Get Your Short Story In Front of Major Literary Agents

Win a literary agent or acclaimed author's feedback on your unpublished manuscript for young adult or middle grade readers.  This rare opportunity is being offered to the six winners of an essay contest recently announced by the literacy charity Book Wish Foundation.  See http://bookwish.org/contest for full details.

You could win a manuscript critique from:

• Laura Langlie, literary agent for Meg Cabot

• Nancy Gallt, literary agent for Jeanne DuPrau

• Brenda Bowen, literary agent and editor of Karen Hesse's Newbery Medal winner Out of the Dust

• Ann M. Martin, winner of the Newbery Honor for A Corner of the Universe

• Francisco X. Stork, winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award for The Last Summer of the Death Warriors

• Cynthia Voigt, winner of the Newbery Medal for Dicey's Song and the Newbery Honor for A Solitary Blue

All that separates you from this prize is a 500-word essay about a short story in Book Wish Foundation's new anthology, What You Wish For.  Essays are due Feb. 1, 2012 and winners will be announced around Mar. 1, 2012.  If you win, you will have six months to submit the first 50 pages of your manuscript for critique (which means you can enter the contest even if you haven't finished, or started, your manuscript).  You can even enter multiple times, with essays about more than one of the contest stories, for a chance to win up to six critiques.
        Building libraries and supporting literacy in Darfuri refugee camps.

If you dream of being a published author, this is an opportunity you should not miss.  To enter, follow the instructions athttp://bookwish.org/contest.

Good luck and best wishes,

Logan Kleinwaks
President, Book Wish Foundation

About Book Wish

Book Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity providing high-impact reading aid for people in crisis, with a current focus on refugees from Darfur and AIDS orphans in Ghana. We give some of the world's neediest readers the books they wish for, taking requests for specific titles and subjects. This helps ensure the books will be matched to the needs of the readers, and appropriate for their reading level and culture. We typically do not accept generic book donations from the public because they do not match the requests we receive. We do not hold book drives. The books that are most useful in a refugee camp might not be best-sellers in New York.

The populations we aid have very limited resources and are facing immense challenges for the foreseeable future. For them, books can play an especially large role in education, mental health, and job training. We search for the readers who will get the most out of our books because they have so little to begin with.

Maximizing the impact of books also means maximizing the number of readers, so we will provide reading glasses, vision screenings, support for literacy programs, solar-rechargeable lighting where there is no electricity, or any other aid that can effectively increase the audience for our books.

SLJ Trailee Awards Voting Open NOW!

NEWS From the School Library Journal:


Make your voice heard by voting for your favorite book trailer. The second annual SLJ Trailee Awards are underway, recognizing the important role book trailers play in promoting books and encouraging reading.

Six judges have narrowed down more than 75 submissions to four finalists in six categories. Check out the amazing trailers here and start voting for your favorites. The deadline for voting is December 16, 2011, 12 PM EST, and the winner will be announced at the American Library Association's midwinter meeting in Dallas, TX, January 20-24.

Enjoy the show!

...if the embedded link above doesn't work: 
http://reg.accelacomm.com/servlet/Frs.frs?Script=/LP/51468603/reg&Context=START

Local Book Signing Events - LA & Orange County!

Lisa Desrochers, Jeff Marriotte, Gretchen McNeil, Heather
Brewer, Cindy Pon, Inara Scott and Katie Alender at the OCCBF

Check out the top bar on the blog and you will see I have added a new feature!


Click the link that says "OC/LA: Events/Book Signings"  - October is filled with places to go and authors to meet!


From the Orange County Children's Book Festival to Becca Fitzpatrick's release of the third book in the Hush Hush series to the "Pen Fatale Tour" and the "Dark Days of Supernatural Tour" and at the end of the month Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl present book number 3½ in The Caster Chronicles with Beautiful Chaos!


...and don't forget you have three opportunities to meet Laini Taylor and pick up an autographed copy of her latest book "Daughter of Smoke & Bone" - this is probably the most eagerly awaited book of the year.

"Daughter of Smoke and Bone is a lush, sweeping, romantic marvel of a book. Taylor's writing is a revelation, masterfully blending an intricate fantasy world into our own, with an artist's flair for exquisite details. Funny, devastating, delightful, unforgettable. Pure storytelling perfection." 

Kiersten White, author of the Paranormalcy series

It has received four starred reviews and was recently featured on Entertainment Weekly's "Must List" and a glowing review in the Los Angeles Times.  Laini went to high school in Orange County, so it's a bit of a homecoming for her in the midst of her 9-city tour to appear at the below events. 


I think I'm going to combine seeing the new Mysterious Galaxy Books location in Redondo Beach with picking up a copy!  Hope I run into some of you!!!

Monday, October 24th @ 7:30 PM

MYSTERIOUS GALAXY

2810 Artesia Blvd, Redondo Beach, CA 90278

Tuesday, October 25th @ 7:00 PM

BOOK SOUP

8818 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069

Wednesday, October 26th @ 7:00 PM

BARNES & NOBLE – Bella Terra

7881 Edinger Ave, Huntington Beach, CA 92647

Kindle Started The Fire!!!

In a press event that was reminiscent of some of the best Apple launches from Steve Jobs...comes the KINDLE FIRE!!!


Today - Media Mogul, Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon launched the much talked about Kindle Fire!!!  ...and may I say that from my point of view...the buzz didn't come close!!!  THIS THING ROCKS!!!


Expected to give the iPad some competition (I know I will own a Kindle Fire before I would buy an iPad!!!) it seems the only thing this tablet doesn't do is centered around the camera - it doesn't have one.  But I never understood the need for a camera...my phone has a great one!  I will certainly trade a camera for Amazon's vast Media Resources...and Cloud Storage!


So - this is what it DOES have:

Stunning Color Touchscreen

Movies, magazines and children's books come alive on a 7" vibrant color touchscreen that delivers 16 million colors in high resolution. Kindle Fire uses IPS (in-plane switching) technology - similar technology to that used on the iPad - for an extra-wide viewing angle, perfect for sharing your screen with others.

Magazines in Rich Color

Enjoy your favorite magazines with glossy, full-color layouts, photographs and illustrations. Choose from hundreds of titles, such as Bon Appetit, Elle, and Oprah. Special editions of titles likeVanity Fair, Wired, and GQ come with built-in video, audio and other interactive features.

100,000 Movies and TV Shows

Over 100,000 movies and TV shows, including thousands of new releases and your favorite TV shows, are available to stream or download, purchase or rent - all just one tap away. Amazon Prime members enjoy unlimited, commercial-free streaming of over 10,000 popular movies and TV shows.

Ultra-fast web browsing - Amazon Silk

Amazon Silk is a revolutionary, cloud-accelerated browser that uses a "split browser" architecture to leverage the computing speed and power of the Amazon Web Services cloud. Supports Adobe® Flash® Player.

Free Cloud Storage

Forget about memory - Kindle Fire gives you free storage for all your Amazon digital content in the Amazon Cloud. Your books, movies, music and apps are available instantly to stream or download for free, at a touch of your finger.

Millions of Books

Read bestsellers, children's books, comic books, and cookbooks in vibrant color. The Kindle Store offers over 1 million books, including 800,000 titles at $9.99 or less. In addition, over 2 million free, out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books are also available such asPride and Prejudice.

...and so much more...see the video, get the full story and reserve your copy for holiday gift giving!!!   Santa are you listening?   ...just follow this link and reserve mine now!

Kindle Fire, Full Color 7" Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi

...and are you ready for the clincher?  the Amazon Kindle Fire retails for $199

#IMM - In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a blog meme from The Story Siren - more info at the end of this post or on The Story Siren blog.


You all know that I am the Teen & YA Stage Coordinator for the Orange County Children's Book Festival...well, it's that time again!!!


This year we have planned a Book Giveaway to top all Book Giveaways!!!


At the end of the festival we will giveaway a set of books from each of the authors performing on the stage.  Most of the authors are participating and it should be quite a haul...20-25 books!


So, you ask, how do I enter the contest?  Easy!!!  You will receive an entry for every Author Appearance that you attend at the Teen & YA Stage! 


Support your favorite Authors and earn an entry!  The more events you attend the more entries you get!


We are just under 2 weeks away and the books are starting to come in...

See anything you might like?   like that copy of Beautiful Chaos before it hits the stores?


Come on over to the Teen Stage Blog and check out the Schedule  - it is jam packed with Authors presenting and signing from 9:30am to 4:30pm.


Teen Stage Blog:  http://teensread.posterous.com/

In My Maibox is a blog meme from The Story Siren:


Initially In My Mailbox was something I did myself, but ultimately I thought it would be even better if other bloggers shared in the idea... thus the craziness of IMM was born! In My Mailbox is a great way for bloggers to socialize and network their blogs, it’s also a great way for bloggers to share upcoming releases!

Currently their are around 200 blogs that participate every week. Think you might like to join up? 

1. Make your own IMM post! You can post about books you've bought, gotten from the library, received for review... books don't have to arrive via your mailbox. 
2. I post every week, but you don’t have to. You can do one week out of the month or every other week it’s up to you. 
3. You don't have to call your post In My Mailbox... (some people don't even have mailboxes!)
4. I post my IMM on Sunday, but choose a day of the week that works for you.
5. Once you have your IMM posted, come back to The Story Siren on Sunday and add your link to the list. 
6. Try to post a comment on other bloggers IMM posts. I don’t expect you to post a comment on every single one, but pick a few!

All book bloggers are welcome, while I’d like to keep the theme to YA literature it’s NOT a requirement.

There is no right or wrong way to do In My Mailbox, you can vlog, you can take fun picture, you can use the books cover art, it’s up to you!

Most importantly HAVE FUN! 

Book Blogger Appreciation Week!

The world of book blogging has grown enormously and sometimes it can be hard to find a place. Share your tips for finding and keeping community in book blogging despite the hectic demands made on your time and the overwhelming number of blogs out there. If you’re struggling with finding a community, share your concerns and explain what you’re looking for–this is the week to connect!


First - to 1stDaughter - whose There's a Book blog has long been an inspiration....and to the Book Vixen and Story Siren that I have followed from the start...thank you for the meme's and great example you have set for not only me but the book blogger community.


Second to my own "community" of book review bloggers...the SoCal Press Corp.  Where would the Orange County Children's Book Festival be without all of you!


This group has grown by leaps & bounds almost doubling in size from the first Teen Stage in 2010 to the stage in October that will host over 25 authors!!!  ...and we owe so much to the SoCal bloggers for helping us get the word out!


THANK YOU!!!

#TeaserTuesday - Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser Tuesday:

"Bertie rubbed her thumb over the scrimshaw as she peered at him.  Another one wearing a mask, though it's as ugly as what lurks underneath.  He smirked, sending nasty, oily serpents to pluck at her composure, to push, to goad, to tug at the reins of her temper while the Players looked on."

From "Eyes Like Stars" by Lisa Mantchev

(I chose this book today because it was recommended by one of the FABULOUS people who work at the Brea Borders - we will miss every one of you!)