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Archive for Around the Web
Come to the Rochester Children’s Book Festival, Saturday, 11/4 !
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Here’s one of life’s surprises: I’ve come to actually love Rochester, NY (and Buffalo, too, while we’re at it; my apologies, Binghamton, I’m not quite there yet, but I’m trying!). So I’m especially thrilled to be participating in the 25th or 26th Annual Rochester Children’s Book Festival this Saturday the 4th.
Arriving Friday night, I’m excited to hang out with some of my long-standing friends in our bloody business — it is, as they say, a bunny eat bunny world — meet young readers, teachers, librarians, parents, sign books, give a dazzling presentation, and even hoist a beverage or two in the evenings — just a terrific weekend all around. Hopefully we’ll meet new friends & co-conspirators along the way.
Jump on this link for all the gory details.
Free parking, people. The whole dang thing is free!
(Except, you know, don’t forget to bring that little plastic credit card! There are writers & illustrators & READERS to support!)
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Author Meets Reader: A Photo and a Thank You
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Book store signings strike me as things of the past, except for the isolated few big names in our business who don’t seem to need the boost at all. Lives are busy, schedules conflict, and most of the public’s attention goes only to the best & the biggest who sit atop the cultural pyramid. Who seriously has time to be at a bookstore at 1:00 on a Saturday?
I mean to say: they can be depressing if you aren’t prepared for the inevitable disappointment.
For punishment, I was forced to stare at a prominent, centrally-located, in-store display of the new children’s book by by literary lion Matthew McConaughey.
I mean to say: This is Gemma and she traveled a good distance to meet me at a bookstore in Schenectady. It’s not nothing. In fact, it’s a lot more than nothing.
She first encountered me on a Zoom thing that Scholastic created around Jigsaw Jones: The Case from Outer Space. She came hoping to buy more Jigsaw Jones titles — there are 14 currently available — but alas, there were none in the store. Sigh, oh sigh. Gemma rallied, however, and grabbed Exit 13: The Whispering Pines. She would not be denied and her mom, from what I could gather, was constitutionally unable to say “no” to a book.
Thank you, Gemma!
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Category: Around the Web, EXIT 13 / Tags: James Preller photo, Matthew McConaughey, Open Door Bookstore, Scholastic Jigsaw Jones
Comings & Goings: Three Book Festival in 8 Days
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I’ll be driving around, working on weekends, and showing up at various upcoming book festivals. If you can make it, yes, please, by all means stop by my table and say hello.
I’ll be signing books and eager to talk about school visits. Or if you wish, just write to me at: Jamespreller@aol.com and we can begin the conversation that way.
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1) SEPTEMBER 30th, 2023
CHAPPAQUA CHILDREN’S BOOK FESTIVAL
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This one is bananas. Something like 180 authors & illustrators, possibly the biggest children’s book festival in the States? Who is going to be there? Everybody.
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2) OCTOBER 1st, 2023
MAPLEWOOD SOUTH ORANGE BOOK FESTIVAL
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This is a new one for me, which is exciting and slightly anxiety provoking. I’m hoping for smaller, quieter, cozier. I’m hoping to see area teachers and librarians and maybe we can begin talking about school visits.
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3) OCTOBER 7th, 2023
WARWICK CHILDREN’S BOOK FESTIVAL
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Ah, sweet Warwick. A lovely town and a nice day in the park. If you’ve never visited Warwick, NY, here’s a good excuse. Please say hello. Here are some of the titles that *might* be there . . .
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THANK YOU!
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