I’ve said before that I don’t get as psyched for launch day as some authors do, but it’s still a wonderful occasion – a chance to sit back and admire more than a year of hard work. (And hang out with friends and eat cake, of course.)

THOU SHALT NOT ROAD TRIP is dedicated to my agent, Ted Malawer, and editor, Liz Waniewski, without whom none of this would be possible.

In case you’re around St. Louis tonight, here are the launch details:

WHAT: Launch of THOU SHALT NOT ROAD TRIP (teen pick for Read St. Louis 2012)
WHEN: Thursday April 12th at 7PM
WHERE: Schlafly branch of the St. Louis Public Library (225 N. Euclid Ave, St. Louis, MO 63108)
WHY YOU SHOULD COME: Free drinks served in plastic cups. (Sorry, that’s the best I can do.)

Cheers!

©2012 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

In other news, the amazing Sara Zarr and I had a conversation about the crazy world of publishing, and she has posted the podcast here. It’s worth a listen . . . for her insights, not mine!

The blog tour for ROAD TRIP has begun too. First stop, Confessions of a Bookaholic, where one of the characters from the book, Alex, is being interviewed. Please check it out, and enter to win a signed copy!

©2012 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

©2012 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

Of the many terrific programs the St. Louis Public Library (and the St. Louis County Library) runs, perhaps the finest is the Read St. Louis program. It selects a book for six different literary categories and encourages the card holders of the library systems (800,000 of us, for those counting) to read and discuss the titles with the authors themselves. To my great delight, THOU SHALT NOT ROAD TRIP has been selected as the teen title for Read St. Louis 2012.

Best of all, my first event will be on launch day itself, Thursday April 12th at 7PM, at the Schlafly Branch (225 N. Euclid Ave.) of St. Louis Public Library. Please mark your calendar and pop along if you can. It’ll be a ton of fun, and I’ll be donating money to local charities for each books signed!

©2012 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

The St. Louis Independent Bookstore Alliance, a groundbreaking coalition of Indie bookstores, had the utterly awesome idea of asking local authors to appear in their stores as booksellers for a day. They’re calling us celebrities, and while I think it’s fair to say that word is being used very loosely in my case, there are some major names involved: Heather Brewer, Ridley Pearson, Curtis Sittenfeld . . . the list goes on and on.

Anyhoo, please do stop by one of the stores this Saturday, December 17th and say hi to an author (times are listed on the link above). (We’re utterly tame, and frequently house-trained.) Best of all, a portion of all the books I “sell” will go to local charity Gateway 180, which provides shelter for homeless women and children – a brilliant cause, and one I am thrilled to support.

©2012 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

I arrived on Thursday (after traveling for 21 hours – yes, you read that correctly) and rushed to meet Katherine Schneider, the sponsor of the Schneider Family Book Award. Dr. Schneider is a delight: thoughtful, kind, witty, engaged . . . I could go on and on. I am so pleased I got the chance to meet her, and had the opportunity to express how winning her award has transformed Five Flavors of Dumb from a small novel into one that is carried in almost every library in the USA.

Next, I gave this year’s Schneider Disabilities Issues Forum talk. I called it “Five Flavors of Dumb: How the Deaf Community Shaped a Novel.” The audience was fantastic, and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire provided both an ASL interpreter and closed-captioning. A local newspaper has published an excellent write-up on the event – you should totally check it out. If Katherine Schneider isn’t your own personal hero after reading this, then you’re crazy.

On Friday, I visited awesome students at Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls middle and high schools. Again, kudos to the teachers and librarians at every stop, because these students were prepared. There’s nothing more gratifying than walking into a school and having students ask detailed questions about your book. Just look at how much I was forced to gesticulate!

Thanks to Dr. Katherine Schneider and the organizers of the festival. I look forward to returning in the future!

©2012 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

Sunday, Sept. 18, 2-3:30 PM

Highland Park Library

494 Laurel Ave, Highland Park, IL 60035

This is a pretty laid back event, so there’ll be LOTS of time for me to chat to people.

Monday, Sept. 19, 7 PM

Evanston Public Library

1703 Orrington Ave, Evanston, IL 60201

The teens here put on a stage production of DUMB, so I’m really looking forward to chatting with them.

On Monday, I’ll also be visiting St. Francis Xavier School in Wilmette, and Nichols Middle School in Evanston. A big hello to the students there. Thanks for having me along!

©2012 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

Creative Retreat for writers

Slip away from the noise and distractions in your life for a tranquil weekend retreat at a riverside site owned by the Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA). On Sept. 30 through Oct. 2, writers of all levels will have the opportunity to learn and to create. You will return home rejuvenated and filled with ideas.

Course description:

Author Antony John will focus on the art of novel writing, regardless of at what stage participants are with their writing. Participants will learn how to get past the initial hurdles of writing, how to parcel out research and writing and editing, and how to fundamentally ENJOY writing. After all, what’s the use of writing a novel if you don’t enjoy the journey?

There will be ample opportunity to exchange ideas and to discuss and critique works in progress.

Register at www.msta.org/events. Fee includes workshop, meals and lodging. MSTA members, $200; non-members $250. Enrollment is limited. Contact Sarah Kohnle, skohnle@msta.org. Please indicate your interest in writing.

Special appointments:
Ready to discuss your novel? Questions about agents and publishers? One-on-one appointments may be made with Antony John. Contact Sarah Kohnle (skohnle@msta.org) now to schedule. Limited spots.

©2012 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

I’m thrilled to announce that tomorrow evening there will be a live theater performance of Five Flavors of Dumb at the Loft in Evanston Public Library (Third Floor East of the Main Library, 1703 Orrington Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201. Tel: 847-448-8625).

Here’s the full blurb:

Saturday, July 23, 3 p.m., Community Meeting Room, Main Library.

This summer, the Loft’s teen theater troupe has devised an original theatrical event. Using the language of a modern theater technique called Viewpoints – including gesture, architecture, and space – we have created an interpretation of Antony John’s standout 2011 book, FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB all in only two weeks (or, put another way, six  rehearsals)! Five Flavors of Dumb is the story of Piper, deaf since she was 6 years old, who gets hired to manage a high school band. Her mission? Get them a paying gig within a month. Along the way, she comes to appreciate the transformative power of music, gains new friends, and establishes a new, stronger relationship with her family.

Please join us for this brief one-performance only library event! FREE.

I hope there’s a fantastic turnout for what promises to be an amazing event. And my thanks to everyone involved in making this happen. Just brilliant!

©2012 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.

Okay, that’s not completely true. Actually, I’m sitting on the deck of a house in Myrtle Beach, SC, which is positively idyllic. Later on, I’ll join all Americans in extreme over-consumption of burgers and hot dogs. And possibly beer. Gotta love national holidays.

All of this is a far cry from last week, when I headed to New Orleans for the American Library Association conference. It’s the one where they hand out writing awards, including the Schneider Family Book Award. The good folks at Penguin flew me in to collect the award, and generally enjoy a free vacation in a super-cool city. There’s a lot to like about being an author.

I got in on Sunday, toured the French Quarter, sidestepped the vomit on Bourbon Street, and gorged on a Famous Ferdi Special Po’Boy from Mother’s. I should’ve taken a photo, as it was a beast of a sandwich, but I was up to the challenge. I then spent the evening in a calorie-induced stupor.

On Monday, I met my awesome editor, Liz Waniewski, for breakfast (at Mother’s, because my tummy told me I had to), and we went on to the conference center, which is really quite enormously large. At the entrance were these large panels for all the award winners. As Liz took this photo she remarked that I was wearing the same shirt. I wish I could say that she was wrong, but actually, I really only have a few presentable shirts. My “stay-at-home-dad” wardrobe apparently doesn’t count as business casual. And my “author” wardrobe bears a striking resemblance to my “stay-at-home-dad” wardrobe. Hmm, I might do something about that if I ever win another award.

In the conference center, I had a signing from 10-11AM. It ran over by 15 minutes, and there was a line the whole time. It was incredible–never experienced anything like it. Some people had brought copies of FIVE FLAVORS OF DUMB with them, and almost everyone grabbed an ARC of THOU SHALT NOT ROAD TRIP. It was so cool to meet librarians and teachers and bloggers and teens. Even Lauren Myracle and Richard Peck stopped by, and I totally managed not to become incoherent in front of them, which has to count as a highlight of the trip. A big thanks to the School and Library Marketing folks at Penguin for organizing it all.

Liz then escorted me to the Schneider Family Book Award luncheon, where we met the wonderful panel of librarians who had selected my book for the award. They were delightful and engaging and very thoughtful, and I think we could have stayed there all day if it weren’t for the fact that the room was needed for another group, and I was the only one still eating. (The crawfish salad was out of this world.)

Monday afternoon was a far more thorough tour of the French Quarter with Liz. We ate beignets at Cafe du Monde, where I met author Jackson Pearce, and had dinner at a fabulous restaurant called Felix, where we feasted on gumbo, jumbalaya, catfish, sausage and beans, and a couple of other things that I can’t remember now, but were really good. Normally, I would’ve asked for a take-home box, but just finished everything instead. My tummy did a happy dance.

Monday night Liz and I took in the Printz Award speeches. Some wonderful books and wonderful authors. A.S. King gave a brilliant speech, as did Lucy Christopher. The experience reminded me how glad I was that I wouldn’t have to give a speech on Tuesday. Having to give speeches requires you to not overeat, and to remain utterly sober. Still, I guess it’s worth it if you get a Printz.

After the awards, there were drinks. (Come to think of it, there were a lot of drinks during the conference.) I even had the chance to chat to Sara Zarr, whose books I’ve admired for years. It’s a sign of how amazingly modest and down-to-earth she is, that she peppered me with questions, even though I was determined to ask HER all about her writing.

Perhaps best of all, I (finally) had photos taken with my editors. The first is of me with Andrew Karre (center) and Brian Farrey (left). Andrew edited my first novel, BUSTED, at Flux, and Brian (his successor there) has been in touch since, with words of encouragement. In the second, I’m with Liz (my editor at Penguin Books). Liz and I still have three more books to write together, so I consider her extremely brave, as well as being utterly delightful. It’s truly an honor to work with her–she’s a dream editor in every way.

On Tuesday, we breakfasted at, uh … Mother’s (you can’t say no to The Tummy). We had a rehearsal for the award ceremony, and rode the streetcar out to the Garden District, which is really fancy. Apparently Sandra Bullock moved there last year, and her house is, well … not small. At all. Quite enormous, in fact. Oddly, we didn’t knock on the door and ask if we could join her for a drink. We’re sensitive like that.

In the evening, the award ceremony took place. It was a black tie affair, which meant that I felt extremely awkward. Still, it’s not like many of the other guys looked any more comfortable. I met the other Schneider winners (George Ella Lyon and Lynne Avril for the picture book award, and Jordan Sonnenblick for the middle grade award) and all of them were lovely, and just as excited as I was. We went up onstage and got our awards from the president of ALA. All very inspiring, I must say. Then Liz and I went out to try New Orleans’ famous cocktail, the Sazerac. Again, yum.

I flew home on Wednesday with only a Central Grocery’s muffuletta for company. Still, if you have about 8000 calories in your hands, it’s hard to feel too lonely.

©2012 Antony John. All Rights Reserved.