Visiting Authors 2012-2013
Aimee Agresti March 12, 2013
The 7th and 8th graders were gathered in the cafeteria on Tuesday, March 12th to hear author, Aimee Agresti. She has two books published, Illuminate and Infatuate, in a three book series. The students were not too familiar with her books before she arrived, but after a 30 minute talk and 15 minute question session, they were eager to purchase her book/s and find out more. Aimee seemed very interested in anything the students had to say. She was an extremely gracious guest and implored any student to email her with comments or questions.
You can read more about this visit on the librarian's blog here. Thanks to Octavia Books and HMH Kids who made this visit possible.
You can read more about this visit on the librarian's blog here. Thanks to Octavia Books and HMH Kids who made this visit possible.
Cory Doctorow Februry 20, 2013
On Wednesday, February 20th, Cory Doctorow stopped at PFTSTA during his multi-city US tour. The whole high school gathered in the cafeteria for this event. What an event it was! The students hung on to his every word and many chose to buy his books. The next day, some sophomores spent an entire English class discussing many of the issues of which Cory is passionate. We were thrilled to have such a thought-provoking speaker. You can find more about Cory's visit and many links related to his message on the librarian's blog here.
We want to thank Judith and Tom at Octavia Books for bringing us Cory Doctorow as well as his publisher MacMillan.
We want to thank Judith and Tom at Octavia Books for bringing us Cory Doctorow as well as his publisher MacMillan.
Ruta Sepetys February 19, 2013
The juniors were in for a treat when Ruta Sepetys visited on Tuesday, February 19th. She is an amazing storytelling and captured the students attention as she told them about her life before she became a writer and how she jumped into the research for her historical fiction in an unconventional way. You can read more about what Ruta told us on the librarian's blog here.
John Corey Whaley Skype February 18, 2013
The members of Bookmarked, the high school book group, spent their weekly meeting talking with Corey Whaley via Skype. The students ate lunch and munched on popcorn while Corey gave them insight into his writing process and what he sees in his future, which of course means more books. You can read more about what Corey had to say on the librarian's blog here.
Lois Lowry talks to kids around the US.
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High school students who loved her books in middle school attend the webcast.
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Lois Lowry Webcast November 7, 2012
Instead of inviting a particular class, on November 7th any student could sign up to attend the webcast with Lois Lowry held in the library. Lowry talked about her inspiration for the Giver series which was initially only going to be one book. The Giver was published in 1993, and the last book in the quartet, Son, was published in 2012. It seems that over the years Lowry received so many questions and letters from kids about what happened to Jonas and Gabe that she felt compelled to hint about their future in Gathering Blue and Messenger. With Son she finally lets her readers know what happened after Jonas took Gabe away in the first book. She took questions from the audience and students at schools around the country. It was a wonderful hour with an author who knows how to speak to kids.
Webcast was shown on the Promethean Board
J K Rowling Webcast October 11, 2012
The 6th graders had an opportunity to join tens of thousands of children around the world as J K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, spoke about her books and her new website Pottermore. It was 45 minutes when you could hear a pin drop in the room of 70 6th graders who were mesmerized by Ms. Rowling's presentation. Read more about it on the librarian's blog.
Gina Damico includes PFTSTA on her Slapdash Book Tour
October 2012 rolled around faster than our heads could spin, but it started with a bang in the PFTSTA Library. Because author, Gina Damico, visited us to talk about Croak and Scorch, the first two books in a trilogy about teenage grim reapers. She had accepted a gig at the Austin Teen Book Festival in Texas, and she decided that it would be fun to drive from her home in Boston to Austin and back. She was going to stop along the way to visit bookstores, libraries and fans. She brought her sister Lisa along for the ride.
At PFTSTA she made a presentation to all the 9th graders. She talked a bit about how the book came about. She had the idea of a teenage girl who gets trained by her uncle to be a grim reaper. She attended an author, agent and publisher event in New York to pitch her book. An agent liked her story and took her on. Gina did not begin her adult life as a writer. She had many jobs before finding this one. Like many other authors, Gina said that the key to good writing is the editing and revising process because she said her first drafts are notoriously bad.
After the presentation, Gina joined Bookmarked, the high school book group, for lunch in the library. Since she was from out of town, we wanted a traditional New Orleans lunch of shrimp and roast beef poboys along with Louisiana made Zapp's potato chips. At lunch, several students caught Gina's ear and many discussed some of their current favorite authors.
Read more about her visit on the librarian's blog.
At PFTSTA she made a presentation to all the 9th graders. She talked a bit about how the book came about. She had the idea of a teenage girl who gets trained by her uncle to be a grim reaper. She attended an author, agent and publisher event in New York to pitch her book. An agent liked her story and took her on. Gina did not begin her adult life as a writer. She had many jobs before finding this one. Like many other authors, Gina said that the key to good writing is the editing and revising process because she said her first drafts are notoriously bad.
After the presentation, Gina joined Bookmarked, the high school book group, for lunch in the library. Since she was from out of town, we wanted a traditional New Orleans lunch of shrimp and roast beef poboys along with Louisiana made Zapp's potato chips. At lunch, several students caught Gina's ear and many discussed some of their current favorite authors.
Read more about her visit on the librarian's blog.
Myra McEntire shares her writing process in a lighthearted way!
At 9AM on September 17th, the sophomores and juniors gathered in the cafeteria for a presentation by the author of Hourglass and Timepiece. This was PFTSTA's first author visit of the year. Myra was delightful and though her sense of humor is dry, most of the kids caught her jokes. She explained how she came to writing late in life, but she has had more years to learn the sense of story. She loves movies and tv to help her with story, pacing, and plot. One of her favorite tv shows is Vampire Diaries which she says has great pacing and wonderful twists. She said that she knows many other authors who also love Vampire Diaries. What does she do before getting down to work each morning? She dances!! She uses dance for inspiration along with taking showers which she calls, thinking showers. The students asked if she would demonstrate her dancing, but we got a no. Her books center around time travel, and she likes to base the sci fi aspect of her books on real science. She does lots of research for her books even though they are just fantasies. She also talked about editing, and how important editing is to end up with a good product. A good book is as much about what gets cut from the story as well as what is kept in. Many students stood in line to get their books signed by the author and enjoy a few minutes of one on one time. Myra was a great listener as well as speaker.
As always we want to thank Judith and Tom at Octavia Books for bringing us Ms. McEntire as well as her publisher Egmont.
As always we want to thank Judith and Tom at Octavia Books for bringing us Ms. McEntire as well as her publisher Egmont.
