Books, Chocolate, Sundries.

I first spoke to Michael Cart, former president of YALSA and a columnist for Booklist, when I interviewed him for my New York Times essay a year ago, and I was instantly enamoured by his knowledge of and passion for YA literature. Recently he interviewed me for a podcast that’s up now on the YALSA blog, and it was wonderful to talk to him again.

Michael is a beautiful writer—here is a quote from his book Passions and Pleasures: Essays and Speeches About Literature and Libraries. It’s the best quote I’ve ever read about the beauty and power of libraries:

“I’ve loved libraries ever since I was a kid who felt he was the only one of his kind in the world. Because the library provided the only place where I felt I belonged. It provided my own personal community. It was then, as now, a place of light—and enlightenment—in the darkness. A place of warmth in the cold, of shelter in the storm; a place of sometimes necessary refuge and sanctuary; a place of civilization, of a center that can hold when elsewhere things are falling apart; a place of unfettered, uncensored access to information and ideas in all their myriad varieties of form and format; a place of equalizing opportunity; a place of commonality and community where we can all congregate, commune, discover, and celebrate our common humanity. Thank God for it.”

One of my favorite parts of this podcast is when Michael starts talking about how we define YA literature. He says: “It’s a fascinating time in the evolution of young adult literature, and frankly, I’m supposed to be an expert in YA, and I’m not so sure anymore that I even know what that term ‘young adult literature’ or ‘young adult novel’ means. It’s a question that one is asked all the time by people who are interested in YA, by writers and librarians and educators and teens themselves…and I’m struggling with my own re-definition of YA. But it’s wonderful. I think it’s glorious. It’s opened up the field dramatically. And I think it has really been the making of young adult literature. And it has also made possible the advent of the literary novel for young adults. In the past that would’ve been a sticking point, because your book for example is very reflective…it’s told in the first-person voice of your protagonist Mia, but it’s all about how she deals with the various stages of grief, and in that sense it’s a very interior novel which would not have been terribly welcome in young adult literature less than ten years ago.”

“I’m not even sure how welcome it is now,” I said, “since I’ve had three different YA authors tell me they thought my book wasn’t YA. Because of the short story structure or because it’s such an interior novel.”

Michael said, “Tell them Uncle Michael says that’s hogwash! It is a YA novel, but it’s a new kind of YA novel. It’s in the vanguard of the new YA novel. For years and years people regarded that term ‘young adult literature’ as an oxymoron—but not anymore. It does seem to me—as I have said to you several times—YA is presently one of the most dynamic areas of publishing. It’s not the easiest field to work in however, because it is changing dramatically, and nobody is quite sure what it is, nor are they quite sure how to market it or how to sell it.”

Seriously—he is wonderful.

Tags: Michael Cart, YA lit

A friend sent me the link to this LA Times blog piece about another 100 Best Books list, this time on NPR, that has 93 books by men and 7 by women on it. (And I like how Nicole Krauss is tacked on as the last one, as if the writer was thinking…”Oh yeah, who’s that chick who’s Jonathan Safran Foer’s wife?”)

What’s depressing is how reflective it is of other lists, especially the Modern Library’s list of 100 Best Novels, which included 92 books by men and 8 by women. And almost all of those by white people.

It’s reflective of the history of major literary awards in adult fiction:

Nobel: 94 men, 11 women
Pulitzer: 64 men, 28 women
National Book Awards: 43 men, 15 women
National Book Critics Circle Awards: 26 men, 12 women
PEN Faulkner: 23 men, 5 women

Statistics like these make me want to crawl under the covers. At least in YA fiction, more recently-founded awards, such as the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (started in 1996) and the Printz (started in 2000) have been more egalitarian:

Printz: 5 women, 5 men (hurrah!)
National Book Awards: 8 women, 5 men (hurrah! hurrah!)

Let’s hope that keeps up—it’s yet another reason to celebrate the YA world.

My friend Bonnie (who’s also from NYC) and I went to our first rodeo recently, and we had the time of our lives. All my cowboy experience heretofore has come solely from multiple readings and weepy viewings of Brokeback Mountain. And from seeing guys dressed as cowboys in gay bars in the West Village, which is just not the same as real live serious wearing-cowboy-hats-not-only-for-Halloween cowboys.

Bonnie and I were agog. Agog and smitten. I’m from Queens! We don’t have people there who can rope a calf in 8 seconds! And ride a bronco! I didn’t even know broncos were real. I thought they were just in movies.

The whole place smelled like cow. In a good way. And I ate my first corn dog–not a lot of corn dogs in Queens either–and it was sweet and salty and delicious.

We also got to meet Miss Rodeo Austin and Miss Rodeo Austin Princess in their sparkly outfits. They were signing photos and Bonnie and I got signed photos of them as gifts for our husbands.

They signed them: “Cowboy up!” And “Rope your dreams!”

I’m going to frame their signed photos. I mean, if you’re having a crappy day and then you look up and see Miss Rodeo Austin telling you to Cowboy Up! And Rope Your Dreams! It has GOT to make you feel better.

My fave cowboy of the night was a 19-year-old named Tuf Cooper. So, yes, I am officially changing my Secret Fantasy Boyfriend to Tuf Cooper. How can you not fall in love with someone named Tuf Cooper? Even if he is a tad young for me. Who cares! He can rope a calf in 8 seconds! Can Nate Silver rope a calf in 8 seconds? No f-ing way. Sorry, Nate.

Tuf, I wish I knew how to quit you.

I interviewed Sherman Alexie recently, when he was speaking nearby in College Station, Texas,* and the interview is up now on failbetter.com. If you ever have a chance to hear Sherman speak, definitely, definitely go. Sometimes meeting writers whose work you deeply admire isn’t such a good idea (I have one short story based on such a meeting here.)** But Sherman is even better in person, if that’s possible. (And extremely handsome, too! Especially when he’s in the bathtub.)

Here are a few outtakes, which ended up on the editing room floor:

You’ve said that you plan to rewrite and re-publish Flight someday. Is that still true?

No. I’m always saying that, that I’ll remake movies or rewrite books…I never will.

Do you think Face is your best book of poetry yet?

I think it’s the third best one. I think First Indian on the Moon is the best one, and then The Business of Fancydancing, and then Face. Part of it is that I just miss that kid I was when I wrote the other ones…that kid was brand new.

The last time we spoke you said you felt more free writing YA—you felt freer than when you write for adults. Do you still feel that way?***

Yeah, it felt new. I’m still excited. I still feel freer than adult, I still think so. Maybe with the sequel that will change, but I still think it was such a huge thing, it felt like the start of a career again, so I guess that’s what I was trying to say.

I read the thirty-page sample of Radioactive Love Song that your publisher produced for BEA last year and I loved it. What happens after those first thirty pages?

He goes on a road trip. His mother dies pretty quickly…that was one of the issues of the book, because I needed to get him on the road trip, and I needed him to have that time with her, so I haven’t figured out how to make that work yet. There have been different versions…sometimes she dies fairly quickly, sometimes a third of the novel is about her dying…and I just couldn’t find the right balance. I’ve worked on it now for a year and a half, but I have five or six other novels that are put away too. I have no problem putting away books. I’ll just write another one.

William, the narrator, is such a sweet character though! I’m sad that I won’t hear the rest of the story for a long time. Don’t you feel bad abandoning him?

No. He’s in a very safe warm environment. He’s not going away! The book will be published. It’s signed. There’s a contract. I’ve been paid money for it.

Okay, I feel a little better…I just really liked him. Zombies or unicorns?

I’m a zombie guy. I have a t-shirt of Big Foot wrestling a unicorn.

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*Possibly one of the most depressing-looking towns I’ve ever been to. Good lord–military architecture is soul-crushing. Those buildings actually make NYC public school buildings look…fancy.

**In fact there are some writers I wish I’d never met in person, since I can’t even look at their work in the same way again, without thinking: Nice story…but what a f-ing ASS.

***His quote from our NY Times interview a year ago: “Actually while writing True Diary I didn’t feel freer because it was autobiographical, but in this new novel, Radioactive Love Song, I feel freer—it’s like running through the streets screaming happily—it revolves around music and his seven favorite songs—writing about music has freed me rather than falling back on my old habits and tricks—it’s given me new dreams, new desires.”

Tags: Sherman Alexie, YA lit

1. I met so many amazing women…I laughed so much at our table at the Random House dinner that my face hurt. Librarians are incredible. And sexy. Single men, get thee to a library conference.

With the lovely Kelly, Random House publicist extraordinaire

2. Dinner with Nancy Werlin the first night. We talked about books and writing and love…she’s an incredible person. It was one of those dinners where time seems to stop, and afterward you feel renewed and happy.

3. Wings & Waffles at the Breakfast Klub. Yes, I ate fried chicken for breakfast, and it was FANTASTIC.

4. Meeting the fabulous Readergirlz— Dia Calhoun, Lorie Ann Grover, and Justina Chen Headley—the same day they recommended my book. I’ve always loved their site and it was a pleasure to meet them in person.

5. Our panel about women in YA was so much fun. We spoke about (among other subjects): the unique nature of the YA genre, the differences between YA and adult lit, and the importance of writing about the inner lives of girls and women.

6. Drinking champagne and toasting Cassandra Clare’s debut on the NYT bestseller list!

7. Crazily fun late night talks in the hotel bar about very non-PG-rated subjects with Justine Larbalestier, Scott Westerfeld, John Green, Cassie Clare, Varian Johnson, Jenny Ziegler, Chris Barton, and Margaret Miller. (Non-PG-rated talk may have been enhanced by champagne.)

8. After watching me ogle the fashion book Born-Again Vintage, the very sweet Dave on the Random House adult side gave me a copy the last day. Thank you, Dave! I’m kind of obsessed with the re-created vintage clothes in this book. I just need to learn how to sew now…

9. I MET MEG CABOT. And she was incredibly nice and wore a gorgeous green dress and shoes. I kept thinking: I am talking to Meg Cabot about zappos and net-a-porter and I think I love her.

10. Room service breakfast! Two cups of coffee…one for me and one for John Green. Just kidding. The second cup belonged to Jenny Ziegler, who was lots of fun to room with. Jenny and I stayed up till all hours talking about books, love, books, boys, books, motherhood, and more books… (John Green was such a lazybones, he didn’t even wake up for the room service breakfast. I guess the night with me and Jenny knocked him out. Understandably…)

I’m leaving tomorrow for the Texas Library Association conference in Houston, and I’m really looking forward to it. This is my first conference since I went to NCTE/ALAN in November. One of the best parts of that conference was a dinner out one night with four fabulous women: Linda Sue Park, Nancy Werlin, Elizabeth Partridge, and Tanya Lee Stone. Here’s a photo of us afterward, looking full and happy (sadly I forgot to take it until after Elizabeth left):

I think we look like the Children’s Literature version of Sex and the City.

Here’s my schedule at TLA:
Tuesday, March 31
2-3:50pm: Women of YA Lit +1 with Nancy Werlin, Cassandra Clare, Justine Larbalestier, and Patrick Jones
Convention Center, Room 370

Wednesday, April 1
11am-12pm: I’ll be signing books at the Convention Center Autographing Area

Thursday, April 2:
1-1:30pm: Texas Teens For Libraries (TT4L) Author Chat with Scott Westerfeld
Hilton Americas, Grand Ballroom D&E

I have an interview on the Young Adult Round Table blog here. My favorite question was “BBQ or Tex Mex?” though, upon reflection, I’m sorry I didn’t mention the amazingness of Taco Deli chocolate mole tacos. And their breakfast tacos (especially the spinach ones with chorizo…) In fact I just had one this morning and it was SO GOOD. What else can you get that is so incredibly delicious and only $2?

…it’s nice when Brooklyn comes to you. I was in the airport last Sunday wondering: What is all of Williamsburg doing in the Austin airport? There were more hipsters than I’d seen in ages—tons of guys with shaggy hair, crayola-colored sweaters and matching crayola-colored sneakers, cigarettes dangling from their mouths as they waited for their instruments to come off the baggage carousel. I’d forgotten it was SXSW.

The festival was lots of fun, as much for the people-watching as for the music. Some new music discoveries:

Local Austinite Amy Cook, especially the song “Hotel Lights”

Vetiver’s “Everyday”

Last, but definitely not least, Japanese hair metal band Quaff. Don’t they just make you want to run away from everything, to be their road ho?

While staying in a hotel last night, I came across a massive shelf of books that guests had left behind. I love seeing what books people read while traveling—there were a lot of mysteries and thrillers (but also, strangely, a copy of the reference book The Best in Children’s Books, 1985-1990 –left behind by a librarian?) I took it back to my room with about ten other books, trying to decide which one to read. I read parts of all of them until I settled on If I Live to Be 100, a collection of centenarians’ stories that was originally an NPR series. I’d never heard of this book before, and I’m so glad I found it. One of my favorite stories in it is by Anna Wilmot, who at 103 lives alone, happily, by a lake. Every day she reads romance novels and mysteries, and she has such joy in daily life. She loves to skinny-dip—”But only if it’s foggy and there’s no fishermen around!”

You can listen to Anna’s story, and others from the series, here.

I love this book also because Neenah Ellis talks about what it’s like to be an interviewer, that strange and mysterious interaction between interviewer and subject, and the intense connection that’s sometimes made when you look into someone’s eyes and hear their stories. . .
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A few links:

Laurel Snyder has an essay on Jewish children’s literature in Nextbook. It’s a great essay! Don’t miss it.

Two beautiful poems by Major Jackson in failbetter: “Leave It All Up to Me” and “Lorca in Eden.”

My friend sent me the link to this blog that posts writers’ daily routines. I forget who said it, but I once read a quote that said when writers ask each other what their writing routines are like, what we’re really asking is, “Are you as crazy as I am?”

Our Delacorte Dames and Dude Society is profiled in the Austin Statesman today!

(My husband said, “Why are you holding an umbrella when it’s not raining?” Well, it was raining when we got there…and the photographer told me to! He also said I should hold my red handbag, but I nixed that idea.)

Vampire Cowboy Love will, charming as it sounds, probably *not* be the title of my new YA novel. I have about 200 pages of a rough draft finished, and there are no vampires in it yet (but who knows, maybe they’ll pop in during a scene or two.)

1. Favorite overheard quote: “AWP is like speed dating 7,000 writers.”

2. Biggest mistake I made: Forgot to warn my friend Jim, who was embarking on his first AWP, about FADS (First AWP Despair Syndrome, in which the sufferer is unprepared for the experience of being surrounded by thousands of writers and the resulting angst it produces.) Sorry Jim!

3. Most inscrutable 30 seconds: Catching random parts of poetry videos on the elevator TVs. Who at the Poetry Foundation thought poetry + elevator = good idea?

4. Favorite beverage: Mexican hot chocolate at Ethel’s Chocolate Lounge. I want to marry that hot chocolate and have its chocolate babies

5. Favorite non-conference moment: checking out the snow sculptures across the street

6. Best lunch companion: Justin St. Germain—read new pages of his book, which is going to be a modern classic. It’s the best. I love him.

7. Second favorite overheard quote: “Snuck into the VIP party and it was a geriatric cocktail hour. What are we supposed to aspire to now?”

8. Ickiest moment: Drunk poet at the bar stroking my arm and saying, “Tell me moooore about youuur poetry”

9. Third favorite overheard quote (after seeing Air Force One out the window as our plane was leaving the gate): “There’s Obama! He couldn’t get into the VIP party either.”

10. Proudest moment: Alex Chee gave me the Best Shoes of the conference award!

11. Favorite quote from Pinckney Benedict during our panel: “Abandon those dreams of audience, prizes, and fame because when you achieve them, they’re ashes in the mouth compared to the beauty of making the words on the page. As much as you can, abandon any ambition for the novel except the page you’re working on that day. Make that page ecstatic and beautiful.”