LA Times Book festival continued

...interrupted by the dog arriving home skunked.
Now up early to fly to Chicago for the International Reading Association, but just wanted to touch on the highlights of the book festival.In one of those amazing moments of serendipity, I met Murray Fromson, who was a CBS reporter in Selma. If Murray and others like him hadn't been there covering the events, there would have been no national attention, and I don't believe we would have had a Voting Rights Bill passed by President Johnson. He was there to moderate a panel which is on C-Span's Video Library.Set the minute counter to 04:03:02.
I did a panel in the morning with the amazing Jonathan Hunt moderating. Deborah Heiligman and I were the two authors, and it was more like a fireside chat than a panel. Deb is a great storyteller and Jonathan has a way of asking just the right question, so we had a blast, much more fun than it looks like in this serious photo:

After the panel, it was the delight of the festival. Who says books are dead??
Heading out for the plane!

LA Times Book Prize Ceremony

Friday night we gathered upstairs, then traipsed into the auditorium for the LA Times Book Prize ceremony, lead by the Times book editor, David Ulin. We got nervous, winning authors were announced one by one, short speeches were given. Marching For Freedom won for Young Adult Literature. I stood up and spoke. In the middle of naming the wonderful Selmians, who as children and young adults marched and were jailed and beaten and did it all again the next day, I was so filled with gratitude and tears and absolute overwhelm that I had to stop, take a couple of deep breaths, and finish in a rush.

Cecil Castellucci gave the greatest intro to the Young Adult Prize. She's an awesome, energetic, smart woman, with a deep love of children's literature.

After all the awards were announced, we all traipsed off to another room, where we ate and laughed and decompressed.

Here I am with my publisher, Regina Hayes. Are you catching on to my evening's look? The Deer-in-the-Headlights Look? That's still how I feel.