Children's Writing Web Journal

2009-04-13T16:43:00.003-06:00

Direct links to publisher catalogs http://ping.fm/jqUZ5 Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

2009-04-13T16:43:00.001-06:00

Direct links to publisher catalogs http://ping.fm/jqUZ5 Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

2009-04-13T16:21:00.001-06:00

Direct links to publisher catalogs http://ping.fm/jqUZ5 Jon, http://cbiclubhouse.com, Come Join the Fightin' Bookworms!

Excerpt from our upcoming DVD!

2007-09-03T11:47:00.000-06:00

Our first ever DVD -- Inside Secrets for Getting Published: The Submissions Process -- in on the verge of being released! The DVD will explain everything you need to know to format your manuscript, research publishers, write a query letter or proposal, send your story to publishers and much more.

Watch this space for ordering details.

In the meantime, here's an exclusive excerpt. Just click the play button and enjoy!

Like Free Stuff?

2007-03-06T11:08:00.001-07:00

Rhetorical question. Of course you do,

Here's a great way to get all the freebies you can handle -- it's the Absurdly Cool Freebie Finder! The Freebie Finder is an aggregate of all the best free offers, minus spam and scams.

Have a look and get some freebies!

http://absurdlycool.com/

The Children's Book Council of Australia announces Books of the Year Winners

2006-10-24T14:45:00.000-06:00

Australia has always set a high standard for creativity and innovation in children's books. To find out which books judges down under consider the cream of the crop visit http://www.cbc.org.au/winner06.htm

And be sure to take a look at the judges' report -- http://www.cbc.org.au/downloads/judgesreport06.pdf -- for detailed descriptions of each winner and why it was chosen.

Readers spot Harry Potter error

2006-10-24T14:40:00.000-06:00

Sharp-eyed readers catch a factual error that escaped Bloomsbury's proofreaders:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5305866.stm

Video interview with author Kirstin Miller

2006-10-23T17:02:00.000-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLpFCYqf9nE

Video interview w/Walter Dean Meyers

2006-10-23T17:01:00.000-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx15pc4ljes

A picture book, from beginning to end

2006-10-23T16:55:00.000-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CulousvONY

55 Ways to Have Fun with Google

2006-07-10T12:13:00.000-06:00

Google is an endless source of fascination for me -- there's just so many odd and cool little services they offer. Some are useful, some are silly and some are astoundlingly great. Here's a free ebook that digs even further into Google, and provides some laughs while doing it.

Go to http://www.55fun.com/ and download 55 Ways to Have Fun with Google

“Narnia…Beyond the Wardrobe” Educator Sweepstakes

2006-07-10T11:46:00.000-06:00

Narnia-lovin' teachers and librarians have a shot at winning a trip to the set of the forthcoming film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian in this contest sponsored by HarperCollins.

Full details at http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/harperchildrens/teachers/gamesandcontests/contests/narnia/

10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid

2006-06-16T13:42:00.000-06:00

Admit, you've made some of these mistakes. Lord knows I have....

http://insight.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020415,39273376,00.htm

First-ever movie adaptation of Beverly Cleary book on the way

2006-06-16T13:28:00.000-06:00

Writing legendy Beverly Cleary is celebrating her 90th birthday by authorizing the first movie ever made from one of her books.

The film is based on the fourth book in the Ramona series, "Ramona and Her Father," in which Ramona is in the second grade and her father loses his job.

More details: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/06/DDGF3IL8UA1.DTL

Children’s Cloth Books Recalled by Simon & Schuster

2006-06-16T13:25:00.000-06:00

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a voluntary recall of Curious Buddies Children’s Books. According to the agency, the felt ears and limbs on the pop-up characters can detach or come apart when pulled, which may pose a choking hazard to young children.

More details: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06189.html

Free "iPod-ready" audio stories for children

2006-03-21T15:52:00.000-07:00

Neat idea -- free audio stories for kids that can be downloaded onto an MP3 device. Mostly public domain and fairytales at this point.

have a look: http://storynory.com/

PS: This could be a good idea for promotion-minded authors -- offer iPod ready downloads of your stories on your website!

New "advice-opedia" for Parents

2006-03-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

Minti.com is a new site that is a compendium of parenting advice submitted by parents from around the world. It's worth checking out, particularly to help gauge the kinds of things that are on the minds of parents these days.

http://www.minti.com/

Long Distance Book Signings?

2006-03-21T15:38:00.000-07:00

Author Margaret Atwood has invented a "remote autographing device that has the potential to revolutionize book signings."

It's a brave new world, kids!

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050106/ATWOOD06/TPEntertainment/TopStories

eBook Sales Jump in 2005

2006-03-21T15:35:00.000-07:00

eBook publishers reported increases in revenue and unit sales over the same quarter the previous year (Q2 2004) with a 36% increase in eBook units sold and a 69% increase in eBook revenues. Also, publishers reported a 24% increase in titles published over Q2 2004.

More....

The Wonders of Your Local Library -- Online!

2006-02-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

I recently stopped by the website for my local library to renew some items and was amazed at the breadth and depth of services now available to cardholders from their website. Free access to some of the most comprehensive media databases in world, searchable editions of Books in Print and the Horn Book Guide, scores of downloadable ebooks and audio books and lots more. It's really a goldmine of information, and it's free to cardholders.

Pay a visit to your library's site today and see what they've got. If you'd like an idea of what our library is offering (so you can gently remind your local folks of what they could be adding, if they haven't already done so), go to http://dalva.fcgov.com/screens/database.html

Elmore Leonard’s Ten Rules of Writing

2006-02-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

Here's a great post from the master storyteller that gives some meaty advice for creating lean prose. http://www.elmoreleonard.com/index.php?/forums/viewthread/20

Children's Book Sales Up in 2005

2006-02-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

Led by the latest Harry Potter installment, children's books enjoyed a strong year at retail in 2005. According to Nielsen BookScan, 162.2 million children's books were sold during 2005, a 19.3% increase over 2004. Adult book sales increased at a rate of 7.6%.

For more details, go to http://www.thebookstandard.com/bookstandard/news/retail/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001808409

Where to find good stock images

2006-01-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

Looking for good stock photos to use as illustrations? Take a look at this list from the Presentation Zen blog. They've narrowed stock photo sources down to the cream of the crop....

http://presentationzen.blogs.com/presentationzen/2006/01/where_can_you_f.html

Find the lowest price on any book

2006-01-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a free software add-in for those of you using the Firefox browser. When Book Burro senses you are viewing a book, it will add a small panel to the upper right corner. Clicking the panel will trigger the agent to go query for prices at major book sites and determine if the book is available at a library near you.

you can download it at http://bookburro.org/

Finding online writing courses

2006-01-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a site that has a nice rundown of the various "study-at-home" options for writers. The list includes full courses, tutorials and workshops, including a number specific to children's book writing:

http://www.worldwidelearn.com/online-courses/writing-courses.htm