WordStock Features the Best of the Pacific Northwest
Sometimes books make it worth standing out in the rain. On November 5th, I had the privilege of attending the expanded WordStock Book Festival in Portland, Oregon.
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Tag: Wordstock
Wordstock Is Back!
Wordstock, a local book festival in Portland, Oregon, is returning next weekend!
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Wordstock Weekend Recap
Well, the Wordstock Book Festival is now over, and I had a fun (and exhausting) time. I was often bouncing back and forth between two or three panels because there were simply so many authors and cartoonists and books that I was curious about. Here’s a whirlwind recap of some of my favorite things from the weekend.
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Wordstock Festival Next Weekend
It’s nearly time for one of my favorite Portland events: Wordstock.
Continue ReadingWordstock Day 2: The Convention Floor, Children’s Lit and Colin Meloy
Wordstock day two offers more joys for the bookworm.
Continue ReadingGet Ready for Wordstock 2012!
Book lovers, get ready! It’s almost time for the annual Wordstock Festival in Portland, Oregon, and as usual they’ve got a fantastic line-up. The book festival will take place October 11-14, and registration opens this week.
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Review: Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes
Peter Nimble is a blind orphan who, under the tutelage of the beggarmonger Mr. Seamus, became trained in the art of thievery. But one day, while breaking into the carriage of a mysterious Haberdasher, he discovers a mysterious box that sets him on a fantastic journey. Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes is, naturally, the story of that journey, and it is filled with magic, adventure, colorful characters, and a riddle.
Continue ReadingWordstock Interview: David Roy of Knowledge Universe
Today I’ve got one more Wordstock interview for you: David Roy of Knowledge Universe, who sponsored the Children’s Stage this year. Unfortunately my audio recording was unusable so I ended up doing the interview over email. Although I wasn’t familiar …
Continue ReadingM.O.M. (Mom Operating Manual): Required Reading for Kids
Last month at Wordstock I spoke to Doreen Cronin, author of the Click, Clack, Moo series and the Diary of a Worm and its sequels. Her books are delightful and chances are you (or your kid) have probably read several …
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The Apothecary Is an Enchanting Concoction
I never know what to expect when I read a statement like “This is her first novel for young readers.” Is the author finally getting to fulfill a long-held desire to write a children’s book? Are they trying to cash …
Continue ReadingAmericus: Defending Books, Coming of Age
As soon as the Harry Potter series started hitting best-seller lists, something came along for the ride: the detractors. The most vocal of these were usually conservative, religious people who felt that the series promoted witchcraft, among other things, and …
Continue ReadingWordstock Interview: Indigo Kelleigh and Stumptown Comics Fest
There was a small comics alley in the exhibit hall at Wordstock, including a booth for the Stumptown Comics Foundation. I spoke to Indigo Kelleigh, the Director of Stumptown Comics Fest, a yearly comics convention in Portland, Oregon. The next …
Continue ReadingWordstock Interview: Marla Frazee
Marla Frazee is an author-illustrator with a couple of Caldecott Honor Awards and several best-sellers under her belt. She teaches children’s book illustration at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and — despite all appearances — is not …
Continue ReadingWordstock Interview: Ryan Alexander-Tanner
I came across Ryan Alexander-Tanner at Wordstock, where he had copies of his book To Teach: The Journey, in Comics. It’s one that I haven’t read myself, but had heard of, so I stopped to chat with him. Alexander-Tanner works …
Continue ReadingThe Familiars: Magical, Somewhat Familiar
Familiars are animals, companions to wizards and witches that assist them with magic. Cats are often associated with witches, and ravens are also a pretty common familiar. In the Harry Potter series, all of the kids have pets which seem …
Continue ReadingWordstock Interview & Book Review: Charlotte Jane Battles Bedtime by Myra Wolfe
Myra Wolfe is the author of a new picture book, Charlotte Jane Battles Bedtime, about a little pirate girl who refuses to go to sleep. It’s a wonderful book, with beautiful illustrations by Maria Monescillo, and it’s a familiar scenario …
Continue ReadingWordstock Interview: Shannon Wheeler
Shannon Wheeler is an incredibly prolific cartoonist. He’s probably best known for his underground comic Too Much Coffee Man, but he has also drawn comics for the New Yorker and has several other books that have come out recently. He …
Continue ReadingWordstock Roundup (GeekDad Weekly Rewind)
This weekend I had the great good fortune to attend Portland’s annual celebration of the written word. My wife is a rockstar for letting me get away all weekend. Wordstock, a 2-day book festival, was held this past weekend in …
Continue ReadingWordstock Interview: Vera Brosgol
Last weekend at Wordstock, I sat in on a panel with Jonathan Hill and Vera Brosgol, both Portland-based cartoonists who have published books with First Second Books this past year. They both shared a bit about their process and read …
Continue ReadingWordstock Interview: Hartlyn Kids
Among the various booths at Wordstock, there are many small publishers trying to get the word out about their books. Tucked away near the Children’s Stage was Hartlyn Kids, a new company with children’s books about different countries. I chatted …
Continue ReadingWordstock Interview: Doreen Cronin
Doreen Cronin is best known for Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type and the several books that it spawned. Or you may have come across her through the Diary of a Worm (or the two follow-ups, about a spider and …
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Wordstock Interview: Jonathan Auxier
At Wordstock 2011, I interviewed Jonathan Auxier about his debut kids’ book, Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes, a magical adventure about a blind orphan thief.
Continue ReadingWordstock Interview: Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobson
Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson are two guys in Los Angeles who have been writing screenplays together for a long time. More recently, they started collaborating on a fantasy book series for middle-grade readers called The Familiars, about a …
Continue ReadingWordstock Roundup
This weekend I had the great good fortune to attend Portland’s annual celebration of the written word. My wife is a rockstar for letting me get away all weekend. Wordstock, a 2-day book festival, was held this past weekend in …
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Wordstock Interview: Pseudonymous Bosch
Pseudonymous Bosch is the author of the Secret Series, five books about a Big Secret, so secret that he really shouldn’t be writing it down except that he’s just not good at keeping secrets.
Continue ReadingWordstock Interview: Jonathan Hill
To kick off my round of Wordstock interviews, I spoke to Jonathan Hill, illustrator of Americus. Jonathan is here in Portland, so I was able to stop by and see his studio space. His drafting table and cart with brushes, …
Continue ReadingWordstock: Like Comic-Con, But With Actual Books
Years ago when I lived in Portland, there was this event that started up called Wordstock. It was like a big book fair, with lots of writers and publishers gathering in the convention center for readings and other book-related activities. …
Continue ReadingGeeking Out About Books
Since this week is Speak Out With Your Geek Out, I thought it’d be nice to talk about one of my favorite subjects. I have a ton of books. No, really: I mean that quite literally. I have somewhere over …
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