Finders Seekers
Debut YA author Arwen Elys Dayton signed copies of Seeker, the first installment in a trilogy published by Delacorte, at Red Balloon Bookshop in St. Paul, Minn., on February 17. The event was part of her five-city tour that began in Portland, Ore., on February 10 and ended on February 25 in New York City. Columbia Pictures acquired film rights back in 2013, long before publication.
Steal This Bill
Last month, a freelance writer spotted a $5 bill on which someone had written instructions that it be used to buy a copy of April Henry’s Girl, Stolen (Holt). The writer tweeted about it, was then retweeted at the author, who then sent the writer a copy of Girl, Stolen, in exchange for the $5 bill. April posted about this on her Facebook page and a reporter reached out to Henry about the story; they ended up filming a segment for a local television station in Portland, Ore., where Henry lives. The author is hoping that as word spreads, she might be able to track down the original owners of the bill, and possibly set up a visit to their school. Here, Henry proudly shows off the bill.
Book Folks in Boston
Children’s booksellers from Maine, Connecticut, and Massachusetts attended the New England Children’s Booksellers Advisory Council meeting at the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt offices in Boston on February 25. They discussed favorite nonfiction titles and met with members of the HMH BFYR marketing team to talk about how both booksellers and publishers can better promote books.
Getting the Axe
Fans of author Alison DeCamp’s novel My Near Death Adventures (99% True!) (Random/Crown), dressed in lumberjack couture in honor of her novel, which is about a boy who goes searching for his father in the logging camps of Michigan in 1895. The event was held at Between the Covers bookstore in Harbor Springs, Mich., on February 25. Activities included faux-axe throwing and log-stacking. Prizes were awarded for both the best fake and real beards and bacon treats were served. Here, DeCamp (holding the axe) greets two guests, husband-and-wife Rebecca and Colin Readman, both of whom were her previous students.
