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Video to bake by

The cleaning and decorating in the Forest in finally done. (Pics tomorrow!) Today I’ll be trying to make a gingerbread house and baking biscotti and other family favorites. And it’s time to make the rice pudding for the Julenisse! While puttering around the kitchen, I’ll be catching up on videos that I’ve bookmarked. Do you have anything that you think I should watch?

I have something for you. When I was in Austin for the Texas Book Festival, Vicki Smith from Kirkus interviewed me. I think it is one of the best interviews ever, ranging from FORGE to my feelings when people try to ban my books. Enjoy!

 

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Old Week Ends, New Week Begins

Banned Books Week is over. I wish I could report on the status of Wes Scroggins’ challenge in Republic, MO, but I have not been able to get official notification of  what is going on. There is a school board meeting later this month. Perhaps they’ll post something in the minutes.

There are a few more links I’d like to share with you. Popmatters ran a long interview with me. And Random House posted the wisdom about censorship from four giants in children’s literature: Judy Blume, Robert Cormier, Zilpha Keatly Snyder, and Lois Lowry.

Now that Banned Books Week is over, many folks will be tempted to tuck the issue away in a small box and revisit it again next year. I understand. It’s hard to keep outrage boiling on high 24/7. I’ve spent the last two weeks responding to this challenge and my other work is sorely overdue for attention.

The books for the libraries in MO will be shipped tomorrow. I will continue to try to contact the superintendent of the district. I haven’t contacted any of the district’s teachers because I figured they were already busy enough with their students and the last thing they needed was me poking my nose into things. It seemed more appropriate to keep my communications with the district limited to the superintendent. Although that sure isn’t working because all my emails have returned as undeliverable (yes, I called the district office to double-check the address) and he hasn’t responded to my letters.

I think the best place for those of you who want to continue the discussion about censorship and First Amendment issues is over at SpeakLoudly.org. I’ll continue to speak up both here and there.

At the same time, I need to turn some of my attention to FORGE. I leave on the book tour in 11 days!!! ARGH!! Must find new tour pants!!

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The Community That Speaks and Listens

I baked on Monday night. It was a shocking event. When my kids were little, I used to bake a lot, but as life got busy, it slipped off the priority list. But the writer’s group was coming to my house on Tuesday, and I wanted to do something nice.

Why did I make banana bread and apple brown betty (and potato salad, which does not fit in the baking example, but also takes a lot of time)? Because they are my friends. They are are my community. Because sharing food is a ritual bonding that ties one person closer to another.

I wish I could bake for all of you. Because you are my community of people who love reading and writing. Because you are defending the First Amendment and making America a better place. Banana bread for everyone! Thank you!!

As we are at the half-way point in Banned Books Week, I hope you’ll indulge me in a few more links.

Check out the Google map of Banned Books.

The New York Times Papercuts blog looked at the role that Twitter has played in responding to the Republic, MO man’s  attempt to ban Speak. AOL.com News ran an editorial about the banning. And Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic mentioned it briefly a few days ago.

Risha Mullins (who endured a horrific banning episode last year in Kentucky) has posted an interview with me about my book TWISTED.

The LA Times weighs in on Banned Books Week.

SpeakLoudly.org is fast becoming the go-to place for discussion about censorship issues. Take a peek!

Remember how I was running around like a crazy person last week? Here are a few pics from that trip.

 

This is Marion Lloyd of Marion Lloyd Books, a division of Scholastic UK. She is my new British publisher. What’s that she’s holding? The UK edition of Wintergirls. I believe it goes on sale in January, 2011.

 

 

 

Here is the only picture ever taken of me and my agent, Amy Berkower of Writer’s House. We call her Saint Amy at our house.

(note: I published my first 7 books without an agent, including Speak and Fever 1793!)

 

 

In other exciting news, we have a new dog in our life. He appeared most serendipitously and has succeeded in charming all of us, including The Creature With Fangs. More details and pictures tomorrow, I promise.

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Lightning Round

 

The clock is ticking ever closer to the start of the FORGE book tour, and the available hours to get everything done by then are becoming perilously few.

So I am going to turn this blog into a lightning round.

Ready?

Last week: the Scroggins book banning kerfuffle. Lots of interviews. Said “Scroggins” a lot. This made me think of Charles Dickens. That was nice. Quick trip to Denver to talk to independent bookstore folks there.

Weekend: Hung out with Revolutionary War geeks at Ft. Ticonderoga. Drank spruce beer.

This week: waiting for Magic 8 Ball to deliver verdict on possibility of writing time. Hoping I don’t get BH’s cold. Hoping that the chickens lay eggs soon. Writer’s group tomorrow. Possibility of hibernation after that.

Ideas for you:

1. Join the Speak Loudly Community! (Many, many thanks to David Gill and Paul Hankins for setting it up!)

2. Add a SpeakLoudly Twibbon to your Twitter or Facebook profile pic.

3. Contact bookavore if you need an incredibly good copy editor for academic papers or fiction writing.

4. If you live in Republic, MO, drop me a line and let me know how the Scroggins’ banning attempt is proceeding.

Whew!

Questions?

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