::cue theme song from Rocky::
There are two version to the story of this weekend’s adventure. Here is the short version:
Office Mouse is great! Here is the video of BH and I crossing the finish line. Can you hear them say our names?
In a nutshell: we ran the Lake Placid Half-Marathon, we had a blast, we finished.
The Big Day is almost here: time for our race. Thanks to your generous donations, BH and I have raised $5,652 for cancer research. We are sort of in shape, but in no danger of being plucked from the crowd and offered a spot on the Olympic team (whew!). We’ve had a lot of fun getting ready for tomorrow.
This is a good time to review the status of my New Year’s resolutions:
2008 Resolution Tracker
Week 24 – Miles Run: 12, YTD: 425
Week 24 – Days Written: 7, YTD: 166
I have stuck to my plan of writing every day (good thing, too, these deadlines are piling up faster and faster), but I’ve only averaged 17 miles a week, which is a little short of my New Year’s goal of 20 miles a week. Getting sick in February slowed me down, as did some foot and ankle problems in the last month. BH battled back from a hip injury with lots of physical therapy and much gritting of the teeth.
We are as ready as we can be to run 13.1 hilly miles.
Thanks for all the great comments about the contest announcement and garden tour. Yesterday I harvested the first batch of broccoli and basil.
We ate this minutes after it was picked.
As promised, I’ve been playing around with my new camera. Yesterday, I found the On switch and went out to my garden at dawn to record this little tour.
Keep all expectations low and try not to snort coffee out your nose onto your keyboard.
Keep spreading the word about the Summer Twisted/Speak Book Trailer Contest!
After questions from readers who live outside the United States, I have added Rules 5A and 9A below.
1. Create a book trailer for SPEAK or TWISTED. You may not use clips from the SPEAK movie (it is copyrighted, that’s why). Your trailer must qualify for a PG rating. Try to keep it under two minutes long.
2. Post the trailer on YouTube. Include the phrase “TWISTED trailer contest” or “SPEAK trailer contest” in the title. Submissions must be posted by 12:00pm, EST, August 31, 2008.
3. Once the trailer is posted, notify us by emailing the Office Mouse: officemouse AT writerlady DOT com . When you notify us, please provide a link to your trailer and a valid email address so we can contact you if you win. If you are in a Summer Reading group, include the name of your librarian and her (or his) email address.
4. Watch and wait. Winner will be chosen by Laurie Halse Anderson (aka me).
5. NOTE! Contest is only open to people who will be 21 years old or younger on August 31, 2008.
5A. Edited to add: Contest is open to anyone on the Planet Earth. Teens working aboard the space station are welcome too. Entries from other planets and galaxies will be considered, as long as they can be watched on Earth-created technologies.
6. If your trailer is chosen as the winning entry and you are not 18 yet, your parents will have to sign a release form granting me all rights to use your trailer. If you are over 18, you get to sign for yourself. You will be credited as the producer of the trailer, but the only payment you will receive is the prize described below. If you win, be sure to include this on your college or film school application.
7. If you are in a library summer reading group, your library will receive 5 signed copies of my books. The librarian in charge of the group gets to decide which books to receive.
8. There will be two prizes awarded; one for the best SPEAK trailer, one for the best TWISTED trailer.
9. The creator of the winning trailer will be awarded an 8GB iPod Touch. Winner agrees to be responsible for setting up and paying for Internet connection and any warranty protection plan for the device.
9a. Edited to add: If the winners live outside the United States and do not live in a region where the iPod Touch is supported, a substitute prize of equal value will be awarded.
10. Winners will be announced on this blog, Sunday, September 7th, and will be notified by email.
I think that’s everything. Please feel free to post this announcement to library and academic listservs. If you have any questions about the contest, please post them in the Comments section.
Thank you so much everyone for all the enthusiastic comments and emails yesterday about the ALAN Award announcement. My feet didn’t touch the ground all day.
The Office Mouse has been scurrying around getting me caught up on technology and preparing for the books coming out in the next year. One of the things we’d like to do is have more contests. That’s where you come in.
Details! Details!
1. Create a book trailer for SPEAK or TWISTED. You may not use clips from the SPEAK movie (it is copyrighted, that’s why). Your trailer must qualify for a PG rating. Try to keep it under two minutes long.
2. Post the trailer on YouTube. Include the phrase “TWISTED trailer contest” or “SPEAK trailer contest” in the title. Submissions must be posted by 12:00pm, EST, August 31, 2008.
3. Once the trailer is posted, notify us by emailing the Office Mouse: officemouse AT writerlady DOT com . When you notify us, please provide a link to your trailer and a valid email address so we can contact you if you win. If you are in a Summer Reading group, include the name of your librarian and her (or his) email address.
4. Watch and wait. Winner will be chosen by Laurie Halse Anderson (aka me).
5. NOTE! Contest is only open to people who will be 21 years old or younger on August 31, 2008.
6. If your trailer is chosen as the winning entry and you are not 18 yet, your parents will have to sign a release form granting me the rights to use your trailer. If you are over 18, you get to sign for yourself. You will be credited as the producer of the trailer, but the only payment you will receive is the prize described below. If you win, be sure to include this on your college or film school application.
7. If you are in a library summer reading group, your library will receive 5 signed copies of my books. The librarian in charge of the group gets to decide which books to receive.
8. There will be two prizes awarded; one for the best SPEAK trailer, one for the best TWISTED trailer.
9. The creator of the winning trailer will be awarded an 8GB iPod touch. Winner agrees to be responsible for setting up and paying for Internet connection and any warranty protection plan.
10. Winners will be announced on this blog, Sunday, September 7th, and will be notified by email.
I think that’s everything. Please feel free to post this announcement to library and academic listservs. If you have any questions about the contest, please post them in the Comments section.
So…..
This is one of those “out of body” things. One of those weird turns on the path of life that you don’t see coming, and it’s really fun, but at the same time you keep doubting it’s real, then you feel dumb for doubting, because, after all, they are very smart people, and yes, they did choose you – ME! – and so you had better just stop being silly and bask in it all.
I’m not sure how to phrase this, so I’ll quote from the press release: “…the ALAN Award Committee has voted to honor Laurie Halse Anderson with the 2008 ALAN Award.”
If you don’t know what ALAN is, hang on a sec and I’ll explain. If you do know, then you understand why this feels glorious and overwhelming and has rocked me to the core. It’s a darn good thing they made the announcement five months before I accept the award and give a speech, because it’s going to take me all that time to figure out how to convey my gratitude properly.
You can read more about it here.
Still wondering why I am so befuddled? They’ve given this award to many of my heroes: Teri Lesesne, Jerry Spinelli, Jacqueline Woodson, Patty Campbell, S.E. Hinton, Mildred Taylor, Walter Dean Myers, Chris Crutcher, Don Gallo, Gary Paulsen, Richard Peck, Cynthia Voigt, Katherine Paterson, Madeleine L’Engle, and The Big Guy: Robert Cormier. Now do you see why this is overwhelming?
::pauses for a brief attack of the vapors::
::nearly swoons::
::rouses self with great difficulty::
“But, Laurie, what is ALAN?” you ask.
ALAN is where all the best English teachers hang out. The acronym stands for The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents. In a nutshell, ALAN is the collection of brilliant English teachers, along with the college professors who taught them, and the authors and editors who are in awe of the work they do. If you teach English, literature, or reading to teens, I beg of you, please join. (Very inexpensive!) You’ll get a kick-butt journal with terrific reviews and articles about real-world classroom challenges, and you will connect with some incredible peers.
If all the world is a high school, then ALAN is the cool kids’ table for English teachers; the nice ones who are always scootching down to make room for new people. Especially the new ones who still feel fourteen and gawky.
Thank you very, very much, my kindred spirits.