Can You Stand Even More Excitement?!

::cues drummers::

Are you ready for my BIG NEWS?


This is officially a Big Freaking Deal. As in, I hyperventilated when I heard. The Carnegie is the equivalent of the Newbery Award in the UK. Take a look at the other authors on the list. Neil Gaiman! Terry Pratchett! Julie Hearn!! I am agog to be in their company.

I am agogging still in New York City. Yesterday was Penguin Day, which included meetings and lunch with my Viking editor, Joy,

who wins the Most Organized Editor in New York Award, hands-down.

I also spent a big part of the day with my daughter, Stef,

who will be running in the half-marathon with me tomorrow.

We got shirts!

And now I will scurry about and try to get more work done before the giant pre-race pasta fest with Deb Sloan and her running crew.

P.S. Yes, that is the British paperback cover of CHAINS, above.

P.P.S. Congratulations to one of my favorite bookstores, Wild Rumpus Books, for being named the best children’s bookstore in Minneapolis!

20 Replies to “Can You Stand Even More Excitement?!”

  1. EEK!

    Congrats, Laurie! You absolutely deserve to be a part of that community!!! CHAINS is an utterly magnificent read.

  2. Wonderful news! Congratulations! Can’t wait to read the next chapter of Isabel’s life.

  3. How exciting! What an honor. I am planning on reading Chains aloud to my students next year as they will be in the early US History cycle in their social studies class.

    Good luck with your half marathon as well. How nice that you and your daughter are able to do that together. My sister is training for one in Massachusetts right now. I am so proud of her.

  4. CONGRATS!!

    Good luck on your half marathon. I can’t believe you’re one of my friends here at LJ. Thanks for sharing your real life with us. It’s such a treat.

  5. CONGRATULATIONS! OMG!

    Wow, that’s terrific news! Those Brits totally have good taste in books. 😉 And best of luck in the halfmarathon! My feet are twinging just thinking about running that far…

  6. Congrats…much deserved. As I sit here tonight as “just a stay at home mom” who reads every book my children read so they have the opportunity to critically think about what they just read (I actually love reading all their books) I was so saddened as I work in the school libraries and did not find any of Laurie Halse Anderson books on the shelf. Then I went to my huge overrated book store(the one in almost every city) and only found a small handful…no picture books or Fever or Chains. So maddening I had to order them. So confusing on why they would not be readily on the shelves for our young ones to teach such wonderful things. You are an absolute wonderful writer whom teaches our youth. On a side note…have you ever thought of writing for the Dear America series…you would be spendid 🙂

  7. Hooray! Well-deserved!

    I watched a young girl (12??) buying CHAINS in the bookstore yesterday and told her about FORGE. She was pleased. Her mom says she loves FEVER 1793.

    My son is liking FEVER, too, which he’s reading in class, and I don’t think he’s read any historical fiction before, so YAY!!

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