#RocktheDrop Thanks!

Thanks to all who celebrated #TRW16 with #RocktheDrop! It was a great event filled with love of YA lit. Thanks for impacting communities with joy, readergirlz! Brava!

Check out a few pics from twitter!


AJ Pine


Katie Bayerl


Melissa Walker


Valerie Lawson


Sara Fujimura

Onward, rzg!

#RocktheDrop for #TRW16!

It's time to #RocktheDrop! Right now!!! Let's wrap up #TRW16 by leaving a YA book in a public place to be found and treasured. Here are your bookmarks. Full info here.

Show us your pic and post: #RocktheDrop and #TRW16. Happy #RocktheDrop to you and your community!

#RocktheDrop and #TRW16

It's coming! Sunday is the first day of #YALSA Teen Read Week, readergirlz! Did you remember we are celebrating with #RocktheDrop on Friday, October 14? Instead of dropping YA books in public places in April for Support Teen Lit Day, we are collectively leaving our books in the wild a week from Friday for Teen Read Week, #TRW16. So here are your bookmarks. Print and place them in your favs, and be ready to leave the books someplace special for a happy reader to find. Full info here.

As always, snap a pic and post: #RocktheDrop and #TRW16. We want to see your contributions! Let's get ready. One, two, three...GO!

Happy Teen Read Week, rgz!

 

Happy Teen Read Week!

Hey readergirlz!

We wish you all great reading as we celebrate YALSA's Teen Read Week! "Picture it @ your library" is this year's theme. In keeping with that, we recommend p*tag, the first YA poetry e-reader collection. With 31 poems inspired by 31 images, this work is a perfect fit for this year's TRW.


So check it out. Support a poet. And take a stab at writing to the images yourself.

Oh, and did you see the Teens' Top 10? What do you think?



Happy Teen Read Week!

rgz Newsflash: p*tag for October's Teen Read Week!

Okay. 31 poets, 31 images and you have p*tag, 31 poems linked by tagging and repetition. It went like this: wait until you are tagged, pick an image, and then write a poem, using 3 of the words from the previous poet's poem. Ready, set, go! And we were off, under the guidance of Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong. This ekphrastic approach to poetry, where poems are inspired by art, fueled the poets fully. While the resulting poetry collection is eclectic, the repeated words give a notable continuity to the stream. There's an organic pulse running from beginning to end as readers witness this captured Art Happening on their e-readers.

Personally, David L. Harrison tagged me, so I was able to read his wonderful poem "Family Reunion at the Beach." Then I was off to choose a photo from Sylvia's posted images given to inspire us. The photo of a crowd, blurred by the camera's movement, caught my eye. It seemed as if spirits were leaving bodies despite the people's focus locked on the stage. I then chose three of David's words from his poem: clasping, future, and eyes, for my own haiku "Crowd." Finally, I tagged the lovely poet, Julie Larios. I would later learn she used my words: trapped, eyes, away.

All other poems were hidden from the participants until the release of p*tag. So it was a delight to download and read the stream, read how images and poems and repeated words created a complete work of art. I love how one poet responded to another, and immediately offered another point of view. You can see this particularly between Julie Larios and Michele Krueger. One writes of rising above, the other finding "peace in place." Stephanie Hemphill's' "In Praise of Luck" lifted my spirit, although I'd call it providence. :~) And oh, the delight to see one I esteem so highly, Lee Bennett Hopkins, write with few words just like me.

So here is a poem a day for the month of October while we celebrate YALSA's Teen Read Week. How perfect for the theme "Picture it @ your library." Download p*tag onto your device. Visit the website to learn more, see photos, and try your own hand at the ekphrastic approach to poetry. Thanks, Janet and Sylvia! *standing ovation*

p*tag
compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong
available on e-readers

Happy Birthday, readergirlz!

Well, it's March, rgz, and do you know that means it's our 4th birthday? Woohoo! Raise a book and drop a comment in celebration. Share your love!

Looking over the past 4 years, I recall our launch, March 1st, 2007, in honor of Women's History Month. How about our migration from MySpace to Facebook and Blogger and Twitter? I think of great chats like the midnight worldwide extravaganza with Stephenie Meyer, Halloween, 2007. I think of 31 Flavorites where we hosted a different author everyday. I think of celebrations for Teen Read Week, donations of 30,000 books to underserved teens through Operation Teen Book Drop with YALSA and Guys Lit Wire, and the recent A Novel Gift with First Book, driving hundreds to register for 125,000 books. I think of winning the National Book Award for Innovations in Reading and the James Patterson Grant. 

I think of great dialog, passionate teens, and those who work to serve them. I think of an amazing crew of ladies who has donated their time to sustain this site.  

Here's to YA literature. Here's to you, rgz! Happy 4th birthday!

Readergirlz Celebrates YALSA's Teen Read Week!

We've got the beat here at readergirlz!

We're celebrating YALSA's Teen Read Week 2010: Books with Beat
all next week here at the readergirlz blog.

We invite you to tell us about your favorite books,
chat with October featured author, Laini Taylor, about love and goblins,
and tell us who you'd love to see featured on the readergirlz blog.

Want to find out more about YALSA's Teen Read Week?
Check out the wiki here, and contact your local library
for events in your area!

Looking for a Book with Beat to read?

More than 11,000 teens voted on the top ten reads in 2009.
Check out the winners of the Teens' Top Ten 2010, to be announced
October 18th at 11 a.m. Central!

The Beat Goes On...

...with readergirlz' awesome archive of spotlighted YA authors here.

There is something for everyone!

Click here to download the Books With Beat rgz poster!

Then rock out to the official rgz playlist!

TRW Tribute: Telika Howard, 6:00 AM

YALSA'S Teen Read Week is one of the best promotion of reading I have seen. They pick the books that are new and interesting and encourages teens to read in the best kind of way! Teen Read Week 2009 will be celebrated Oct. 18-24! This year's theme is Read Beyond Reality @ your library, which encourages teens to read something out of this world, just for the fun of it.

Also thanks to readergirlz who will be posting a tribute to Teen Read week along with a link to blogs who mention why they love Teen Read Week and their favorite book!

My favorite book is of course my new YA/teen fictional urban book I recently published Out of the Miry Clay! It is a unique coming of age story both physically and spiritually and answers the question what's the difference between our dreams and our purpose through the main character, a 19 yr old female living in the inner city.

FOLLOW MY BOOK http://twitter.com/outofmi..ryclay

WATCH COMMERCIAL http://animoto.com/play/pY..kBcYcA0TWZNvA2RZ1lbA?utm...

WATCH EXCERPT OF BOOK http://www.youtube.com/wat..ch?v=WISghxc3FLc

Telika Howard

rgz LIVE! Beyond Hardship with Lorie Ann Grover, Elizabeth Scott, and Lynn Weingarten

Welcome to the second of our week long series of live chats in celebration of Teen Read Week--READ BEYOND REALITY. Tonight join us for Beyond Hardship with three amazing authors:

LORIE ANN GROVER


ELIZABETH SCOTT


LYNN WEINGARTEN


The chat goes live at the top of the hour! Get ready to dive into the deep stuff, rgz!

rgz LIVE! Beyond Imagination with Justina Chen, Zoe Marriott, and Alyson Noel

Welcome to the kickoff of our week's series of live chats in celebration of Teen Read Week: READ BEYOND REALITY. Tonight readergirlz tantalizes your imagination with three amazing authors:

JUSTINA CHEN, ZOE MARRIOTT, and ALYSON NOEL!

The fun starts at the top of the hour! Let's go, rgz!

Get ready for Teen Read Week!

It's almost here, readergirlz and readerguys! Next week, October 19-23, we'll have an entire week of FABULOUS LIVE CHATS with a cluster of Teens' Top Ten Choice Nominees and readergirlz divas!

See the full schedule on the poster below or the press release:



And don't forget to check out the rgz Teen Read Week trailer, with music by our friends at Freezepop!



All day on October 23rd, we'll be posting our Teen Read Week Tribute from bloggers and authors around the litosphere. Let the party begin!

Calling All Bloggers!

As you may have heard, in conjunction with the author chats, readergirlz will be hosting a Teen Read Week Tribute. Anyone who loves YALSA's Teen Read Week is encouraged to let it out on their blog through a post or vlog, then send the link to readergirlz AT gmail.com (subject line: entrant's name, TRW Tribute). readergirlz will collect all contributions and post them at the rgz blog in a tribute that will run October 23.

Watch the rgz Teen Read Week trailer and get psyched. Then, send in your links by October 21!

October: rgz Newsflash!

Teen Read Week Tribute!

Do you love Teen Read Week? Let it out at your blog through a post or vlog, then send the link to readergirlz@gmail.com. Put in the subject line: Your name, TRW Tribute. We’ll collect contributions and post them at the rgz blog in a 24 hour time span. Tell us about your recent release, or a book you love dearly, and then give a shout out for Teen Read Week. The tribute will run October 23rd!

******

rgz Read Beyond Reality!

We are ready to Read Beyond Reality with YALSA, rgz! The divas will host nine young-adult authors—eight of whom are nominees for the Teens’ Top Ten—throughout Teen Read Week. The week’s chats will culminate with an online gala celebration, where Sylvia Engdahl, a pioneer in young-adult science fiction, will be hosted and honored for her contributions to the literary landscape. Watch for signed book prizes and swag from iHeartDaily.com!

• Monday, Oct. 19: Beyond Imagination with rgz diva Justina Chen (NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL), Alyson Noël (EVERMORE) and Zoe Marriott (DAUGHTER OF THE FLAMES)


• Tuesday, Oct. 20: Beyond Hardship with rgz diva Lorie Ann Grover (HOLD ME TIGHT), Elizabeth Scott (LIVING DEAD GIRL) and Lynn Weingarten (WHEREVER NINA LIES)
  
• Wednesday, Oct. 21: Beyond Daily Life with rgz diva Holly Cupala (TELL ME A SECRET), Lisa McMann (WAKE) and Cynthia Leitich Smith (ETERNAL)


• Thursday, Oct. 22: Beyond Our World with rgz diva Melissa Walker (LOVESTRUCK SUMMER), Cassandra Clare (CITY OF ASHES) and Patrick Ness (THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO)
  
• Friday, Oct. 23: Into Our Beyond with rgz diva Dia Calhoun (AVIELLE OF RHIA) and pioneering YA sci-fi author Sylvia Engdahl (ENCHANTRESS FROM THE STARS)

It all happens at the rgz blog, Oct. 19-23 at 6 p.m. Pacific/9 p.m. Eastern. Spread the word with the press release, poster, banners, and trailer!

******

rgz welcomes New York Times Bestseller Libba Bray!

In October we are also psyched to host Libba Bray as our Divas’ Choice. We’ll discuss THE SWEET FAR THING and all things Gemma. Feel free to chat about related topics all month at the rgz blog. rgz LIVE! with Libba will be held on October 28th at 6 p.m. Pacific/9 p.m. Eastern. Join our celebration and enter the realms this month, rgz!

Download our October Libba Bray bookmark!

******

Snatch up the postergirlz recommended reads to accompany The Sweet Far Thing:

• East by Edith Pattou
• Impossible by Nancy Werlin
• City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
• Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman
• So You Want to Be a Wizard by Diane Duane
• A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
• Chill: Stress-Reducing Techniques for a More Balanced, Peaceful You by Deborah Reber

******

October Community Service

In Gemma Doyle’s time, corsets were all the rage. Now, it’s all about demin—especially October 2nd, with Lee’s National Denim Day, a cause that has raised more than $75 million for the fight against breast cancer and unites nearly one million supporters nationwide each year. It’s as easy as donating $5 and wearing jeans on October 2nd. To register, visit http://www.denimday.com/.


******

Did you see diva Holly Cupala's cover just unveiled for her 2010 debut novel, TELL ME A SECRET? It's hot, hot, hot! Congrats, Holly!

As always, if you have any suggestions for our award winning online book community, contact us at divas@readergirlz.com.

Thanks for joining us as we read, reflect, and reach out!

Best in books,
the readergirlz divas~

Lorie Ann Grover, Hold Me Tight
Dia Calhoun, Avielle of Rhia
Holly Cupala, Tell Me A Secret (2010)
Justina Chen, North of Beautiful
Melissa Walker, Lovestruck Summer

http://www.readergirlz.com/
readergirlz blog
rgz Twitter

Did you LOVE the rgz trailer music?

We do, too! Here's a video of the Freezepop song, and if you look carefully, you will see a flash of our readergirlz model, Kathryn! (Hint: she's the one in the polka-dot blouse.)






See? See Kathryn, of vampire-and-space-girl beauty?














Thanks to Freezepop and Kathryn! Enjoy!

rgz Teen Read Week trailer!

Without further ado...check out our Teen Read Week trailer, featuring music from our friends at Freezepop!



(And thanks to the super team at HarperCollins for letting me unveil the TELL ME A SECRET cover in the trailer, two months early!)

rgz Teen Read Week banners!

And here's a surprise for diva Lorie Ann: Teen Read Week banners...

...in large...


...medium...


...and small!

rgz Teen Read Week poster!

Here it is, the poster you've all been waiting for, with the full schedule of chats coming up here at readergirlz during YALSA's Teen Read Week 2009: Read Beyond Reality!


Click here for a downloadable pdf version to print.

Special thanks to our participating Teens' Top Ten Nominees, as well as my (Holly's) friend Kathryn, for posing as this year's space girl! You might remember her as the gorgeous, apple-eating vampire from last year's poster & trailer. Thank you, Kathryn!

Feel free to spread the news far and wide: readergirlz' Teen Read Week celebration will be OUT OF THIS WORLD!

Press Release: rgz and Teen Read Week, 2009

For more information contact:

Sara Easterly, Publicist for readergirlz

Sara Easterly & Friends

sara@saraeasterly.com

206-632-8588

READERGIRLZ URGES TEENS TO READ BEYOND REALITY

In Support of YALSA’s Teen Read Week, readergirlz hosts live author chats
with many Teens’ Top Ten Nominees for 2009

Sept. 22, 2009 (Seattle, Wash.) —Teen Read Week, a week-long celebration of literacy, is scheduled for Oct. 18-24, 2009, and will include live chats with top teen authors on readergirlz.com, the most popular online reading community for teen girls.

Since 1998, Teen Read Week has been run by the American Library Association’s Young Adult Library Service Association. This year’s theme is “Read Beyond Reality.” Teens are also visiting the YALSA website to vote for their favorite books from a list of nominees. Winners who’ve made the Teens’ Top Ten will be announced via a webcast during Teen Read Week.

In support of this tremendous literary initiative, the readergirlz divas will host nine young-adult authors—eight of whom are nominees for the Teens’ Top Ten—throughout Teen Read Week. By visiting http://readergirlz.blogspot.com, teens will be able to chat with these author stars, live, to ask burning questions about the authors’ books, find out about their daily lives, and learn about their writing process.

The week’s chats will culminate with an online gala celebration, where Sylvia Engdahl, a pioneer in young-adult science fiction, will be hosted and honored for her contributions to the literary landscape.

Like the monthly chats readergirlz is known for, the five-day series of candid online conversations with authors includes giveaways of signed books and swag from iHeartDaily.com. Promising to be a stellar week, the complete line-up is as follows:

• Monday, Oct. 19: Beyond Imagination with rgz diva Justina Chen Headley (NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL), Alyson Noël (EVERMORE) and Zoe Marriott (DAUGHTER OF THE FLAMES)
• Tuesday, Oct. 20: Beyond Hardship with rgz diva Lorie Ann Grover (HOLD ME TIGHT), Elizabeth Scott (LIVING DEAD GIRL) and Lynn Weingarten (WHEREVER NINA LIES)
• Wednesday, Oct. 21: Beyond Daily Life with rgz diva Holly Cupala (TELL ME A SECRET), Lisa McMann (WAKE) and Cynthia Leitich Smith (ETERNAL)
• Thursday, Oct. 22: Beyond Our World with rgz diva Melissa Walker (LOVESTRUCK SUMMER), Cassandra Clare (CITY OF ASHES) and Patrick Ness (THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO)
• Friday, Oct. 23: Into Our Beyond with rgz diva Dia Calhoun (AVIELLE OF RHIA) and pioneering YA sci-fi author Sylvia Engdahl (ENCHANTRESS FROM THE STARS)

It all happens at the rgz blog (http://readergirlz.blogspot.com) beginning at 6 p.m. Pacific Time (9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time), Oct. 19-23.

In conjunction with the author chats, readergirlz will be hosting a Teen Read Week Tribute. Anyone who loves YALSA's Teen Read Week is encouraged to let it out on their blog through a post or vlog, then send the link to readergirlz@gmail.com (subject line: entrant’s name, TRW Tribute). readergirlz will collect all contributions and post them at the rgz blog in a tribute that will run October 23.

Watch the rgz Teen Read Week trailer at rgz tv www.youtube.com/readergirlz.

About readergirlz

readergirlz is the foremost online book community for teen girls, led by five critically acclaimed YA authors—Dia Calhoun (Avielle of Rhia), Holly Cupala (Tell Me a Secret) Lorie Ann Grover (Hold Me Tight), Justina Chen Headley (North of Beautiful), and Melissa Walker (Lovestruck Summer). readergirlz is the recipient of a 2007 James Patterson PageTurner Award, and the 2009 National Book Foundation's Innovations in Reading Prize.

To promote teen literacy and leadership in girls, readergirlz features a different YA novel and corresponding community service project every month. Twice a year, they hold special literacy projects, including Operation Teen Book Drop which has donated 20,000 new YA books to hospitalized teens. For more information about readergirlz, please visit www.readergirlz.com and http://readergirlz.blogspot.com, or contact divas@readergirlz.com

Ó2009 readergirlz

rgz Read Beyond Reality launches Monday!

We've been dying to share with you, and on Monday, all will be revealed!

Stay tuned for the details our readergirlz celebration of YALSA's Teen Read Week: Read Beyond Reality, including press release, poster pdf, and trailer!

(And...look carefully...Holly's cover for TELL ME A SECRET will be revealed for the first time, exclusively in the trailer!)

See you Monday!