A few days ago, I posted a bit about the panel I'd be speaking on at the ALAN (Assembly on Literature for Adolescents) conference in Chicago. Coincidental with that, I will be speaking with a group of authors before the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English), also in Chicago.
That panel will take place on Sunday, November 20, at 8:30 a.m.
The authors on the panel are Julie Halpern, Tara Kelly, Donna Freitas, and me. New Writers' Union rules do mandate that if you are the only guy on a panel of females, everyone has to buy you drinks.
8:30 in the morning is Happy Hour for writers, anyway.
That is also in the Union Rules.
The topic of our discussion is this:
No Vampires, No Witches, No Dystopias: Young Adult Literature Goes Backs to its Roots in the Here and Now
That is a very long title.
I like the idea, though.
If you read my blog, you probably know what I feel about the whole concept and word: Dystopia.
Reality is Dystopia. Reality is more dystopian than anything I could conjure up after slipping through some cracked old lenses.
Stark McClellan's reality (he's the narrator of my forthcoming novel, Stick, which will be out by the Chicago events) is absolute hell, even if he perceives it as beautiful and wondrous.
Anyway, Chicago will be fun.
Ladies, I prefer Scotch. Neat.
Speaking of neat, I will be whisking my way in to Chicago directly from Miami, where I'll be appearing at the Miami Book Fair International (more on this to come).
Anyway, I just found out that on Friday, November 18, the organizers of the event bring students in to the fair on field trips to meet authors and discuss books. And, they are buying copies of Stick for the kids they bring in.
That is awesome stuff.
I think every kid from Middle School on up needs to read Stick. Just because you never really know very much about the quiet kids you sit next to in class.
But I'll talk more about that book here on Monday, September 12, when we will be just a short few weeks away from its publication.
Peace and love.
