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"BOOKS will take you ANYWHERE!"

Here's the thing: I travel a lot doing POND SCUM/CREATIVITY workshops and most of the time I am far from home (no complaints - I like hotel beds with TV remotes within easy reach!). What this means though - I hardly ever do local schools or libraries. Sure, I've done a hand-few but it's as if I'm a secret here in Montreal that only gets whispered about now and again.

Recently, however I was part of something AMAZING - the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival, which for the first time this year, decided to have a separate Children's Program. It was a wonderful experience - and I was amazed that my workshop was full to the brim with 360 kids!

(that's just HALF of the huge room filled with eager brains!)

TODAY was another special LOCAL visit - thanks to the lively, efficient and oh-so-thoughtful librarian, Debbie Poirier, I was booked into the amazing Saint John Fisher School just outside Montreal (easy drive = no airplane time!)

Reason ONE why this was nice: (see picture)

(nothing nicer to this author than welcoming treats! Thanks, Deb!)

Reason TWO: Another life-lesson in my ongoing "Go with the flow" experiences.

You see, I've got my presentation down pretty good - and it's filled with humor and interactivity and cartoons and...Me. But sometimes there's a glitch... no projector, or the mic I ordered doesn't work, or the kids think I'm somebody else whose written a book about Alien-Basketball players or something.

My motto: No Worries! I pride myself on staying Zen-like and making anything work....

So today - when we were presented with a small glitch - (no easel for the drawing board I use to do my cartooning)...We went quickly with Plan B: HUMAN EASELS! (if you look closely at the picture you can see I have a kid-volunteer holding the white board while I draw).

It was actually an additional funny thing that added laughs and extra kid-involvement to the morning - and I thank each and every one of you kids who helped me out! (I'll be happy to be an easel for you anytime!)

So winding down I guess it comes down to this: I love to travel...but there's no place like home....and a great librarian who serves snacks!

RED CEDAR AWARDS

Nothing makes a writer feel more like a WRITER than a labeled chair and 700 kids thrilled to be part of something incredible. POND SCUM was one of the nominated books in this year's Red Cedar Awards, which took place this past weekend just outside Vancouver.

The annual event brings kids from all around the area who take part in reading all of the nominated books and then voting for their favorite (both non-fiction and fiction). Now THAT is my kind of event - because the kids who take part are taking part out of total enthusiasm! And as you can imagine when you (well, when I) walk into a gymnasium filled with enthusiastic readers....it takes more than a chair to contain this fiction author!

Apart from the workshops we gave - there were the 2 ceremonies to announce the winners. The cool part was that the nominated authors got to walk into the ceremony in a procession fit for royalty! Each author was accompanied by kids holding a banner for their "author".

my wonderful sign holders

the hysterical Richard Scrimger

But WAIT! That's not all - instead of each nominated book simply being announced - the kids did a SKIT that introduced each book to the other kids in the audience. Some skits enacted something from the book, some read excerpts - but all of them were done by the kids who'd read the books and felt strongly about them.

Here's a picture of my great group - enacting a scene from my book that embraces the whole theme of the story. It was so perfect - and done with the kind of excitement that makes everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) seem worthwhile.

Just look at them! So amazing!

Okay, so Pond Scum didn't win the fiction award. That honor went to THE CRAZY MAN, a beautiful book written by the amazing Pamela Porter (Congrats again, Pam!). But you don't need awards when you get to have the gift of a weekend filled with kids, other writers and the most lovely organizers you can imagine.

And for a guy who spends most days talking only to his dog and staring at a computer screen - it was great to meet some other authors and hpend time hearing about their own crazy lives living on the edge of sanity and silence!

Nominees Ken Oppel, Vicki Grant, moi

So - thank you to all the kids, teachers, librarians and organizers who took part in making and this year's Red Cedar Awards such a fantastic experience - and thanks to everyone who stopped by to say "hi"! It was a great weekend!

IT'S FOREIGN TO ME

It's been a cool day. The envelope from my agent contained a new book - MY book.
In German.

It's like publication day all over again! Seeing a book jacket is always a buzz. I'm thrilled my book got this foreign sale, and ever since knowing it was being translated - I've been wicked excited to find out how they were going to translate the title, POND SCUM?

You have to know one thing: I love my title. In fact, the title POND SCUM was the first thing I had before even knowing what my story was. The title dictated to me what kind of story I had to write. It was a gift from the sky (more to the point, a gift from my friend's pond where leeches started sucking on my legs and he said, "Watch out for the pond scum.")

Up until this morning I had no idea what the title would be. I didn't want to know. I love surprises...as long as I can control them!

And you know what? I'm fine that the 2 word simplicity of "POND" and "SCUM" have now become the multi-syllabic "Oliver und die Verschworung im Schilf". A bit less easy on the tongue - but hey, so is wiener-schnitzel!

After much speculation by my family and I over what exactly the title meant, my trusty translator spelled it out for me (or so I think): "Oliver and the Conspiracy in the Weeds", which certainly gives a plot-descriptive heads up to the reader, without conveying the "Eoww, gross" I so love.

But I'm not complaining. I'm thrilled. So break out the black forest cake and raise a glass.

Oliver und die Verschworung im Schilf has arrived....in Germany.

WRITE WHEN YOU GET WORK....

I realized a long time ago that aside from licking mailing labels and washing dishes at several of New England's finer eateries - my manual labor skill set could not compete with the sizzle of my brain, which was light years away from anything that involved soapy water and burned popover pans.

Being "creative" is a label we writers wear on our sleeves, or if it's summer, someplace that hopefully shows more skin. We creatives are branded and in today's marketplace we all know a brand is a good thing so perhaps we should work harder to exploit this Writer Brand and all get permanent WRITER TATTOOS to set us apart from the normal world. It would be like the scarlet "A", only it would be a "W" which would clearly mean to everyone we meet: "Watch out while I say something clever."

I have had many non-creative jobs and many more creative ones - and I guess the point is, I can't NOT be a writer because there really is nothing else my brain lets me be...except lazy, which I'm actually trying to perfect as my next "brand".

I write because I have to...Because I want to...Because I can't wash dishes very well or drive a school bus. Of course I can write about that school bus driver, who is also writer...who might just be a guy like me with a monster in his brain who devours any thoughts of mundane employment!

And on that note: Time to go write!

THURBER HOUSE PICKS ME!

I've been sitting on this news for a month now - keeping my promise not to blab until it was time to tell... Well my friends - that time is NOW!

(FANFARE) Alan Silberberg (that would be me) has been selected as this year's James Thurber House Children's Author in Residence. YAY!!!!!

You can read about the residency program and see the nice things the Thurber House folks say about me on their site, which now means I'll be showering them all with chocolate-type gifts when I arrive in Columbus, Ohio this summer.

I look forward to sharing all of the great details with you - but for anyone who has ever planned a bar mitzvah (insert wedding, anniversary dinner, huge party) - I am swamped in my own lovely chaos of prepping for this wonderful event (Saturday -eek!).

So for now - to see how I really feel - just CLICK ON THE HOUSE that I get to call home for four weeks this summer!

And now that the you know the news stay tuned for lots more about what it means to receive this incredible honor...and live in a house with ghosts!!

The BIG Question

That's just one reason why I do it.
Why do YOU write?

FIVE THINGS re. "ME"

Thanks to old pal Sully - I've been tagged with the "5 Things" meme thang. CLICK the image to see it BIG - or squint along with the rest!

And now the"tag, you're it" goes to 5 others - who hopefully have not yet fulfilled this enlightened task - and also will not hate me for it!
Comedic genius and peepster, Lisa Yee
Adrienne at "What Adrienne Thinks About That"
Gregory K. of "Gotta Book"
Crazed librarians, Carl and Bill of "Boys Read-Boys Rule!"
Illustrator and Montreal-bookmate, Susan Mitchell

WINTER OF DISCONTENT...AGAIN

It's snowing. Again. Which is on top of the "it's snowing again...and again...and again" that has become the mantra of this 2008 season of woe (or "whoa!" which is what I want to yell at the sky...again!)

It's not that I don't like Winter. Okay, that's exactly what it is. I hate Winter - and it certainly hates me. The sheer effort of the layers and sneezing and blankets and hot drinks that burn my tongue so that it doesn't regain taste until sometime around late April or early May - around the time ice cream is palatable again - thank you very much.

Winter drags on. Writing suffers. Exercise suffers. My family suffers (listening to me talk about Florida or Honduras or any number of desirably warmer locales than this one.)

And because I live in Montreal - Winter may be on the wane - but it's not even March and the promise of being able to wear less layers is months away. If we're lucky.

It's snowing again. I have things to get done. Shoveling is one of them. Looking for warm socks is another. Googling the temperatures of cities warmer than mine - that's just too depressing. But I might just take a peek anyway. Because anyplace warmer than here must be a happy place to live...minus any political- economic- social negatives, that is.

It's snowing again. And it will snow again after this. And you know what? I'll still be looking for warmer socks and burning my tongue on hot tea...and if I'm lucky it will be an early spring anyway...like mid-May - so I might as well quit complaining and get back to work - and take the dog for a walk in the beautiful new snowfall.

...Again.

BOYS READING POND SCUM

What's up with the cheeseburger? You'll have to go visit this amazingly awesome site to find out:
BOYS RULE! BOY'S READ!

BR-BR (as I refer to it) is run by two whacked out librarians at the Charlotte/Mecklenburg, NC public library. (if you don't believe me check out the photos of Carl and Bill found on their blog page!)

Their mission: "A place for boys to find terrific books and tell other boys about great reading."

And you know - anyone who holds high the task of getting GUYS to read - holds a high spot on my reading list.


Carl and Bill (who I met via JacketFlap - and if you haven't joined yet, why not?) seem dedicated and nutty - a perfect combination when it comes to dealing with any reader-population, but especially boys.

So - check out their site, spread the word, see why I like cheeseburgers better than pizza. I double dare ya!

AND WHAT'S YOUR PROCESS?

(click on image for full size!)

IS IT JUST ME?

THIS BOY'S LIFE

Confession: I never was a Boy Scout (though I do have a vague memory of being a Cub Scout - or maybe that's confused with tagging along with my sisters' Brownie Troop to go to the Wonder Bread factory that made your whole soul smell like hot, sweet dough!) I am thrilled to announce I have been asked by BOY'S LIFE magazine to write a short story for them.

The significance is two-fold: A) They asked me out of the blue (which is way better than sending hundreds of SASE submissions and keeping your fingers crossed) and B) it gives me a great mid-winter push to jump into the creative water with a "small" idea, something I can have a blast writing without the heavy baggage of hundreds of pages and plot details*!

(*this is not to diminish the difficulties of writing short fiction - which I know is no picnic and I have nothing but praise for anyone who can master telling a great story in mere pages)

So now I get to let my mind wander into strange and funny territory and then pitch a few ideas to the editor...I'm thinking something with Giant Bugs.....

I'll keep ya posted.

And in a totally unrelated burp: I just LOVE this animated video of the They Might Be Giants song "The Mesopotamians" - ya gotta love these guys!!! And a major shout-out to DRAWN for giving me the link to the animated genius of David Cowles.

KILLER TOFU

The thing about being a writer - and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone here - we want to create something meaningful; something that "says something"; something that leaves a low carbon footprint on the world that conveniently has our name on it!

Thanks to my pal Sulli (who once shared an office with me when we were but lads) I have been reminded of my lingering immortality through the above tee-shirt design that was linked to me this morning.

See, one of my early writing jobs in TV was working on the Nickelodeon cartoon DOUG. I knew the show's creator (Jim Jinkins) from when I interned my very first job - and after I found out he'd created this quirky toon I immediately got back in touch and was lucky to get hired to write a bunch of scripts.

Handed the task of writing the script that introduced Doug's favorite band, THE BEETS - I knew there should be a song in the episode and because the band was strange came up with a song called KILLER TOFU. Little did I know that this ode to junk food by way of alien bean curd would become one of the signature hits for the fictional band.

Thanks to Sulli's t-shirt link I did a quick search and found countless music videos by kids lip syncing, a few rock bands doing actual covers, a music video with a huge cardboard "killer tofu" and believe it or not - some kids have customized Guitar Hero with the song!

So here's the thing - yeah, thanks to POND SCUM I got my name in the Library of Congress. But it's Killer Tofu that's got me rockin' on forever!

Ah-Ee-Ooo....Killer Tofu!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

HOLIDAY BOOK-TOON!

This is the YouTube version of my new HOLIDAY BOOK-TOON. 

(and if you like it - link it!)

For a "crisper" viewing experience - GO HERE!

FINISH LINES

I disappeared this fall and even my semi-random posting became near extinct.The reason for my "now you see me - now you don't" blogging? That guy you're looking at - MILO.

After two failed (for now) starts on second books - I began something in August that soon turned into something else; a novel with my cartoons that is a journey of exploration and humor that helped me unlock doors and draw new connections to my own life through the fictitious one of someone else, MILO.

I gave myself a goal, a deadline on the end of the year to finish this funny book - and though the going was rough due to some of the unexpected emotional road blocks that pop up from re-experiencing the memory of what was - I was on track to meet my deadline (shock!).

The sudden learning that my wonderful agent Jill Grinberg was having a second baby - soon - pushed me into an even higher gear so that she could give my own baby the attention I need before her own new one is due.

And yesterday - MILO was sent off for his first read (after my wife of course) and I am proud and fulfilled to have told his story, while being able to liberate my own.

The cartoons add humor and emotion and will be scattered throughout. I'm very excited about that part - and holding my breath, counting backwards from a million, doing laundry, cleaning my office - trying not to think about when I'll hear back from Jill.

More on MILO soon....

GREAT SCHOOLS - GREAT KIDS

Traveling from school to school here in the CyFair school district of Houston I was thrilled to steal a relaxing minute in the cozy reading tub at the Matzke Elementary Library.

The same wonderful room also had a faux front porch complete with comfy chairs and plenty of books casually scattered within a small hand's easy reach.

Because back home I spend way too much time sitting at my desk talking to the monkeys - these last two weeks have been such a fun, eye-opening journey where I've gotten a chance to be inside wonderful school libraries, meet terrific - inspiring librarians and the kids - WOW - such amazing, bright, creative attentive kids.

I've been starting my workshops by illustrating what my brain was like as a kid - and then I use POND SCUM to help me swirl through creative blasts of writing tips using my cartoon-doodles and lots of kid-interactivity!

So here I am - watching Game Two of the Red Sox World series, feeling already wistful that after 18 schools and 36 presentations - I am left with tomorrow, the last day of my wonderful trip (just 4 presentations to go).

Tonight it's baseball and the satisfaction of having reached countless kids and being able to laugh every day while letting creativity run loopy with doodles, reading, and lots of my own Pond Scum. (speaking of which - I have never signed so many books!)



It just doesn't get much better than this!

POND SCUM AND THE BOOK DIVAS

When I arrived in Houston on Sunday - Paula Morgan knew exactly how to make sure she picked up the right person at the airport. (I can only imagine what the other travelers at baggage claim were thinking!) Paula is the librarian at Sampson Elementary School and the woman who coordinated my 10 day/20 school Pond Scum blitz.

Starting Monday (bright and early) I immediately learned that the CyFair Independent School District is a unique fantastic system of schools with librarians filled with joy and excitement, which makes an author-type feel like a million bucks. I also learned that not only was I being hosted by amazing educators - but I was mingling with Librarian Royalty because these CyFairians are none other than the BOOK DIVAS of TLA and ALA synchronized book cart fame! (I know many of you have had the pleasure of seeing them in book cart action)

I am sure the video below does not do them justice - but I have seen the official Book Divas Calendar in one or two offices - and maybe I can get one as a parting gift of my author visit! Check them out - then imagine these fantastic folks are my hosts!!!



I visit 2 schools a day and do 2 presentations at each. After 4 full days I can tell you that these kids are fantastic (mostly 4th and 5th) and so full of energy and eagerness. I'm trying some new ideas and it's all been going very well (so far) and I'm having a great time integrating my cartooning and Pond Scum in a fun, interactive talk about writing and creativity.


I've got lots more to talk about - but I have to gear up for the Red Sox's last hurrah (oh, how I've been here before).

I'll post more over the weekend and report on the great food I've been eating, some more about the Horned Toad Tales list and my dinner with my Rhinestone Reader pen-pal (tomorrow night).

POND SCUM TEXAS TOUR

Monday begins my two week voyage through the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District.

4 presentations/ 2 schools a day for 10 days! I am incredibly psyched and already fielding great emails from the kids I'm about to meet!

Tomorrow I get picked up at the Houston airport by the amazing Paula Morgan (from Sampson Elementary), who has informed me I'll be signing books late into the night in my hotel room to get ready for Day 1 of the "Pond Scum Texas Tour". (sadly it's an off-day for the Red Sox/Indians so I imagine I'll have to settle for the National League playoffs.)

A note on AUTHORS AND SELF-PROMOTION. The topic is always a hot button and the discussions go on and on. But I thought I'd share how this trip came about.

Last spring I discovered (in other words - Googled) that Pond Scum was one of 12 books to be selected for the Horned Toad Tales List. Google pointed me to the Cypress Fairbanks Independent School District outside of Houston and by digging around (ie. reading the press release) I found the name of one of the media specialists involved and called her to just say, "Thanks!"

In the course of the conversation that made both of our days - Paula asked if I do school visits. I said, yes. She asked if I thought I might do a "few" schools in her district. I said, yes. And the next day I was booked for my 20 school book tour.

All this is to say - I always thank the teachers, media specialists, librarians who suggest Pond Scum to students - and I have been booked numerous times simply for saying "thank you". It's not the reason I reach out - it's just a natural reaction.

So reach out and say "Thanks". It's a nice thing - and sometimes results in your eating real Texas Barbecue for lunch on Monday.

THANKS CyFair ISD!

CASTING and COMIX CLIPS

DADNAPPED has a star!

And I couldn't be happier about it. Emily Osment, who plays Lilly on Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana" is going to play Melissa, the main character in my movie. She is such the perfect choice for this role of a smart, head-strong teen, who wants to connect with her father.


In DADNAPPED, Melissa has to compete for her father's attention with Tripp Zoome, a fictional teen character who is the "star" of her dad's action/spy books. Once a bunch of teen fans take her father as a goof - it's up to Melissa to find a way to get him back.

I can totally see Emily playing the part and am so glad about her choice to "be" Melissa.


In other news: I've had lots of requests for links to these two animations - so here ya go!