Judy Lopez Memorial Book Awards

Judy Lopez Memorial Award Medal

Last week, I received an email from Judith Kantor, who is a member of the 2013 Los Angeles Chapter of the Women’s National Book Association’s Judy Lopez Memorial Awards Committee.  She informed me that A DIAMOND IN THE DESERT had been chosen as a Judy Lopez Memorial Awards Honor Book. 

The Judy Lopez Memorial Awards for Children’s Literature are granted annually to works of literary excellence for nine to twelve year-olds.  The awards are made in remembrance of Judy Lopez, a founding member of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Women’s National Book Association who was deeply interested in seeing children’s literature of quality recognized and rewarded. 

A panel of judges composed of children’s’ librarians and other professionals in the field of books for young readers selects the winning book and three honor books.  The medal awarded to the winning book was designed by sculptor Alex Shagin, and is cast in solid bronze.  The medalist and the authors of the honor books are celebrated each June at a reception and dinner held in Los Angeles.

This year’s medal went to: WONDER, by R.J. Palacio (Knopf)

The three honor books were:

STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY, by Grace Lin (Little, Brown)

A DIAMOND IN THE DESERT, by Kathryn Fitzmaurice (Viking Juvenile)

SHADOW ON THE MOUNTAIN, by Margi Preus (Amulet Books)

I called Mr. Tetsuo Furukawa, who is the gentleman I interviewed about his life at Gila River, and the main character of this novel, to let him know.  He was overjoyed, and I have to say that I am, too.  This book, which took so long to write and research, where I had taped photos and maps and interviews all around my office walls, and where everyday, I came back into my office and started where I’d left off the day before, and then sent each draft to Mr. Furukawa to make sure all of my details were correct.  It was so very challenging to write, but in the end, when I gave the finished manuscript to Mr. Furukawa and he said it was perfect, that everything was how it was when he was there, and each detail was accurate, I felt as if I had completed something he could hold and give to his relatives.  I am so thankful for all of his help, because without it, I never could have written this book.  And each day, I still look up to the paper cranes he sent me.  They cast a shadow over my desk each late afternoon, these tiny hand folded delicate birds, which he tells me, are supposed to bring good luck. 

You may visit the website here:

http://www.judylopezbookaward.org/Judy_Lopez_Book_Award.html 

National Poetry Month!

A gift from Molly O'Neill

This above book, Emily Dickinson Love Poems, (Peter Pauper Press, Mount Vernon, New York) was given to me as a gift when DESTINY, REWRITTEN was published.  Molly O'Neill, my editor at HarperCollins, sent it to me as a surprise.  I had no idea it was coming and was thrilled to receive such a treasure!

pencil marks next to the poem

The book is very old, and I cannot find a publishing date in it.  I can tell it old by the torn cover, and especially by the hand written notes I found beside one of the poems near the back.  The poem is about death, and the person who owned this book before I did wrote, in pencil, "Mother, Dada, Virginia".

She (I am assuming this is a she because of the loopy handwriting) scratched out several words in Miss Dickinson's poem: "not want to" and "again".  And then, she added two words to the above line, "not of", so the line now reads, "And not of putting love away."  Instead of, "And putting love away".

I believe this woman changed the poem in order to make it fit her own circumstances, that she was probably grieving after her loved ones had died, and found comfort in this poem.  However, it needed a little tweaking, and she felt as though the words she subtracted, and then added, made it perfect for her.

I understand this.  This is what I do everyday while I write.  And sometimes, it takes a while before I have what I've written how I want it.

This book sits beside me, on my desk, as a reminder that revision is constant, and also, that poetry can be exactly what might be needed in times of grief, and is always, essentially, beautiful.

Thank you, Christopher Rose at Andover Bookstore!

This past month, DESTINY, REWRITTEN was chosen as one of the top ten books by Independent Booksellers across the country, and as a Spring 2013 Kids' Indie Next List Choice.  Christopher Rose, at Andover Bookstore, in Massachusetts, wrote the most wonderful "shelf talker".  A shelf talker is a small blurb about the book which may be printed and placed next to the book, in order to let readers know what it is about so they can decide if they might like to read it.

I was so delighted by his lovely paragraph that I printed it and carried it around in my purse for a week!    

I showed it my closest friends.  I read it to my family.  I called him to say thank you, though he was out that day, so I sent him a smallish note, telling him how much it meant to me.

Here is it.  Even now, reading it again, I have to place my hand over my heart in gratitude.

6. Destiny, Rewritten, by Kathryn Fitzmaurice
(Katherine Tegen Books, $16.99, 9780061625015)
“Being named after a famous 19^th-century poet sure puts pressure on a kid, especially when her mother is an English professor. Given that, Emily Elizabeth Davis wonders about destiny and fate. Can any of us really choose our own path, or do we follow a determined plan instead? Big questions are woven into this terrific story filled with likable and memorable characters. There is a frantic search for a missing book that keeps readers guessing and much more to keep them thinking, even after the final pages are turned.” —Christopher Rose, Andover Bookstore, Andover, MA

DESTINY, REWRITTEN, out February 19, 2013!

THE COMPLETE POEMS OF EMILY DICKINSON

Whenever I complete a novel, I like to send a small thank you gift to my editor, Molly O’Neill, and to my agent, Jen Rofe, in order to let them know how much I appreciate their help.  When I emailed the manuscript to Molly, she sent back the most thoughtful letter after reading it, suggesting ways to make it better.  She has a way of wording things that make it seem as if the idea was mine to begin with.  She’s very clever that way, as are all good and thoughtful editors.   And Jen, she always tells me the truth of the matter, like when to start over and when to keep going, things I need to know but sometimes can’t see.  I think all writers need an agent like this, truthful and honest, and forever pushing them to complete their best work. 

Because this book was about poetry and destiny and how our lives unravel and then get put back together, I did my best to locate an old copy of THE COMPLETE POEMS OF EMILY DICKINSON for both Molly and Jen.  I was able to find one collector’s edition on Amazon and one almost as nice on another website.  Then I went through the book and found all of the poems I had referenced in DESTINY, REWRITTEN with a sticky note and wrote why each poem was special. 

sticky notes to mark the poems chosen by Emily's mother 

So next to the poem that Emily’s mother picked to celebrate her daughter’s first steps, I wrote, “This is the poem chosen to celebrate Emily’s first steps.”  Next to the one chosen to celebrate her birth, I wrote, “This poem was chosen to celebrate Emily’s birth” and so on.  I wrote them on sticky notes so they could be removed and so that the book would not be ruined.  And then, to make it as special as I could, I included a copy of the inscription my own grandmother had written in the volume she gave me on my twentieth birthday, where she stated, “E.D. is a revered poet.  Perhaps one day the same will be said of K. H. Happy Birthday - Gramma Eleanor”  I inserted this inside the front cover, and then sent the books off. 

A birthday gift from my grandmother

A photo of young Emily, inside her book

In my opinion, Emily Dickinson’s poems are simply beautiful.  They imply deep thinking and reflection, and help the reader to understand ideas and beliefs they may not have thought of before.  When my grandmother gave me this volume of poetry for my birthday, I read through much of it, marking my favorites.  I later went through a poetry phase…my first attempt at real writing.  I never would have thought that someday I’d write for middle grade readers.  Which goes to show you that destiny is always there, a remarkable force that can curve along gently, continually showering blessings, or take a hard right turn when we least expect it, changing the course of our lives forever.  

I want to say thank you to Molly and Katherine Tegen, to Jennifer, and also to my critique group, for helping me write this book, Bev, Jesper, Ernesto, Alan, and Sonja.  (You know which parts you fixed!)  

ALSC Notable List

I'm delighted to learn that A DIAMOND IN THE DESERT is a nominated title on this year's list of the Association for Library Service to Children.  There are sixty titles on the list and I feel extremely honored to be included among these children's books.  To see the complete list, please click here:  

http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2013/01/notable-childrens-books-2013-discussion-list/

Also, I completed a FaceTime call to a school in New York last week, a delightful fifth grade class.  One of the students made this video about A DIAMOND IN THE DESERT.  I hope you like it!

http://animoto.com/play/De6mCyCQdToi8Vs0GwnsNA

And, did you know that the paperback version of this book will be out on February 7, 2013?  If you'd like to have one, they are available on Barnes and Noble.  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-diamond-in-the-desert-kathryn-fitzmaurice/1103632937?ean=9780142424377
I haven't seen them anywhere else yet.

Emily Dickinson first edition set

A first edition Emily Dickinson poetry book

This past weekend, my family and I visited Las Vegas.  We went to see a Christmas show and my sister's new home.  BUT, while walking around the hotel, I wandered into a rare bookstore, the kind that sells first editions and hard-to-find volumes.  I asked the sales clerk if he had anything by Emily Dickinson, since DESTINY, REWRITTEN is very much tied to her.

He said, "As a matter of fact, we do have a first edition set of her three volumes of poetry."  He took out the three volumes, all covered in plastic, and extremely old.  I wasn't allowed to touch them.  I asked him how much they were.

"For these," he said, "twenty-three thousand five-hundred dollars."  Then he asked me if I would like to buy them.

I told him, yes, I would, very much like to have them, but no, thank you, and would it be okay if I took a picture of the first volume.

There were many other books, like a first edition of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, and a sighed book by JD Salinger to his mother-in-law.  The one signed by Salinger cost eighty-five thousand dollars!

My interview with Rosi Hollinbeck

A Miracle Under the Christmas Tree

Rosi Hollinbeck is an SCBWI critique group coordinator, a reviewer for the Sacramento Book Review, and a writer.  She has a blog you can visit /http://rosihollinbeckthewritestuff.blogspot.com/ which she has named "The Write Stuff".  Recently, she also had a short story, entitled Christmas without Snow, published in A MIRACLE UNDER THE CHRISTMAS TREE, which was edited by Jennifer Basye Sander.  I've read her lovely story, it actually caused me to tear up a little.  If you're thinking of a special book to give someone this year, I can recommend this one.  I asked her a few questions about her writing life and what it's like to be a reviewer.   

Rosi, please tell us how you began writing?  What was your first piece ever published?

I have always written, but didn’t have the time to get serious about it until I retired six years ago. A friend sent me some information on the Sacramento Writer’s Conference. While there, I met a nice group of people who invited me to join a critique group. We were all beginners and grew together. I was the only one writing for children. I found SCBWI, joined, and moved to a critique closer to home with other children’s writers. I finally had my first success early last year right after I had decided maybe I was wasting my time. (Isn’t that just the way?) I won first place in the Foster City Writers’ Contest in the children’s division for my historical short story, “Helen’s Home Run.” I actually had that accepted later by Stories for Children, but they went out of business before I got a contract. (sigh)

I attended some Highlights Foundation workshops and met some of the editors. I don’t believe anyone can sell something to the Highlights entities just by having been there, but I do think you have the chance to hear from the editors what they need, and that can be very helpful.  I sold two action rhymes to High Five magazine, then a story, then an article to Highlights. None has been published yet, but the article is scheduled to be in the March 2013 issue of Highlights.

Last summer I placed a short memoir in an anthology, A Miracle Under the Christmas Tree, which was released in September. That is actually my first published writing. It’s pretty exciting to be able to hold it in my hand and see my story in print. I also have a story-poem in a British anthology called Fifty Funny Poems for Children that was released in November. The good news is I am an internationally published author. The bad news is you have to be in the  British Isles to order it! But you can see my name in the list of authors on Thynks Publications website: http://www.thynkspublications.co.uk/children-s-books. I do have some copies coming to me, but the postage is as much as the books!

Tell us about your job at the SCBWI critique group coordinator.  

My job as critique group coordinator is much more time consuming than I ever expected. However, our assistant RA, Catherine Meyer, has been an incredible help. I am setting up some new systems that should make things work more smoothly. Maybe you should ask me this question a year from now! I have met some wonderful people and have been successful helping some groups form, so I feel I’m doing some good.

I understand you review books for the Sacramento Book Review.  How did you start reviewing and about how many books a year are you able to review?  

I started writing book reviews for the Sacramento Book Review about a year and a half ago. It really helps keep my head in the game. I read a LOT of books, almost all children’s books. I focus on picture books and middle grade, but now and then will grab a YA. One of the best things about doing reviews is the discipline of hitting those word counts. I have to hit between 175 and 200 words. (This from a woman who can’t do a grocery list in under a thousand words.) And believe me, it’s not easy doing this for picture books. Sometimes a book will have less than fifty words, and I have to write two hundred words about it.

I set myself a goal this year to write a hundred reviews. I checked recently on the site recently and it looks like I might actually hit 150 this year! This also has given me the chance to not only review a lot of books on my blog, but I have nice books for giveaways on my blog. It has certainly helped my traffic. I’m regularly getting between 700 and 800 hits a month on my blog and that makes me happy.

Without giving too much away, can you tell us about what you're working on now?

My work-in-progress is a middle-grade historical. It is 1926 and young Freddy’s father says his family can no longer afford to keep him. He is forced to leave and learn to support himself. He and his best friend, Rudy, strike out for California to make their own ways in the world and search for Freddy’s uncle who may hold the answer to Freddy ever being able to return home. They have many adventures and encounter everything from bank robbers to night riders to poisonous snakes, as well as people both terrible and kind along the way, but Freddy must finish the journey alone when Rudy suffers a terrible accident. He learns a great deal about himself and the concepts of home and family along the way.

My father was sent away in 1926 at age ten by his father. His journey was the seed for the book, but most of it is pure fiction. It was great fun to write. I’m on the agent hunt now. I also have some picture book manuscripts I’m shopping as well as a poetry collection I’m working on with a critique partner that is just about ready to be submitted. Fingers crossed!