Kidlit Con 2010 - early report

Splash! I'm back from Kidlit Con 2010 with a thousand impressions, lots of friends, and a few new goals.

1. I came home and used Twitter more in two hours than I had in the whole previous year. This is the first time it's felt like a conversation with friends and not radio waves bouncing around. Very cool.

2. I got to meet many of my online friends in 3-D: Amy Ludwig VanDerwater of The Poem Farm, my wonderful roomie and panelmate; Mary Lee Hahn of A Year of Reading, the catalyst and organizer for our Poetry Friday panel; librarian Mary Ann Scheuer of Great Kid Books, who was also on our panel; the effervescent Laura Purdie Salas of Writing the World for Kids; poet Jeannine Atkins, who is immersed in writing something delicious (someday, when I read it, I'll be able to say, "I saw that manuscript when it was but a babe on your laptop screen!") and illustrator Nina Crittenden. I was lucky enough to snag a bit of her whimsical artwork during Kelly Light's Ripple project a few months back.

L to R, Mary Ann Scheuer, Laura Salas, Mary Lee Hahn, Amy VanDerwater, and me at breakfast.

3. The place was filled to the brim with book bloggers, editors, teachers, authors, and illustrators. I had a chance to say hello to many and have longer conversations with several. I met Melissa Wiley, who coined the term "kidlitosphere," and almost met Kelly Herold of Big A little a, who invented Poetry Friday, but by the time I had a moment to say hi, I'd missed her.

Jeannine Atkins and me.

4. Of the day's workshops, what stuck most with me was learning the history of Poetry Friday, the history of the kidlitosphere, and the story behind the Cybils. Did you know that this year there were 1,289 book nominations for this wonderful, grassroots award? I'm pleased that I was able to catch up on this new (to me) award and that I nominated a book before the deadline. Back when I was publishing my picture books, the Cybils didn't exist.

5. The Open Book was a great space for a conference. Besides classrooms and auditorium space for writerly events year round, it includes a coffee cafe, the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, some old printing presses and other historical artifacts, and this intriguing bit of interactive sculpture in the lobby:

Did anyone have a quarter to try it out?

I didn't, and I'm still wondering what it does.

5. There was a fantastic dinner on Saturday night at a local brewery, attentively hosted by our able, warm, and friendly organizers: editors Andrew Karre (Carolrhoda), Ben Barnhart (Milkweed Editions), and Brian Farrey (Flux). I sat between Sarah Stevenson, whose first book, The Latte Rebellion, is coming out in 2011, and Blythe Woolston, whose first book, The Freak Observer, has just come out.

6. And, last but not least, some travel photos and observations. As soon as I got out of the light rail station, I found myself right alongside Vikings Stadium! What a thrill and a half that was. Even though I'm a diehard Patriots fan, I was impressed by the size of the Metrodome, and football music started playing in my head. Now, don't you say a word, Minnesotans. I am so over Randy Moss, and we're gonna show you what we've got come Hallowe'en Sunday.

Still life with gyro combo and boarding pass at Chicago Midway Airport

View from the hotel

Amusing T-shirt sold in hotel gift shop. All I have to say is, we'll see about that!

Cloud tops between Minneapolis and Chicago

More cloud tops

Hello from the blogosphere to all my new and old friends. I hope you all returned home refreshed, challenged, and inspired. If we didn't have a chance to connect this time, please look for me at the next big event—the SCBWI Winter Conference in New York.

Later this week I'll post more about the Poetry Friday panel and what I took from the conference. I'm still sorting and sifting, thinking about social media and about what I'd like this blog to be, going forward.