Part 2 of Highlights of the Texas Book Festival (Sunday)
1) I sat in on a great workshop about writing kid’s books. The biggest plus for me was having the chance to talk to George Nicholson, an agent at Sterling Lord Literistic. I found out some pretty good information including:
– Charlotte Sheedy is not actively taking on new clients. (Ms. Sheedy’s agency is an affiliate of Sterling Lord). She’s passing on most of the material she likes to other agents.
– Both George Nicholson and Paul Rodeen are actively persuing clients. Paul Rodeen actually read a version of Red Polka Dot years ago…and of course, he rejected it. The rejection letter said something like “Great characters, but didactic at times.” And no, I didn’t know what didactic meant until I looked it up.
– I knew this before, but for those of you that don’t know, Paul Rodeen is heading up a satellite office in Chicago. Paul previously served as George Nicholson’s assistant.
2) I sat in on another great workshop about breaking down social barriers with children’s fiction. The panel included Lori Aurelia Williams, Benjamin Alire Saenz, Viola Canales, and Patricia McMahon and Conor Clarke McCarthy. The panel touched on a lot of issues near and dear to me, including censorship in books and the ability to cross-over to a mainstream audience.
3) I ran into Don Tate and his family at the booksigning tent. I mistakenly called his wife the wrong name. Not once, not twice, but three times. Sorry, Tammy.
4) I got a huge gyro from one of the vendors, and proceeded to spill half of it on my shoe. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried to scrape gyro sauce from a pair of sneakers.
FYI – I still haven’t found my signed copy of Whale Talk.
>>And no, I didn’t know what didactic meant<< I’m glad you quickly followed up with that ’cause I was feeling pretty stupid.
Found your blog by googling Paul Rodeen (dang, that sounds nasty!) He’s coming to a conference near me in October and I’m trying to figure out what his likes/dislikes are…
Hey, I thought I was the only writer that spilled, dribbled and had to remove odd, edible stains from their clothes and shoes! I have a habit of knocking over my diet Coke at EVERY wroter’s conference I attend. I feel like I’m in good company now.