Long time no post!

Hey, so what's been going on with you the past five months or so?

Here's what's been going on with me:

Big Mean Mike has been nominated for several children's choice awards, was a finalist for the Children's Book Council's Children's Choice Award, and won the 2013 Irma Black Award!

I finished a major revision of my next book, which is a dark and funny young adult novel that will be published by Candlewick Press in fall 2014. I'll share the title and other info when it's final ... stay tuned!

I have news about my next novel (the one that will come out next after the YA above) that I can't quite share yet, but I will post it as soon as I can!

I'm working on some new picture books too, but it's way too early to tell you anything about those yet. Sorry! :)

Also, I will be at a bunch of events over the next few months — please check out the list in the "book signings and events" sidebar at right. If you can come to any of those, it would be great to see you!

What else?

If you haven't yet liked my Facebook page, please do! 

And if you can't make any of my upcoming book signings but would still like a signed book, see my website for instructions for how to get one.

I hope you're having a good summer, and that 2013 has been nice to you so far. Looking forward to posting more often in the months to come and sharing more news as I can! 

M

Big Mean Mike storytime in Montclair, NJ!

I'll be reading and signing Big Mean Mike at Watchung Booksellers TOMORROW (Saturday), March 16, at 10:30am!

I would love to see you there!

Brooklyn Museum Children's Book Fair TODAY!

Come to the Brooklyn Museum Children's Book Fair TODAY from 12-4pm!

Meet lots of Brooklyn authors and illustrators and get signed books! There will be stories and activities and other fun things for kids all day long. I'll be there signing BIG MEAN MIKE and other books — come by and say hello!

Brooklyn Book Festival!

I'll be signing BIG MEAN MIKE at the Brooklyn Book Festival this Sunday, September 23, from 2-3pm. Come find me at WORD's booth (#151), get a signed book, and say hello!

Come to my party!

The official launch party for my new picture book, Big Mean Mike, is happening this Saturday, September 15! And you should come, because there will be books and snacks and cupcakes and mini monster trucks and other fun things. Here are all the deets:

Who: YOU and all your friends and your kids and your friends' kids (and your kids' friends, and their parents and cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents)


What: BIG MEAN MIKE launch party and reading and book signing

When: Saturday, September 15, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Where: WORD in Greenpoint, Brooklyn

Why: Because it will be a good time, and you will be supporting an awesome independent bookstore, (and also, you know, me), and you will hear a fun story, and you can even get some early holiday shopping done, because hey, who doesn't like a signed, personalized book? NO ONE. That's who.

I'll be reading the story around 4:30 p.m., and all the rest of the time there will food and drinks and fun things like coloring activities for the young people and the young-at-heart people and anyone else who likes to color.

Facebook RSVP encouraged, but not required. Did I mention CUPCAKES AND MINI MONSTER TRUCKS?

Also, bunny pens.

You know you want to come.

So, yay! I can't wait to see you there! :)

Sarah and Michelle discuss picture books

Look, I'm in a video!

My wonderful editor Sarah Ketchersid and I talk about our favorite parts of creating picture books in this short video, which was featured today as part of Candlewick's We Believe in Picture Books celebration! You can also see it right here:

I hope you like it, and I hope you visit ReadingStartsHere.com often, because Candlewick will be posting a new video every day through August 2013! Authors, illustrators, editors, librarians, readers, and other book-loving friends share favorite stories, reveal behind-the-scenes info, and talk about why picture books matter.

Princeton Children's Book Festival - Sept 8!

Please join me and more than 70 other children's book authors and illustrators at the 7th Annual Princeton Children's Book Festival next Saturday, September 8! This free event runs from 11am to 4pm, and includes readings, book signings, music, activities and more. Click here for a list of all the authors and illustrators who will be there, along with the presentation schedule, directions, and other information.

And if you're in the NYC area, I hope to see you the following Saturday, September 15, at the Big Mean Mike party at WORD in Greenpoint, Brooklyn! Facebook RSVP encouraged but not required: http://www.facebook.com/events/467697863249816/.

BIG MEAN MIKE!

Hooray! It's pub day for my new picture book Big Mean Mike!

I'm so excited for this story to be out in the world at last. And so grateful to illustrator Scott Magoon for his absolutely perfect amazing wonderful fabulous artwork! I would try to describe it here for you, but there is no way I could do it justice. You must see it. MUST. Because Mike is awesome. And the bunnies. OMG THE BUNNIES. That is all I will say at this time.

I'll be having a book party for Big Mean Mike next month, on September 15, at WORD in Brooklyn. I would love to see as many people there as possible! More details to come. For now, please help me celebrate the official release with good thoughts and best wishes for Mike and his friends. Purchases of multiple copies of the book from your local independent bookstore are also a great way to celebrate! ;)

BIG MEAN MIKE pre-order drive and book party!

For a limited time only, pre-order a signed, personalized copy of my new picture book, BIG MEAN MIKE!

Between now and August 7, you can pre-order my new book from WORD in Brooklyn, and I will sign it, and they will either:

• send it to you the week of the book’s release on August 14!

or

• hold it for you to pick up in person at the BIG MEAN MIKE BOOK PARTY on September 15!

Some important things:

1. You only have about a week to place your order! Only orders received by August 7 will be able to be signed and personalized in time for mailing.
2. If you want the book personalized (e.g., “For Margaret” or “Happy birthday, Uncle Len!”), just let us know in the comments field when you order.
3. If you’d like to pick up your pre-ordered copy in person at the BIG MEAN MIKE BOOK PARTY on September 15 instead of having it shipped to you the week of August 14, please mention that in the comments field, too.
4. Feel free to order some of my other books at the same time! :)

Here is a handy link for ordering:  http://www.wordbrooklyn.com/michelle-knudsen

More information on the book party to come soon, but I can tell you that it will be at WORD in Greenpoint, Brooklyn on Saturday, September 15, from 4–6pm, and also that it will be very fun and if you live in the NYC area, you should come! Children are welcome and encouraged. Some of my other books (Library Lion, Argus, The Dragon of Trelian, The Princess of Trelian) will also be available for purchase/signing at the party.

Stay tuned for more info. In the meantime, feel free to post questions below or email me through my website.

BIG MEAN MIKE!

Look! It is the awesome, awesome cover to my forthcoming picture book, BIG MEAN MIKE, illustrated by the wonderful and amazing Scott Magoon:

The good news is that Scott Magoon is, as previously stated, wonderful and amazing, and the illustrations throughout are SO GOOD I CANNOT EVEN TELL YOU. The slightly-less-good news is that you have to wait until August 14 to get this book. BUT! There will possibly be an opportunity to pre-order a signed copy (stay tuned), and some of you will get to see MIKE sooner at BEA, if you come to my signing on June 6.

In the meantime, you should be reading The Princess of Trelian.

Scott Magoon!

I am VERY EXCITED to announce that the wonderful Scott Magoon will be illustrating my upcoming picture book BIG MEAN MIKE!

That is all. I just wanted to share. :)

p.s. "Upcoming" in the publishing world is of course not meant to imply "soon to be appearing" in any kind of normal-world-time sense. MIKE is currently tentatively scheduled for Fall 2012. But that is okay, because in the meantime there will be THE DRAGON OF TRELIAN PAPERBACK (this fall!) and ARGUS (2011, illustrated by Andréa Wesson!) and THE DRAGON OF TRELIAN SEQUEL (which will one day have a real title!).

BIG MEAN MIKE!

I'm very excited to announce that Candlewick will be publishing another picture book written by ME! It's called BIG MEAN MIKE, and that is all I will tell you at this time. :) Pub date still to be determined.

Candlewick will also be publishing my picture book ARGUS in Spring 2011 and the sequel to THE DRAGON OF TRELIAN...at some point after I have finished writing it.

In other news, I have finally updated my website a bit. You can see it here: www.michelleknudsen.com. I like the new colors; the old version was starting to seem a little boring. I'm still planning to have a real redesign at some point by some talented web designer-type person who is not me, but for now I'm having fun playing around with it myself.

In other other news, I had a wonderful time traveling around upstate NY with S. I hiked mountains and caught my first trout and swam in lakes and floated down rivers in tubes and saw a lot of lovely lovely nature.

Here is a picture of me enjoying nature:


And here is a picture of me enjoying nature on my boyfriend's motorcycle (I don't drive it myself, I just ride on the back. So usually he is sitting there in front of me, but in this case he is not because he is taking the picture.) Yes, those are fishing poles lashed to the back. That is the cool way to travel to fishing spots in the Adirondacks, FYI.


And here is a picture of nature for you to enjoy, without me in it:


Now I am back in Brooklyn, trying not to miss the lovely cool lakes and mountains. I am spending a little too much time looking at the pictures...