Book Marketing: The Synergy of National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month in the USA, and these kid lit poets have come up with some clever ways to celebrate that isn't all about them.  By hosting the work of others on their sites, they're raising their own profile, generating a lot of good-will, and doing good.

So check out these cool and inspiring projects by kid lit authors and poets:

Kid Lit Poet Ed DeCaria created a sports-match style event called Madness! 2012, pitting poets and their specially-written poems against each other head to head - readers vote for their favorites, and the winners advance to the next round.  This week is the final match up, and with over 120 new poems and more than 10,000 votes cast, it's a great way to celebrate poetry!

Kid Lit Poet, Author (with his debut book upcoming from Arthur A. Levine books) and Social Media Guru Greg Pincus once again treats us all to 30 Poets 30 Days on his blog, GottaBook. 
This year's poets will include Alma Flor Ada, Susan Taylor Brown,Liz Brownlee, Leslie Bulion, Kate Coombs, Bruce Coville, Kalli Dakos, Ed DeCaria, Margarita Engle, Bob Forbes, Helen Frost, Sara Holbrook, Ellen Hopkins, Ron Koertge, Thanhha Lai, JonArno Lawson, Kimberly Marcus, Lorraine Marwood, Marilyn Nelson, Eric Ode, Mary Quattlebaum, Bob Raczka, Michael J. Rosen, Michael Salinger, Hope Anita Smith, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Lee Wardlaw, Robert Weinstock, Steven Withrow, and Allan Wolf!

And Kid Lit Picture Book Author and self-professed foodie Jama Kim Rattigan has rounded up lots more National Poetry Month Kid Lit Events at her blog here, including her own 3rd Annual Poetry Potluck, where guest poets will share a poem and favorite recipe each week day throughout April.  Her menu of poets includes: Charles Waters, Linda Ashman, Janet Wong, April Pulley Sayre, Robyn Hood Black, Kathi Appelt, Leslie Muir, Martha Calderaro, Mary Quattlebaum, Jill Corcoran, Linda Baie, Gail Gerwin, Helen Frost, Kay Pluta, Margarita Engle, Lesa Taylor Medley, Lee Wardlaw, Doraine Bennett, Heidi Bee Roemer ,Adele Kenny, and Sondra Gash.

What's interesting to note is that by connecting to the larger celebration of National Poetry Month, Ed, Greg and Jama are bringing lots of new children's poetry to new readers, and that's bringing new readers to themselves as well.

And if you write children's poetry, you can jump in the fun by participating in the April editions of Poetry Friday (a weekly roundup of poetry posts in the kidlitosphere) here:

• Read Write How!
  April 6, 2012
• Booktalking
  April 13, 2012
• Random Noodling
  April 20, 2012
• The Opposite of Indifference
  April 27, 2012

Happy National Poetry Month!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee