This week I kicked off my spring tour for See You in the Cosmos by visiting schools around Detroit and Ann Arbor, and let me tell you: I am having SO much fun. It’s the first time I’ve been inside a middle school since I myself was attending middle school, and so far, every school, every presentation setup, and every group of students has been different (though, there’ve been similarities too – namely the kids’ incredible curiosity, humor, and intelligence). It’s been such a rewarding experience to connect directly with the students; I’ve been learning a ton from them with each talk.
#TeamDial
On Thursday I had an event at Nicola’s Books in Ann Arbor with fellow Dial Books for Young Readers author Holly Goldberg Sloan. I loved Holly’s novel Counting by 7s; it was one of the first middle grade books my editor Jess sent me when I signed with Dial. Holly’s new book, Short, just this week hit the New York Times bestseller list. I encourage you to read both.
Bookseller Dinners and SF Event
I flew into Chicago this afternoon. And over the next five days I’m also going to Minneapolis, LA, and the SF/Bay area too. In addition to school presentations, I’ll be meeting and having dinner with local independent booksellers, as well as librarians and other important people involved in getting books to kid readers. It’ll be a whirlwind of a tour (though, I’m getting the impression that these kinds of tours are pretty much always whirlwind-y) that culminates on Friday, March 17, with my public 7pm event at Books Inc. Opera Plaza in San Francisco.
Elsewhere (NPR!)
Something to tide over those of you who are missing the podcast this week: I did my first radio interview, which aired on Tuesday on Michigan Radio’s program Stateside. Here’s ten minutes, including a brief reading, all on a much better recording setup than I have at home: Canine Carl Sagan, rocket ships and interstellar iPods: A Peek into Detroiter’s new YA novel.