2000 NONFICTION AWARD-WINNER DIANE STANLEY RETURNS TO THE GUILD
“A story starts with a spark of an idea. If I’m lucky the spark will grow into a premise, then into a plot, and finally a book. But it doesn’t do that on its own; it takes constant mental work, a sort of obsessive concentration on my little fictional world that I carry with me wherever I go. I turn off the radio in the car so I can focus my mind on a particular scene or character. I think about my book in the shower, while gardening, while hiking, while falling to sleep at night.” So says Diane Stanley when asked to describe her writing process.
The writer and illustrator of more than 50 books, including picture books, nonfiction works and novels, Stanley recently completed the Silver Bowl Trilogy, historical fantasy that involves a scullery maid, charms and curses, rat-catching and royal treasure. She has received many awards, including the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award and the SCBWI Golden Kite Award, as well as our own Children’s Book Guild Nonfiction Award.
When writing biography Stanley makes special connections with her subjects and finds unique ways to present their lives. She created exquisite Persian miniatures to illustrate the life of Saladin, the Sultan of Egypt. When researching Charles Dickens she became familiar with every facet of his daily life. She says she “set the record straight” on Cleopatra, “perhaps the most misunderstood ruler in history.” And she felt a special affinity for Leonardo since they had shared the experience of dissecting cadavers—Stanley in a former life as a medical illustrator.
Diane Stanley will speak on to the Guild on Thursday, January 16. She will discuss her life and her work, touching on changes in technology and the publishing world as well as in her personal life (such as going from being a mother of three in Houston to an empty nester in Santa Fe). She’ll also talk about what matters most to her: “creative interests” and “addictive pleasures.” Please come hear more about "the obsessive concentration" and contagious delight she takes in her work.
Date: Thursday, January 16
Time: 11:30 a.m. "social hour"; noon luncheon
Place: Busboys and Poets
1025 Fifth Street NW (at K Street)
Menu: All choices $25 ($26 when paid online via PayPal)
Time: 11:30 a.m. "social hour"; noon luncheon
Place: Busboys and Poets
1025 Fifth Street NW (at K Street)
Menu: All choices $25 ($26 when paid online via PayPal)
:: CHOICE OF SANDWICH (all sandwiches served with a salad of baby greens and house-made kettle chips) ::
• Falafel Sandwich (vegetarian/vegan) with house-made hummus, cucumbers, lettuce, tomato and onion on whole-wheat pita, served with tahini sauce (vegan without tahini sauce)
• Home-Roasted Turkey Sandwich with Havarti cheese, Dijonnaise, lettuce, tomato and onion on wheat bread
• Grilled Chicken Panini with chipotle mayo, caramelized onions, pepper jack, lettuce and tomato on ciabatta
• Portabella Mushroom Panini (vegetarian) with pesto, roasted red pepper and fresh mozzarella on herb ciabatta
:: DESSERT ::
Assorted Cookies (family style)
:: BEVERAGES ::
Fountain Drinks (unlimited soft drinks and iced tea), fresh coffee and organic tea
• Falafel Sandwich (vegetarian/vegan) with house-made hummus, cucumbers, lettuce, tomato and onion on whole-wheat pita, served with tahini sauce (vegan without tahini sauce)
• Home-Roasted Turkey Sandwich with Havarti cheese, Dijonnaise, lettuce, tomato and onion on wheat bread
• Grilled Chicken Panini with chipotle mayo, caramelized onions, pepper jack, lettuce and tomato on ciabatta
• Portabella Mushroom Panini (vegetarian) with pesto, roasted red pepper and fresh mozzarella on herb ciabatta
:: DESSERT ::
Assorted Cookies (family style)
:: BEVERAGES ::
Fountain Drinks (unlimited soft drinks and iced tea), fresh coffee and organic tea
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Fred Bowen and Others Volunteer on Small Business Saturday
2. John Feinstein's Inspiring Visit to the Guild
3. Sign Up to Attend the Guild Holiday Party
4. Member News
5. Remembering Anne Malcolmson
1. Fred Bowen and Others Volunteer on Small Business Saturday
2. John Feinstein's Inspiring Visit to the Guild
3. Sign Up to Attend the Guild Holiday Party
4. Member News
5. Remembering Anne Malcolmson
MY DAY AS A VOLUNTEER BOOKSELLER
by Fred Bowen
On September 1 of this year, author Sherman
Alexie wrote an open letter that encouraged his fellow authors (“gorgeous book
nerds,” he called us) to support independent bookstores by becoming volunteer booksellers
on Small Business Saturday, November 30. I thought it was a great idea, so I was
delighted when I was contacted by our own beloved local independent bookstore, Politics and Prose, in Washington, D.C., to be a guest bookseller.
It was quite a day. When I arrived for my two-hour shift I noticed
several black SUVs parked along Connecticut Avenue. As I approached the
store I was taken aside by two very serious, official-looking people who
informed me that there was “a dignitary” in the store. When I asked the identity of the dignitary,
he did not answer. A second person
passed an electronic wand over me, checking for weapons. “I have keys and a phone in my pocket,” I
informed her. “Is that a problem?”
“Perfectly legal, sir,” she replied without a smile.
The dignitaries, of course, were President
Obama and his two daughters, who caused quite a stir
within the store. There were Secret
Service and media types everywhere as the patrons crowded around, hoping to
glimpse the leader of the free world. The president shopped for about 15
minutes in the kids’ room (where I was) and then went upstairs to the adult
books section. My wife, Peggy, got pictures. I didn't
get that close, although I did get a good look at him from a distance of
about 40 feet.
But believe it or not, seeing the president of
the United States was not the highlight of my day as a bookseller. My first customer after all the excitement
about Obama quieted down was a 10-year old boy who--swear to God--asked me,
"Do you have any Bowen books?"
I thought Peggy had put him up to it, but
it turned out that this was a legitimate request. He was a kid from Princeton, N.
J., who loves sports. I mean, what are the chances? After a few
moments of confusion and disbelief, I brought him over to my books. I showed him the "about the author" page to
prove I really was Fred Bowen. He bought
my two soccer books, Soccer Team Upset
and Go For The Goal! Of course, I signed them.
As I said, it was quite a day.
 |
| Fred Bowen poses with fellow volunteer ERICA PERL and another "fab" bookseller. Click this link to see more pictures and read Erica's blog post about the day's events: http://www.ericaperl.com/imported-20100131174515/2013/12/1/potus-and-prose.html |
by Jennifer O'Connell
On December 12, at Busboys & Poets, Guild members and their guests were treated to an afternoon with John Feinstein, bestselling sports writer, columnist and TV-radio personality. Guild president Fred Bowen moderated the discussion, which covered Feinstein’s incredible career as well as his sports books for adults and young readers.
Introducing Feinstein, Jean Heilprin Diehl said that she had long
admired his humanity, breadth and depth. By the end of the program, the entire
audience had a better understanding and appreciation of what she meant.
Feinstein is a dynamo! He is a terrific storyteller, and funny. Everyone easily
could have sat back and enjoyed two more hours of his riveting tales.
“Passion” has been a key word in Feinstein’s life. He grew up
exposed to the deep passion for the performing arts of his father, who was
general manager of the Washington National Opera and the first executive director
of the Kennedy Center. Feinstein grew up with an insider’s view of the
theater and a long list of famous people visiting his house. He learned early
on to feel comfortable talking to almost anyone, a skill that has been a huge
asset throughout his career.
 |
| Fred Bowen and John Feinstein at Busboys & Poets |
Feinstein’s own passion emerged in the world of sports. As a
youth he played basketball and baseball, and he was a swimmer for Duke
University. When a broken ankle ended his swimming career, he landed in the
school newspaper’s office after hearing that it was a great place to meet
girls. There, he discovered his love for writing and journalism.
Feinstein wrote Last Shot,
his first young adult novel, when his son, Danny, was 10 and becoming
interested in books. Feinstein said that he always thought the best fiction
sounds real, so he figured that he needed to write about something he knew. His
story about two 13-year-old aspiring sports journalists who discover a plot to
fix a game at the Final 4 won the Edgar Award for Young Adult Mystery.
Thank you, John Feinstein and Fred Bowen. It was a fascinating and inspiring
program!
Please come to the Children's Book Guild winter potluck, on January 11, at 7:30 p.m., at the home of Laura and Allan Melmed. Significant others are welcome.
RSVP to lauramelmed@gmail.com, specifying whether you'll be bringing a main course, salad, side dish or dessert.
MEMBER NEWS
ERICA PERL was very excited to see that NPR selected Aces Wild as a Best Book of 2013. Aces Wild was also selected by Tablet magazine as a best Jewish children's book of the year.
MOIRA ROSE DONAHUE IS pleased to announce that three more books in her explorer biography series for State Standards Publishing were released this month: Henry Hudson, Vasco Nunez de Balboa and John Cabot.
JACQUELINE JULES is very excited to announce the upcoming publication of her first poetry chapbook. Field Trip to the Museum is a thematic collection in the voice of an 18-year-old girl examining her life during weekly sessions with a psychologist. In 25 narrative poems, Jules tells the moving story of a young girl who travels from the brink of self-destruction to a new acceptance of herself. Field Trip to the Museum will be published by Finishing Line Press. Pre-orders are available and much appreciated now at www.finishinglinepress.com Click: “Preorder Forthcoming Titles” and scroll to Jacqueline Jules. Cover art for Field Trip to the Museum was created by fellow Guild member KATHERINE JANUS KAHN.
JANE HARRINGTON has been awarded a fellowship by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA). She will be one of approximately 25 fellows focusing on their own creative projects at a working retreat for visual artists, writers and composers, with typical residencies ranging from two weeks to two months. VCCA, a nonprofit organization founded in 1971, is located near Sweet Briar College, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The Children's Book Guild has learned that a past member, Anne Malcolmson, died in 2013 at her home on Chapel Hill, N.C., at age 102. Malcolmson, who joined the Guild in 1955, served as secretary (1957-58), president (1968-69), corresponding secretary (1973-74) and program chair (1974-75). Her years with the Guild predated those of nearly all current members, but Phyllis Naylor has a distant memory of "a very gracious, polite, soft-spoken woman" whom she never had the chance to know well.
Anne Burnett Malcolmson von Storch was born in St. Louis on December 16, 1910. She attended the John Burroughs School in St. Louis and earned a bachelor's degree in English from Bryn Mawr College. She taught at the Chicago Latin School for Girls and at the Potomac School in Washington, D.C. She also served as a volunteer and mentor at other D.C. schools. In the years after World War II she was an intelligence officer with the agency that became the CIA. She was married twice, first to Charles Malcolmson, a journalist who was public relations officer for the War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg; he died in 1945. Her second husband, Earl von Storch, was an urban planner.
Malcolmson was inspired to write when she became a teacher and had trouble finding a collection of American stories for her students. She took a chance and wrote her first book, Yankee Doodle's Cousins, which was published in 1941. She wrote or edited six additional books for young people: Mister Stormalong, Miracle Plays: Seven Medieval Plays for Modern Players, Taste of Chaucer, William Blake: An Introduction, Captain Ichabod Paddock: Whaler of Nantucket, and Song of Robin Hood.
(Guild historian Annette Curtis Klause contributed to this article.)
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Guild members who have books coming out in spring 2014, fall 2014 or spring 2015: would you like to band together to seek out promotional events and opportunities? If so, please contact Jacqueline Jules at jjules@jacquelinejules.com.
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Tweet Your News!
NOTE ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S BOOK GUILD NEWS: Would you rather print your newsletter than read it online? Current and past issues now available for printing on the Guild's website at http://www.childrensbookguild.org/guild-newsletters. Look for the "Newsletter" tab on the left side of the Guild website. There is also a "Printer Friendly Version" link on the top left hand side of this blog.
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JANE HARRINGTON has been awarded a fellowship by the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA). She will be one of approximately 25 fellows focusing on their own creative projects at a working retreat for visual artists, writers and composers, with typical residencies ranging from two weeks to two months. VCCA, a nonprofit organization founded in 1971, is located near Sweet Briar College, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Frida & Diego: Art, Love, Life, by CATHERINE REEF, which Clarion will release in spring 2014, is a Junior Library Guild selection.
ANNE MALCOLMSON: 1910-2013
by Catherine ReefThe Children's Book Guild has learned that a past member, Anne Malcolmson, died in 2013 at her home on Chapel Hill, N.C., at age 102. Malcolmson, who joined the Guild in 1955, served as secretary (1957-58), president (1968-69), corresponding secretary (1973-74) and program chair (1974-75). Her years with the Guild predated those of nearly all current members, but Phyllis Naylor has a distant memory of "a very gracious, polite, soft-spoken woman" whom she never had the chance to know well.
Anne Burnett Malcolmson von Storch was born in St. Louis on December 16, 1910. She attended the John Burroughs School in St. Louis and earned a bachelor's degree in English from Bryn Mawr College. She taught at the Chicago Latin School for Girls and at the Potomac School in Washington, D.C. She also served as a volunteer and mentor at other D.C. schools. In the years after World War II she was an intelligence officer with the agency that became the CIA. She was married twice, first to Charles Malcolmson, a journalist who was public relations officer for the War Crimes Tribunal in Nuremberg; he died in 1945. Her second husband, Earl von Storch, was an urban planner.
Malcolmson was inspired to write when she became a teacher and had trouble finding a collection of American stories for her students. She took a chance and wrote her first book, Yankee Doodle's Cousins, which was published in 1941. She wrote or edited six additional books for young people: Mister Stormalong, Miracle Plays: Seven Medieval Plays for Modern Players, Taste of Chaucer, William Blake: An Introduction, Captain Ichabod Paddock: Whaler of Nantucket, and Song of Robin Hood.
(Guild historian Annette Curtis Klause contributed to this article.)
********
Guild members who have books coming out in spring 2014, fall 2014 or spring 2015: would you like to band together to seek out promotional events and opportunities? If so, please contact Jacqueline Jules at jjules@jacquelinejules.com.
********
Tweet Your News!
Do you have a publication date for a new book, a local appearance coming up or an award nomination to tout? Don't be shy! The Guild has its own Twitter account (@ChildrensBookGuild) and is looking for news to tweet. Just send your news to Caroline Hickey (carolinesmithhickey@gmail.com
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NOTE ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S BOOK GUILD NEWS: Would you rather print your newsletter than read it online? Current and past issues now available for printing on the Guild's website at http://www.childrensbookguild.org/guild-newsletters. Look for the "Newsletter" tab on the left side of the Guild website. There is also a "Printer Friendly Version" link on the top left hand side of this blog.
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