Guest Blog–Nancy Werlin

We’ve got a first today: a guest blog from my good pal, the uber-talented and smart Nancy Werlin. Nancy is a National Book Award Finalist and Edgar Award Winner and the New York Times bestselling author of IMPOSSIBLE, which none other than Gregory Maguire (Mr....

In praise of the free write

This morning I had a rare treat. I got up early (as is my wont) and went about my errands, fetching carby breakfast goods for the household, and I stopped into a little café near Prospect Park and decided, what the hey, I’ll sit and have a scone and a cup of coffee...

Ask the Author!

Oh. Hello there. I was going to write up a whole post about gender issues today. But after four hours of chasing my tail on The Book that Is Super Late and Also Impossible, I was burned out. So instead, I am putting the remote control in your hands, people. Any...

Processing the Printz Experience

Yes. I know it’s been a while. So tempting to say I’ve been coming up with new ice cream flavors or painting my toes with obscure messages (um, not of the Lindsay Lohan variety…) or stuck in a yoga pose I couldn’t get out of. But the truth is,...

Libraries are the torch of the world

This is going to be a long post. It is also going to have a call to action. So please keep reading. And if you can’t keep reading then start at Second Piece of Business. I know I have been remiss in my blogging lately. It has been like some writing zombie video...

To Kill a Mockingbird

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD is 50 years old. Frankly, I think it’s had work done. It doesn’t look a day over 35 to me. All kidding aside, this is a book I have always loved passionately. I read it at just the right age–twelve, I believe–and growing...