Children's Book Festivals ~ tips from Christy Mihaly

Meeting a young festival-goer

It's fall book festival season! Are you a regular at these events? Do you have a favorite? Or are you new to the concept? Whether you're an author, illustrator, reader, parent, or educator -- there's something for you at your local book festival. If you haven't thought of participating, think again!

Books and Book Creators

Book Festivals come in many flavors. I've attended mostly children's book festivals. Other festivals focus on science fiction or nonfiction or mysteries ... while some welcome all books and authors. Some are a single day; others are multi-day affairs.  

I got to participate in the
Children's Literature Festival, Truman State Univ. (MO) 2023

Some festivals, like the Children's Literature Festival at Truman State, Missouri, bring in students from local schools as part of the program. All participating authors present to them. 

The main festival ingredient is always -- of course -- books. And authors and illustrators. And book lovers.

Below I'm sharing a few things to know about children's book festivals. 

A common book festival format involves row upon row of authors sitting at long tables with piles of their books in a gym or outdoors under tents. Visitors swarm past and pause to scan books and meet authors. Authors and illustrators may sell books and sign them. 

If this sounds grim for a book creator, it isn't! I've found festivals are a great opportunity to engage with the people that we write for -- kids and their adults. I've enjoyed many interactions and learned a lot about what works and doesn't work in books, and what kinds of books kids are looking for.

Warwick Children's Book Festival (NY) on a chilly fall day, 2022

And Other Stuff

Most festivals feature readings, author interviews, and/or special events and activities for kids. Many have great music. There are often story times or workshops. 

I recently participated in the Bath Book Bash, in Maine, a children's book festival that featured a children's costume parade and contest -- so cool! There was also a speed-drawing contest in which three illustrators made a series of quick sketches in response to prompts. You wouldn't want to miss that!  There were also a variety of workshops: I offered a poetry workshop, other authors shared crafts, and illustrators taught drawing tips. And, as a bonus -- I was seated next to fellow GROGger Fran Hodgkins, whom I know online but had not yet met in real life!

The multi-day Fall for the Book Festival, held on the campus of George Mason University in Virginia, draws big-name authors of adult books. There are kids' books too as part of a children's program. The children's authors provide presentations and offer craft activities on Saturday.

Bath Book Bash parade!  Maine ~2024

Tips for Attending (as a Book Fan)

1. Go early! Festivals can get crowded. If there's a particular author you want to see, you'll probably have a nicer visit with them earlier in the day (well, after their first cup of coffee) before they're exhausted -- and before they sell out of the book you want.

2. Check out the schedule for special events. Which authors are reading? What are the illustrators offering? Organize your plan of attack!

Author Maria Gianferrari entertaining kids at
Fall for the Book 2018 (she showed me the festival ropes!)

3. The Cost? Usually, there's no fee to enter. But do feel free to buy books and fill your bags full of autographed books!

Tips for Participating Authors 

1. Take the initiative. You may think you can attend a festival only if you are specially invited with an engraved card carried by a snowy owl. Not so. 

If you have published and you're interested in a festival, particularly in your local area, contact the organizers and tell them about yourself and your books. Usually, festivals prefer to feature recently released books. It's best if you have a book that will be published within a year before the festival date. Some festivals publish the publication dates that they are seeking. 

Organizers plan for months in advance, so think ahead and email early. Even if you aren't invited the first time you try, ask to be placed on the festival mailing list and try again. Festivals need authors every year! They often seek new ones and local people, rather than repeating the same ones year after year.

Catching up with author friend
Laurie Wallmark at the
Rye (NY) Children's Book Festival

2. If you are invited to participate: Say yes! And keep a positive attitude. Before asking a lot of questions, read the materials provided. Remember that many festivals are organized by (overworked and harried) volunteers, often librarians who are doing this on top of all their other important work. They love books and they love authors. Be helpful, kind, and patient.

3. Do your homework. Make sure you understand how books will be sold at the festival. Will you need to handle your own sales through Square? What about sales taxes? Or does the festival provide a bookseller, leaving you blissfully free of that headache?

Also -- After the list of authors/illustrators is announced, check out which other book creators are coming, and plan who you want to talk with during the day. Review the events to see if you want to stop in on those. And think about (and maybe practice) how you want to book-talk your books to the hordes of fans!

4. Things to bring: Water! In a reusable bottle! Festivals usually provide some plastic water bottles, but I have regretfully run out, and prefer to use my own container. If you'll be sitting at a table for signing, bring post-its to write down people's names so you don't misspell them in the books you're  signing. Maybe add some goodies to attract people to your table: individually wrapped candies, stickers, bookmarks and the like. Don't forget your favorite pens for signing! Bookstands can be helpful, though some festivals provide them and you might want to check. Many folks bring other decorative, book-related items for their table. 

5: What to wear: First, comfortable shoes! And layers for changes in the weather. I've been both too hot and too cold, sometimes the same day. Most people dress casually, though some book creators wear costumes or funny hats. I love Diana Murray's unicorn headband. 

Modeling my "author shirt" at Bookstock, 
in Woodstock VT ("Pay no attention to 
my browsing history ... I'm a writer ...)

Above all, join the spirit of festival fun. It's inspiring to spend a day hanging out with KidLit people.

Some of the many book festivals around the country are collected in this listing -- but there are plenty more. 

Feel free to leave a comment with your favorite book festival -- and add any tips or pointers you may have. And thanks for reading! 

Two New Little Golden Book Biographies ~Christy Mihaly

 

Diana Murray

Happy New Year, friends! We're celebrating GROG's 10th year in 2024! (More to come.)

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Christy Mihaly

Today I (Christy Mihaly) am excited to be interviewing the prolific and talented picture book author Diana Murray. Diana and I are friends who met in an online poetry critique group, Poets' Garage. We're both clients of the amazing Erzsi Deak of Hen&ink Literary Studio. And yesterday (1/2/24) we both celebrated book birthdays of books in the Little Golden Book Biography series. Diana wrote about Arnold Schwarzenegger, and I wrote about Mel Brooks, and we thought we'd chat about them a bit today.

You may have noticed LGB has begun a series of bios of a range of artists, celebrities, political figures, and famous folks -- most notably the million-copy-selling Taylor Swift: A Little Golden Book Biography. 

For Diana and me, writing these LGB biographies was a fun change from our usual work.

We each asked one another three questions ... here goes:

Christy: So, Diana, you are known for writing wonderful poetry and rhyming books about knitting pirates, unicorns and witches ... not exactly nonfiction works. Why did you want to write a Little Golden Book biography?

Diana: This was a huge departure for me. Not only is it my first nonfiction book, but it's the first book I've written in prose! I was thrilled to be asked to write it because I love a challenge and I love writing to a prompt. The chance to explore another genre was very exciting and fun for me. Plus, I'm a huge fan of Arnold's movies. "Conan the Barbarian" was one of my favorites during high school -- I must have watched it 50 times. I'm also a first-generation immigrant so I related to him in that way. I understand what it's like to feel grateful for the opportunity to be here. 

CM: You certainly rose to the challenge, Diana. I'd say on your first prose nonfiction work, you nailed it! I also liked learning a new fact about you. What is a favorite fact that you learned about Arnold in the process of writing this book?

DM: I thought it was funny that they dubbed over all his lines in his first movie, "Hercules in New York," because of his accent. And, without his permission, they even changed his name on the movie posters to make it sound less "foreign!" That was in 1970. If only those producers knew what a huge star he would become!

CM: Oh, that is so wonderfully ironic. Talk about overcoming challenges! I know you previously wrote a very adorable fiction/colors LGB, Firehouse Rainbow. I'm sure writing about Arnold was quite different -- were there similarities in writing the two books?

DM: There were two main similarities. One was keeping in mind the audience and making the text appealing for that age group. The other was thinking about page turns and illustrations. You want to create a little tension between page turns. Something that will make readers want to flip the page to learn what happens next. And you need to vary the scenes and locations to create variety -- you can't have the action happening within a single location so it's the same illustration across several spreads.

Now it's my turn! Here are my questions for you, Christy:

DM: You have written several other fabulous nonfiction picture books, such as Hey, Hey, Hay! A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them and Free for You and Me: What Our First Amendment Means. Did that experience make this project easier? How is writing a biography different? 

CM: It's true I think of myself as primarily a nonfiction writer (and I've written many purely nonfiction, educational books), but in picture books I tend to write informational fiction, inventing a story line to convey information in a kid-friendly way. So the challenge in writing the LGB biography was to tell a compelling story for young kids in a few words without making anything up and without leaving out anything important. Honestly, that's always going to be a challenge!

DM: It's such a good question that I have to ask you, too: What's a favorite fact that you learned about Mel Brooks?

CM: I learned a great deal, but found Mel's childhood particularly fascinating. He grew up as Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn, without a father and with very little money. He says that he and his three older brothers didn't just share a bedroom -- they all slept in one bed.

DM: I was impressed by how kid-friendly and fun your biography text is.  What are some strategies you use to keep nonfiction from sounding too dry?

CM: Oh, thanks, Diana. One of the first things I did was read a bunch of other LGB biographies to get a feel for how other authors were approaching these short, 24-page biographies. The whole ethos of Little Golden books is to make these stories accessible. 

As I wrote, I paid careful attention both to word choices and to which areas of Mel's life would interest kids. For each spread, I asked: What would a kid want to know? What would a kid think was funny, interesting, intriguing? What would make a young person care about Mel's story? I wrote quite a bit about his childhood, showing how his upbringing affected his life. In describing Mel's later life, I let kids know how important his best friend Carl Reiner was in his life, and also how he overcame many setbacks along the way. And as I chose words and cut excess, I tried to keep the tone light and humorous -- because, Mel Brooks.

Thanks for the great questions, Diana, and your great answers! 

GROG readers, we'd love to see your comments ... Who do you think should be the subject of the next Little Golden Books biography?

Interview of Diana Murray on Writing Beginning Readers and Her New Book, Pizza Pig! by Tina Cho

Welcome, author Diana Murray, to the Grog Blog. Congratulations on your latest book, Pizza Pig, a beginning reader from Random House.

1. How did you go about writing a beginning reader book? Did you research the style first and then try one? Did you contact the publisher first?

Yes, I read as many early readers as I could get my hands on. I found that “Level 2” books were my favorite, so that’s what I set out to write. I initially wrote a three-book series about an odd couple. My agent sent that to Heidi Kilgras, an editor at Random House. She said she loved the voice but felt the stories were too quiet for the Step-Into-Reading line. Each publisher’s line of early readers has it’s own feel. The SIR line is extremely commercial. Heidi wanted me to write something that would “leap of the racks”. Something that could compete with licensed stories based on popular TV shows. So I wrote a new manuscript with that in mind. Happily, my editor thought it was a good fit! Since then, I have sold her a second early reader which is tentatively scheduled to come out next year.

2. Where did you get the idea for Pizza Pig?

Many years ago, I started working on a picture book manuscript about an animal chef (a cow) who knew exactly what all her customers wanted. Her name was “Chef Moodette”. It was kind of like a PB version of the movie “Chocolat”. I never worked out the ending, though, so I just set it aside. That idea ultimately morphed into “Pizza Pig” and I finally figured out an ending that I was happy with.

3. How did you get in with Random House's beginning readers?

It was just a matter of my agent submitting my manuscript there. No real secret to it. I also received the publisher’s guidelines document which described specific rules for each level of reader (number of words per page, etc.) That was helpful to have.

4. What tips would you tell Grog writers on writing beginning readers?

Pick a level to focus on within a specific line. Pay special attention to word length and sentence complexity, repetition, and providing clues through illustrations.

5. How long have you been writing?

I’ve been writing seriously for about 10 years. I joined SCBWI in 2007 and that’s when I first considered writing as my job (even though it was quite some time before I made any money doing it). But I have enjoyed creative writing and drawing since I was a child.

6. Can you tell us what you're working on?

I have a bunch of forthcoming books that I’m really excited about. As I mentioned, I have another early reader coming out with Random House. It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but I think I can reveal that it has to do with dinosaurs and math. This May I have a picture book coming out called “SUMMER COLOR!”, and in November, a book called “ONE SNOWY DAY”. Other forthcoming projects include, “UNICORN DAY!”, “GOODNIGHT, VEGGIES”, and many more.

7. For fun: What's your favorite pizza?

In my experience, Brooklyn pizza is the best, but I’ll eat pretty much any kind of pizza I can get! Especially if it has mushrooms on it.

Book Review: Pizza Pig by Diana Murray is a rollicking, rhyming beginning reader that begs to be read again and again. Little pizza lovers will enjoy all the fun and unique toppings. Pizza Pig pleases all his customers with his creative pizzas except Turtle. She doesn’t seem to like any of his pizzas. But when Pizza Pig comes up with a brilliant solution, readers will leave satisfied and encouraged to try themselves.

PIZZA PIG book trailer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=dv_HGoYqBU4

Bio:

Diana Murray writes poetry and books for children. She is the author of CITY SHAPES (Little, Brown), GRIMELDA THE VERY MESSY WITCH (Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins), NED THE KNITTING PIRATE (Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan), DORIS THE BOOKASAURUS (Imprint/Macmillan), GROGGLE’S MONSTER VALENTINE (Sky Pony Press), and many other picture books. Her poems have appeared in magazines such as Spider, Ladybug, Highlights, and High Five. Diana recently moved from the Bronx to a nearby suburb, where she lives with her husband, two very messy children, and a goldfish named Pickle. For more information, please visit: http://www.dianamurray.com

Q and A WITH DIANA MURRAY ~ by Sherri Jones Rivers

      I've been following the career of author Diana Murray since we started corresponding in July of 2011. I was applying for the Barbara Karlin Grant and saw that she had won it in 2010. Her manuscript was rhyming, and so was the one I was submitting, so we "chatted" back and forth about the writing process. She has made great strides since that SCBWI win, and is going full steam ahead with her writing career. She took a few minutes out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for the GROG.

     Can you tell us a little bit about your writing journey from that 2010 Barbara Karlin Grant to your current books? What manuscript won that award, and where is it now?

     The manuscript that won was an early version of GRIMELDA: THE VERY MESSY WITCH. At that time, it was under consideration at another publisher and I was working with an editor on revising it. I had met the editor at a SCBWI conference and she heard GRIMELDA read out loud at a first page session. She then gave me her card. Unfortunately, I did not end up getting an offer from that publisher in the end. But that's OK! Because a couple years later, the same manuscript got me my agent and subsequently sold in a two-book deal to Katherin Tegan Books/HarperCollins. So, it all worked out, but boy, does this business take a lot of patience.

     Where did the idea for City Shapes come from?

                                                   

                                    


     I used to live in midtown Manhattan for many years. I loved taking long walks around the city, exploring the different neighborhoods. I made an extra effort to be observant and notice details. I often took photos or drew sketches. There is more about my inspiration in this essay I wrote for the Little, Brown newsletter:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/little-brown-school/sidewalk-trails-by-diana-murray/10153568239181669/


     Do you have an agent, or a working relationship with an editor? Will you have different books from different houses?

     Yes, both. I have an agent at Writers House and also multiple books with some editors. I currently have books with seven different publishers.


     Are there any techniques you use to make your rhyme sparkle and be fresh?

     That comes with practice. It's important not to let the rhymes control the story. I usually write a rough outline, spread by spread.


     Do you use other rhyming authors as mentor texts?

     I wouldn't say I methodically "use" them, but I've certainly read and enjoyed work by lots of other authors who sometimes write in rhyme. I like Julia Donaldson, Karma Wilson, Lisa Wheeler, Sarah Weeks, Alice Shertle, J. Patrick Lewis, Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, Adam Rex, and many more.

     
     Do you stick to a writing schedule or write in spurts?  About how many drafts did you do for CITY SHAPES? Did it change a lot from your first draft?

     No, I just write whenever I can. CITY SHAPES didn't change that dramatically from the first draft. However, the publisher did ask me to include two more shapes (which ended up being diamonds and stars) and I also put in more of a day to night transition to give it a stronger arc.



     I just have to ask about NED, THE KNITTING PIRATE. How did that come into being, and did that just flow, or did you do a lot of revisions?

                                        

     I got the idea for NED when I was watching an episode of "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations". He was in Sweden and met two tough, extreme snowboarders who were really into knitting. And to top it off, they were descended from Vikings! I just thought it was an interesting contrast and wanted to explore the general idea more. I ended up going with pirates which gave me the chance to write sea shanties--so fun! And no, it went through a lot of revisions. When I first wrote it, I gave up on it, thinking it might be too weird. But then I found it in my files about two years later and suddenly, all the issues became clear to me and I knew just how to fix them. Fresh eyes work wonders! Before it was accepted, the editor also wanted a pretty major revision. I wasn't sure if I could pull it off. But in the end, I did like the revised versions better. It's kind of cool how you get to work as a team with input from different people.


     What can we look for in the future from you?

     I'm not happy unless I'm writing, so hopefully, you will see a lot more books from me. I would love to work on some more early readers because I kind of have a soft spot for those. My first one (PIZZA! PIZZA) is coming out with Random House (Step-Into-Reading) in the next year or so.


     Diana Murray writes poetry and books for children. Her award-winning poems have appeared in magazines including Spider, Ladybug, Highlights, and High Five. Diana grew up in New York City and still lives nearby with her husband, two very messy children, and a goldfish named Pickle. She is represented by Brianne Johnson at Writers House literary agency.