This past weekend, I was in Boston to receive the Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Honor Award for Smile!

The Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards have been presented every year since 1967, choosing Winners and Honors for fiction, nonfiction, and picture book titles...and this is the very first time a graphic novel has been awarded.

I can't tell you how thrilled I was to receive this honor by the awards committee, and I can't thank the judges (Julie Just, of the NY Times; Gregory Maguire, whose book Wicked you may have heard of; and Martha V. Parravano, executive editor at Horn Book) enough. The rest of the Horn Book staff, most especially editor in chief Roger Sutton, also deserves huge and amazing thanks for their kindness, and I can't overlook the staff at Simmons College, who not only have a long-standing history tied in with the Awards, but also hosted the events this weekend.

The ceremony was held on a stormy Friday evening, and I had to make a short speech--I was pretty nervous, but in the end didn't trip or fall or embarrass myself. Listening to the other Honoree and Award-winners' speeches was incredibly inspiring, and I felt so humbled to be among all them.

After the ceremony, I got to sign copies of Smile, and then went to a really fun and delicious dinner with my Scholastic friends. I was happy to be joined by my editor, Cassandra Pelham, as well as folks from the publicity and marketing departments, and also the independent bookstore owners who were selling our books at the weekend's events.

The next day, Simmons College hosted an all-day colloquium with the Winners and Honorees, as well as the judges, Horn Book staff, editors, and librarians. I met a ton of interesting people and had some very meaningful conversations. It's always nice to talk to groups who aren't necessarily familiar with graphic novels, and spread the joy to all of them. I had a very fulfilling day. This was followed by a dinner with Horn Book folks and some of the Award recipients, and that gave me a chance to finally talk to some of them, and relax in the company of interesting people and great food. I went home with a full belly and a very full heart.

Although our time in Boston was short, it was one of the best weekends of my life. I was thrilled as always to be able to share the experience with my husband (and unofficial photographer), Dave Roman, and we both felt like we walked away with many new terrific friends and heads full of ideas.

Thanks again, to everyone who made it possible.

I'll be giving a presentation at the Steinway branch of the Queens Library on Wednesday, September 29! Steinway Branch: Queens Public Library Astoria, NY 4 - 5 PM

I'll be doing this again at the Astoria branch, next week--I'll make another blog post about that soon!

This weekend, I'll be helping lead a workshop at the Dumbo Arts Festival in Brooklyn, NY! Here are the details: Sunday, September 26 Comic Book Artist Workshop with Christine Norrie and Friends The Art Garage 51 Jay Street Brooklyn, NY [MAP] 11 AM - 12 PM

Christine, along with Raina Telgemeier, will help guide children as they tell a story through a set of comic book style illustrations.

This event is free and open to the public! Ages 6 and up are welcome. Hope you can join us--I haven't been to the Dumbo Arts Festival since 2002, but it's a fascinating area of the city, and the whole neighborhood gets taken over by art, artists, and unique experiences!

Occasionally, I do little drawings. Here are some new ones. Click on any image to see it larger:

These and a couple more will be for sale at SPX this weekend, first-come first-served.

We're also doing a T-shirt liquidation sale! I'll have a bunch of my blue "Windy Girl" T-shirts available for only $10 each. They look like this!

We'll also have Teen Boat and Astronaut Elementary shirts. All ten bucks a pop! Get 'em while they last!

Find me with the Comics Bakery at Table G15-16, right in front as you walk into the convention! Look for my big SMILE banner!

I'm delighted to announce that I created this year's poster for SPX, one of my very favorite small press comic conventions! Here it is: (Click to view larger)

Every year, after the Ignatz Awards ceremony, the con staff rolls out one of the best parts of the weekend: a huge chocolate fountain, and a mountain of awesome things to dip in it: fruit, cake, marshmallows, brownies, the works. Everyone stands around and eats junk food and talks comics and it's just lovely. I wanted to incorporate that feeling into the poster. You'll be able to buy prints of the poster at the convention, and the money goes back into supporting SPX itself.

The convention will be held September 11-12 in Bethesda, MD. I'll be exhibiting with the Comics Bakery at Table G15-16, right as you walk into the front of the hall past registration.

I'll be on one panel, here are the details:

Comics for Younger Readers Saturday, Sept. 11 5:00 PM Brookside Conference Room

Book-length comics for younger readers are increasingly following graphic novels for adults into the bookstore and library shelves. Johanna Draper Carlson will discuss the pleasures and challenges of creating comics for younger readers with the collaborative duo Metaphrog, Aaron Renier, Raina Telgemeier, and Drew Weing.

Can't wait to see everyone in Bethesda! Hooray for comics!

Wednesday, September 1, I'm joining a bunch of other amazing creators for a Carousel event at the Chatham Square Branch of the NYPL!

What's a Carousel, you ask? It's basically a live reading of a comic. The images are projected onto a screen, and the artist reads the dialogue to the audience. I do this all the time in my presentations, but the person who originated the idea, R. Sikoryak, is a master of both the cartooning medium and the performance itself! I'll be joined by R., Dave Roman, Aaron Renier, George O'Connor, and Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan--each and every one of them creators of brilliant books I've not only read, but loved.

The event: Wednesday, September 1 4 PM NYPL Chatham Square Branch 33 East Broadway, NY NY

I hope you'll join us!

Another new comic is up! This one's 5 pages long, and is about one of my less-than-proud childhood moments. In my defense, I was in kindergarten, and playground rules are different than normal ones! At any rate: please don't try this at home.

Also, hey! I'm doing a signing this Friday at Forbidden Planet in New York City, in honor of the brand-new Reading With Pictures anthology! I've got a short story in the book, so come on down, grab a copy, and support a great cause.

Friday, August 13 Forbidden Planet 840 Broadway NYC 7:30 - 8:15 PM

I added a new short comic to the webcomics section of the site: this one is called Can I Try an Eskimo Pie?

I wrote up a con report about our wonderful time at San Diego Comic-con, which was this past weekend, over on my Livejournal! Click here to read. (It was a bit too long to put here on my site, which I don't know how to code cuts for!)

And if you just like looking at pictures, you can do so on Dave's and my Flickr page. =)

Oh boy! I missed it last year, but this year I'll be returning to San Diego for... COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL!!

I'll be around all weekend (July 21-25), exhibiting primarily at the Flight Booth, #2235. Joining me will be some of the other Graphix creators: Kazu Kibuishi and Jake Parker, of Amulet and Missile Mouse, respectively. And of course, the whole Flight crew will be on hand with a brand-new volume of the anthology! The Flight booth is where you'll be able to find SMILE at Comic-Con this year, so if you'd like to buy a copy or have your copy signed, stop by! I'll also have some original art and a few other goodies as well.

While I'll be stationed at the Flight booth most of the time, I'll be appearing in a few other places over the course of the con...

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Friday, July 23 Signing at the Cartoon Art Museum Booth for their annual Sketch-A-Thon! A $10 donation toward the museum gets you a drawing by me! 3 - 4 PM Booth #1930

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Saturday, July 24 Panel: Comics in the Library 11 AM - 12 PM Room 8

How are comics used in libraries? This panel discusses the variety of ways that libraries around the countries have begun to integrate comics into their collections and programming. Special attention is paid to the following subjects: comics for early readers; nonfiction comics, comics for adult readers. Presented by Francisca Goldsmith (Infopeople), Merideth Jenson-Benjamin (Glendale Public Library), JoAnn Jonas (San Diego County Library), Tuan Nguyen (Texas Maverick Graphic Novel List), Jill Patterson (OC Public Libraries), and comics creator Raina Telgemeier (Smile). Moderated by John Hogan (The Graphic Novel Reporter).

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EDITED TO ADD: Sunday, July 25 Panel: Kids Draw! 12 - 1 PM Room 30CDE

Dave Roman, John Green and I will be doing an interactive comics drawing panel for kids! All ages welcome.

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And if you spot me walking the floor, please say hello! I love meeting readers and fellow comics creators. I look a little something like this...

Cool stuff keeps on happening! Here are a few links... Slate.com reviews SMILE!

Recently, I was a guest on two episodes of the Art & Story Podcast! One is an hour-long meditation on comics storytelling, memoir writing, and craft, using SMILE as a jumping-off point, and the other is a 20-minute chat with the same guys about how I ripped off one of my toenails last month, and whether stories about modern kids and teens need to include technology like cell phones. Thanks to Jerzy, Mark, and Kevin for having me on.

The A&S guys are giving away a free hardcover copy of SMILE--details are here! The deadline is Wednesday, July 14, so get your entries in soon.

Finally, and this really blew me away: New York Times editor Julie Just appeared on a recent episode of ABC News Now, in a segment on Great Summer Reads--and not only did she recommend SMILE, but the Baby-sitters Club graphic novels, as well!! This is really exciting! And yes, they pronounced my name correctly...but spelled it wrong onscreen. These things happen. :)

I've got some original pieces in a neat gallery show, STORYTIME!, at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco!

Here's the official info from the press release:

Storytime! Graphic Novels for Kids of All Ages June 26 - November 14, 2010 Cartoon Art Museum 655 Mission Street San Francisco, CA

Over the past decade, graphic novels have exploded in popularity with children and teenagers. The Cartoon Art Museum’s latest exhibition, Storytime! Graphic Novels for Kids of All Ages, features the work of ten influential cartoonists whose work broke new ground in bookstores and libraries. Their graphic novels are promoted as product for the children and young adult marketplace but these innovative graphic novels are captivating to readers of all ages. Co-curators Andrew Farago and Larry Marder have placed a special emphasis on the creative processes used by the individual artists. Visitors are invited to peek over the shoulders of the creators and follow along from the first sketchbook doodles all the way to the printed page.

I've got five original pages from SMILE in the show (the very San Franciscan Loma Prieta earthquake sequence, in fact), and they appear alongside the work of some true comics luminaries: Jeff Smith, Stan Sakai, Mo Willems, Irving Tripp, Virginia Hubbell, Lark Pien, Dave Roman, Hope Larson, and Larry Marder! The show shines a special spotlight on process and technique, so you can see plenty of thumbnails, writing samples, and sketches alongside the final artwork.

If you're in San Francisco and would like to see how my work looks in person, I heartily recommend stopping by the Cartoon Art Museum, a wonderful place to visit anytime. I'll be doing an artist-in-residence program there in October, and the show will be up through mid-November.

I'm enjoying a bit of downtime, now that my 12-week run of spring events is over. Of course, it's only a couple of weeks till Comic-Con International in San Diego, but I'm trying to get a bunch of work done before that! Never a dull moment around here! See you soon.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that today's Cul de Sac featured Petey reading a copy of SMILE--it's not every day that my book shows up in my CURRENT FAVORITE COMIC STRIP!!

Seriously, I got into comics because of comic strips in the first place. CdS is by FAR my favorite strip currently in print, and in my top 5 of all time strips, joining the ranks of Calvin and Hobbes and For Better or For Worse. Richard Thompson is a swell guy and a brilliant cartoonist, and I had the distinct pleasure of not only talking shop with him at Heroes Con earlier this month, but also doing an art trade! I gave him one of my original Baby-sitters Club pages, and in return got to come home with a beautiful CdS original. It's going to get a nice frame job, and then it'll join the growing collection of artwork on my living room walls.

Anyway, to wake up to this surprise this morning was a real treat. I think someone else colors the CdS dailies, not Richard himself, so that would explain the orange color on the cover. Richard did confirm, however, that that is indeed my SMILE in Petey's hands.

I can't believe my 12-week run of events is almost over! I've got one more good one before I wrap up things for a bit, though: The American Library Association's Annual Conference, in Washington, DC!

I'll only be at ALA for one day, Monday, June 28, but I plan to make the most of it. Here's the event I'll be doing:

Monday, June 28 1:00PM - 2:00PM

Authors on the Pavilion: A Conversation With Raina Telgemeier,
Smile (Scholastic) Moderated by Brigid Alverson
(Good Comics for Kids/School Library Journal) Graphic Novel Pavilion Stage

(located on the map where you see booths 2264 thru 2267)

Brigid will be interviewing me about Smile, and my earlier work, and we'll be showing some slides and images from my career. After that, I will be signing copies of Smile, so if you don't have one yet, come and get one from me there!

The other graphic novel-centric programming can be found at this link.

Librarians and attendees, if you'd like to meet up or chat at some point on Monday, please drop me a line! I'll be at the conference all day, and while there are a couple of panels I plan to attend, I'll have some free time, too.

And after ALA, I've got a few weeks off! My next event forthcoming is San Diego Comic-Con International, which I'll make a big post about soon. In the meantime, enjoy the summer!

Some VERY exciting news: SMILE was recently named as an Honor Book in the 2010 Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards for Excellence in Children’s Literature!! This is the first time a graphic novel has made it onto the list, and I'm extremely humbled to share the short list with such an amazing group of talented authors. You can read the full press release here.

I'll be traveling up to Boston in October for the awards ceremony, and look forward to meeting and congratulating the other winners and honorees!

Michigan was a blast, and I'm only home for two days this week before I jet off to Canada...here's what I'll be up to, up there:

Friday June 18th Ladies' Night at Strange Adventures 5262 Sackville Street Downtown Halifax, NS 6pm to 9pm

This will be a lot of fun! Halifax's own comic shop, Strange Adventures, is throwing a ladies-only party, so us girls can talk comics with other girls in a friendly, welcoming environment. I'll have copies of Smile, the BSC books, and X-Men: Misfits. There will be prizes! And snacks! And I get to hang out with my friend Faith Erin Hicks, who is the event's other special guest! I am told guys can hang out at the pub next door! :)

Saturday June 19 Grand Opening of Dartmouth Strange Adventures 101 Portland Street Downtown Dartmouth, NS Noon to 6pm

The next day, come celebrate the opening of Strange Adventures' second store branch, in Dartmouth, NS--you can take a ferry to get there! Dave and I will both be signing and hanging out from 1-3. Everyone is welcome at this event, so I hope you'll come by and say hello.

I'm looking forward to finally seeing the Maritimes--after our trip to Maine a few weeks ago, I'm craving more sea breezes and harbor views.

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I'll post more about this next week, but: I'm going to be at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington DC, on Monday, July 28! I've got a panel & signing in the Graphic Novel Pavillion from 1-2. Librarians, I'd love to meet you and sign a copy of Smile for you!

I'm back from a fabulous time in North Carolina for Heroes Con (Friendly Southerners! Hot weather! The best cornbread I've ever had!) and am now gearing up for this coming weekend's Kids Read Comics event in Dearborn, Michigan.

KRC is a free event taking place at the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, June 12 and 13. The weekend will feature hands-on workshops, panels, and presentations for kids, families, and educators. You can see the programming schedule here; I'm involved in the following events:

Panel Discussion - Drawing From Life Sat, June 12, 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM Not every comic tells a made up story about costumed adventurers, fantasy princesses or rodents dressed in human clothes. There are many engaging comics memoirs, histories, biographies and more that explore real people and real events. Join Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, Ryan Estrada, Jim Ottaviani, and Stephanie Mannheim as they talk with moderator Paul Storrie about how they’ve brought real life to life in comics form. All Ages.

Demo - Cartooning Styles Sun, June 13, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM Join cartoonists Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier for a humorous interactive presentation about art styles, featuring images of popular cartoon characters like Sponge Bob Squarepants and Mickey Mouse, and how different artists interpret them. Explore character design, followed by an interactive drawing demo, in which you, the audience, will instruct Raina in creating characters and images! All Ages.

Live Reading - Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman Sun, June 13, 3:00 PM to 3:30 PM Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman will read (and perform) chapters from their all-ages graphic novels as the illustrated panels are projected onto a large screen for all to see. They’ll also ask for some volunteers from the audience to play some of the characters. All Ages.

As I said, this event is totally free and open to the public, so you've got no excuse not to come. Bring the family! See you there!

Next up on my whirlwind tour is another event I'm particularly excited about: HEROES CON! JUNE 4-6, 2010 Charlotte Convention Center 501 S. College St. Charlotte, NC

I'll be at TABLE 519 IN INDIE ISLAND!

I'm honored to be one of the guests in Indie Island, because from everything I've heard, this is the coolest place to be. I'll be surrounded by friends and artists I admire. Please come by for a book, a sketch, or a chat! I've wanted to visit North Carolina for years (probably because of a certain obsession with Ben Folds Five...), but for whatever reason, it hasn't happened until now. Heroes Con is said to be one of the most laid-back, family-friendly conventions out there, so I can think of no better way to greet the south.

The convention hours are as follows:

Friday: 11.00 am - 7.00 pm Saturday: 10.00 am - 6.00 pm Sunday: 11.00 am - 6.00 pm

Update: PANEL SCHEDULE!

Friday, June 4 3.00 PM VOCATIONAL COMICS: Comics As Career Room 207BCD Tom Spurgeon of The Comics Reporter meets with some of the brightest stars in the comic firmament to discuss how they learned to handle the age-old question: what do you do when comics becomes your livelihood? Joining Tom will be Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother), Meredith Gran (Octopus Pie ), Jim Rugg (Afrodisiac), Ed Piskor (Wizzywig) and Raina Telgemeier (Smile).

Sunday, June 6 3.00 PM AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL COMICS: What To Leave In, What To Leave Out Room 208AB Autobio comics have long been one of comics' greatest and most idiosyncratic genres, focusing on the lives and memories of cartoonists and using comics as an immersive tool. Moderator Dustin Harbin discusses autobio comics and what makes them work (and not work) with Erika Moen (Dar), Ken Dahl (Monsters), and Raina Telgemeier (Smile).

Extreme thanks are due to Dustin Harbin, Heroes Employee Extraordinaire (and fellow dental drama buddy!), and Shelton Drum, owner of Charlotte's own Heroes Aren't Hard To Find comic book store, for inviting Dave and I to be a part of this wonderful event.

From everything I heard about last year's inaugural MECAF, I'm pretty excited about this event. Saturday is programming-only, and the festival is working in conjunction with the Portland Public Library to present a free day of panels and discussions! The following day, Sunday, join us for the one-day festival itself.

Panels and Programming (Free!) Portland Public Library Main Branch, 5 Monument Square Saturday, May 22

Cartooning Styles, 12:30 PM A humorous presentation about art styles, featuring images of popular cartoon characters like Sponge Bob Squarepants and Mickey Mouse, and how different artists interpret them. Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman will talk about designing characters, and then give an interactive drawing demo, in which the audience will instruct Raina in creating characters and images. Age range: 5 – 12

Live Comics Reading: Smile & Astronaut Elementary, 2:30 PM Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman will read (and perform) chapters from their all-ages graphic novels, as the illustrated panels are projected onto a large screen for all to see. They’ll also ask for some volunteers from the audience to play some of the characters. Age range: 5 and up

Sunday, May 23 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM, MECAF (Kids 12 and Under are Free!) Ocean Gateway (Directions)

I'll post my table information as soon as I have it, but the show is small and chances are I'll be in front of a certain Smile banner! This is where you can find me with lots of copies of Smile for sale, along with Baby-sitters Club graphic novels, artwork, t-shirts, and mini-comics! Have a book you would like me to sign? Bring it along!

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I've got three private events (two in NYC and one in Pittsburgh) between now and the 22nd, so no rest for me! TCAF, in Toronto last weekend, was also brilliant and I wish I had time to thank everyone who made my time there so wonderful. So much going on lately, and more to come!

No rest for the author with a new book out! On Saturday and Sunday, May 8 and 9, I will be in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for The Toronto Comic Arts Festival, otherwise known as TCAF! Location: Toronto Reference Library 789 Yonge St., Toronto, Canada When: May 8, 9-5 PM; and May 9, 11-5 PM. Admission to TCAF is Free!!

Dave and I will be at Table 128, right next to our friends Frank Cammuso and Diana Tamblyn! Here's a floormap of the show; we seem to be near the Library Info Desk. Look for my big ol' Smile banner to find me (hint: it looks like this)!

Update: Panels and Programming!

Comics For Kids: What’s Next? SATURDAY, May 8th, 2:45 – 3:30pm, Learning Center 1 Following the initial burst of graphic novels created and marketed specifically to young readers, where will the industry go? Find out from a panel of experts including editors, creators, teachers and librarians what’s working for young readers, what’s not working, who are reading these books and what’s next. Panelists include Raina Telgemeier (Smile), Frank Cammuso (Knights of the Lunch Table), Clayton Hamner (CTON’s Super A-maze-ing Year of Crazy Comics!), Eva Volin (Librarian), Karen Li (Editor, Kids Can Press) and Diana Maliszewski (Teacher), moderated by Scott Robins (Blogger, SLJ’s Good Comics For Kids)

KidsDraw: Turn Your Life Into Comics SUNDAY, May 9th, 12:30pm-1:00pm, Novella Room The inspiration for Raina Telgemeier’s newest book, Smile comes from her own life as a young girl. Get tips from her on how to get ideas from your own life to create your own autobiographical comics and watch her draw live.

The New Graphic Novelists: New Creators Transforming the Medium SUNDAY, May 9th, 2:15 – 3:15pm, Learning Center 1 There is a pantheon of great graphic novelists — folks who started thinking about comics as singular, book-bound creations. But that concept has shifted since its conceptualization, and a collection of young creators are pushing the medium in fantastic new ways. Creators Joshua Cotter, Colleen Frakes, Ryan North, Dash Shaw, and Raina Telgemeier will discuss their experiences producing comics that alternately defy and embrace the term ‘graphic novel”. Moderated by Eva Volin.

Canadian friends, I hope to see you this weekend!