The Deadline Is Approaching: It's Time to Submit Books for SCBWI's 2012 Golden Kite Awards!

The deadline to submit book for this year's Golden Kite Awards is December 16th--that's less than two month away. If you had a book published in 2011, here are a few great reasons to act now and get your book in the running...

Started in 1973, SCBWI offers the Golden Kites annually to recognize excellence in children’s book in for categories (Fiction, Nonfiction, Picture Book Text and Picture Book Illustration).

Each winner receives $2,500 as well as an expense-paid trip to Los Angeles to attend the award ceremony at the Golden Kite Luncheon at SCBWI’s Summer Conference in August. (Word has it, the luncheon chicken is terrific.)

And (this is new!) Golden Kite winners also become lifetime members of SCBWI.

There are also four honor book recipients will also be named by the panel of judges which consists of children’s book writers and illustrators. Books can be nominated by individual or by publishers.

Pretty awesome, huh?

But there's more. This year for the first time, a commemorative poster with the winners was created and is being distributed to schools, libraries, bookstores and publishers. The poster for the 2011 Golden Kite Awards, below, features original art by last year’s winner, John Parra, and features cover images of the four 2011 Golden Kite winning books. Isn't it a beauty?

Click here for submission guidelines as well as lists of past winners.

SCBWI's 2011 Sue Alexander Award Goes To...

Sue Alexander

Each year, SCBWI offers the Sue Alexander Award to the manuscript deemed most promising for publication, selected from the SCBWI Annual Summer Conference critique pool.

Industry professionals (editors, agents, authors) who critique the manuscript determine the finalists. Until her sudden death in July, 2008, Sue Alexander made the final selection. Now, a three-member panel from Sue’s writing group of 20 years decide on the winner.

This year's Sue Alexandar Award-winner is Marilyn Hilton for her middle-grade manuscript HOVER OVER ME.

In Hilton’s lovely, well-written manuscript, a girl who longs to believe in angels, “being in vital need of their assistance” endures bullying, wonders about her birth parents, makes an unexpected friend and tries to solve the mystery of the crime for which her missing brother has been falsely accused. Along the way, she learns something about the nature of angels. A sensitive voice, evocative detail, a rich sense of place, strong tension, intriguing characters with compelling problems and a satisfying theme all combine to make author Hilton’s manuscript a promising novel for middle-grade readers.
 

Award Winner Marilyn Hilto

Two runners-up were also named:

• Pati Hailey for FINDING TRU 
• Karen Bonner for WITCHING MOON.

Congratulations to Marilyn, Pati and Karen for their terrific work!

To learn more about the award and see a list of past winners, visit SCBWI.org.

Contest for Picture Book Writers: The MeeGenius! Author Challenge 2011

The folks at MeeGenius!--a e-picture book app for young readers for iPhone, iPad, iTouch, Google TV, and the web--have just kicked off a contest.

Open to both aspiring and published authors, the MeeGenius! Author Challenge 2011 will award one winner $1500 and a publishing contract as well as offering a MeeGenius! library to the school of the winner's choice. Three runners-up will win $500 and publishing contract.

Submissions will be posted on the MeeGenius! website where visitors can vote on their favorites. The most popular picks become finalists.

The deadline for entry is November 1st and winners will be announced in March. For complete rules and guidelines, visit MeeGenius.com.

In the News This Week

On Fridays I've been sharing snippets of and links to news I've read during the last week that I found interesting, helpful, and/or fun.

 Going forward, I'm moving this feature to the weekend to work better with my now-more-full schedule.

This week's news includes a new Scholastic/Ruckus imprint, a children's publishing newsletter launch, iPad 3 news, an editorial against agent-publishers, online/app safety for kids, a new property for Penguin, and more. 


Scholastic, Ruckus Media Form New Digital/Print Imprint (PW)
Children's digital developer Ruckus Media is joining with Scholastic to create the Scholastic Ruckus imprint, a joint venture that will publish a wide range of children's and teen content across all platforms, from interactive content and transmedia projects to e-books, enhanced e-books and print. The first titles from the Scholastic Ruckus imprint will be released in 2012.   

Publishing Perspectives Launches Children’s Publishing Newsletter (GalleyCat)
Publishing Perspectives, the online industry news journal, has launched its first newsletter focused on children’s publishing.

When Will Your Local Borders Close? (GalleyCat)
Wondering when your local Borders will close?
Borders Group entered liquidation this summer, closing its remaining 399 stores and cutting around 10,700 employees. On the bookseller’s Facebook page, you can now see a list of the closure dates for your local Borders bookstore.

iPad 3 Rumored To Be Lighter And Pricier (eBookNewser) 
As Amazon is gearing up to announce a new tablet, Apple is already hard at work on the iPad 3. According to a report from Apple Insider, the third generation iPad will be slimmer and lighter, and possibly more expensive.

Apps, social networks pose new threat to kids (USA Today)
The Federal Trade Commission last month announced a $50,000 settlement with app maker W3 Innovations for collecting and dispersing information of kids under 13 in violation of the Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act, or COPPA.

Links Shared On Twitter Last Half As Long As YouTube (AllTwitter)
The folks at bit.ly, the popular URL shortener service, asked themselves just how long a link shared on a social network “lives”. And they found out that links shared on Twitter lasted only half as long as links shared on YouTube.

An Argument Against Agent-Publishers (PubPerspectives)
Nearly two thousand years ago, Plutarch wrote of a great ship that bore Theseus home from Crete. As its planks decayed, the plucky Athenians preserved it by replacing each rotting board in turn, until eventually nothing was left of the original vessel. Was it then the same ship? Plutarch asked. Or was it something wholly new?

Small Potatoes for Penguin (PW)
Penguin USA has acquired the license for Little Airplane Productions’ Small Potatoes, a preschool-targeted series of animated musical shorts. The series has taken off on Facebook and debuted on U.S. television September 6, on Disney Channel’s Disney Junior block. Penguin Young Readers Group’s Grosset & Dunlap division will publish a series of at least 10 books starting in early 2013, with Little Airplane handling the writing and design. The launch list will include a sticker book, an 8x8 and a board book.

Autumn: A Great Time for ConferenceTravel!

While the SCBWI Annual Summer and Winter Conferences are consistently fabulous, I must admit I always long for an equally awesome autumn event. I adore traveling this time of year. No sweaty luggage lugging. No stuffing winter coats in the overhead bin. Just bordering-on-brisk, leaves-ready-to-change, settling-into-your-airplane-seat-wrapped-in-a-cozy-sweater loveliness.

Fortunately I'm headed northwest next week, off to the KidLitosphere's 5th Annual KidLitCon held this year in Seattle September 16-17. Most of SCBWI TEAM BLOG will be there. And Scott Westerfeld. And lots of talk about promotion and blogging and social media and marketing and all sorts of useful things. If you aren't headed that way, I'll clue you into the action via my blog, Twitter (etc.).

If you've also got the fall travel bug, be sure to check out all the terrific upcoming regional SCBWI events. Some may involve a short drive and some a short plane ride. Either way, you can squeeze in a little writing/illustrating/publishing-related jaunt before the holidays:

• Click here for a list of September SCBWI events.
• Click here for a list of October SCBWI events.
• Click here for a list of November SCBWI events.

Are you attending a fall conference or event (SCBWI or otherwise)? Share your destination in a comment and clue in others would-be travelers.

In the News This Week

Fridays on the SCBWI blog, I share snippets of and links to some of the publishing/media-related news I've read during the last week that I found interesting, helpful, and/or fun.


This week's news includes a new YA imprint at Whitman, essays on boys reading and diet books for little girls, new words in Webster and the OED, a favorite piece on Steve Jobs (who, you may have heard, is stepping down), KidLit Con and Borders-related charity, and more.


Albert Whitman Takes on Teens with New Imprint (PW)
Founded in 1919, Albert Whitman publishes a range of children’s books, including board books, picture books, and middle-grade fiction, notably Gertrude Chandler Warner’s The Boxcar Children Mysteries and The Boxcar Children Graphic Novels. With last month’s launch of Albert Whitman Teen, the Chicagoland publisher has expanded its offerings to include young-adult books. The inaugural releases are Guantanamo Boy by Anna Perera, a novel set six months after 9/11 that centers on a teen who finds himself incarcerated as an “enemy combatant”; and Michael Ford’s The Poisoned House, a ghost story that takes place in Victorian London. Guantanamo Boy was selected for the ABA’s summer 2011 Kids’ Indie Next List.

Children's Store to Open in Katonah, N.Y.  (PW)
Borders’s loss is proving to be indies’ gain. With the closing of a Borders in Mt. Kisco, Jennifer Cook, owner of NoKa Joe’s in Katonah, N.Y., has decided to take the plunge and turn the 650 sq. ft. second floor into a children’s specialty bookstore in October.

Was Steve Jobs really Apple’s editor-in-chief? (The Cutline) 
For those who've followed Apple, casually or compulsively, Steve Job's resignation as chief executive on Wednesday was not unexpected. But the announcement was nonetheless met with a mixture of shock and sadness.

Boys and Reading: Is There Any Hope? (NY Times)
At an American Library Association conference in 2007, HarperCollins dressed five of its male young adult authors in blue baseball jerseys with our names on the back and sent us up to bat in a panel entitled “In the Clubhouse.” We were meant to demystify to the overwhelmingly female audience the testosterone code that would get teenage boys reading. Whereas boys used to lag behind girls in reading in the early grades, statistics show, they soon caught up. Not anymore.

Do Little Girls Need Diet Books? (Salon)
It's the kind of aspirational image familiar from women's magazines and yogurt ads--a frumpy girl standing before the mirror, holding up the outfit she longs to fit into, dreaming of the smiling, slim version of herself waiting on the other side. But this isn't some Slim-Fast pitch or another Bikini Body by Friday! morning show segment. It's the cover of a children's book.

GoodReads Launches New iPad App (eBook Newser)
The online book community GoodReads has just made it a little easier for you to share your book interests with other fans. GoodReads uploaded a new version of its app to iTunes a few days ago and it finally supports the iPad.

New Words in Merriam-Webster Dictionary Include 'Tweet,' 'Fist Bump' (CNS News)
Merriam-Webster Inc. has added dozens of entries to the latest edition of its Collegiate Dictionary. Here are some, along with the year in which Merriam-Webster researchers first found them used in an English-language publication, and their meanings: 

Retweet & Sexting Are Now Words In Oxford English Dictionary (Mashable)
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary has added 400 words to its dictionary, including retweet, woot, sexting and cyberbullying. The 12th edition of the dictionary is a recognition that modern technology and social media have greatly impacted the English language. Retweet, the act of resharing a message on Twitter, is our favorite addition, though sexting and woot are a close second and third.

new Study Reveals Kids Who Read More are Better Readers (eBook Newser)
he UK based National Literacy Trust has recently released a the results of a study. After testing over 18 thousand children in the UK, the Trust concluded that the ones who read more books each month were also better readers.

  

KidLit Con Partners with RIF (GalleyCat) 
KidLit Con has launched a fundraising partnership with Reading is Fundamental (RIF).
Earlier this year, we reported that the federal budget for RIF has been reduced. With the new partnership, readers can donate to the childhood literacy program in the name of KidLit Con. Follow this link for more details about how to make a donation.

Mementos of Borders, for Charity (Shelf Awareness) [scroll down]
Just in case you had a particular bond with your local branch of Borders, here's an opportunity to gain a souvenir of the fast-fading bookstore chain and do some good, too.

In the News This Week

Fridays on the SCBWI blog, I share snippets of and links to some of the publishing/media-related news I've read during the last week that I found interesting, helpful, and/or fun.



This week's news includes PW's coverage of SCBWI 40th Annual Summer Conference (which is technically last week's news, but I didn't want you to miss it); Little, Brown and Holiday house entering the leveled reader realm; magazine editors reaching out to the young and wired; syncing posts on multiple social networks; some e-reader-related news; Twitter contest tips; indie bookstore coverage including some fun from The Daily Show's John Hodgman; and more.

SCBWI Conference Celebrates 40th Anniversary with Record Turnout (PW)
A surprise guest appearance by Judy Blume at the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators annual summer conference in Los Angeles made the 40th anniversary of the organization even more meaningful to the record-breaking number of attendees, which included writers, illustrators, publishers, editors, and agents. Nearly 1,350 people were on hand for the conference, which was held August 4-8 at the Century Plaza Hotel.

Two Leveled Reader Programs Debut This Fall (PW)
A phone call from a librarian friend at the Boston Public Library allegedly prompted Ursula Nordstrom in the mid-1950s to launch Harper & Row’s I Can Read! line of beginning readers. After the librarian told the legendary editor that there was a dearth of simple books that new readers were able to tackle on their own, Nordstrom set out to fill that void. The first I Can Read! title, Else Holmelund Minarik’s Little Bear, illustrated by Maurice Sendak, was released in 1957. That same year, Random House debuted Beginner Books with Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat. In subsequent years, many other early reader programs entered the marketplace, including Random House’s Step into Reading, Scholastic Readers, HMH Books’ Green Light Readers, and most recently Square Fish’s My Readers, which launched this spring. This fall, two new leveled reader lines join their ranks: Little, Brown’s Passport to Reading and I Like to Read Books from Holiday House.
 

Liberty Buys Barnes & Noble Stake (MCN)
Liberty Media said it has agreed to purchase $204 million of Barnes & Noble preferred stock, a deal which would eventually give it a 16.6 % stake and trumps a $1 billion bid the media  giant had made for the troubled book retailer in May.

iPad Killer: Amazon Goes Razor Blades On Tablet Landscape (PWxyz)
This October is likely going to be a defining moment for tablets. That’s if, as expected, Amazon drops its tablet into the increasingly crowded fray, which at the moment is only slightly more organized than the Wild West. Many are expecting Amazon to set things straight, eliminating the pretenders and giving us a better idea of what exactly buyers want out of a tablet. But before we get to what might happen, let’s get caught up on what already has happened.

Easily And Automatically Sync Posts Between Twitter, Google+ And Facebook (AllTwitter)
We’ve written before about how to tweet your Google+ posts to Twitter, and now we’ve got an even more robust way to sync up your various social media profiles.

4 Things To Remember When Running A Twitter Contest (AllTwitter)
Twitter is a fantastic place to host a contest. You have a direct line to your customers and fans, you can easily set a time limit, and you can even use a hashtag to track it easily. However, there are some things you’ve got to consider when setting up your Twitter contest, or else the scammers, hackers, and otherwise deceptive people will start coming out of the woodwork and ruin all your best intentions.

HARRY POTTER CHAINED to new Sony reader (Register)
Sony will bundle its next generation e-reader with the entire series of Harry Potter stories from November, The Register has learnt. The bespectacled wizard debuts in digital format in October – the same time as the Sony-sponsored Pottermore "online reading experience" goes live – according to well-placed sources in the vendor's retail channel.

Editors Face Teen Angst (WWD)
Magazine newsstand sales were revealed last week by the Audit Bureau of Circulations and the numbers were bleak. Editors are desperate to engage the younger generation — those tweeters, Facebookers, text messagers and Web surfers who will ensure that titles have a future beyond the Baby Boomers. But what do they have to offer this prized demographic? More pictures of Lady Gaga or Kim Kardashian?

Independent bookstores add a new chapter (WaPo)

The brick-and-mortar bookstore is, like most of the economy, dead or close to it. See: Amazon, growth of. See: Borders, tanking of. Everybody knows this. So here’s Eileen McGervey, owner of One More Page bookstore in Arlington, standing next to her gourmet chocolates and a nice little wine selection, right across from the food and travel section, and she . . . opened in January of this year?

  
John Hodgman Shares Tips for Indie Bookstores (GalleyCat)
Author John Hodgman poked fun at the demise of Borders in a Daily Show appearance (video embedded above) this week,  urging booksellers to “replace their old-fashioned bookshelves with beautiful, well-appointed downloading pods.”

Wednesday Tweet Round-Up: 40th Annual Summer Conference Edition #LA11SCBWI

My tweet roundup temporarily comes out of retirement today to bring you some great tweets from the recent--and fabulous--SCBWI Annual Summer Conference.

I've included links to a number of conference-goers post-event posts so you can see some varying perspectives. (Everyone's experience is different, after all.) You'll find plenty of photos, highlights and inspiration.

Click on the Twitter handles (@name) to find each tweeter's page should you wish to follow them or read more of what they're saying. Follow the included links to read the blog posts or view the photos offered in these tweets. To peruse the conference conversation on Twitter, search #LA11SCBWI. And be sure to check out SCBWI TEAM BLOG's in-depth coverage on the Official SCBWI Conference Blog. (Lots of great info here--don't miss it.)


WRAP-UPS & RECAPS

@HUnderdown Good, long article from @PWKidsBookshelf summarizing the #LA11SCBWI conference: http://ow.ly/61iBJ

@angelamatteson My brief conference wrap-up post: bit.ly/roA7Rb 

@kimmiepoppins bit.ly/pFiKra SCBWI LA 40th Anniversary Conference-Part 4 Libba followed by Laurie...priceless!

@DeeWhiteauthor Dee White My LA Adventure part one - inspiring Bruce Coville and more wp.me/ppiTq-NA 

@StephanieRuble My notes from the #LA11SCBWI conference - http://t.co/PaHLUiE

@Ani_Lou Notes from the awesome #LA11SCBWI conference - bit.ly/oE12L5

@karensandlerYA #LA11SCBWI - The Wisdom of Agents - Panel Discussion wp.me/p1bmGE-9V

@DiandraMae Finally posted about #LA11SCBWI diandramae.blogspot.com/2011/08/la11sc… There's probably nothing you haven't seen yet, but if you're interested... ;)

@LPP_Media For all of you who followed #LA11SCBWI, check out this fresh wrap of the event: bit.ly/qgu0cm And share your thoughts! 

HIGHLIGHTS & TAKE-AWAYS

@timmccanna Tim's Top 10 Takeaways from #LA11SCBWI timmccanna.com/2011/08/tims-t…

@leewind 5 highlights of my #LA11SCBWI experience - w/quotes & @judyblume ! bit.ly/qET7yu

@mravenbrown: Kill the Baby: A Recap of My Experience at #LA11SCBWI http://ow.ly/603pN with 13 bon mots from the conference.

@novaren In which I blog the Surreal Moments at the SCBWI LA Conference and Beyond. wp.me/pM1Z-1xK

@ingridsundberg: 14 Fun & Fabulous Take-Away's from 2011 SCBWI LA Conference: http://tinyurl.com/3dyhe8l 

PHOTOS

@LisaYee1 Look at all the big name authors at the SCBWI conference! (Some behaved better than others.) lisayee.livejournal.com/171721.html

@LisaYee1 More photos of super famous/super nice KitLit authors and illustrators conferencing & making mischief -- lisayee.livejournal.com/171951.html 

@jayasherguy: Pics from #LA11SCBWI, including me rockin' a pink bunny suit: bit.ly/q6V83r

@inkyelbows  Summary (w/ takeaways & photos) of the amazing Illustrators Intensive at #LA11SCBWI : bit.ly/nOvffl

@alansilberberg: Finally found the time to write about my weekend at #LA11SCBWI. The most amazing 4 days. Thank you all! bit.ly/nhsdtI

POST CON ADVICE

@gregpincus: Here are six social media steps to take after any conference or big event (like #la11scbwi): http://bit.ly/qyFvR5

FAVORITE QUOTES TWEETED BY ME

@alicepope: Norton Juster: For an encoure, I'm going to take out my own appendix while whistling an aria from La Bohème.

@alicepope: Gary Paulsen: When a story goes well the hair stands up on the back of my neck. It's like wolf blood.

@alicepope: David Small: Life is a shit storm. When it rains on you sometimes art is your only umbrella.

@alicepope: Bruce Coville: Writers can reach hundreds of thousands of children. Our work ripples. We have impact. 

@alicepope: I don't think about my legacy. I just want a little tombstone that says: Are you there, God? It's me, Judy.

SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-Conference Interview: Jamie Weiss Chilton

Wrapping up our terrific SCBWI TEAM BLOG conference faculty interviews is my chat with former SCBWI staffer turned agent, Jamie Weiss Chilton. Jamie represents children's books exclusively as part of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency team, specializing in teen novels and picture books. (See her bio on the agency website and her interview below for more info on what she's looking for.)

Before agenting and working at SCBWI, Jamie interned at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, and held editorial positions at both Bantam Delacorte Dell and Knopf & Crown Books for Young Readers. Here she talks about nonfiction, Lady Gaga, critiques and more.

All you conference-goers will see her in LA this weekend at the 40th Annual SCBWI Summer Conference! (Don't forget to visit the conference blog for the play-by-play.)


At the Annual Summer Conference you're offering a session called "The Current Marketplace for Nonfiction." Why did you choose this topic? What will conference-goers learn from this session?

Nonfiction is a wonderful genre, one that can have all the power of fiction with the added kick of "I can't believe that really happened!" It's inspiring, shocking, riveting, touching, and entertaining. I'm excited to be presenting a general survey of the nonfiction market, from picture books through YA.

Your bio on andreabrownlit.com says you're looking for "the Lady Gaga of YA fiction." I'm assuming that doesn't mean you'll be on the lookout for the most outrageous outfit at the poolside pajama party. Would you explain this for my readers?

I love the way Lady Gaga has captured the imaginations of and inspired a huge number of people of all ages. To me she exemplifies a new, unique voice taking artistic risks, who has attracted a broad and dedicated fan base. She has reinvented the pop star genre, and I'm looking for writers who do the same in their respective genres.

Are you open to taking on new clients? Is there any particular area you're most interested in currently?

Yes, I am looking to take on new clients, especially of the Lady Gaga sort. I'm open to all genres and am particularly looking for YA at the moment.

You're offering manuscript critiques at the conference. What's you advice on getting the most out of a critique meeting.

I love the way the critiques are run at this conference; I think the setup helps writers and illustrators get the most out of their one-on-one meetings. For those new to critique, I recommend Linda Sue Park's great article The Give and Take of Critique, which is available to members on the SCBWI website.

To get the most out of your summer conference critique, come prepared to listen to your critiquer's advice. That doesn't mean you have to agree with everything, or make all the suggested changes (or even any of them!) but you will get the most out of your session if you approach it with an open mind.

You're a former SCBWI staff member. What was it like attending the Summer Conference for the first time as an agent instead of the conference director?

It was a strange feeling! I had the overwhelming urge to help and had to keep reminding myself that wasn't my job anymore. It's such a pleasure to attend the conference as a faculty member. The SCBWI staffers, TEAM BLOG, all the RA's and the bookstore staffers do a ton of work behind the scenes to make sure the conference runs smoothly. For me, being at the conference from the other side of the desk is kind of like a vacation, albeit a working vacation. : )

Would you please offer some advice (or do's and don'ts) for writers and illustrators interacting with agents in a conference setting?

Do introduce yourself and tell the agent (or editor) about your manuscript. We're at the conference to meet you! Don't hand the agent or editor any materials. We have a lot to keep track of and pack, and most of us prefer electronic submissions (ABLA is an all-electronic agency, as far as submissions are concerned.) And remember that we have a lot of people to meet and talk with, so please be understanding when we need to move along and meet other people. For that reason, have your short, concise pitch at the ready (and it can be really, really simple, like "My YA is The Omen meets The Pink Panther." (I have no idea what kind of book this would be--a strange one--just throwing it out there as an example.)

In the News This Week

Fridays on the SCBWI blog, I share snippets of and links to some of the publishing/media-related news I've read during the last week that I found interesting, helpful, and/or fun.

This weeks news includes PW's coverage of Comic-Con (with plenty of pics), children's book on stage, more on Google+ (including a list of writers you can add your name to), a handy list of stores selling e-readers, a YouTube plan for Banned Books Week, a relocating NYT staffer on moving print books (or not), and more.


Kids, Comics, and Comic-Con International 2011 (PW)
Comics aren’t just for adults at Comic-Con International. Big announcements for children’s comics share time with blockbuster movies and roaming hordes of costumed fans. This year there were announcements about new books for Raina Telgemeier and Kazu Kibuishi, and Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman plans a book collecting his first kids' series, Super Dinosaur.

San Diego Comic-Con 2011: Kids' Books at the Show (PW) 
The 42nd annual Comic-Con International took place this past weekend, with more than 130,000 fans flocking to the San Diego Convention Center for a peek at what's new and next in the worlds of comics, books, and movies. As in years past, the presence of children's book publishers at the show continued to grow—read on for our round-up of photos from the show.  

Children's Musicals Find a Happy Home in New York (ABC)
The crowd attending a hit musical recently on the Upper East Side weren't shy about loudly offering their thoughts. "What are they doing?" asked one. "I want to dance," said another. And, most worrisome for producers, one patron was heard offering this critique: "I want to go home." She was, it turned out, in the minority. She was also about 4.

10 Brick-and-Mortar Stores That Sell eReaders (GalleyCat)
This week Toys”R”Us announced that they will begin selling Amazon’s Kindle and OfficeMax announced that they will begin selling Barnes & Noble’s Nook.

Writers on Google+ (GalleyCat)
After our first couple weeks on Google+, we’ve met a whole new crew of online friends. We want to help writers with similar interests connect on this rapidly growing social network. If you want to meet other writers or readers on Google+, add your name to our new directory. In the comments section below, just share your name, a description of your writing and a link to your Google+ profile. Unlike our Twitter directories, you must opt-in to this new list.

Banned Books Week Features YouTube Read-Out (PW)
For Banned Books Week (Sept. 24-Oct. 1) this year, booksellers and their customers can proclaim their support for free speech on the Internet by joining a worldwide read-out of banned and challenged books. For many years, Banned Books Week has featured readings from challenged titles in bookstores and libraries. This year people can participate no matter where they are–in bookstores, libraries and their own homes–by posting a video of themselves reading their favorite banned book on a special YouTube channel.

Sophomore Slump? One Month In, Google+ Sees A Traffic Minus (TechCrunch)
Tomorrow, it will be exactly a month since Google+ was first unveiled. In that short amount of time, they’ve managed to sign up well north of 10 million users, which is amazing. Of course, the easiest path to tens of million of users is to start with hundreds of millions of users. Just ask Buzz or Wave. Still, kudos to Google—phase one of G+ was clearly a success.

Nook iPad App Will Sell Magazines & Children’s Books (GalleyCat)
After Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo cut iPad app links to outside eBook stores to comply with new Apple App Store rules, some content is beginning to return. Barnes & Noble will sell magazines and children’s books within the Nook iPad app very soon.

HOW TO Connect Your LinkedIn Profile With Twitter For Better Networking (AllTwitter)Both Twitter and LinkedIn are great for networking with professionals, co-workers and business associates. But rather than flipping between the two networks, they’ve made it easy to connect to one another in order to leverage both at the same time. Here’s how.

Print Books: Should They Stay or Should They Go? (NYT)
At the end of the week, I’ll be moving west and writing about technology from The New York Times’s San Francisco bureau. I’ve lived in New York City for 15 years, and over that time have amassed a lot of stuff. My personal belongings are strewn about the city, piled up in my apartment, stuffed into drawers at my office and stacked in a storage space in Brooklyn.

The 40th Annual SCBWI Summer Conference ...There's an App for That!

Here's some exciting news for conference-goers--the Summer Conference has gone mobile!

Attendees can now download Guidebook for free. This app allows you to quickly and easily keep track of the conference schedule and create your own personal schedule plus it gives you quick access to conference tweets (#LA11SCBWI), maps and more!

The app is compatible with the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android devices.


There are three ways get Guidebook:

• Download it from the Apple App Store or the Android Marketplace.
• Visit http://guidebookapp.com/getit from your phone's browser.
• Look for an email from SCBWI HQ with an image to scan with your mobile phone.

The SCBWI 40th Annual Summer Conference guide is listed under the "Download Guides" section of the app. I've already been playing around with it on my iPhone, and it's cool and easy to use. If you're attending the event--get the app! It's sure to enhance your experience.

In the News This Week

Fridays on the SCBWI blog, I share snippets of and links to some of the publishing/media-related news I've read during the last week that I found interesting, helpful, and/or fun. (I missed last week because I was on vacation.) Click titles to get to the full articles.

Today's news bits include collections of stories and posts related to just three topics: Google+ (you'll find helpful guides and tips), Borders (don't miss the going-out-of-business sale), and Harry Potter (who, surprisingly, is still not quite as popular as Jesus--at least on Facebook).


Google+: The Complete Guide (Mashable)
Google+: It’s the hot social network on the block. In just three weeks, Google’s competitor to Facebook and Twitter has amassed more than 10 million users, and its users are sharing more than 1 billion pieces of content daily. It’s become a hotbed for early adopters, tech luminaries, marketers and businesses around the world.

How Is Google+ Like Twitter And Facebook? [INFOGRAPHIC] (AllTwitter)
Google+ is the newest social network on the block, and it’s gaining a lot of momentum. But it’s very much an unknown quantity for a lot of people, as many of its features are still being explored.

HOW TO Tweet Your Google+ Posts Automatically To Twitter (AllTwitter)
A big Twitter management app has just added connectivity to Google+ for those of you who want to integrate your two accounts. Learn how below. ManageFlitter allows Twitter users to monitor which of their followers is active and which isn’t, in order to choose who is worth a follow back and who isn’t. And now they’ve added Google+ functionality, too.
 
How To Use Google+ Hangouts (eBookNewser)
Ever wish your writing group or book club could include readers from around the world? Last night we experimented with the Hangouts section of the new Google+ social network, coming up with some simple tips for using Google+ Hangouts to connect with readers and writers online. Using Google+ Hangouts, writers can quickly assemble spontaneous but private conversations in “live multi-person video” chatrooms.
 
Borders Sale Approved (PW)

In the end, Borders went the way of other large retailers like Circuit City and Linens 'n Things. At Thursday's hearing, Judge Martin Glenn said that he will enter the sales order for Borders's liquidation and going-out-of-business sales starting Friday. "This is a very bittersweet day in the history of this company," said Borders attorney Andrew Glenn. "We obviously didn’t get to where we wanted it to be, a full going-concern sale. Let’s just hope that people are reading books after this."

How Bookstores Can Survive in a Post-Borders World (GalleyCat)

Is the Borders’ liquidation the beginning of the end for independent booksellers? The American Booksellers Association (ABA) doesn’t think so.

Google’s Getting Harry Potter, But The Kindle Will Too (TechCrunch)

This morning Google made an announcement of magical significance: the Harry Potter eBooks, which are being released for the first time this October, will be available via its Google Books platform. That sounds like it should be a given, but in the case of Potter it isn’t — author J.K. Rowling is selling the books exclusively through Pottermore, a site that she launched with much fanfare last month.

JK Rowling 'writing hard' on new work (Guardian)

Start all the clocks and plug the telephone back in: JK Rowling has provided a shred of comfort to the millions of mourners lamenting the release of the final Harry Potter movie with the revelation that she has written "quite a lot" of new material and has plans to publish it.

Harry Potter Publisher Leaving Bloomsbury Children’s for New Venture (PW)

The news that Sarah Odedina is to leave Bloomsbury Children's Books after 14 years came as a shock on Monday, as London publishing was winding down for the summer. Odedina, who has published all of the Harry Potter titles, will take the reins as managing director and publisher of a to-be-named children’s fiction list at Bonnier, the privately owned Swedish media group whose U.K. operation already includes the illustrated children’s publishers Templar and Autumn. Odedina’s start date has not yet been announced and she has agreed to stay on at Bloomsbury until a successor has been named.  

  

Jesus Daily Beats ‘Harry Potter’ For Most Engaging Page (AllFacebook)

Jesus Daily fans rejoice as they tackle their toughest competition yet to hold on as Facebook’s most engaging page: Harry Potter shattered box office records, but the noise on the film’s social networking home could not successfully outshine the long-standing number one contender.