It's That Time of Year Again! (With a Tweetup!)

I am not actually going to be an attendee at the now sold-out SCBWI Summer Conference here in LA, but as a local, I will be coming by and hanging out, at least a little. I'm not attending because I can't actually be there the whole time - a disappointment on multiple levels. Still, I'll get there... and I hope to see YOU!

I suspect you can find me in the hotel lobby a lot, but you most certainly can on Friday night from 8:30 to 9:30 for a #kidlitchat Tweetup. Yes, it's time for us all to meet in person (or see each other again). Hopefully, by doing this Friday night, folks will have a richer weekend cuz they'll know the, oh... 100+ others at the conference who have also come by #kidlitchat.

By that hour, I doubt many of us will still be tweeting, so just look for a chatting crowd or me or Bonnie Adamson and jump on in.

Oh, and for those Tweeting the Con or hoping to follow along at home... the Conference tag is #LA12SCBWI.

Hope to see you there, whenever I get there!

#kidlitchat on Tuesday, February 7th - all about self-publishing

Tomorrow night, at 9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific, #kidlitchat (on Twitter) will be all about self-publishing (with a focus on the children's book world, of course). Is YA the only viable path? Do board books work? How much work is it? Why should I or shouldn't I self-publish?

Those are just a few of the areas we expect to come up. Last time we had a similarly themed chat, it was very high quality and very respectful. We expect the same this time, so I do hope you join us.

If you're new to Twitter chats, please check out this info from Debbie Ridpath Ohi so you can dive in tomorrow night. And I'll see you there!

E-books and Apps and #kidlitchat, Oh My!

Next week, on Tuesday the 15th at 9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific, #kidlitchat will be all about e-books and apps and how we in the broad collection of lovers of books for young readers from board book to YA, from poetry to prose are dealing (or not!) with this brave new world (which, I must note, has a lot in common with the brave old world).

Let's pool our knowledge and ideas and resources and, if we've got 'em, discuss our fears. And let's have fun and speak in 140 character bits as we do so.

Personally, I think apps and e-books are our friends. I also think that we can't afford to watch the changes happen without understanding the whos whats and wheres of it all.

I hope you'll join us on Twitter next week. If you're new to chats or want a refresher in how to get the most out of them, I highly recommend Debbie Ridpath Ohi's article on Twitter chats. And if you've got questions, feel free to ask here or find me or #kidlitchat co-host Bonnie Adamson on Twitter!

Revisiting diversity this week on #kidlitchat

Last year, we had a great #kidlitchat about diversity in the children's lit world. This year, well, it's time to have another one. Let's see how we, collectively, have done as a business this year, looking at issues of diversity in gender, race, sexual orientation issues, and more... and where we should be going moving forward.

Please join us Tuesday at 9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific on Twitter for #kidlitchat.

Hope to see you there!

#kidlitchat (again!)

Tonight is #kidlitchat on Twitter (9 Eastern/6 Pacific), and if you aren't already joining us there, I highly encourage you to come check it out. Yes, you've probably missed this week, but we're there every week. It's quickly become a highlight for me, and I'd love to see more of y'all there.

If you're wondering what twitter chats are and how they possibly work, Debbie Ridpath Ohi has a great article about them on her Inkygirl.com blog. I highly recommend reading it before jumping in.

Also, I've been saving the transcripts of prior chats. Take a read to see just how much fun they are!

Hope to see you there!