Dirty Laundry

ABA WINTER INSTITUTE CONFERENCE

Just got back from Salt Lake City where my awesome publisher Candlewick Press invited me to sign advance copies of Swim the Fly for independent booksellers from around the country.  I had an amazing time - despite a little hiccup trying to fly into Seattle for a connection where the airport was fogged in and they had to turn the plane around to return to Vancouver.  I was lucky enough to get rebooked on a direct flight that got me to Salt Lake City in the nick of time. 

And I’m soooo grateful I was able to make it.  Let me tell you, the independent booksellers I got to talk to were not only some of the nicest, most generous people I’ve ever met, they’re also incredibly passionate and knowledgeable about books.  I implore you to support your local independent bookstores.  They are the lifeblood of the book world and an invaluable resource to our communities.  These booksellers are voracious readers.  They know books.  If you want a suggestion for what book to read next, the women and men who run these stores will be able to give you one that you can trust.  Because they read so much.  And I can’t thank them enough for how embraced they made me feel.

I’ll refrain from mentioning a little incident that may (or may not) have occurred at a dinner I attended with some of these booksellers, where I gave a short presentation about myself and my book, and where I may (or may not) have shucked down to a swim cap, towel and a Speedo.  The pictures may soon surface and if they do, I will claim complete innocence and something about how it’s so easy to Photoshop things these days.

On top of all this, I also got to meet and hang out with Peter Reynolds (another Candlewick author and illustrator) as well as Karen Lotz, Elise Supovitz, and Jeanne Emanuel, three of the incredibly hard working people at Candlewick who were wonderfully kind to me and who have been beyond supportive of Swim the Fly.  I feel so blessed to have landed at such an amazing house. 

Posted by Don Calame on 1.31.09 at 03:43 pm in Prattlings. (1) Comments