (http://timgreenbooks.com)

BBQ or Tex-Mex?
BBQ

Finish this sentence. Libraries are…
A PORTAL TO EVERY ADVENTURE IN EVERY WORLD YOU CAN IMAGINE, AND EVEN SOME YOU CAN'T

Do you have a blog, website, or other online presence that you would like to share with us?
AS I SAID BEFORE, A PRETTY ACTIVE WEB SITE WITH SOME GOOD VIDEO

Lisa Klein (Bloomsbury & Walker) will present on the panel Tayshas: Hot High School Authors on Wednesday, 10:15-11:50 a.m. She joins authors Sara Zarr, John Green, and Melissa Marr.

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

No, this will be my first time. I've heard it's a lot of fun. It'll also be my first time in Texas (outside of an airport).

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

I write notes and ideas longhand, but I compose at my desktop computer. I'd love to be able to carry a laptop and write anywhere, but I need all my books and notes around me so I can look stuff up. I spread out and make a huge mess.

Favorite books of the past year

I would say, "umm" and not be able to name a single one, but now I keep a book log and can tell you every single book I read in the past 3 years. Last year's favorites include the YA titles:
Michael Grant, Gone
Mal Peet, Tamar
Frank Portman, King Dork
Neil Gaiman, Graveyard Book
Justine Larbalestier, How to Ditch Your Fairy
and "grownup" books Melissa Faye Greene, There is No Me Without You
and finally Charles Dickens, David Copperfield. What a deliciously warm and funny book!

Favorite books from your YA years

YA didn't exist when I was a YA--or I wasn't aware of it. I read Lois Lenski and Maud Hart Lovelace. I LOVED the Mary Poppins books! I read Gone With The Wind six times when I was a teenager. I also read Lady Chatterly's Lover, unbeknownst to my parents. I read Jane Austen and Jane Eyre. My "lowbrow" fare was the Hardy Boys (because my brothers had the whole series.)

Finish this sentence. The perfect vacation is...

..always better in your imagination. That fabulous beach? Sweat, sunburn all over, sand ruining your camera. OK, seriously, the perfect vacation is one that takes me into some kind of wilderness and gets me out again safely.

MySpace or Facebook?

Neither one. It would suck up all my time!

BBQ or Tex-Mex

If you're cooking for me, you get to choose.

Finish this sentence. Libraries are…

Not as quiet as they used to be. But they are invaluable. I use library resources in some form nearly every day.

Do you have a blog, website, or other online presence that you would like to share with us?

My website is www.authorlisaklein.com

Javier O. Huerta (Arte Publico Press) presents on the panel, Engaging YAs with Latino Short Fiction and Poetry on Wednesday from 12-12:50.

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

No, I have not attended TLA before. But I have seen *Party Girl* and have read *The Giant's House* by Elizabeth McCracken.

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

For my first creative writing workshop at the University of Houston, I handwrote my first poem because we didn't have a computer at home and I didn't yet know how to use the resources in the community (libraries) or on campus (computer labs). My classmates laughed at me. The professor shook his head. One classmate thought I was making an aesthetic statement and told me she loved it.

I then procured a used typewriter. Charles Olson celebrates the typewriter--"the machine," he calls it--as a promising tool for his "projective verse." Of course that was in 1950, and I was writing at the end of the 20th century. Poets had moved on, but there I was writing retrojective verse. Using a typewriter became too expensive; I spent too much money on white-out.

Eventually I learned to use the 24-hour computer labs at the U of H. I have never purchased my own laptop. To write this, I'm using my second hand-me down. But now I'm thinking maybe there was/is something poetic to handwriting poems.

3. Favorite books of the past year

Last year I read for my PhD Qualifying Exams, so my favorites will come mostly from the 19th Century:

The Monk, by Matthew Lewis
Don Juan, by Lord Byron
Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy
Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte

4. Favorite books from your YA years

As a young adult I thought I was too cool for school; therefore, I did not do much reading. These are two books that I have come to love and that I wish I would have experienced for the first time as a young adult:

Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll

5. Finish this sentence. The perfect vacation is...

una biblioteca.

6. MySpace or Facebook?

Facebook. I've only been on there for a week, and I already have more than a hundred friends. When I was a child I played by myself in a corner of the schoolyard all alone. I hated dolls and I hated games, animals were not friendly and birds flew away. Things haven't changed much, but at least Facebook has befriended me.

7. BBQ or Tex-Mex?

Both. I'm interpreting this question as an invitation.

8. Finish this sentence. Libraries are...

"bibliotecas" in Spanish; "librerías" are bookstores; I still get these confused.

Libraries are liberries. I still mispronounce this. What would a liberry taste like?

9. Do you have a blog, website, or other online presence that you
would like to share with us?

My page over on *Harriet*, the blog of the Poetry Foundation:

http://poetryfoundation.org/harriet/author_jhuerta.html

Patrick Jones (Bloomsbury & Walker) returns to TLA as the "+1" on our panel Women of YA Lit + 1. Not only will he present as an author, he will also lead the discussion. Do not miss this program!

Tuesday, March 31, 2-3:50 p.m. with Cassandra Clare, Margo Rabb,Justine Larbalestier, and Nancy Werlin

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

Several times when I was working as the Youth Services Coordinator for the Houston Public Library, but just once before wearing my "author" hat. My advice for new authors is to bring lots of business cards and handouts. TLA folks are eager for information and contacts.

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

I write on a Dell laptop, but before I write, take unreadable-but-to-me notes in longhand before I start writing.

Favorite books of the past year

Well, this is where it gets embarrassing .... I'm just not reading a great deal of teen fiction. I loved Say the Word by Jeannine Garsee (which is actually due out in March 2009) about the complicated nature of families. I also enjoyed Box Out by Minnesota author John Coy, and I finally read Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins. Mostly, I'm reading professional wrestling biographies. I track my reading at good reads

Favorite books from your YA years

I wasn't really a book reader as a YA, but I guess Carrie by Stephen King and Ball Four by Jim Bouton.

Finish this sentence. The perfect vacation is...

unknown to me. As I still have a nine2five job in addition to writing / doing school visits, I have not take a vacation in some time.

MySpace or Facebook?

Both, as some of my teen readers at on each.

BBQ or Tex-Mex?

Tex Mex; it is hard to eat vegetarian BBQ (mmm hickory smoked tofu)

Finish this sentence. Libraries are…

the best value in America.

Do you have a blog, website, or other online presence that you would like to share with us?

My website www.connectingya.com links to my facebook, myspace, and email.

Tayshas: Hot High School Authors

10:15 - 11:50 AM

Authors featured on Tayshas reading lists chat informally about writing for an older YA audience. Presenters answer audience questions about characters, style, difficult issues, and the writing process.

John Green, author, Penguin Young Readers; Lisa Klein, author, Bloomsbury & Walker; Melissa Marr, author, HarperCollins Children’s Books; Sara Zarr, author, Little Brown Young Readers.

Engaging YAs with Latino Short Fiction & Poetry

12:00 - 12:50 PM

Engage your teens with culturally-relevant and contemporary short stories and poetry by up-and-coming Latino authors, who will share passages from their work. Our two authors discuss how they draw YA readers by illuminating the diverse circumstances, immigration experiences, and issues faced by Latinos.

Javier O. Huerta, author, and John Pluecker, Arte Público Press. (We regret that author Lisa Hernandez is unable to attend TLA. John Pluecker will fill in on her behalf.)

Tim Green on Sports and Getting Boys to Read

12:00 - 12:50 PM

Are you ready for some football – literature, that is? Huddle up with former Atlanta Falcons linebacker Tim Green as he discusses writing for boys with sports as the platform. It’s football season year-round in Texas and with Tim.

Tim Green, author, HarperCollins Children’s Books.

Up Close and Personal with Walter Dean Myers

12:00 - 12:50 PM

Walter Dean Myers believes that his stories are an extension of his life. Through numerous award-winning novels, such as Monster, Slam, and his most recent Sunrise over Fallujah, Myers writes for children and young adults with an honesty and compassion as he explores every facet of life and shows us different ways to express the human experience.

Walter Dean Myers, author, Scholastic Inc.

Celebrate 20 Years of the Lone Star Reading List

2:00 - 3:50 PM

Look back at the last two decades of middle school and YA literature. Two authors, editor, publisher, and Lone Star committee member share their experiences and insights on this influential reading list.

Susan Allison, assistant director, Richardson Public Library; Joan Bauer, author, Penguin Young Readers Group; Tracy Lerner, library marketing manager, Random House Children’s Books; Sharyn November, senior editor, Viking Children’s Books; and Neal Shusterman, author, Penguin Young Readers Group.

The Maverick Graphic Novel Committee and YART are once again featured in Diamond Bookshelf's monthly newsletter!

http://www.diamondbookshelf.com/public/default.asp?t=1&m=3&c=40&s=331&ai=79718

Be sure to join us at the Mavericks of Graphic Novels session at 8 am on Friday, April 3rd.

Wait a minute... Meg Cabot is appearing at the TASL business meeting on Friday afternoon. So why are we posting her interview on the YART blog? Because Meg was kind enough to play along and how could we say no to that?

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

No, I've never been! But my advice for anyone attending any conference is always: Don't wear heels.

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

I've tried them all, and for me, the MacAir Notebook wins, hands down.

3. Favorite books of the past year

Wow, this is really hard because I read so many books last year and they were all so good! I know I'll forget one. But anyway, I really loved Susan Juby's "Getting the Girl" (which is up for a YA Edgar Award), and I liked a new YA contemporary called "What Would Emma Do" by Eileen Cook (set in my native Indiana, how could I resist?), as well as a very funny middle grade called "Boys are Dogs" by Leslie Margolis. Rachel Vail is someone whose writing style I've always admired--her book "Lucky" was great and I can't wait for the sequel "Gorgeous" out this year. As for adult books, I'm a huge Alexander McCall Smith fan (#1 Ladies Detective Agency), but I also really enjoyed both the Chelsea Handler memoirs, as well as Michael Ian Black's collection of humorous essays. What can I say, I love funny books!

4. Favorite books from your YA years

I was a huge sci-fi geek, so anything set on the planet of Pern by Anne McCaffrey I devoured. I also loved Meg from A Wrinkle in Time because we had the same name so I read all those books. I loved anything where the heroine didn't get pregnant or became anorexic because as someone who had friends these things were happening to, I just wanted an escape from all that. If, however, the heroine traveled through time, had ESP, rode a dragon, or fought anyone, that was cool. Lois Duncan rocked my world. Actually, she still does.

5. Finish this sentence. The perfect vacation is...

Well, this is really boring, but since I travel so much, for me the perfect vacation is a stay-cation....staying home!

6. MySpace or Facebook?

I have pages on both, but I try never to go there if I want to get anything done. Who doesn't want to hear from their beloved high school French teacher? I once wasted 3 hours looking up the correct French for "How have you been, Mademoiselle Nowling? I hope you're fine!" only to realize she was going to be super disappointed in the fact that I'd forgotten everything she'd taught me so I just wrote on her wall in English. Seriously, I have to just stay away.

7. BBQ or Tex-Mex?

Mmmm...cheesy quesadillas...Totally Tex-Mex.

8. Finish this sentence. Libraries are…

...where I've always gone for sanctuary. Like Quasimodo and Notre Dame.

10. Do you have a blog, website, or other online presence that you would like to share with us?

www.megcabot.com

We would like to invite school librarians to attend the Texas Teens Read! programs at this year's TLA Annual Conference. While designed primarily as a summer reading program for use in public libraries, Texas Teens Read! has potential uses for school librarians as well. The Texas Teens Read! Committee consists of librarians from both public libraries and school libraries. You might consider attending our open meeting Tuesday afternoon and perhaps volunteering in a future year.

On Thursday afternoon, illustrator Emily Fiegenschuh will talk about her illustrations, and manual authors will present programming ideas. This year's manual authors are Deban Becker, Natasha Benway, Monique Franklin, and Kit Ward-Crixell. Deban, Natasha, and Monique will be holding a presentation Thursday afternoon with some great ideas for teen programs. This year's theme is "Time Twistin':TTR.09", and we have some great fantasy artwork by Emily Fiegenschuh. The poster features some time travellers and a dragon; samples should be available at our programs. Please stop by to see posters and bookmarks.

Emily Fiegenschuh's website is http://e-figart.com/ and it includes a gallery of her artwork. Emily Fiegenschuh uses gouache paint for her illustrations. Emily Fiegenschuh is illustrating "The Star Shard", a 9-part story in Cricket magazine; the last part comes out in the April 2009. The first eight parts are available online at http://www.cricketmagkids.com/starshard/ and there is a question and answer section with the artist and illustrator. Emily Fiegenschuh has illustrated several Dungeons and Dragons rulebooks and done other illustrations for Wizards of the Coast (publisher of Dungeons and Dragons) and its imprint Mirrorstone Books. She has done cover illustrations for the Knights of the Silver Dragon series and for two of the "Practical Guide" books. She illustrated the cover of "A Practical Guide to Dragon Riding" and "A Practical Guide to Faeries" and has done interior illustrations for those books, "A Practical Guide to Wizardry", "A Pracical Guide to Monsters", "Draconomicon: Chromatic Dragons", and more. She has also done some illustrations for the Inuit Mythology Initiative.

Emily's publisher sent us 8 copies of "A Practical Guide to Monsters" and 8 copies of " A Practical Guide to Dragon Riding", as well as several bookmarks, to hand out. Come to the Texas Teens Read! illustration program, and see if you are the lucky winner of one of these great door prizes!

You may want to also ask Emily about guinea pigs; she has several pet guinea pigs and fosters guinea pigs looking for homes in Wisconsin. The Texas State Library and Archives Commission's page about Emily's Texas Teens Read! illustrations has a picture of Emily and one of her guinea pigs.

Janway has Texas Teens Read! incentives available (scroll halfway down the page to get to the teen section). The ordering deadline is March 20, with items to be delivered the week of May 4. The Janway website mentions that items may be purchased by TLA members, Texas schools, Texas libraries, and Texas librarians, so you do not have to be a public librarian to order items of potential interest to your teen students. Bookmarks, certificates, and posters from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) should be ordered by public libraries, but if you do not have a public library in your area, your school can order items from TSLAC (contact Christine McNew at the TSLAC with questions). You can also see Emily's artwork and download the Texas Teens Read! manual.

Kate DiPronio, librarian at Cedar Valley Middle School, uses Texas Teens Read! ideas during after school programs. "Depending on our theme or time of year, I pull out the section that fits well and modify it to suit my students' interests, time frame and physical space. For example, during a Valentine Day program I used the material from the "Food Fights" chapter of the 2008 manual. My students loved the Name That Candy Bar and Chocolate Candy Guess activities. TTR! provides me with ready-made activities, geared for teens, to pull out whenever needed. Included are a material list, directions, associated websites, and professional resources. What could be better!"

We hope to see you at TLA. The TTRAC open meeting will be Tuesday, March 31, from 4:00 to 4:50 p.m. The illustration session featuring Emily Fiegenschuh will be Thursday, April 2, from 2:00 to 2:50 p.m. The session by the manual authors will be Thursday, April 2, from 3:00 to 3:50 p.m. Both Thursday afternoon sessions will be in the same room so you can stick around for both programs.

Kendra Perkins, TTR Chair

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/

Are you a FBer?

Join the "We LOVE the Lone Star Reading List" group on Facebook.

Hope to see you there.

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!

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.

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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!