Inspiration for Writers -- Six Great Sites to Visit

1.  Today, Laurie Halse Anderson begins her WRITE FIFTEEN MINUTES A DAY CHALLENGE.  I'm in.  Are you?

2.  Have you seen some of the great middle grade books coming out?  There are new ones by Gordon Korman, Rebecca Stead, Walter Dean Myers,  Bruce Coville, Tom Angleberger and many others.  Check out the list at FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES.

3.  Kate Messner's blog for teachers who write is going strong.  Today's post is a Q & A with published authors. 

4.  Cynthia Leitich Smith's blog is always brimming with industry news, interviews, opportunities, giveaways, etc.  I've followed it for years!

5.  I'm a big fan of Katie Davis' podcast, Brain Burps About Books.  It's chock full of industry info, interviews, book reviews and so much more.

6.  If you're not able to attend the sold-out S.C.B.W.I. Conference in L.A., you can get interviews and recaps at their OFFICIAL BLOG SITE.  I plan to check it out daily and live vicariously until I absolutely, positively get there next summer.  (I'd so hoped to see the Golden Kite Award winners receive their honors at the luncheon since I was on the committee to choose the winners with Julia Durango and Steve Watkins.) But I was already away most of the summer here.

What sites inspire YOU to write and keep writing?

Podcasts for Children's Book Nerds

Since I never seem to have enough time to read everything I want to, I started listening to books in my car.  That led to downloading and listening to podcasts.

I discovered two great ones I'd love to share:

1.  Wordplaypodcast by Nathan Bransford, James Dashner and Jeff Savage.  This podcast comes out weekly.  There is often a fun, fascinating guest, and once a month they create an episode for young writers. 

2.  Author/illustrator, Katie Davis, has been creating her Brain Burps Podcast for some time, so there are a lot of episodes to choose from.  So far, I've listened to Bruce Coville share his experiences in Egypt during the mass protests, Rebecca Stead and Linda Sue Park talk about winning the Newbery and Nancy Werlin share how much she earns annually. 

These podcasts help me learn more about my field while I'm in the car, working out at the gym or simply taking a walk.

Please share your favorite podcast in the comment section. 

A Hormone-Filled Blender & Congratulations

A hormone-filled blender full of thanks to Laura Salas for this dandy review of my new novel, HOW TO SURVIVE MIDDLE SCHOOL.

And a margarita-filled blender of HOORAY and WAHOO to Rebecca Stead for doing something Louis Sachar did in 1998 with his amazing book, HOLES -- won both the Newbery Medal and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.

Ms. Stead is among the winners of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for her fabulous novel, WHEN YOU REACH ME. If you haven't read it yet, treat yourself this summer.

INSPIRATION AND A BRAND NEW FEATURE

There will be a brand new feature here at Wild About Words, but more on that later . . .

First, TWO inspiring things:

1) Reading about Rebecca Stead winning the Newbery Medal for her novel When You Reach Me and Jerry Pinkney winning the Caldecott Medal for The Lion & The Mouse reminded me how much I love creating books for children. You can read about how the winners felt when they received the phone call here. You can watch the winners on the Today Show here.

2) This is Robert Dow, head of the Palm Beach County's Teacher Union. He has acute leukemia. His speech in this video is about teachers and children in Palm Beach County. And it's one of the best speeches I've ever heard.



Now, about that brand new feature . . . Check this blog early next week to read the first Top 6 1/2 List with a special surprise guest.

See you then!
Donna