A Little Roundup Pre-ALA

Much fun stuff happening lately! To wit:

If you're going to be at ALA Annual in Washington this weekend, come to my lovely authors' book signings! All take place in the Scholastic booth, #2624 (or, what's easier to find: under the gigantic red Scholastic banner that will be looming over all our heads).

• Sara Lewis Holmes will be signing Operation Yes from 2-3 p.m. on Saturday.
• Francisco X. Stork will be signing Marcelo in the Real World from 3-4 p.m. on Sunday.
• And Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich will be signing Eighth Grade Superzero from 4-5 p.m., also on Sunday.

I personally will be flitting about the convention from Friday evening, when I'm attending the awesome Kidlit Drink Night that Sara and her Mid-Atlantic SCBWI peeps are hosting, through Tuesday afternoon, when Francisco receives the Schneider Family Book Award for Marcelo. (Yay, Francisco!) If you see me, please say hi!

If you'll be in New York over the weekend instead of Washington, I recommend the "Notes from the Underground" play festival at the American Theatre of Actors, including a one-act directed by my own dear boyfriend, James Monohan -- "Bastard," by K. Alexa Mavromatis, which despite its blunt title actually has the feel of a good YA novel. It has two more performances, Friday and Saturday.

Anyone interested in plot structure: This Jennifer Crusie post is a must-read. Other things I've been reading lately: All five volumes of the Scott Pilgrim series, which were huge fun and have me eagerly anticipating both the sixth book and the movie (click here to see my avatar (winter edition) and make your own); A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, which I found annoyingly interesting and compelling; and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, which was a perfect, calming, pleasingly round read before bedtime.

Arthur has started a blog.

Emily and I have decided that we don't get out of the office enough and explore our lunch options in Soho, so we're making it a summer project to go out one day a week. And thus far the experiment has been a roaring success, because I recently had the best sandwich I have ever eaten in my life -- "the Korean," with bulgogi-marinated steak, lettuce, and slaw, on Cuban bread with sesame oil -- at a place called Project Sandwich. Be still, my carnivorous heart. Any other suggestions for great Soho lunch places or excellent New York sandwiches are hereby welcomed.