It began and ended as any gathering of children’s book writers and illustrators should – with a frosty Gin and Tonic. Here Davis Wakefield sips his from one of the 100 cups he “borrowed” from the lobby Starbucks late the first night.
Below is a photo of my "new favorite” Graeme Stone, who came to children’s books by way of modeling. You can tell by his circa 1990s pose that he’s watched a bit too much Elsa Klensch. Graeme knows more about the gritty side of Serbian culture than anyone I’ve ever met. I envy his name, which will make any book jacket seem a little more highbrow.
And then there were the Mermaids. One was working:
Two were working it:
The Disco Mermaids are the most fun people in children’s publishing and are so generous with their time and vast knowledge. Smart and beautiful – you want to hate them but just can’t.
Then there were Katie and Sarah Frances, the Y’all contingent from Mississippi. Gorgeous and elegant and very, very funny. Fabulous accents that make you hang on their every word, wondering what they’ll say next. When I die I want to come back as a southern woman.
I loved hanging out with Lee Wind. Smart, witty and so articulate and passionate about gay teen lit that he’s been asked to moderate a panel at the NYC SCBWI conference with some very heavy hitters from publishing. Congrats to you Lee! Well deserved.
Another woman in the “I want to hate you for your quick success but can’t because you’re too damn funny” category is Suzanne Young. Sorry Suzanne, had a steal a photo from your website because my only pic of you sucked and you deserve better than that. Oregon is kind of a wild west state anyway, so that’s how we roll: See it, take it.
And last but not least there was Jennifer Gray "No one puts Baby in a corner" Olson. An AMAZING illustrator and all-around hilarious woman. We connected on a soul level about Reality TV.
All in all a great conference. Thanks everyone!
Oh, yeah, there were also some good speakers. They get enough publicity on their own.
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4 comments:
Aaawww Thanks Christy! You are quite delicious as well! And I'll lend you my accent anytime! It's not all that cute around here :-)
We will surely be in touch! Best of luck and I'll talk to ya soon!
xoxo
CR! I actually shed tears when you left for the airport. I MUST plan an Oregon trip soon.
The weekend was the absolute BEST it could be. Loved hanging with you and Davis...and my new favorite, too...Graeme. Are you kidding me? I didn't know it was possible for anyone to be that funny.
I miss everybody and cannot seem to get "off" the blogs the last few days. I want to feel like we're all still there. I think we should make these get-togethers a monthly thing. Seriously!
E-mail me so we can chat!
Eve
You are way too kind.
I loved hangin' with you and the rest of the group--And, I can't wait to hear good news about your brilliantly fabulous metaphysical novel.
Thanks for the good times.
SF
Christy!
Thanks for the shout out and kind words!
And the "hereinafter known as Author" thing sounds amazing!!!
hope to be on that side of the dream with you soon,
Lee
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