Weekly Round Up: End of Summer Style (Please Let It Rain!)

Like the rest of the country, I anxiously watched the footage of Irene. I lived in NYC for 13 years and while there I had my fair share of snowstorms, power outages, flash flooding, subway problems. (The terrorist attacks do not belong in this grouping, but yes, I was there for that too.) When I first moved to NYC I lived in what I lovingly call the "ghett-o" right across from the projects off Hoyt near Smith Street in Brooklyn. We were on the top floor and I had a turkey pan duct taped to my ceiling to keep the water from the hole in the ceiling dripping into a huge pot I'd empty every hour. The hole was right above my closet. I called in sick to work during one tropical storm to be sure the ceiling didn't cave in over everything I owned. I was lucky that day and I was glad this week when I awoke to see NYC had been spared. But, my beloved Vermont was hit hard. For anyone considering a way to help, please see the VT Red Cross.

Here in Austin though, we have been praying for rain. Some may come this weekend. What was a 60% odd is now a 20% odd but I don't believe in odds. I believe in hope, and prayer, and believing things into being. So I am going to believe it will rain, even if it is only a steady stream of my sweat dripping off my nose.


The Writing Barn is pretty much done and I have began hosting mini-celebrations for those hard working writers who have recently landed an agent or their first book deal. (Or in Nikki Loftin's case, her first two book deal!). It's been a pleasure to celebrate the dedication, talent, and triumphs of Shelli Cornelison and Donna Bowman Bratton both who signed with Red Fox Literary and Nikki Loftin, whose first novel The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy is due out in the fall of 2012.

Shelli, Bethany and Nikki. Three writer ladies.

Donna rubs her magic genie lamp--every writer needs one.

There is nothing like signing with an agent (your first agent!) or selling that first book. Suddenly, the years and years of hard work, near misses, tears at certain rejections disappear and a writer (though we should never fully look outside for confirmations) feels validated. It is a heady and scary time. There is always more work to do. More growth in our words, our stories, ourselves. But there is also time to raise a glass and cheer our success. I might be as corny as a Hallmark card or Walt Disney but dreams do come true. That's why the barn mascot is this little guy.

Barn Mascot: Betty, the Believer.

I will be hosting another day/evening at the barn for E. Kristen Anderson, one of the brains behind Dear Teen Me, which will be a BOOK and a blog! From the Publishers Marketplace announcement:

Miranda Kenneally and E. Kristen Andersons's DEAR TEEN ME, based on the website of the same name, a compilation from adult writers to their teen selves, to Hallie Warshaw of Zest Books, in a pre-empt for publication in 2012 by Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency.

I am super excited by this news! E. Kristen (known to me as Emily, the Hate Mongering Tart and beloved Associate Editor at Hunger Mountain) is an amazing writer and a force to be reckoned with. She is smart, savvy, hilarious and has such energy. The Dear Teen Me idea struck Emily and she had the courage and persistence to pursue it as a blog--to invite well-known and up and coming authors to participate. She found a partner in crime in Miranda and they have gone on to great things. I wish nothing but success to the project and to the readers of DEAR TEEN ME--the soon-to-be-book and the blog. Betty, my day-dreaming pig is beside herself with glee!


More at the Barn--I hope to get a website together in the coming weeks for The Writing Barn. I will be teaching there, working with my private students, and opening the space for community events and classes. Look for Lisa Yee to make a pit-stop while she is in Austin at the Austin SCBWI conference in Feb to teach a Master Class at The Barn. She and Peep will be leading a one day intensive on Creating Compelling Bad Guys and Bullies. Registration for the conference and for the one day event is filling up quickly so REGISTER NOW.

The sun setting on The Writing Barn.

The Writing Barn will also be available for rental--whether it be for a small writing retreat--an in-town get away or a cool and unique place for the out of town book lover to stay. Think of us and look for the website coming soon!

Work-in-Progress

As I work on my new WIP, I am amazed at the serendipity coming my way. Today, thanks to the lovely Suvi, this am I toured the inside of Casa Neverlandia and met owners and artists James Edward Talbot and Kay Pils. Talbot and Kay are in two words awe-inspiring. I loved meeting them and stepping into their colorful world. All in Austin should turn out to celebrate Talbot's "Essential Magnificence" official unveiling on Sept. 10th at 9:00am. See here for details. I will be there coffee in hand.

My "Essential Magnificence" is displayed with eyes closed.

Grandfather Gandhi


Grandfather Gandhi, (forthcoming Antheneum S&S) has a an illustrator and not just any illustrator the amazing Evan Turk. Evan is new to the publishing industry but based on the samples I've seen of the work he did to land the Gandhi book--he won't be new for long. His work is filled with energy, a zest for life, and he is well-traveled and respectful of all cultures. I am honored to have his name on the cover alongside Arun Gandhi and myself! More updates on the book coming soon!

Back to School, Back to Blogging

So, today was back to school day here in Austin. And, I figured that was a good time to get back to blogging. I meant to only be away for a month (Sorry, those who have interviews scheduled with me. I shall be posting them soon!) and I had pre-blogged. 

I was in Maui for much of June and early July. Rough, right? I know. My fiancé had a conference he was hosting at one of the area hotels and we stayed there for two weeks and then spent two weeks in Paia, this funky little hippy town. While there I let myself decompress from the work-a-day world and made my transition into the write-a-day world. I kept up with my editorial duties at Hunger Mountain, and with the work of my one-on-one students, but I took time to breathe again. 

To be Bethany again. 

To explore. To laze on the beach. 

To sip cocktails and read, read, read and write, write, write.

Each day new words found me. I jotted them all down. A week before leaving I had 40 pages down and usually that is the time I take those pages, those mountains of words, and I hit delete. I had found my characters a bit and now I could start again. I could begin.

 Strangely, or not so strangely really, two days before leaving Maui I realized the manuscript I was writing would be a beach book. A summer vacation story which would bring my two MCs to Maui the summer’s after Sophomore year, Junior year, and Senior year. I have always loved beach books and walking through airports have purchased Dorthea Benton Frank and Elin Hildebrand for years (though I can’t read a Nicolas Sparks book I can partake of the movies made from them). I never—never—thought I would write my own beach book.  Those that know me well know that I hate summer. Since I was a kid I felt like summer fun is prescribed and is supposed to be a prescription for all that has ailed ye all year long. Summer fun by definition is giddy and outdoorsy. I am not giddy or outdoorsy. Maui opened me up to see another side of summer—and another side of me. The sunsets, the sunrises, the people, the tropical flowers and afternoon showers all created this opening in me. An opening to do what I wanted—write, watch locals collect seaweed, walk on the beach, hear music, play with kids in the water—splashing and doing tricks. It took me away from myself. From my year round concerns and healed the overworked, treadmill part of me. 

When I arrived back in Austin, about a month ago now, I didn’t find it hard to write but I did find myself resisting blogging. I love to blog. I do. But I needed time for my story to come first. I am now at 100 pages in my RD and feel grounded in where I may be headed. I have been missing blogging. Missing adding my voice to the kid lit conversation. Missing trumpeting the horn of my fellow writers and all their accomplishments. I have missed the in-depth interviews and have some fabulous ones I shall be posting in the weeks to come. I now miss the outer world as much as I missed my inner world before my time away. So, thanks for having me back! 

Next week I will begin a month (or more long) series on Adventures While Teaching, using thoughts I garnered from reading Roger Rosenblatt’s Unless It Moves the Human Heart: The Craft and Art of Writing.

In Hunger Mountain news:

Look for, later this week, the In Defense of YA Round-Up that was promised to readers back when the whole WSJ brouhaha began in June, as well as a Toolbox piece by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley and a sneak-peak into her new novel, Jefferson’s Sons. 

We are still accepting fiction for the fall issue: The Art & Insanity of Creativity. See here to submit and to see guidelines: http://www.hungermtn.org/submit/

The Katherine Paterson Prize has closed (though there is always next year so start polishing those submissions) and the judging is going on now. Who will NBA winner Kimberly Willis Holt choose as the 1k winner??? Keep a look out. 

2012 Winter and Spring Themes to be announced soon as well as those pieces from 2011 that have been selected to be a part of the annual print edition, which will be on sale in bookstores and sent to Hunger Mountain subscribers.

In Awesome Austin, a round up of the summer awesomeness.

Since I last posted two incredible Austin authors have welcomed wee ones (and this time I mean babies—not books). Congrats to Varian and Crystal Johnson on the arrival of Savannah Parker and to Mari Mancussi Beach and Jacob Beach on the arrival of Avalon. 

Get ready for Chronal Engine by Greg Leitich Smith. I have seen some of the cover art and interiors for his 2012 release and this time-traveling dinosaur book is going to knock you out. 

Greg, Vanessa Lee and Jenny Moss pour over a Chronal Engine slideshow

Congrats to Jeannette Larson’s Hummingbirds: Facts and Folklore of the Americas illustrated by Adrienne Yorinks being chosen to represent Texas in the National Book Festival. 

 

Three cheers for Tantalize: Kieren’s Story, a new graphic novel by Cynthia Leitich Smith and illustrated by Ming Doyle which releases tomorrow. To get a peak into Cynthia’s process of turning her best-selling novel into a graphic novel with new content see her Hunger Mountain article Going Graphic.  

The Austin Statesman this weekend featured a review of Calli by Jessica Lee Anderson, calling the book: “finely wrought, with emotional twists that will absorb your teen reader.” (14 and up) To see an interview with Jessica, head on over to Carmen Oliver’s blog  and read their in-depth Calli chat. To read a chapter from Jessica’s work-in-progress, check out the Hunger Mountain archives and read Finding Bigfoot.

A big whoo-hoo for the Writer’s League of Texas 2011 Children’s Book Award Finalists:  

Shark Vs. Train by Chris Barton, A Million Shades of Gray by Cynthia Kadohata, Holler Loudly by Cynthia Leitich Smith, Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum by Meghan McCarthy, Betti on the High Wire by Lisa Railsback, and Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber.

And triple woo-hoos for Austinites Cynthia Leitich Smith, Lisa Railsback, and Chris Barton. 

E. Kristin Anderson, Jennifer Ziegler, moi, and Holly Green

I attended the Keep Austen Weird celebration for Austin author Jennifer Ziegler’s new release Sass & Serendipity. Plenty of fun was had by all and with my long gown I won the award as the Most Serendipitous. And for all you Jennifer Ziegler fans go vote for Sass & Serendipity at Justine magazine as your favorite summer read. Vote here. Or read her Hunger Mountain essay, Let There Be Light on the writing of the novel and how Jane Austen influenced her and her work. 

Big rah-rahs for Austinites Shelli Cornelison and Donna Bowman Bratton for signing with Red Fox Literary. See Kathy Teman’s wonderful interview with the folks at Red Fox.

Solstice, the new e-book, by PJ Hoover continues to sizzle this summer. Check out:

 and

I may have missed someone’s accolade (sorry if I did) so don’t miss the Austin SCBWI website where Debbie Gonzales is always celebrating the Austin kid lit writing community’s successes. 

For the Calendar 

Don't miss the Austin Teen Book Festival, Oct. 1st. 

or The Texas Book Festival Oct. 22-23rd.

Latest Content over at Hunger Mountain Young Adults and Chilren's.

Today my Hawaiian vacation comes to an end but the work over at Hunger Mountain never ceases. This week we bring you some powerhouse pieces. Content just officially went live and our first feature by Ellen Levine has already wracked up 30 comments so far.

Here is info from my Welcome From the Editor letter.

This week The Varying Shade of Shadows adds two more features. The first, When, Along with her Characters, an Author Gets In Trouble by Ellen Levine, whose career is varied with award-winning nonfiction and fiction alike, describes running into a wall of silence with her latest book, In Trouble.

The second, The Monster in Us All, by Dr. Ilsa J. Bick is a precursor to Hunger Mountain’s In Defense of YA, which will feature a round up of voices from teen readers, authors, publishers, and parents discussing their reactions to the Wall Street Journal pieces by Megan Cox Gurdon, asking is “Darkness Too Visible?”  We chose to spotlight Ilsa J. Bick’s thoughtful but cutting response  now as she not only disagrees with Megan Cox Gurdon—she also agrees, with certain points, that is. As always, please feel free to weigh in in the comments section of each piece.

For What My Last Book Taught Me, Monika Schröder advises us to Learn to Drive in the Dark as she takes a trip back to discover what her latest novel, My Brother’s Shadow, taught her as a writer.

Lastly, as all the world is a stage, we offer Jest A Minute, which pokes fun at all the dark/light publishing hullabaloo, with a list of Ten Classics Revamped to Capitalize on the Dark  YA Trend (created by none other than moi) and a second list–of Ten New Titles to Please All by author and humorist K. A. Holt.  Read, respond, enjoy!








And for all content, peruse the entire issue, with more pieces yet to come!

Last week The Varying Shade of Shadows invited you into This Writer’s Life: The Politics of Story by Neesha Meminger author of Shine, Coconut Moon and Jazz in Love. Neesha explored and argued, with great clarity, how writing fiction is and always will be a political act. In our Industry Insider we hosted a Q & A with Anita Silvey, author, children’s literature scholar and the creator of the popular Children’s Book-a-Day Almanac.  We also added to our growing list of new fiction with Quarry, a short story by Kevin Waltman that captured the delight and danger in a trip to a forbidden place.


Don’t miss earlier content: a timely FlipSide, The Light and the Dark of It, highlighting Jennifer Ziegler’s Let There Be Light and Clare Dunkle’s On the Dark Side. Both authors had their pieces well in the works before the June 4th Wall Street Journal article by Meghan Cox Gurdon asked the question: Is Darkness Too Visible?.  Also be sure to check out new fiction: Stone Field, a re-imagining of Wuthering Heights, by Christy Lenzi;  Starcatcher, a unique fantasy by Penny Blublaugh author of Blood & Flowers;  Monsters, a surprising and raw read by Jennifer Hubbard;  The Proposal, fiction by Lindsey Lane that dives deep into the hiddenness of our human natures and our desires to be both safe and loved. You can also read earlier features: an exploration of self and sisterhood by Janet Gurtler in Embracing Shadows;  also  In the Half-Light, an essay detailing the shadowy subconscious that aided Hunger Mountain Sneak Peek author Joe Lunievicz in creating his debut novel, Open Wounds (WestSide Books, 2011); the wickedly smart investigation into the use of elision by Janet Fox in The Shadowy Landscape of Dreams Where Reader and Writer Meet. Our Industry Insider Column offers an interview with Elena Mechlin and Joan Slattery in New Faces at Pippin Properties. Be sure to check out the instructive Toolbox piece, Where the Teens Are: 5 Ways to Freshen Up YA Fiction’s Favorite Places from Deborah Halverson, author of the newly released, Writing Young Adult Fiction For Dummies, and the In Response essay to the Passion for the Picture Book special feature by the outstanding author Liz Garton Scanlon.

So, please stop back often.  Read, respond, share your thoughts, delight in the darkness and luxuriate in the light. They both offer respite and reward. Go ahead, see for yourselves.

Best,
Bethany Hegedus, Editor
Please note: submissions are still open for The Art & Insanity of Creativity issue for fall 2011, and we welcome submissions through our Submissions Manager.  Look for 2012 themes to be announced this fall.

Last Day to Enter the Katherine Paterson Prize

Breaking news! (And once home from Maui--I will return to my regular three day a week blog format.) Today is the last day to enter Hunger Mountain's Katherine Paterson Prize for Children's & YA fiction.

What is the Katherine Paterson Prize for YA and Children’s Writing?

An annual prize for writing for children. A chance for your writing for children to be read by Hunger Mountain editors and guest judges!

What will the winner receive?

One overall first place winner receives $1,000 and publication!
Three runners-up receive $100 each.  We choose one runner-up from the YA (young adult) entries, one from the Middle Grade entries, and one from the Picture Book or Writing for Young Children entries.

Who can enter the contest?

Anyone! Everyone!

Who is this year’s judge?

Kimberly Willis Holt

The 2011 judge is Kimberly Willis Holt, author of the Piper Reed series, My Louisiana Sky, Mister and Me, Dancing in Cadillac Light, Keeper of the Night, Waiting for Gregory, Part of Me, and Skinny Brown Dog; winner of the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature for When Zachary Beaver Came to Town; and winner of the 2011 YALSA BEST FICTION for Young Adults for The Water Seeker.

When is the deadline?

The postmark deadline is June 30th

Where is last year’s winning entry?

Right here! Read “Steve” by Jaramy Conners, chosen by Holly Black.
Or read runner-up in Young Adult fiction, S.E. Sinkhorn’s Chasing Shadows;  runner-up in Middle Grade Fiction Marcia Popp’s The Ugliest Dog in the World; and runner-up in picture book/writing for Young Children Jane Kohuth’s Something at the Hill. 
You might also read the 2009 winner, “Crazy Cat” by Liz Cook, chosen by Katherine Paterson or “Tornado” by Susan Hill Long and “No Mistake” by Tricia Springstubb, two runners-up from 2009.

For information on how to send your submission and entry fee online, please go HERE. 

Good luck!

New Content LIVE at Hunger Mountain, Varying Shade of Shadows Issue

It's that time again...new content to read and digest over at Hunger Mountain! Check it out!

Welcome from the Editor (June 27, 2011)

by Bethany Hegedus

This week The Varying Shade of Shadows invites you into This Writer’s Life: The Politics of Story by Neesha Meminger author of Shine, Coconut Moon and Jazz in Love. Neesha explores and argues, with great clarity, how writing fiction is and always will be a political act.

In our Industry Insider we host a Q & A with Anita Silvey, author, children’s literature scholar and the creator of the popular Children’s Book-a-Day Almanac. We are thrilled to host Anita; it is a special treat to have her with us.







Lastly, we add to our growing list of new fiction with Quarry, a short story by Kevin Waltman that captures the delight and danger in a trip to a forbidden place.

Falling Into a Funk

This week along with brave souls Bayles & Orland, authors of Art & Fear: Observations On The Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking, we are going to fall into a funk. Don’t worry. I promise—funks are part of the process.

If you’re like most artists we know, you’re probably accustomed to watching your work unfold smoothly enough for long stretches of time, until one day—for no immediately apparent reason—it doesn’t. Hitting that unexpected rift is commonplace to the point of cliché, yet artists commonly treat each recurring instance as somber evidence of their own personal failure.  Nominees for Leading Role in a Continuing Artists’ Funk are: (1) you’ve entirely run out of new ideas forever, or (2) you’ve been following a worthless deadend path the whole time. And the winner is: (fortunately) neither. One of the best kept secrets of artmaking is that new ideas come into play far less frequently than practical ideas—ideas that can be reused for a thousand variations, supplying the whole framework for a whole body of work rather than a single piece.  (55-56)

Hmmmm? Doesn’t this go against everything we thought about what art is—and who we have to be to make it?  Original? Daring? Brilliant? Nope—it doesn’t. The passage above reminds me of Julia Cameron’s—The Vein of Gold—it’s not about being practical really—it’s about tapping into what we care about most. What calls to us, informs us, makes us who we are—we can use in a variety of ways. Think about what we read, view, and listen to as consumers. I do like things outside of my favorite genres—but I definitely have my favorites. Singer/songwriters from James Taylor to Tracy Chapman to the Indigo Girls. Books—family oriented middle grades—from Winn Dixie to Keeper to Harriet the Spy. Television—Law and Order to the Chicago Code to NYPD Blue. 

Whether it is a singer I love; a book I love, or a TV show I am addicted to the forats and these artists are all different but they resonate with a similar energy. For me, words matter. Families matter. Injustice and corruption matter. Put it all together and what you get is what I write about—families, justice, and words. It could be a blog post, an essay, a novel, a picture book, or even a poem. It could be a book set in the past as Between Us Baxters is, a novel set here today—as Truth with a Capital T  is—or it could be a picture book about the relationship between a boy and his world leader grandfather, ala Grandfather Gandhi (forthcoming--Antheneum).  Is it practical to write from this vein of gold? Perhaps. But more importantly it is simply what matters to me most.

Beginner’s Luck? Not For This Schmuck

Another Monday with our friends, Art and Fear. At least I hope they are getting to be our friends—our good friends—since they are always with us. Too bad David Bayles and Ted Orland are not, but we do have their gem of a book to keep us company and buoy our spirits. 

 

In Chapter V, Finding Our Work, Bayles and Orland go into depth on how our work is always honest. Brutally honest, if we look close enough.

Look at your work and it tells you how it is when you hold back or when you embrace. When you are lazy, your art is lazy; when you holds back, it holds back; when you hesitate, it stands there staring, hands in its pockets. But when you commit, it comes on like blazes. 

Bayles and Orland go on to talk about a visual artist friend who took up dance. She threw herself into her new passion, taking classes, dancing with abandon. Soon, she was asked to join a dance troupe. The thought of performing and dancing for others—and not just herself—had her dancing fall apart. Where she danced with abandon before now she was stilted and over thought each movement. She stopped—frustrated and depressed. But after a few weeks of withdrawal she is back at it. Finding her way in dance—balancing her passion with the expectations of others. 

At the Writers’ League of Texas where I used to work, a writer came in one day. She had questions about publishing and which class would benefit her the most. She said, “I have beginner’s luck. What I write first comes out the best, and when I revise things fall apart.” I listened and while I believe in the abandon of beginners luck—I told her her best work would come from a combination of abandon and critical thinking. I mentioned my own version of the above. Balancing our inner critic and the external critic makes work we begin to takes seriously amp up in importance. Our words can get as stiff and over thought as a dancer’s moves. Then we have to work to stay limber—we have to work to remind ourselves not to hesitate; to be brave. We have to make choices and commit—no holds barred. We then see these choices through to the end and then we can make new choices if need be. To be brilliant we can’t be timid. We must be bold. We must let ourselves fail and flail, because, you know, many novels are began on a whim but they aren’t completed, sold, or published on a whim. We can tap into the “beginner’s mind” but it is not necessary to stay there to succeed—that makes the hard work of art feel like a game of chance—and art isn’t about chance. It may feel like Russian roulette with the variety of critical opinions that pop up when we put our work out there—but the creating, the deep down soul searching a work requires daily is a muscle we build—and muscles grow over time and use. They don’t atrophy.