Jessica Love rocked the drop! #operationtbd

The Forever YA book blogger (read her stuff here) dropped three Sarah Dessen books. rgz loves Sarah Dessen! And book bloggers!

The Disney Book Group Rocked Operation TBD '09!

The Disney Book Group made a fabulous donation to Operation Teen Book Drop '09, and we are very grateful for their amazing generosity. The readergirlz divas would like to apologize to Disney Book Group for crediting their donation incorrectly. Please join us in giving them our deepest thanks. We heart Disney!

Dia Calhoun
readergirlz co-founder

Yay for the Blatant Bibliophiles!

Ruth Fleet, media specialist extraordinaire over at Creekview High School in Canton, GA sent us this photo of her awesome Blatant Bibliophiles Book Club, plus the following note:


"Our Blatant Bibliophile Book Club participated in Operation Teen Book Drop by collecting books to help create a new library for teens and children at the Family Violence Center in Canton, Georgia. Our students and teachers collected over 500 books during the two weeks before Teen Literature Day. This drive was inspired by one of our students, a non-member, Meghan (left), who is a volunteer at the center. Another non-member, Falyn (right, with Josh), donated over 200 of the books!

I’m attaching pictures of some of our teens, including Paul (left) who donated 69 books, and Marlize (right) who donated 50 books. We even had donations from readergirlz diva Melissa Walker! Thanks, divas, for inspiring us to help teens and their families in need."

We are cheering you on, Ms. Fleet and the fantastic students and community members who donated to this great cause. You guys all RULE!

May: rgz Newsflash

Welcome to readergirlz in May! We are ready to salsa into Latina Book Month!

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We Rocked the Drop!

Many, many thanks for everyone’s participation in Operation Teen Book Drop (TBD ’09). Over 8,000 books were dropped, readers across the country left YA books in their communities, and we partied it up at our blog! We heart Support Teen Literature Day! Here’s one more round of applause for YALSA, GuysLitWire and our publishers:

Abrams Books, Bloomsbury/Walker Books, Candlewick Press, Full Cast Audio, Hachette Book Group, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Hyperion, Milkweed, Mirrorstone Books, Orca Book Publishers, Peachtree Books, Perseus Book Group/Running Press, Random House, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, Soft Skull Press & Red Rattle Books, TOKYOPOP and Tor/Forge/Starscape/Tor Teen.

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Welcome Laura Resau to rgz!

In May, we’ll celebrate Latina Book Month with author Laura Resau and discuss her critically acclaimed novel, Red Glass. The starred review from Publishers Weekly stated, “The prose captivates from the first chapter ... a vibrant, large-hearted story."

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Check out the postergirlz recommended reads!

The postergirlz have selected these works to accompany Red Glass:

* Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa by Micol Ostow
* Estrella's Quinceanera by Malin Alegria
* Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa
* Sofi Mendoza's Guide to Getting Lost in Mexico by Malin Alegria
* The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle
* The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
* Red Hot Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Being Young and Latino in the United States

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Prepare for our summer rgz reads!

* Sweethearts by Sara Zarr
* The Plain Janes and Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
* Kendra by Coe Booth

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Here’s to a sizzling month of reading. Contact us at divas@readergirlz.com.


~the readergirlz divas~

Lorie Ann Grover, On Pointe
Dia Calhoun, Avielle of Rhia
Holly Cupala, A Light That Never Goes Out (2010)
Justina Chen Headley, North of Beautiful
Melissa Walker, Violet Series


www.readergirlz.com
readergirlz.blogspot.com
rgz Twitter

rgz Mail Call: Mexia High and Operation TBD!

After librarian Kathy Morgan from Mexia, Texas saw some of our Divas speak at TLA, she felt inspired to encourage her high schoolers to read, reflect and reach out. "I returned to our school library fired up and ready help our students step outside their comfort zone and grow as readers and as members of a larger community," she wrote in an email to Diva Justina.

Though they missed the actual Book Drop date, Mexia High hosted an alternative event called Jammin' in the Library. Students recited their original poetry and solo and ensemble musicians performed their selections before a live audience of parents and friends. All donations will benefit the TBD project.

"Our program is the talk of the school!" says Kathy. "To say that it was a hit would be an understatement. Students are asking when we will do this again and parents are applauding our efforts to promote an outreach program such as TBD."

We at readergirlz just want to say THANK YOU, Kathy and Mexia High School!! Way to participate in your own unique fashion. You rock.

Photo Friday: Rocking the Drop!

We wanted to feature just a few of the many people who participated in Operation Teen Book Drop '09 by rocking their own awesome drops around town. THANK YOU! (And thanks to The Brown Bookshelf for that awesome image which totally captures the spirit of drop-rocking!)



Claire Mysko, author of You're Amazing: A No-Pressure Guide to Being Your Best Self, says, "Here I am The Grove in LA. I found a bench right between Anthropologie and Forever 21, where there was quite a bit of teen traffic!"



The delightful Miss Erin went to Baskin Robbins for a three-book drop!


Jen Funk Weber went to a mall in Anchorage to drop Band Geek Love by Josie Blass in front of the movie theater, and then leave Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle in the skating rink. Cool! (Read her full blog post here).


Sarah Anne Sumpolec, author of the Becoming Beka series, let her adorable daughter do the dropping!


Beth Kephart, author of the postergirlz-recommended Undercover, left three copies of House of Dance at her old middle school (read her blog post here).



I put a couple of my books around NYC. Did you Rock the Drop? Tell us all about it!

PS-Also thanks to Seventeen magazine for covering the drop and Teen Lit Day!

Nikki Grimes: A One-Woman Hurricane of Change

Hello, readergirlz! Here's a repost from my blog. Please feel free to repost!

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Meet one of my writer-mentors, Nikki Grimes, a NY Times bestselling author and Coretta Scott King award winner. She is brilliant and fierce and 100% heart.

She called me last night to check in on me, shored me up with some solid advice, and then told me her chilling story. Just nine days after speaking at a school in Arkansas, the entire town was leveled by a hurricane. "Cherish every day," she told me. "Every day."

Nikki is a woman after my own heart. She is singlehandedly spearheading her own Operation Teen Book Drop by trying to replenish that school's devastated collection of young adult titles. So if you didn't rock the readergirlz drop and still have YA books lying around that are in need of a good home, consider sending a few of them here:

Jimma Holder
Literacy Specialist
Mena Public Schools
501 Hickory
Mena, AR  71953

Today, I am grateful to be surrounded by friends who are changemakers. Who are forces of nature. Who live by their words and actions.

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~justina, readergirlz diva

Books, Music, and People: an awesome combo

The best part of the weekend after coming down from Operation TBD?

Getting to see Kevin Emerson (author of the Oliver Nocturne series and musician extraordinaire) and Andrea Wittgens (yes, that Andrea, the one who donated music to the readergirlz Operation TBD trailer) perform LIVE as Central Services: Board of Education (über-cool indie kids' band), connection courtesy of another excellent Seattle young adult author, Liz Gallagher, author of The Opposite of Invisible.

(Got that?)

It was very cool to get to meet Andrea and thank her in person for generously letting readergirlz use her song. Here I am with Andrea and Liz:

We snapped a video of Central Services performing a little bit of their ode to the Number 8:

We bought the album, and You-Know-Who (age 4) wanted to listen to "The Lonely Tomato" ALL afternoon. But can you blame her? I've been singing about tomatoes in my apple pie, strawberry shortcake, tomato lemonade, guacamole pizza...hey, that actually does sound pretty good. Enjoy!

Holly Cupala

Poetry Friday: TBD '09

Operation Teen Book Drop,
TBD '09

One book left behind
inscribed, waiting, open
for another soul.

Catch the roundup with Becky at Becky's Book Reviews.

TBD '09 Post-Op Party!

To celebrate Support Teen Literature Day, join the TBD '09 Post-Op Party, rgz! Tell us how you rocked the drop! Do you have a photo of your book left in your community to upload into the chat? Or do you just want to hang out and share how you heart YA lit?

YALSA, GuysLitWire, and rgz just finished dropping 8,000 publisher-donated books into the hands of hospitalized teens across the country. We are ready to partaaaay!

The chat box will go live at 6PM PST/9PM EST...

Rocking the Drop on KING 5 News!

Justina reporting in on our KING 5 news interview-o-rama!

Welcome to the Second Annual Operation Teen Book Drop, brought to teen patients in Children's Hospitals all around the country by readergirlz,

GuysLitWire, YALSA, and amazing publishers, including my own (Little, Brown Books!).

The morning started with an interview on KING 5 News. Egads, I hate TV and radio interviews. Anchorwoman, Joyce Taylor, wanted to do a short segment on me for her Hometown Heroes show. While flattering, it was also very awkward. While I am glad to be back in my Hometown, I am not feeling very heroic. I asked if she might want to shoot the Seattle-area divas dropping books off at our Children's Hospital. Thankfully, Joyce was interested. So I was flanked by my girls: Lorie Ann Grover, Holly Cupala, and Dia Calhoun. And we all very much missed our Melissa Walker.

Deep breath. Bright lipstick. And then Lorenzo the camera man started shooting every breath, um, and er as Joyce and I chatted about my books, community service (including the Find Beauty Challenge), and readergirlz.


Since I hate watching myself on TV, chances are I won't catch the feature story when it airs in 2-3 weeks. But for now, here's the crew:

Kira Haller (Children's Hospital), Holly Cupala, Dia Calhoun, Lorie Ann Grover, Justina Chen Headley, Joyce Taylor.

Photographs all captured beautifully by S.Y. Headley.

~Justina, readergirlz correspondent du jour!

Rock the Drop: TODAY

And the divas are off to Seattle Children's Hospital for an interview with KING 5 News! (Melissa, we will miss you!) How cool to be able to see the donation! Just think, 8,000 books are hitting hospitals today.

It's time to grab a readergirlz bookplate and take a book somewhere in your town--donate it to a library, a school, or a lonely park bench. Leave it anywhere in honor of Support Teen Literature Day! Take a photo for tonight's TBD Post-Op Party. See you here at 6:00, Pacific. Rock on, rgz!

Mrs. F-B Rocks the Drop!

The awesome Mrs. F-B, Oregon Librarian Extraordinaire, emailed us to show us how her library is getting ready for Operation Teen Book Drop '09!

She says, "The kids have brought in lots of books for our exchange already, and I know they're going to bring tons more in the next few days!"

Color us impressed. Look at this haul!


Remember, it's your turn to Rock the Drop tomorrow. Grab a readergirlz bookplate and take a book somewhere in your town--donate it to a library, a school, or a lonely park bench. Leave it anywhere to show your support for Teen Literature! If you're feeling inspired, snap a picture to show us how you're rocking the drop--we'll feature those on the blog soon.

Interview with Andrea Wittgens, musician for the Operation TBD trailer!

We're very excited to feature an interview with Andrea Wittgens, beautiful Seattle music-maker who graciously gave us permission to use "Marching Orders" in our Operation TBD trailer. Check it out!



Here's our interview with Andrea:


Holly Cupala: Your songs have this sultry, narrative quality, like the soundtrack to an old movie. Where do you get your ideas?
Andrea Wittgens: It's true. I'm very influenced by many cinematic or retro sounds. My lyrics are often fantastical and so the older sounds seem to fit the mood of the lyrics best. I've always loved fiction and my latest album "In The Skyline" is pretty much an ode to my run away imagination and draw towards escapism. So there are lots of lyrical references to fantasy like Oz, Mordor, Creature Features, drama queens. And the music had to have some of that same sense of drama and "action-adventure."

HC: What is the process of making a song, from idea to finished single?
AW: Oh, I do all manner of things to mold a song together. I'm definitely not one of those lucky people who sit down and start strumming and singing and "voila!" there's a hit song. I do a lot of collecting of ideas (my car is full of bank receipts with little phrases hastily scratched at traffic lights). I keep a big box of scraps of words and phrases that I sometimes dump on the floor to see where the weird combinations of ideas fall. I spend hours just messing around at the piano, humming or singing nonsense "placeholder" words. Usually I get the musical ideas first and pretty easily and then I have to tinker with finding the appropriate words to fit the musical world. The chorus is sometimes the hardest (and last part) to come together because it's supposed to somehow "sum up" the song but it also needs to be simple, memorable and somewhat. I find that if I can write one verse and one chorus then I'm most of the way done because then I have the "template" for the song.

HC: I’m fascinated by the how’s and why’s – how do you create the unique sounds on your albums?
AW: Well, the basic tracks are done by the typical pop rock set up: drums, bass, piano, guitar and of course voice. But there's lots of effects that you can add to these instruments. There's lots of "studio magic" in the post production that can make things sound more interesting or fit the mood of the lyrics. Some examples are: reversing a guitar track so that it sounds kind of garbled and out of time, putting lots of reverb and delay on a voice so that it sounds like it's in a huge cathedral. I liked doing that with some of the operatic high voices because it created a really eery sound. We also used an instrument called a "mellotron" that plays really old crackly samples of strings and flutes - I loved messing around with that! At the beginning of "Marching Orders" the tempo is set by a pair of high heels - that was me walking around the Odd Fellows building on Capitol Hill with a metronome in my ear to set the right tempo while Vince Gates (in whose studio we recorded much of the album) followed me around with one of those fuzzy movie mics. In general recording is fun because you can layer and layer and layer sounds until they create something completely different. Many of those songs have about 70 tracks in them!

HC: What are some of your influences, literary and otherwise?
AW: Well I love the fantasy books of my childhood (Lord of The Rings, The Narnia series and many other fantasy books). Robertson Davies is a wonderful Canadian author who wrote many great books my favourite being "Fifth Business." I love cinema - anything from big epics like Lord of the Rings to smaller quirky comedies like "Waiting For Guffman." I like to be wowed and I like to be endeared to characters. That goes for music too. I love all sorts and genres as long as I'm overtaken and swept away.

HC: Have you worked on other musical projects?
AW: Yup. I used to front a band called Sugartown before I started to do these solo projects. I also play with a great band called Central Services who happens to have a kid's offshoot band called The Board of Education.

HC: What are you working on now?
AW: Well, don't laugh, but I'm actually working on a Christmas album! Every year, Christmas takes me by surprise, I get swept up with the season and wish that I had a Christmas album to offer. So this year's new year's resolution was to chip away at one all year. It's been fun - especially since it's still winter. I don't know how I'll feel in July (that's perhaps when i'll start the festive Latin-inspired portion of the record!).

HC: If someone were to ask you how to become a musician, what advice would you give?
AW: All you have to do to become a musician is start sitting down with an instrument or your voice or both and regularly work at it. There's never really an arrival point or an ending point (and looking for one is more stressful than it's worth). To jump into the "biz" of music and become a professional musician is a bit more concrete but there are still many ways to do it. I think the best thing to do first is create something (a song, an instrumental sketch, some lyrics) and find a way to record it so that you can start showing people what you're music is all about. This is the best way to meet other musicians, find performance opportunities and grow as an artist. I've had a lot of fun helping some of my teen students create and record songs and music. They've learned a lot about the whole process of getting a song idea out of their head and onto CD.

HC: Where can we find your music?
AW: Well, it's in many different places online but I have them all listed on my website store page. I also always bring CDs to my live shows which are listed on the calendar page of my website.

Thanks, Andrea, for the music and the interview! Readergirlz, check out the trailer and pass it on!

TBD Contest: Week 5

Dear readergirlz, the time has come for the fifth and final week of five weeks of contests!

The winner of last week's contest is... shelburns! Send your address to readergirlz AT gmail DOT com and we'll get your pack of books out to you, S!

Here's the deal: each week from now until Support Teen Literature Day on April 16th, we'll be awarding *a package of books* to one winner. To enter, you just comment on our blog posts (comments on older posts count - a point for each comment!) and get an extra ten points for taking up the week's challenge. Get ten more any time by becoming one of our blog followers!

Report your post in the comments with the URL where you fulfilled the week's challenge (and get eleven points!). We'll keep track of the comments and urls and award the winners each week. Books! Prizes! And you'll be supporting teen lit and hospitalized teens across the country.

This week's challenge: Comment all week, then drop a book on Support Teen Lit Day, April 16th (email us a photo of your drop to readergirlz AT gmail DOT com, and we'll feature you on the blog!) and come join us at the TBD Post-Op party here on readergirlz on April 16th at 6pm PST/9pm EST!

And if you haven't posted the Rock the Drop Bug, the Operation TBD trailer, the press release or how you plan to rock the drop on your blog, do that for more points and let us know!

*PS-This week's grand prize is extra big--more books, more swag, more fun!*

TBD Contest: Week 4

Dear readergirlz, the time has come for the fourth week of five weeks of contests!

The winner of last week's contest is... Molz614! Send your address to readergirlz AT gmail DOT com and we'll get your pack of books out to you, M!

Here's the deal: each week from now until Support Teen Literature Day on April 16th, we'll be awarding *a package of books* to one winner. To enter, you just comment on our blog posts (comments on older posts count - a point for each comment!) and get an extra ten points for taking up the week's challenge. Get ten more any time by becoming one of our blog followers!

Report your post in the comments with the URL where you fulfilled the week's challenge (and get eleven points!). We'll keep track of the comments and urls and award the winners each week. Books! Prizes! And you'll be supporting teen lit and hospitalized teens across the country.

This week's challenge: Post about how you plan to Rock the Drop on your blog, in a bulletin, on twitter, etc. Spread the word about Operation TBD, and tell us how you're doing it!

And if you haven't posted the Rock the Drop Bug, the Operation TBD trailer or the press release on your blog, do that for more points and let us know!

April: rgz Newsflash

Operation TBD

It’s finally here and now everyone can participate! Help rgz raise awareness of Support Teen Literature Day with YALSA on April 16th by participating in Operation Teen Book Drop (TBD ’09). Grab a label from our website and get ready to leave a book in your community. Then party it up with us at the Post-Op Party with authors and readers from around the world. This is the same day that rgz, GuysLitWire, and YALSA are dropping 8,000 books to hospitalized teens across the country. And where are the new YA books coming from? AMAZING publishers who have the heart to continue to give in our tight economic times. Bravo, publishers! We heart you!

Abrams Books

Bloomsbury/Walker Books

Candlewick Press

Full Cast Audio

Hachette Book Group

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Hyperion

Milkweed

Mirrorstone Books

Orca Book Publishers

Peachtree Books

Perseus Book Group/Running Press

Random House

Scholastic

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Soft Skull Press & Red Rattle Books

TOKYOPOP

Tor /Forge/Starscape/Tor Teen

Get full details for TBD ’09 at our website!

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April pick: Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

In April, we’ll welcome New York Times Bestseller Ellen Hopkins and discuss Impulse. How perfect for National Poetry Month and TBD ’09! Be ready for intensity as we explore the multiple sides of this edgy verse novel.
Join us for discussions at the readergirlz blog!

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Postergirlz Suggested Reads

The postergirlz have selected these amazing works to accompany Impulse:

* Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
* Cures for Heartbreak by Margo Rabb
* Alive and Well in Prague New York by Daphne Grab
* Candy by Kevin Brooks
* Thirst by Mary Oliver
* Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood by Koren Zailckas

See the full April issue, complete with playlist, party ideas, and more!

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rgz at TLA

Are you going to the Texas Library Association Conference? We invite you to meet three of the readergirlz divas: Dia Calhoun, Lorie Ann Grover, and Justina Chen Headley. We’ll be speaking about readergirlz on April 2 at 2:00 and signing in the Author Alley at 3:00.
Swing by and give us a Texas-sized greeting!

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rgz discussions move to blog!

Have you noticed that rgz has migrated our discussions of the feature book over to our blog? This is a central location everyone can reach. Monthly discussion posts are linked in the top right corner, and you can follow every update through rgz Twitter.
Stop by and drop a comment for the author and the community!

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rgz LIVE chats: just got chattier

We are testing software for rgz LIVE! at our blog. Upcoming chats include the Operation TBD Post-Op Party and LIVE chat with Ellen Hopkins.
Stay tuned for full details!



Here’s to Operation Teen Book Drop ’09. Contact us at divas@readergirlz.com. Thanks for joining the movement to read, reflect, and reach out!

the readergirlz divas~

Lorie Ann Grover, On Pointe

Dia Calhoun, Avielle of Rhia

Holly Cupala, A Light That Never Goes Out (2010)

Justina Chen Headley, North of Beautiful

Melissa Walker, Violet Series

http://www.readergirlz.com/

readergirlz blog

rgz Twitter

readergirlz: read, reflect, reach out!

TBD Contest: Week 3

Dear readergirlz, the time has come for the third week of five weeks of contests!

Here's the deal: each week from now until Support Teen Literature Day on April 16th, we'll be awarding *a package of books* to one winner. To enter, you just comment on our blog posts (comments on older posts count - a point for each comment!) and get an extra ten points for taking up the week's challenge. Get ten more any time by becoming one of our blog followers!

Report your post in the comments with the URL where you fulfilled the week's challenge (and get eleven points!). We'll keep track of the comments and urls and award the winners each week. Books! Prizes! And you'll be supporting teen lit and hospitalized teens across the country.

This week's challenge: Post the Rock the Drop Bug on your blog. Spread the word about Operation TBD!

And if you haven't posted the Operation TBD trailer or the press release on your blog, do that for more points and let us know!