Council for Wisconsin Writers

Supporting Wisconsin writers from 1964 to 2022

Jacqueline Houtman

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'Edison Thomas' Author Publishes New Book

Congratulations to Jacqueline Houtman, a CWW award winner for her The Reinvention of Edison Thomas, on the publication of  her new book , BAYARD RUSTIN: THE INVISIBLE ACTIVIST, which she co-wrote with Walter Naegle and Michael G. Long. book cover

 

Jacqueline will read from and discuss this biography on Friday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m. at:

A Room of One’s Own

315 W. Gorham Street

Madison WI 53703

608.257.7888

room.bookstore@gmail.com

Jacqueline and A Room of One’s Own invite all who can to attend and learn about an influential civil-rights and voting-rights advocate few people have ever heard of.

Here’s the link to an interview by Jacqueline’s fellow author (Odin’s Promise) and Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators member, Sandy Brehl: http://www.sandybrehl.com/bayard-rustin-interview-with-co-author-jacqueline-houtman/

Here’s the link to the book at Jacqueline’s website : http://www.jhoutman.com/pages/BAYARDhome.html

CWW is currently accepting entries for all of its contests, including the one for the Tofte-Wright Children’s Literature Award, until January 31, 2015. Check out the details at http://www.wiswriters.org/rules.htm

Best wishes to Jacqueline!

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Children's Writers Report Successes

Prolific author Ann Bausum whose many excellent historical nonfiction books for middle grade and teen readers, which have been published by National Geographic, has a pair of new books out about a World War I heroic canine and his human companion.  Stubby the War Dog “served on 17 battlefronts, suffered wounds from crossfire, became a national celebrity, met three Presidents, and found a best friend in American soldier J. Robert Conroy,” according the the book blurb on Ann’s website. http://www.annbausum.com/stubby-twd.html.  Ann reports that the “California Reading Association recently announced its 2014 EUREKA! Nonfiction Children’s Book Awards. Eight titles earned Gold awards, including my children’s title Stubby the War Dog.” The accompanying adult book is  Sergeant Stubby: How a Stray Dog and His Best Friend Helped win World War I and Stole the Heart of a Nation.  http://www.annbausum.com/stubby-sgt.html

Nanci Mortimer has signed a contract with Wooden Nickel Press for her first picture book, titled Electric Angel, which is due out next October.
The biography,  Bayard Rustin: The Invisible Activist, published by Quaker Books of FGC, which Jacqueline Houtman co-authored with Walter Naegle and Mike Long, is scheduled for release on Nov. 15. Jacqueline will be reading from the book on Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. at A Room of One’s Own bookstore, 315 W. Groham St. in Madison.
Janet Halfmann‘s Rainbow of Birds is available as an audio book, in Janet’s own voice! Here’s the link:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-rainbow-of-birds/id908869143?mt=11
Three of these authors, Ann, Jacqueline and Janet, are previous CWW Tofte/Wright Children’s Literature Award winners!

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WI Children's Book Authors' Spring Release List

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Wisconsin chapter, has issued a flyer listing books by Wisconsin authors and illustrators being published this spring. Here’s the list. The actual flyer is at http://wisconsin.scbwi.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/86/files/2014/01/Spring-Release-Flyer.2014.pdf.  The success of Wisconsin writers and artists is just astounding!

2014 SPRING RELEASES by WISCONSIN Authors and Illustrators

PICTURE BOOKS and EARLY READERS
BEN and ZIP: TWO SHORT FRIENDS by Joanne Linden, art by Tom Goldsmith (Flashlight Press, April, 2014) ISBN:
BIG RIG by Jamie A. Swenson, art by Ned Young (Disney Hyperion, 2/4/14) ISBN: 978-1-4231-6330-5
CORK AND FUZZ: WAIT A MINUTE! By Dori Chaconas, art by Lisa McCue (Viking/Penguin Young Readers, 2/6/14) ISBN: 978-0-670-01481-1
HULA HOOPIN’ QUEEN by Thelma Godin, illustrated by vanes Brantley Newton  (Lee & Low Publishers, April) ISBN: 978-1-60060-846
THE PENTECOST STORY by Elizabeth Jaeger (Concordia Publishing, Arch Books, January) ISBN-13: 978-0-7586-4604-0
RAINBOW OF BIRDS by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by Jack Foster (Guardian Angel Publishing, April) ISBN: 978-1-6163-3462-8

MIDDLE GRADE AND YOUNG ADULT
ASK AGAIN LATER, by Liz Czukas (Harper Teen, 3/11/14) YA Contemporary ISBN: 978-0062272393
KATE WALDEN DIRECTS: NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIE CHICKENS by Julie Mata (Disney Hyperion, 5/20/14) Middle Grade. ISBN: 978-1-4231-9459-0
ODIN’S PROMISE by Sandy Brehl (Crispin Books, 4/15/14) MG Historical Fiction ISBN-13: 978-1-883953-65-2
POET’S WORKSHOP series: Read, Recite, and Write Free Verse Poems; Read, Recite, and Write Limericks; Read, Recite, and Write Narrative Poems; and Read, Recite, and Write Nursery Rhymes. By JoAnn Early Macken (Crabtree Publishing) Available in eBook, paperback, and library binding at www.crabtreebooks.com/catalogs/schoolcatalog/
ROAD TO SOMEWHERE, by Kelley Lynn and Jenny S. Morris (Bloomsbury Spark, 2/11/14) YA Contemporary ISBN:
ROYALLY LOST by Angie Stanton (Harper Teen, 5/6/14) YA ISBN-13: 978-0062272584
SUBSTANCE ABUSE: THE ULTIMATE TEEN GUIDE, by Sheri Bestor  (Scarecrow Press) Non-fiction. ISBN: 9780810885585
WHAT THE MOON SAID by Gayle Rosengren (Putnam Young Readers, 2/20/14) MG Historical Fiction ISBN: 978-0-399-16352-4
WHITE SPACE: Book One of the DARK PASSAGES by Ilsa J. Bick (Egmont USA, February) Young Adult ISBN-10: 1606844199, ISBN-13: 978-1606844199

These books will be eligible for the Council for Wisconsin Writers 2014  Tofte/WrightChildren’s Literature Award , which has been won in recent years by SCBWI members Kathleen Ernst, Janet Halfmann and Jacqueline Houtman. Entry deadline for work published in 2013 is Jan. 31, 2014. Please visit the CWW website at www.wiswriters.org for more details.

 

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WISCBWI Members' Good News

Here are “good news” reports posted the first of the month by children’s authors on the Society for Children’s Writers and Illustrators Wisconsin chapter listserv:

Kelley Gerschke's Young Adult Contemporary, ROAD TO SOMEWHERE, was picked up by Bloomsbury Spark! Release date set for January 2014.

Ann Angel's ADOPTED LIKE ME, MY BOOK OF ADOPTED HEROES, will be released by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, an Indie publisher out of the UK, on Sept. 28. The book is for grade schoolers and includes mini-biographies of 20 famous adoptees, including John Lennon who was raised in a kinship adoption, Marilyn Monroe who had a legal guardian and Bo Diddley and Nelson Mandela who were raised through traditional adoption. "This book was so much fun to write," Ann says, "and I hope it brings a wider view of adoption to all kids."

The Wisconsin Library Association will be awarding former Wisconsin resident Sheri Sinykin's ZAYDE COMES TO LIVE its Elizabeth Burr/Worzalla Award at their convention in Green Bay Oct. 23. WLA also invited Sheri, who now lives in Massachusetts, to give her Power Point presentation for adults "GOOD GRIEF: How to Talk to A Child about Death" on Oct. 24.

The Willard Grizzell Middle School in Dublin, Ohio, is sharing Pat Schmatz's BLUE FISH as read-aloud with Pat reading the final chapter on tape. Then Pat will be the school's visiting author for a full day in November.

Eva Apelqvist will discuss her book LGBTQ Families on Oct. 10 on the UW Barron County campus in Rice Lake, as a part of the UW Barron County lecture series, which Eva says is open to the public and, she thinks, is free.

THE REINVENTION OF EDISON THOMAS author Jacqueline Houtman will talk about Sciency Fiction and demonstrate an eddy coil at the Wisconsin Science Festival on Sept. 29 at ll a.m. in the Institutes for Discovery.

Lisl Detlefsen has sold her first picture book, TIME FOR CRANBERRIES, which is due for release in the fall of 2015. Lisl says TIME FOR CRANBERRIES is a special project for her because it was inspired by a cranberry marsh where she lives that has been in her husband's family for more than 140 years. 

 
 
 

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Up-Coming Writer-Related Events

The following list of events is shamelessly lifted from the most recent issue of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators newsletter:

Mark your calendars for these upcoming Wisconsin book festivals:

 September 28-30, 2012: Wisconsin Writers Association fall conference in Wisconsin Rapids. Miranda Paul will give a presentation. See the web site at www.wiwrite.org.

 Saturday, September 29, 2012: 2012 Edgerton Sterling North Book and Film Festival and annual Book Fair, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Edgerton High School. SCBWI-Wisconsin will have a booth where we [Wisconsin SCBWI] can sell members’ books. Volunteer if you can help staff the booth. More information is at edgertonbookfestival.com/Book_Fair.html.

 October 12-14, 2012: Sheboygan Children’s Book Festival. For kids, teens, families, and booklovers of all ages. The theme for this year’s Sheboygan Children’s Book Festival is Family. [Wisconsin SCBWI] Members Lisa Albert, Ilsa Bick, Jacqueline Houtman, and Rebecca Hogue Wojahn are speaking. See the web site at sheboyganchildrensbookfestival.org.

 November 7-11: The Wisconsin Book Festival in Madison will feature a number of Wisconsin SCBWI members, including W.H. Beck, Ilsa J. Bick, Bridget Birdsall,
Kathleen Ernst, Janet Halfmann, E. M. Kokie, Pat Schmatz, and Kashmira Sheth. For more details, see www.wisconsinbookfestival.org.

 February 7-9, 2013: The Wisconsin State Reading Association Annual Convention, Frontier Airline Center, Milwaukee. The theme is “Literacy Lifts Lives –Heart…Mind…Voice.” Exhibit viewing times are Thursday, February 7, from 7:30 to 4:30 and Friday, February 8, from 7:30 to 3:00. SCBWI-Wisconsin will have a booth where we can distribute members’ literature and sell members’ books. Watch for information on sending your literature for distribution; volunteer if you can help staff the booth.

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Lots of Wisconsin Children Writers' September News

Julie Mata Sanchez reports that she  recently signed with literary agent Catherine Drayton at Inkwell Management, who will be representing Julie’s middle grade novel,  Kate Walden Directs: Night of the Zombie Chickens.

CWW’s 2010 Tofte/Wright Children’s Literature Award winner Jacqueline Houtman’s The Reinvention of Edison Thomas has come out in paperback.

Kashmira Sheth’s chapter book, The No-Dogs-Allowed Rule, is out and has garnered a Kirkus review that says, in part, “While the multicultural aspect of this title is important, its real strength is the familiarity of Ishan’s situation. Elementary school readers will find it easy to identify with both his younger-brother troubles and his desperate desire for a dog. Just right for aspiring pet owners. The full review is on Kashmira’s website at http://kashmirasheth.com/books/younger_readers/no_dogs_allowed_rule.php. Kashmira has a scheduled book launch on Sept. 18 at 7 p.m.  at Barnes and Noble West in Madison. More details are at http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/3822235.

Emily “E.M.” Kokie’s YA novel,  Personal Effects, is due out on Sept. 11. Her launch party is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sept. 16 at A Room Of One’s Own in Madison. Reviews are rolling in. Excerpts from Kirkus, VOYA and Horn Book are on her blog at http://emkokie.com/attractive_nuisance/2012/08/28/its-going-to-be-a-busy-fall/.

CWW’s 2011 Tofte/Wright Children’s Literature Award winner Janet Halfmann’s  Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story is due out in paperback this month. Her Star of the Sea: A Day in the Life of a Starfish will be one of the books representing Wisconsin authors at the National Book Festival in Washington, DC,  Sept. 22-23, for which Janet thanks Wisconsin Center for the Book and Council for Wisconsin Writers. Her Good Night, Little Sea Otter will be promoted by Friends of the Sea Otter as part of the national annual Sea Otter Awareness Week the last week of September. Plus both Star of the Sea and Good Night, Little Sea Otter are in aquarium gift shops around the country.

Lisa Moser’s latest picture book, Railroad Hank, is being released on September 25.  Lisa will be helping with story-time on at 2 p.m. on Sept. 29 and signing books afterwards at Next Chapter Bookshop in Mequon.

CWW’s 2011 Anne Powers Fiction Book Award winner Kathleen Ernst issued the following news release about her latest “American Girl” creation:

For the last three years I have been working on a secret project for Middleton-based American Girl. They tasked me with researching and creating their next new American Girl historical character — and writing books about her life and times. Starting next week the remaining secrecy ends.

My six books about Caroline Abbott, and the beautiful doll created to represent her, will be officially released by American Girl.

To celebrate, I’m introducing her at Madison’s Barnes & Noble West Towne.

(While I’m scheduled to leave soon on an extended author’s tour that includes Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Seattle, and Washington, this will be the very first public opportunity, anywhere, for readers to hear me talk about Caroline’s adventures — and to see the doll.)

Barnes & Noble West Towne will have all of the Caroline books available. I’m looking forward to personalizing and signing them, and to posing for pics with American Girl fans. The fun starts at 6:00 PM, but I’ll be there until 7:30 PM.

BTW, did I mention that everyone who attends will receive a special, complimentary bookmark, and that I’ll be giving away several door prizes?

Creating Caroline has been an extraordinary experience. I believe that you (or your daughter, neice, or granddaughter) will find her stories both exciting and heartwarming. I’d be delighted to see all of you next Wednesday.

CWW congratulates all of these writers’ achievements and wishes each of them continued success.

CWW website is www.wiswriters.org. Come visit us!