Yesterday I attended the Jewish Literature for Children Conference in Los Angeles. Many thanks to Linda Silverman and Suzi Dubin for this wonderful, star-studded event! It was a relatively small group, which fostered lots of interaction between and among writers, librarians, and book lovers! One of the benefits of this event is that librarians have the opportunity to share with writers what they would like to see on their library shelves. Writers and librarians are kindred spirits and it is great to have the opportunity to get together.
The opening panel included Sarah Littman (CONFESSIONS OF A CLOSET CATHOLIC), Dana Reinhardt (A BRIEF CHAPTER IN MY IMPOSSIBLE LIFE), Simone Elkeles (HOW TO RUIN A SUMMER VACATION) and Debby Garfinkle (STORKY). The authors spoke with candor about their personal writing journeys. I attended a session on writing for teens. Debby Garfinkle spoke about writing humor, story arcs, and plotting. Dana Reinhardt spoke about using your writing to find answers to your own soul searching questions.
During lunch I sat among old friends and new, as well as (pinch me!) Sonia Levitin, Susan Goldman Rubin, and Debby Garfinkle. While talking with Debby Garfinkle, I mentioned that I belong to the Ventura/Santa Barbara SCBWI. Of course she knows and adores our regional advisor, Alexis O'Neill. Next to Harry Potter, I believe that Alexis is the most famous person in the children's book world!
My magic moment was in the lunch line when Linda Silver, author of JEWISH CLASSICS FOR KIDS, approached me and said "I just reviewed LIKE A MACCABEE and I loved it!" I was so excited I could barely eat my tuna salad.
What a way to spend SuperBowl Sunday! I can't wait until next year!
Barbara - You've done it! You've actually set up a blog! Congratulations. The Jewish Literature for Children's Conference you attended in LA sounded fab. You sure kept good company there with a whole bunch of my favorite authors. (And thanks for the mention in your post. Where do I send the check? ha ha)
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the blog world, and best wishes with the book! Congrats on the success of the panel. I've enjoyed all of the books from the authors you mentioned. Now I have to track down yours!
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