June is shaping up to be one of the most exciting months of the year! Here's what I'm up to during the first month of summer: *****

Technically not even June yet, but there's a contest going on at Scholastic's On Our Minds blog, where you can win a signed copy of my READ EVERY DAY. LEAD A BETTER LIFE. poster! Just tell them your favorite graphic novel! You have until noon on May 30 to enter. You can still bid on my original art in the auction, too! And stay tuned for more information on June 6, about how to purchase copies of the poster...

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The weekend of June 11, Dave and I are celebrating the release of his new graphic novel, Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity with a Book Launch Party at Bergen Street Comics in Brooklyn, NY! <--- All the info is in the link, but the particulars are:

Bergen Street Comics 470 Bergen St. Between Flatbush & 5th Avenues, Brooklyn, NY Saturday, June 11 3:00pm – 10:00pm Kids Workshop, Kids Party, and Adult Party all in one day!

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The following weekend, we're off to Michigan for a three-day extravaganza with Kids Read Comics!

FRIDAY, JUNE 17

We're kicking things off with a special evening at the Ann Arbor District Library. Dave and I are going to be talking about our work, reading from our books live on stage, and getting everyone excited about the weekend of kids, comics, and fun ahead. Afterward, Dave and our good friend Kevin Coppa will be presenting Puppetbenders, the live, puppet version of Avatar: The Last Airbender!

Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier, 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm Dave Roman and Kevin Coppa, 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm Books will be available for purchase!

The weekend itself will be nonstop Kids Read Comics action, in and around Chelsea, Michigan. The whole event is TOTALLY FREE, and welcomes kids, teens, and parents all weekend with activities, a chance to meet tons of great comic artists, and hands-on workshops where you can write and draw your own stories and characters! Here are my panels, workshops and events:

SATURDAY, JUNE 18

12:45 pm – 1:00 pm Quick Draw! improv cartooning with Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier New Chelsea Market, 125 South Main Street – All Ages

2:30 pm – 3:00 pm Artist Spotlight with Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier Chelsea River Gallery, 120 S. Main – All Ages

6:00 pm - 8:00 pm On Saturday evening, there's going to be a reception for a gallery show I have some work in: COMIC JAM at the Chelsea River Gallery. Join us for the opening reception! All of the artists' work will be for sale, and you can see finished original pieces alongside our process work: thumbnails, rough sketches, and so forth. Chelsea River Gallery, 120 S. Main St.

SUNDAY, JUNE 19

12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Making Your Life into a Comic Raina Telgemeier shows how everyday moments of your life can be made into a comic strip! Kids will start by making a list of events that will be adapted into comic panels. Chelsea District Library, McKune Room – Ages 8-16

3:30 pm – 4:30 pm Interactive Comics Reading Raina Telgemeier (Smile) Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy) and special guests will perform chapters from their all-ages graphic novels. The illustrated panels will be projected onto a large screen for all to see, and volunteers from the audience will be chosen to play some of the characters. Chelsea District Library, McKune Room – All Ages

My books (and SMILE t-shirts!!) will be for sale at the Green Brain Comics table all weekend, and you are welcome to bring your own copies of my books for me to sign, too!

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Just a few days later, we're back on the road for ALA Annual Conference...in New Orleans!!

Friday, June 24 - Monday, June 27

ALA is trying something new this year: there will be a special Artist Alley on the show floor for cartoonists! So, Dave and I will have a table (#1665), and you can come get signed copies of our books, SMILE t-shirts, and original artwork! Dave and I absolutely love librarians and libraries, and we'd love to chat graphic novels, comics, and ideas with YOU--so please come find us and say hello!

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We're also doing several library events and school Skype chats, which aren't open to the public, on top of working on our books!! Speaking of my new book...I've finally narrowed down the title, and should have some news about it before the summer ends. Stay tuned!

My husband, Dave Roman, has a new kids' graphic novel coming out in a few weeks: Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity! It will be released on Tuesday, June 7, 2011--you can pre-order it from Amazon now, or get it at your favorite book or comic shop starting June 7! And of course, we're planning a celebratory event:

ASTRONAUT ACADEMY BOOK LAUNCH PARTY!!

At Bergen Street Comics 470 Bergen St. Between Flatbush & 5th Avenues, Brooklyn, NY Saturday, June 11 3:00pm - 10:00pm

If you're in the New York City area, come by and join us for an afternoon and evening of fun!

There will be a Comics-Making Workshop from 3 - 4 PM, a Kids Party from 4 - 6 PM, and an Adult Party at 8 PM! All ages are welcome anytime. Join us for snacks, live readings, contests, spacey music and videos, drinks, and merriment! Bring your kids, bring your friends, bring yourself!

Kids Comic Workshop 3:00 – 4:00 PM Make your own comics!

Kids Comic Party 4:00 – 6:00 PM Live readings, snacks!

General Party 8:00 PM Bubbly drinks, snacks, prizes!

Until then: Watch the OFFICIAL ASTRONAUT ACADEMY book trailer!

Want to help spread the word? There's a Facebook Event Page (where you can RSVP), as well as an AA:ZA Fan Page!

Hope to see you on June 11!

Whew, what a couple of weeks it has been. Things started with a bang at the Children's Choice Book Awards on May 2, where SMILE was nominated for the 5th - 6th Grade Book of the Year. I lost to Rick Riordan, but I still had a lovely time at the gala--shmoozing with authors, editors, kids, and all sorts of excellent folks.

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Then on Thursday the 5th, I spent a very full, very thrilling day at the Scholastic headquarters celebrating the kickoff to their Read Every Day. Lead A Better Life. literacy campaign--I wrote a big post about it, including photos, here!

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The next day, bright and early, Dave and I picked up our friends Yuko and Ananth and headed north to Toronto for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival! We had a fun ride, which has been memorialized in comic form. We got in late, and settled in for some rest before a long convention weekend.

TCAF is seriously one of the best small press comic shows anywhere, hands down. For starters, it's free to attend. The venue, the Toronto Reference Library, is sprawling and beautiful and welcoming. The convention reaches out to young attendees, creating lots of great kids programming and assuring that young fans can find comics appropriate for them. The paneling tracks are well-organized and a joy to attend. In all, TCAF is one of the best-organized, most welcoming comics events I've ever been to, and it just keeps getting better.

Highlights from the weekend included a live reading panel with Dave Roman, Colleen AF Venable and R. Sikoryak; my Turn Your Life into a Comic workshop; a Thai dinner with friends that went on for several hours; a lovely breakfast hosted by First Second; and meeting so many enthusiastic young fans! As always, I'm blown away by Canadian fans' enthusiasm and good cheer. Thanks to everyone who came to say hello!

Good times at TCAF

Dave had to leave town a little earlier than I did: on Sunday night, he flew down to Orlando, FL for the International Reading Association conference, where he was a guest! I would've liked to go with him, but I had my own events to attend...!

So Monday was spent in the car driving home, and Monday evening was spent transferring my things from one suitcase to another.

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Tuesday I flew to Baltimore, and Wednesday I was lucky enough to spend a day talking to students at the Garrison Forest School. What an amazing campus, and what a terrific group of students, teachers, and librarians! It's always a kick to talk with kids who have read and thought about my books so deeply, and their questions surprised and delighted me. I wish I could have spent another day or two there! Thank you so much to the librarians who coordinated my visit, and to everyone for making me feel so welcome!

Signing books at GFS...one of the students had already embellished her copy

Tuesday evening found me on the train back to New York, where I was reunited with Dave and the two of us were both bursting with excited about comics, kids, teaching, travel, and the future!

I've got a few weeks free now, and am playing a riveting game of catch-up before diving back into work on my book. Starting June 1, we're right back to being busy with promotion, travel, and events, which I will post about as soon as I am able! Hope you're enjoying this lovely spring so far!

I was thrilled when Scholastic asked me to participate in a very special literacy campaign in honor of their 90th anniversary: Read Every Day. Lead A Better Life. I was one of twelve illustrators invited to interpret the theme. Here's what I came up with:
Click to view LARGE.

And, I was beyond thrilled when I learned who the eleven other artists were: Normal Bridwell, creator of Clifford; Bruce Degan, illustrator of The Magic School Bus; Edwin Fotheringham, illustrator of Tony Baloney; Mary GrandPre, illustrator of Harry Potter; Barbara McClintock, author of Adele & Simon; Jon J. Muth, creator of Zen Shorts; Sean Qualls, illustrator of Dizzy; Stephen Savage, author of Where's Walrus; David Shannon, author of No, David!; and Jeff Smith, creator of Bone. I truly feel like I'm walking among giants.

All of the original artwork is being auctioned off to benefit two wonderful charities: REACH OUT AND READ, and READING IS FUNDAMENTAL. You can bid on my piece here--the winning bid will receive my original, black and white drawing (ink on Bristol board) as well as a signed, framed color lithograph. Bidding goes until June 5th!

And starting June 6th, signed posters of each piece of artwork will be for sale online. I'll put up a link when they're available! Update: You can buy a poster for only $3.95 now!

All twelve of us gathered together at Scholastic's headquarters on May 5, to unveil the art, record a webcast, and sign books. Each one of the artists is such a delight, and I felt so lucky to be able to get to know them better in such a fun setting.

Photo from Scholastic's Flickr

Photo from Scholastic's Flickr

I have my editor and art director extraordinaire, David Saylor, to thank for inviting me to be a part of such a wonderful event. I hope you'll consider bidding! It's for a fantastic cause!

Here's a big ol' post about my upcoming trip to Toronto for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival! If you're anywhere in the southern Ontario area, you should really come to TCAF. It's free, and it's one of the most concentrated gatherings of international comics talent anywhere. I'll be at TABLE #234 on the SECOND FLOOR with my husband Dave Roman, and I'm debuting THIS:

SMILE t-shirts!! The braces are printed in shiny, glittery silver ink, and the smiley face is high-quality silkscreen on aqua American Apparel t-shirts. Here's a close-up:

I haven't decided whether to take orders over the internet yet; I'll post about that after I'm home from TCAF. But I will definitely have these babies for sale at the following conventions and events this summer: TCAF, Kids Read Comics in Michigan, and San Diego Comic-Con. Come and get a SMILE shirt, hot off the press!

Here's my schedule for TCAF:

SATURDAY

4:00pm-4:45pm Carousel for Kids R. Sikoryak hosts a cartoon slide show featuring Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier and Colleen AF Venable where the creators will read their work with music, sound effects, and audience participation! Plus a 3D comic presentation! (With glasses, of course.)

SUNDAY

11am-12pm Free Comic Book Giveaway & Costume Contest Come dressed as your favourite comic book character! The best costumes will be selected by Raina Telgemeier (Smile), Eric Wight (Frankie Pickle) and Colleen AF Venable (Guinea Pig, Pet Shop Private Eye). And be sure to pick up some FREE COMICS, too! Limit 3 for children 12 and under. Limited quantities.

1:45pm–2:45pm Married in Comics Panelists: Kathryn and Stuart Immonen, Joe Ollman, Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier Moderated by Robin Brenner Location: The Beeton These cartoonists are married to their work — literally! Come hear a discussion of marriage in comics, encompassing the topics of being married to another cartoonist and depicting married life on the comics page.

2:45pm-3:30pm Turn Your Life Into Comics: Autobiography Workshop The inspiration for Raina Telgemeier’s book, Smile comes from her own life as an eleven-year old girl who injures her two front teeth. Are you ready to tell your life story in comics? Get tips on how to pick ideas from your own life to create your own autobiographical comics.

Pretty much the entire rest of the weekend, you can find me at table #234 on the second floor, selling books and t-shirts and artwork, and signing stuff. Look for my SMILE banner! The organizers are usually very good about providing maps of the tables, so if you can't find me, just ask someone. Feel free to bring your own books for me to sign.

Dave will also be giving out advanced reader copies of his forthcoming kids' graphic novel,
Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity, so if you're a kid or parent, stop by and ask us how you can get one!

I drive home Monday, then Tuesday I hit the road again for a school visit in Baltimore! The fun never ends around here. Hope to see you at one of my stops along the way!

The next two weeks will be some of the busiest and most exciting of the year! On Monday, I'm attending the Children's Choice Book Awards, as SMILE is a nominee in the 5th-6th grade category. Voting is now closed, but I only have to wait a couple of days to find out the winner. Cross your fingers for me! I'm pretty excited to attend the gala, as it's hosted by my kidlit friend Jarrett Krosoczka, and guests include LaVar Burton, R.L. Stein, and a gaggle of literary superstars!

Thursday, I'll be at the Scholastic headquarters from morning till night in support of their Read Every Day. Lead A Better Life. literacy campaign.

I was one of twelve illustrators asked to interpret the theme, and the day's events will include a group signing at the Scholastic Store from 3:30 - 5 PM, which is open to the public, followed by the unveiling of our twelve pieces of art and the kickoff of a charity auction to benefit the literacy organizations Reach Out and Read and Reading Is Fundamental. I could not be more thrilled and honored to be a part of this campaign. To think that I could be included in a small group of illustrators including Mary GrandPre, John J. Muth, Jeff Smith, and Norman Bridwell is...well, I'm speechless!

Once the artwork has been revealed, limited-edition posters of each piece will be available through Scholastic. I'll share the link here when I have one, as well as the image itself!

The next day, I'm driving to Toronto for one of my favorite small press comic shows of the year: TCAF! You can read about my TCAF schedule of events in its own blog post, right here!

I got to do this really fun thing where I read a chapter of SMILE live, on camera...and you can watch the video right here! I roped Dave into doing voices with me, and I was encouraged to share anecdotes and stories during the reading, so I talked about movies, earrings, my parents...it's a short video (2.5 minutes) so watch and enjoy! Thanks to the kind staff from A Story Before Bed for helping me set this up.

You'll see in the link that this was done in conjunction with the Children's Choice Book Awards, which are coming up next week. There's still a few days left to vote, so if you haven't cast your vote yet, you can do so NOW! SMILE is nominated in the 5th-6th grade category. You can vote if you are:

A kid! A teacher! A librarian! A bookseller!

Kids can cast their own votes, but everyone else must vote on behalf of their students/patrons/customers. So if you work with kids, and they like SMILE, you can register their votes. You've got until April 29 (this Friday) so, go! Go! GO!

So Texas was a whole bunch of fun! I've been too busy to write up a full report, but I do have pictures to share. Here they are:

Teen Book Con, Houston

Texas Library Association Annual Conference and school visits, Austin

I met a lot of truly amazing people, and everyone really put out the welcome mat in a gigantic way. They do everything bigger in Texas. I can't wait to go back!

And now, it's time to talk Eisners!

Smile is nominated in the ‘Best Publication for Teens’ category in the 2011 Eisner Awards! The online ballot is now live, so you can go here to cast your vote:

http://eisnervote.com

You're eligible to vote if you are a teacher, librarian, creator (minicomic creators and webcomic creators, this includes YOU!), publisher, editor, historian, comic book retailer, or fellow nominee!

Voting goes until June 13, so cast your ballots now! Winners will be announced July 22 at the San Diego Comic-Con...I'm excited already!

I'm thrilled to announce that Smile has received a nomination in this year's EISNER AWARDS--the most prestigious award in comics!

Smile is nominated in the 'Best Publication for Teens' category. I was nominated once before in 2005, in the category of Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition, for my work on the Take-Out minicomic series. I didn't win that year, but I made a lot of new friends as a result of the nomination! Maybe this year, I can bring home the actual statue...

But it means I'll need VOTES!

The Eisner website says:

Ballots with this year's nominees will be going out in mid-April to comics creators, editors, publishers, and retailers. A downloadable pdf of the ballot will also be available online, and a special website has been set up for online voting. The results in all categories will be announced in a gala awards ceremony on the evening of Friday, July 22 at Comic-Con International.

Teachers and librarians can vote, too, so stay tuned. I'll put a link to the ballot on my site as soon as one is available!

UPDATE!!! Vote now at http://eisnervote.com!

Thanks very, very much to the panel of judges who chose this year's nominees. I'll be flying to Texas tomorrow morning on cloud nine! :)

I'm so pleased to announce that Smile has made it all the way to the finals in the Children's Choice Book Awards, in the category of Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Book of the Year!! Now, it's up to YOU to vote.

If you're a student/kid, you can vote HERE!

If you're a teacher, librarian, or bookseller, you can register the votes of the kids you work with HERE!

Winners will be announced on May 2. Please, vote and help me spread the word!!

Rather than post a play-by-play of my trip to Vancouver and Seattle, I'm just going to touch on the highlights. There was so much to take in over our 13 days in the Pacific Northwest, almost all of it wonderful. The two cities were beautiful, full of friendly people and good cheer, and of course we ate well the entire time. I visited four schools in total--two in BC and two in Seattle. As usual, I was blown out of the water by how welcoming the staff and students were in every single case. As well, the booksellers (of Kidsbooks, in BC, and University Bookstore, in Seattle) were wonderful to work with. Scholastic Canada's rep, Susan, who works with all of British Columbia, the Yukon, and Northwest Territories, was an amazing tour guide and so much fun to hang out with! We felt very well taken care of.

In Vancouver, I was lucky enough to give a presentation and booksigning at the amazing independent kids bookstore, Kidsbooks. It was an event that people had to buy tickets for, so I wasn't sure what to expect--but the event sold out, and 120 people came to see me!! So many wonderful kids and their parents. And such a beautiful store! I gave a short talk, did some drawing, and then signed and signed and signed. I was also surprised to see the French-Canadian edition of Smile that Scholastic Canada put out: Souris! And delighted that quite a few people wanted to own the book in both English and French. What a perfect evening. Thanks a million to Phyllis Simon and her brilliant staff for hosting me.

I also did a group signing at Lucky's Comics, a small, charming Vancouver comic shop, the kind that carries the books of every single indie cartoonist I've ever loved. The store was packed from wall to wall with kids and local cartoonists, hanging out and having a good time. Thanks to Lucky's excellent store owner Gabe for throwing us such a nice party!

The main reason I was in Vancouver was to attend the Serendipity Roundtable, an annual event focusing on children's literature, with a different theme each year. This year's theme was graphic novels! I was lucky enough to be one of the special guests, along with friends and fellow cartoonists Gene Yang, Matt Holm, Jason Shiga, and Aaron Renier. We each got to give a presentation, and then sit on a panel together. The whole conference was intimate, fun, and went by far too quickly. I was grateful to my personal helper Rob Bittman, the staff and organizers of Serendipity, Denise Anderson of Scholastic Canada who played the part of liaison between me and the conference folks, and mostly to Kay Weisman, for inviting me in the first place and making Dave and I feel right at home in Vancouver. Thank you, everyone! I had a blast!

We got to spend a little bit of free time in Vancouver, and even though it was cold and snowy, we made the most of it. There was a dinner with Nina Matsumoto, Dave's collaborator on Zuko's Story, and sight-seeing with our Flight pal Tony Cliff.

From Vancouver, we took a bus down to Seattle. It's an easy trip, and scenic! We got our tourism out of the way in the first day and a half; our friends Mike and Mandy Sartour drove us around and took us to the EMP/Sci-fi museum, out for delicious pizza, on an underground bus, to the Haunted Hospital, to the Fantagraphics store, and over to Ballard for Thai food and outrageously good gelato with Dalton Webb. Later in the week I was also able to meet up with some of my friends from high school, Bryan and Jenny, for a fun dinner. It's so nice to visit a town that's already full of friends!

After a few days of school visits, it was time for the Emerald City Comicon! Dave and I were in Artist Alley, next to our friends Gregg Shigiel, Chris Giarrusso, and Jacob Chabot, and right around the corner from Jen and Mike Maihack. That was nice! The show is well-run and friendly, and although things were a little quiet for us on Friday, it picked up on Saturday and especially Sunday, when Dave, Chris and I did a live reading of our comics for a full audience of kids and families! These readings are great because we invite kids onstage to help us do the voices, so there's lots of interactive fun. After the panel, we were swamped all day, meeting loads of great kids and parents! Convention weekends also mean lots of dinners and parties. Special shout-out to Bill Barnes, for throwing a lovely house party that gave us a chance to relax and spend some time with cartoonists away from con floors and hotel bars, and felt like a nice pause from the fast pace of the trip.

It was hard to leave the west coast after such a terrific couple of weeks, but we've got a lot of work to do here at home, and all good things must come to an end. We've got our great memories though, and lots of pictures!!

Before I get to the amazingness that was my trip to Vancouver and Seattle, I have a little bit of an announcement that will disappoint some people, but make others happy. First, the less-good news... I'm not going to be attending the MoCCA Art Fest this year. I'm pretty saddened by this--MoCCA has always been one of my favorite comic shows, and I have never missed it before. I'm also going to miss Drink and Draw Like a Lady, easily one of the highlights of my MoCCA weekends these past couple of years.

But the reason I won't be there is actually good news:

I'm going to be a guest at Teen Book Con, in Houston, TX, that weekend!

It's a small event with a big impact: A full day spent with kids and teens from the Houston area! After that, I'll be doing some local events before heading to Austin for the Texas Library Association Annual Conference. I've never been to Texas before, so I'm really looking forward to meeting readers and budding writers there, not to mention librarians, booksellers, and parents!

For those of you attending the MoCCA Art Fest: the rest of the Comics Bakery will be there in full force, with some special guests and a full table of awesomeness! There will be a few copies of SMILE for sale too, if you'd like to pick one up. Please visit my fellow Comics Bakers and tell them hello!

And ladies, you should definitely attend DDLL if you're in NYC the evening of Friday, April 8. It's a wonderful opportunity for women in the comics industry to chat, draw, and connect! Artists, writers, editors, publishers, students, bloggers, librarians, booksellers, and teachers are encouraged to join the party. All ages are welcome!

So, that's that. I'm working my way through the hundreds of photos from my trip to the Pacific Northwest, and hope to have another blog post up by tonight or tomorrow!

I can't believe how quickly the year is already flying by. Next week, I'm hitting the road again! First stop... **VANCOUVER, BC!**

Thursday, February 24 Signing & Presentation at Kidsbooks 2083 West Broadway Vancouver, BC 604-738-5335 7 PM THIS IS A TICKETED EVENT. Please click here to purchase your $5 ticket. Each ticket is fully redeemable toward the price of any of my books on the evening of the event.

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Friday, February 25 Signing at Lucky's Comics 3972 Main Street Vancouver, BC Friday, Feb. 25 8-10 PM This event is FREE! Also featuring Aaron Renier, Jason Shiga, Matt Holm,
Dave Roman, and Gene Yang!

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Saturday, February 26 Serendipity 2011 Vancouver, BC I'll be presenting and speaking on a couple of panels about graphic novels, the theme of this year's Serendipity Roundtable. Registration is required for this event.

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I'm also doing two school visits while I'm in Vancouver, but of course those aren't open to the public. I've heard that my Kidsbooks event is going to be extremely popular, so I encourage you to buy your tickets now if you'd like to attend!

Next stop...

**SEATTLE, WA!**

Emerald City Comicon March 4 - 6 Artist Alley, Table G-10 Here, you can find Dave and myself all weekend, selling books and other goodies! I've heard nothing but wonderful things about ECCC, so I'm really looking forward to being there. Here are the panels you can find me on, over the course of the event:

Saturday, 4 PM: Super-Blank: The Game Show (Room 4C1-2) Get ready to match the comics stars! Strikingly similar to the classic TV game show, The Match Game, a panel of comics "celebrities" will fill in the blanks as contestants from the audience try to match them for points and prizes. Expect humor and shenanigans with comics pros in a way they’re rarely, if ever, seen. Starring: Kurt Busiek (Astro City), Chris Giarrusso (G-Man, Mini-Marvels), Raina Telgemeier (Smile) & Dave Roman (Agnes Quill), Kyle Stevens (Kirby Krackle), Brad Guigar (Evil, Inc.) and more TBA! Hosted by Gregg Schigiel (SpongeBob Comics, X-Babies).

Sunday, 12 noon: KIDS COMICS INTERACTIVE READING (Room 4C1-2) A live comics reading involving lots of audience participation and silliness. Raina Telgemeier (Smile), Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy) and Chris Giarrusso (G-Man) will perform chapters from their all-ages graphic novels. The illustrated panels will be projected onto a large screen for all to see, and volunteers from the audience will be chosen to play some of the characters.

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I've just learned I'll be visiting two elementary schools while I'm in Seattle, but I don't have any other public events scheduled aside from ECCC. That means I get to relax and enjoy the city a bit! If you'd like to say hello or get a book signed in Seattle, your best bet will be to come to the convention.

Hope to see you on the west coast!

Just a couple of little art notes! **I have a Tumblr now! I'm still trying to figure out exactly how it works and the best way to use it, but I have posted a couple of new panels from my upcoming book, and will be doing so periodically as I work on it this year. Please note: they are in black and white, but the book will be full color.

**I participated in Hourly Comic Day, which happens every February 1. People draw a comic (or in my case, a single panel) for every hour they are awake, then post them all for the world to see! My HCD comic is posted here, on the HCD forums. I did one last year too, which happened to be the day before Smile was released!

I've been adding events to my sidebar. I believe my Vancouver schedule is now set, and I'm hoping to post Seattle details soon. I will be at Emerald City Comic Con in the Artist Alley, and with luck, I will be visiting a bookstore or two in the days before the con! I can't believe how fast this is coming up, and I'm excited to visit two cities I've never been to before.

In the meantime: back to work!

Winter isn't my favorite time of year. The weather is terrible, I'm hugely busy with work, and I've got a headcold! If we could just fast-forward to April, I wouldn't mind. But then of course, I might miss all the neat things happening right NOW! **Smile was named a 2011 ALA Notable Children's Book! What a thrill to be on this list with so many other inspiring creators!

**Smile also made the TOP TEN Great Graphic Novels for Teens list, as selected by the YALSA committee. I was on this list once before, in 2007, for BSC Graphix #1: Kristy's Great Idea, and I am extremely pleased to be here again.

**Smile is on the shortlist of Cybils nominees, in the middle grade graphic novels category. I've been nominated for a Cybil before, but never won one! Winners will be announced in February 14...cross your fingers for me!

**While I didn't win the vote in the Goodreads Choice Awards, I did place fourth among all of the nominees in my category--which I think is great!! Thank you very much, to those who voted for me.

I've been pleased to see Smile on many a 2010 roundup of books people liked, which is always a wonderful thing to come across. And I've received so many amazing emails over the past year, every one of which I have been grateful for (even if I haven't been able to reply to all of them yet!).

So I guess winter's really not so bad, when I think about it. I start traveling again in late February; my first big trip will be to Vancouver, BC and Seattle, WA. I will be posting details about all of my events there, when I have everything confirmed, so stay tuned!

Happy 2011, everyone!

...I just want to take the opportunity to say thanks to my readers, friends, fans, and supporters for making this year one of the best I've ever had.

Thanks as well to everyone at Scholastic, for putting their collective power behind Smile and getting it into many thousands of hands.

2011 will be interesting! I've got quite a few trips and events on my calendar (some of which are already listed under "Upcoming Events," on my right-hand sidebar), but most of the year will see me anchored to my drawing desk, working on my next project!

That project, by the way, is still untitled, but it's written and I'm about 50 pages into penciling. It's starting to come to life! I'm on track to finish the artwork at the very end of 2011, and I'm anticipating a mid-2012 release. Scholastic/Graphix will be publishing. Hopefully I'll be able to post some teaser artwork soon!

So thanks again, everyone. My heart is very full. Have a great holiday, and here's to a happy, healthy 2011 for you and your loved ones.

2010 Goodreads Choice Awards Official Nominee: Best Middle Grade & Children's Books Vote for this book!

Hooray! You can vote for SMILE (up against some heavy-hitters like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The 39 Clues by clicking the link above. You've got until December 30, so go vote, and tell a friend!

Happy Holidays, everyone! I've got a few links to post, as well as a stuff-is-for-sale memo. Smile has been collecting quite the assortment of inclusions in Best-Of lists and reading lists around the web! Here are a few that have come in recently:

**New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, Children's Books 2010

**The Texas Library Association's 2011 Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List

**Graphic Novel Reporter's 2010 Favorites

I'm so thrilled to be among such great company on these lists. Thanks very much to the librarians and bloggers who have supported Smile this year!

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And of course, no post in early December would be complete without a mention of the things I have for sale in my site's store. I will happily sell you the Baby-sitters Club page of your choosing; the prices range from about $50 - $100. Please drop me an email {goRaina AT yahoo DOT com} and let me know your page(s) of interest: I'll let you know if it's still available, and how much it will be including shipping.

Also available at a special price are NON-REQUEST pages. You get to choose the book (BSC 1-4), but I get to choose the page - for a flat rate of $30 USD, plus shipping. All the details, plus a Buy-Now Paypal link, are right here! I'll happily ship International, although shipping will be a little extra.

For every page of art sold through my website, I will make a $5 donation to First Book, which provides brand-new books to children in need.

Orders must be in by December 17 at the latest if you would like your package to arrive in time for Christmas! I ship all orders packed flat and safe. And please let me know if you would like your page personalized.

Thanks very much, everyone! I hope this holiday season is happy, healthy, and safe for you and everyone you know.

I'm SO pleased to announce that Smile was named as one of the 2010 Best Books for Teens by Kirkus Reviews--I'm proud to be among so many other fine authors in both the graphic novel category, and the full roundup of titles. What a nice honor! It makes my time here in Miami even sweeter!

I feel like I've just started catching up after my trip to California, and I'm already packing my suitcase for the next event: Miami Book Fair! I'll be in town early, on November 17, for a few days of school visits. Then, Friday Saturday and Sunday, you can find me at the Street Fair portion of the weekend, which is open to the public! I'll have a table in conjunction with the Kids Comic Con folks, most likely near their booth. I'll post further information when I've got it.

Here are the events I'll be a part of:

Friday 11/19

10-11:30 AM Room 7128 Women Making Comics, A New Generation with Raina Telgemeier, Amy Ignatow, and Tracy White

12 - 1 PM Raina Telgemeier presents SMILE Batten (Building 2, 1st Floor, Room 2106) This session is open to all middle school students. Reservations required. Please e-mail jorden.cunningham@mdc.edu to reserve space for your class.

Saturday, 11/20

12 PM Centre Gallery Life and Comics with Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti; Greg Rucka and Jen Van Meter; and Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier. Moderated by Alex Rodrik Join three married cartoonist couples for a talk about their work and their lives!

4 PM Prometeo Theater A talk with four kids' comics creators: Barry Deutsch, Amy Ignatow, Chris Schweizer, and Raina Telgemeier.

Sunday, 11/21

I haven't confirmed times or places yet, but I'll be joining up with the Kids Comic Con folks for some workshops on Sunday!