Monday, October 08, 2007

First Annual Kidlitosphere Conference: The Report

Wow, Excellent, Amazing, I'm already saving for next year, fingers crossed no conflict for the weekend it will be.

Anyway.

The postings thus far:

Photos over at 7 Impossible Things, and I am so mad I didn't get a chance to talk more with Jules & Eisha. It was a quick hi/hi, and then at the end of the day when a Starbucks group left for caffeine I knew if I went I would never sleep that night. But, a good thing about a real meet & greet like the Conference is it means that there is now a person connected to that blog; and, as I just wrote to Susan over at Wizards Wireless, we are always chatting with each other via blog, email, Meebo, etc. I expect to see an upsurge in commenting!

Just One More Book, and photos and posts, and Mark totally won the "first to post about the conference prize". Another site where I can borrow photos. Also check out the post at Mark's other blog, and yes, my blogroll and bloglines account is getting increased as we speak.

Jen Robinson's account. For the record, this listing is in no particular order, not alpha or time or anything like that. And, as Jen says, while I am going to be trying to list all the people I met and things we talked about, it would be impossible and I know I'll leave someone out. So I'll try, but I already know that I cannot blog it all, so I'm linking and will capture my scattered thoughts later, and, also, try to blog about points that others have not. And, with this list, direct you to all the things I would have said or blogged about.

A Year of Reading: a series of letters between two bloggers, in which one politely tells the other, "ha ha, I went and had a great time and you didn't. But we loved you and missed you and here are the handouts."

Fuse #8 Productions. And here. And, I think perhaps for the first time ever, a part three to a post. And even a part four. Oh, you publisher previews and parties for books, I think you have never had a four parter at Fuse. As we all met each other, we quickly fell into a pattern. A "hello" that was friendly yet polite as we shook the hand out of a total stranger, followed by the quick intro of name, blog, and (for some of us) our on-line name, at which point we gasped "it's you" and the greeting turned into a hug and smiles as if we'd found a long lost relative. Betsy, aka Fuse, is one of the first bloggers I've met in Real Life, along with a handful of others, so it was all "Betsy!". But what was also fun was how often people referred to her as "Fuse."

And I have to thank Betsy for her kind words about my public speaking. Those readers who knew me in High School are saying Liz? Public speaking? Huh. Who knew. If you are shy and are quiet and want to learn how to become a good public speaker, go to law school. So, its a six figure investment that you will be paying for the rest of your life; but, it will serve you well in terms of learning how to speak without notes, speak passionately but not (I hope) in an annoying way, and to speak louder than you normally would. (On the other hand, I am still terribly uncomfortable with and not good at meeting new people, and I thank all the attendees who weren't put off by initial quietness.)

And to properly credit the quotage of, The plural of anecdote is not evidence, that is the made of awesome Carlie W.

Kelly at Big A little a is also doing a round up, so quick, go there, also; and leave a comment so she can include you. It's funny, "knowing" someone for years but not till know putting a face and voice to the person. How many times can I say I really, really wanted at least one extra day to talk with people and brainstorm and share ideas? Too little time.

Anne at Book Buds has a part one and a prequel. Part two will be added later. Anne spoke about book reviewing, I took a ton of notes, wondered at how often or not what I post about is really a review, and wondered about contacting local papers about doing reviews. The great thing about the conference was all the ideas of things to do... except, I have to learn how to prioritize, what with each day having just 24 hours. And the fact that I do like to sleep.

Robin Brande. I am in awe of how this idea tossed around turned into something real. So real that there was a conference room! And coffee and mini bagels! And a dinner! And she's fun! And she said nice things about my clothes. In my family, my sister is usually the one who gets the clothes compliments (she is my fashion guru. When she says, no, don't buy those shoes, ever, I listen to her.) So it was cool to hear it. Also, I find out I am "stealth funny." I need that on a t-shirt.

Adrienne, and what she thinks about the conference. And for the umpteenth time, I will say, how great to talk to people and why wasn't there more time?

OK, I'm going to post this now, and add to it later. Or do a second post. Or sleep.

One more thing: I met PJ Haarsma who knows Nathan Fillion. I know!!! Discuss.

Edited to add:

Pixiepalace chimes in; and I have to echo what she and others said. I was so pleased to discover how nice everyone is!

Edited again:

Shaken & Stirred has Kidlit Love. And says very nice things about me, which makes me want to cry, and I am thankful.

Edited again again:

Anna M Lewis, Got Art?, shares her musings and report.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I also wish we could have talked longer than a "hi." Maybe next year?!

Jenny Schwartzberg said...

Thank you Liz for your round-up of the blogs on the conference. I've been happily reading them all. It was wonderful meeting all of you and listening to the presentations and commentary. I wish I could have talked to every single one of you! Thank you for your help during the conference.
Jenny Schwartzberg

Laini Taylor said...

Hi Liz! It was really great to meet you! I second what Betsy said about your public speaking. You were very smooth!

I've added Truly Madly Deeply to the netflix queue, now you must add Amelie! And please let me know if you'd like me to send you a copy of Blackbringer. I would be happy to!

And weirdly, I tried leaving a comment about a half hour ago and the weirdest thing would happen -- whenever I would drag the cursor over a link the whole link would just vanish. It was very strange!!

John Klima said...

Sounds very cool! Also cool that my peeps from my two worlds (Liz here in library land and Shaken & Stirred Gwenda on the writing side) are colliding and happening.

Anonymous said...

Liz, I love the roundup. Thanks for writing it up for those of us who couldn't be there.

Jim Di Bartolo said...

Liz!!!

I too experienced the disappearing link on your blog -- playing hard-to-get? Flirty flirty teasing blog of yours! Anyhow, it was great getting to know you and to experience the stealthiness that is your wit :)

I hope you're planning on coming to Portland next year!

All best,
Jim

P.S. - I mentioned you on my blog -- prepare for FAME! :)

Liz B said...

Jules, how exciting to be able to say "see you next year." I hope very much it's a good weekend for me!

Jenny, I had a great time & hope that when I'm next in Chicago I get to see your library. In the meanwhile, please start blogging!

Laini, I sent you an email re the book and realized I forgot to include my address. I'll get that to you asap. And I've mentioned your post in my second Conference post. I wonder if you were reading the post when I went in to edit to add some links?

John, it's such a small (internet) world.

Susan, you were missed.

Jim, with that mention on your blog my stats will go crazy, I'm sure! I am planning to be in Portland, and to make stay long enough to see more than the inside of a conference room. (Flirty blog...I like it.)

Anonymous said...

Great post, Liz! You definitely captured the flavor of the event. I enjoyed meeting you.
-Susan

Andromeda Jazmon said...

Great round up! You know I am hanging on every word...