Have to love the Willow tree

I've always loved willow trees, maybe because there's a giant one in the next-door neighbour's front lawn of my parents. (My parents have always complained about its little leaves everywhere.) So I'm naturally pleased that "Ella May and the Wishing Stone" has been nominated for a Shining Willow Award. The award is voted on by kids in Saskatchewan.

Here's the link:
http://www.willowawards.ca/nominated-books/2012/shining-willow

I remember driving across Saskatchewan a couple of times with my brothers when I was about 19 years old. I loved the landscape, those endless planted fields and that big sky. We didn't stop long in towns or cities but I had a good impression of Saskatoon. And we also stopped in the town (what was the name?) where the film version of "Who Has Seen the Wind?" was shot. Time to go back!

Want to write a picture book? Join us!

Once again I'm teaching my course on writing picture books for the University of Toronto's Continuing Studies department. It's on Monday nights 6:30 to 9, for eight weeks, starting next week. Everyone will, I hope, have a couple of manuscripts written by the end. And everyone will have had a good time.

More info at:
http://learn.utoronto.ca/courses/writing-for-children-picture-books

A new story

A new issue of the literary magazine Taddle Creek has just come out and its theme is music. There's a story of mine included, "Dreyfus in Wichita." Like many of my stories, it has taken me a long time to finish--perhaps ten years--so I'm rather glad it's done. The title refers to a full-scale musical that is written by the protagonist, a grade-school music teacher.

Taddle Creek is a terrific mag, far more inventive and lively than most literary journals. You can find it on the magazine stand of better bookstores. They've also got a website, of course: www.taddlecreekmag.com.

By the way, several years after I first drafted the story I discovered that Sholem Aleichem wrote a story called "Dreyfus in Kasrilevke." I took this as a good sign.

An earful of Kaspar Snit--an audiobook, that is

I have very fond memories of listening to audiobooks in the car with the kids. "The School Story," and "Longer Letter Later" were two that we heard over and over, until we could recite many of the lines ourselves.

These days, audiobooks are much more accessible; they're a simple download. And one of the first from RMW Kids is my own "Ten Lessons for Kaspar Snit." The reader is Chrisine Ghawi and from the bit I've heard, she's very good.

You can have a listen at:

http://www.rmwkids.com/more_info.php?id=Ten%20Lessons%20For%20Kasper%20Snitt.xml

Can you make a banjo out of a silver birch?

I was happy and proud to hear that Banjo of Destinyis a nominee for the Silver Birch Express Award. That means kids all over Ontario will read it, along with other nominees, to vote on their favourite book. In May the winners are announced at a big hooh-hah of an event down at Toronto's Harbourfront.

I look forward to meeting the other nominees but I'm particularly tickled to know that my buddy Monica Kulling will be up there too for her book All Aboard!

Just one thing, Monica. What's with the exclamation mark at the end of your title? You think it's going to help you to win? I mean I could have called mine Banjo of Destiny!

Maybe I should have.

What I Learned in Florida

Today I was taking a look at the website of paperplates, the handsome and highly readable online journal edited by Bernard Kelly. (Bernard and I co-edit paperplates books but my relation to the journal is only as a reader.) I noticed the online chapbooks that Bernard has published and remembered that he electronically published a little memoir/essay of mine called "What I Learned in Florida." Sure enough, it's still up there, and although the subject is grim the design is rather pretty.

It can be found (in pdf) at:
http://www.paperplates.org/Florida.pdf

My very own book review blog

After mulling the idea over for some time I suddenly and without warning found myself signing up for a new blog. On it I plan to review books that interest me for one reason another--adult, kids, fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. They might be spanking new, they might be from last year or ten years ago. I might want to give a conventional sort of review, or talk about a single scene, or do something I can't yet imagine.

I suppose the idea came from finding reviews of my own books on other book review blogs. (Yes, I confess to finding them by googling myself.) While review space in newspapers has sadly shrunk, this new online conversation about books seems to be thriving. So why not be a part of it?

There's a first review up and I'll soon do another. So take a look once in a while and maybe even become a "follower". (What a term--does that mean I'm the leader?)

Authors or publishers who would like me to consider a book for review should email me at info@caryfagan.com.

You can find the blog at:
http://bonefolderbooks.blogspot.com