A Vicarious Look at #NCTE16

A Vicarious Look at #NCTE16

by J.G. Annino


Are you busy enough?

                                                  Copyright 2016 JanGodown Annino

When you come in for a landing from your Holiday

prep for a spot of tea and honey,

perhaps you will look at your
2017 To Do Writing Work List.

A SCBWI conference?

You've done that. Congrats!

Perhaps a Highlights Foundation workshop also perches

on that starred list. This link for one just above
leads to a fetching MG mystery opportunity.

Or, you've done that. YAY! (You could go back.)

Perhaps a NCTE convention is boldy underlined on that list.

HuH? What is NCTE?

If you are a teacher & you are find your way to this blog &
this post,you likely know of or even belong to,

the National Council of Teachers of English.

If you are a very very successful children's author, you know NCTE

because you've been invited to this collection of kids' book nerds.

Recently the National Council of Teacher's of English, founded in

December 1911, staged its annual love-in event for literature.

Some of my friends attended from hither & yon. I have only been able

to peek at some columns/blogs/articles about the energy & ideas
shared at this conference.

Here are some highlights from one article.

"Err on the side of love,

Amplify the light.

Hold the space for children to enter in.

Words are bridges.

Develop our empathy muscle as the reflex response.

When we provide poems in our classroom, we get to the heart of our children."

The wise guidelines (above) are from participants in a 
Writing for a Better World Panel.

Picture book author Irene Latham shares from the conference & that panel.

Ideas also poured out from the Risking Writing panel, in which writers demonstrated

writing in front of their audience, on the spot.

Picture Book author Laura Purdie Salas  shares from that.

A great way to armchair visit with the NCTE is to see a list of top
2016 books featured at the award luncheon. I was so pleased to
find that poet Marilyn Nelson received top honors. As it turns
out, I had just carried home from our library, one of the honor
books in the top 2016 nonfiction list announced at  #NCTE16.
It is COMICS CONFIDENTIAL, by Leonard Marcus. I think I'll
be providing an article on it here; the interviews with the talented
author-illustrators are illuminating whether you have ever read
a graphic novel or one of the new comics for younger readers,
or not.

And School Library Journal, which so recently featured

our Group Blog's astounding maker king, Todd Burleson,
was there to interview book creators, for later articles,
including Florida's own Donna Gephart! Yay, D.G.

Finally, a spot-on view into the conference for me is

from editor/anthologist Sylvia Vardell. 
Her NCTE wrap up coincides with my dwelling with
novels-in-verse. I have tidied up & sailed on
as I can at this point in wiggles & giggles
of two picture book manuscripts & I am again living

with the tough times of my novel character, Pru, in her MG
abolition story. (Thank you to G.B./novel-in-verse pal
Marcie Atkins for this S.V. post alert.)

My sense from the #NCTE16 pieces that I've read is that each
& every author who attends is wildly enthusiastic about writing for
young readers, as are the educators. I feel that energy just from
reading their reports.

Appreciations to NCTE for collecting thousands of educators who

link young readers to great new books & also to the keepers among

the past classics such as Shakespeare & many many others.

............

p.s. in the bumble bee photo at the top, if you look to the far right, you can see
a bee coming in for a landing, which I know is how some of us feel right about
now, a bit beelated & beehind.
(hopefully spell wrecker lets me keep the extra e in each word.

As this is my last post in 2016 at Group Blog,  I am sending smiles to you
all in appreciation of your 2016 articles. The tips & energy & love for
our young readers that I find here are so nourishing. Thank  you!

Giveaway + Unhappy about David Pogue by Jan Godown Annino

            
            I fast become underwhelmed with new technology news. Not overwhelmed.

            Each new nextgen flipperdoodle that wants my attention & money has to compete against my time with

nature

family

and

writing.

Too. Much. Wonderful. Here. 

To do with family, community, or rambling solo on a writing- in- my-head-while-walking perambulation. So new tech has to be better than all that.  But even if I'm not going to be using much of it, I crave to keep knowledgeable. 

Here are one, two, three ways that I begin to understand important new gadgets or process developments, which many folks, such as your basic snowed-in Banks Islander, employ to be happy, stay busy, keep the neurons firing.

And let me say, I never know when the next Animoto type book trailer gizmo offering 30 seconds of free wizardry will roll out. I loved playing with Animoto for the book trailer. When an irresistible gizmo pops up, I’ll know to use it. Thanks to:

DAVID POGUE, The New York Times' former personal tech. columnist & award-winning writer. Although I have his archived pieces to console myself with, I miss David Pogue. He was the best tech reporter I read. And his departure at the end of 2013 for Yahoo sent readers off to eat extra scoops of coconut ice cream in their misery. His Times associates haven’t abandoned my need for information. And they sweetly collect their talented colleague's works, which they no doubt learned much from.

TECHZULU. Frequently the sun rises in the west, as far as my knowing of new developments, such as StoryBots & salted caramel. The California based TECHZULU provides go-to news. Here is their report with video, from the first inklings I gleaned about StoryBots. Noodle around the categories & find your favorite departments.. And alert your daughter or son, who is the next David Pogue, to apply at TECHZULU with a whisper that I sent them.

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL. Can’t praise SLJ enough. This meaty standard of our children’s literature world doesn’t leave me wanting for tech news that specifically relates to all things publishing & children’s lit.  SLJ delivers with concise & savvy details, but doesn't overload. Currently the department I most access is The Digital Shift & the names I seem to see at the top of stories I read are Sarah Bayliss & Roy Tennant. But I trust any byline.

 

So that’s only 3 mega-sources. 

I'm sure there are others.

GIVEAWAY-

Comment.
About the subject of this blog.
Or about writing for children.

With each comment also  leave your real name if that is not the automatic comment name (for example, when mine isn’t my name, it is Bookseedstudio.)

Two prize-winners:

One

A surprise item from my children’s literature vault (U.S. & Canada postal mail, only.)

Two

A complimentary critique of your poem for children, up to 50 words (so, several children's poems, possibly.)

The winners pick prize One, or Two

(Two is automatically yours if you are outside Canada & the U.S.)

For this drawing supervised by the bunny helper in the magician’s hat, 
comments must be left on this particular post (& not emailed, called in, sent by semaphores, postal package, or other method) through NOON EST, Wed. MAY 28^th 2014.
 So why not get them in by May 27? 
Or even, this week?

Good luck! 

Further note - enter up to 3 times, any time before deadline.
Remember to include your real name each time, with differing comments, of course. 
And you may leave 3 separate comments in the same day.

Please return to our Grog Blog tomorrow for GROGGER Tina Cho's part 2 of zippy tips about educational market writing.

THANKS for following the GROUP BLOG. We are glad you are here. 

Article citation:

April 15, 2014 Group Blog/Blogger "Giveaway + Unhappy About David Pogue" by Jan Godown Annino

© Jan Godown Annino. All rights reserved.