Visitor number 100,000 is . . .

Hi everyone,

Sunday morning I kept the blog stats on as I watched the visits climb toward the 100,000 mark. Five visits short of the goal, all became still. No action. I read the paper and ate breakfast sitting here staring at the screen.

Finally, at 10:42, there came flurry of activity and number 100,000 came from our young friend and poet, Taylor McGowan from Galena, Ohio. I was delighted by the way it turned out. I’ll mail Taylor a signed copy of the book she chose, MAMMOTH BONES AND BROKEN STONES.

Many of you will remember when Taylor and another gifted young poet, Rachel Heinrichs of Westchester, Pennsylvania, became locked in a wild runoff for Young Poet of the Month back in May, 2010. On that occasion we had voters from several countries involved who helped run the total votes on April 29, 2010 up to 1830, the largest single tally in the history of my blog.

By coincidence, I also heard from Rachel this week, telling me that school is off to a good start and that she is as busy as ever. I know that so many of you agree that it is a pleasure to watch these girls and our other young poets grow and learn more about the world and themselves.

David

New Jersey SCBWI

My thanks again to Rob Shepperson for his enjoyable and informative Q/A interview on yesterday’s post.

I arrived in Princeton Thursday night. Yesterday I conducted a three-hour poetry workshop, gave the luncheon talk, and visited with authors about their manuscripts in the afternoon. Today I’ll give a briefer version of the workshop and finish the one-on-one critiques. Mimi Cross is here. So is Liz Korba as well as Jeanne Balsam. It’s good to finally meet people in person after meeting them on the blog and in e-mails!

Yesterday at my keynote, Michele Heinrichs drove two hours from West Chester, Pennsylvania to bring her daughter Rachel. When I told the audience about Rachel and her poetry, she received a huge round of applause. I read her most recent poem and everyone was very impressed. The luncheon was attended by authors, artists, editors, and agents. Rachel was the only child in the room and she reminded us all of why we do what we do to create literature for young people.

This is a good conference but considering that Kathy Temean is running it, this comes as no surprise. I’m meeting a lot of people, making new friends, and enjoying the company of so many writers, artists, and others who care about making children’s literature. My thanks to Kathy and her great team of volunteers who are making this all come together so well.

David