1. Getting to travel with Justina and Dia. Although we missed Holly Cupala and Melissa Walker dearly!
2. Packing up the gifties for publishers who are supporting TBD '09!
3. Finding Jodie Cohen on the floor. She's now at Listening Library. We formerly worked together at Simon and Schuster. Note: she's wearing heels!
4. Meeting the legend Sharyn November who probably has her eyes closed here because she can't believe the ruckus the co-founders of rgz are making over her.
5. My massive fan girl moment over Gary Schmidt where I kept mentioning the breeze, the breeze in Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy. Oh, my.
6. Happening upon Joan Bauer and putting two and two together to remember we first met at SCBWI National where we listened to Karen Hesse speak. I lurve Joan's work!
7. Our presentation to over 200 fantastic Texas librarians!
8. Our signings where S&S provided Hug Hug! and On Pointe for conference attendees.
9. Coming upon Justina's shrine of stars!
10. And then meeting Meg Cabot after working together multiple times with rgz!
There were so many highlights, really:
Authors: Sara Zarr, Ally Carter, Jennifer Zeigler, Justine Larbalestier, Walter Dean Myers, Margo Rabb, John Green, Scott Westerfeld, two Brown Bookshelf co-founders, and Cynthia Leitich Smith (and more, more, more!)
Publishers: the Little, Brown staff--Victoria Stapleton (Who I just love. She brought a chair into the Publishers' Reception. So appreciated. And her humor just cracks me up!) Kate Sullivan who helped carry my bags. How sweet is that? Laura Antonacci from S&S and her full team.
Librarians: our power lunch with Lorienne Roy and a midnight meeting with Beth Yoke. Susi Grissom and Joanna Nigrelli, our Texas hosts. An entire conference full of passionate, generous librarians. Just wonderful!
Here's to a great conference, and the rumor of TLA '10. I hope, I hope, I hope!
And sweet thanks to the librarian who asked me if my hair color was natural and another who gave me the "Best Shoe Award" for the entire conference. *wink*
