This week, L.C. Rosen and Phil Stamper celebrate Pride; Sam Wedelich redraws the classics; Victoria J. Coe welcomes a very good guest; and Lindsay Lackey virtually visits the Centennial State.

I’m Coming Out

On June 1, YA authors L.C. Rosen (Camp, Little, Brown) (pictured) and Phil Stamper (The Gravity of Us, Bloomsbury) held a digital event in collaboration with RJ Julia Independent Booksellers in Madison, Conn. In honor of Pride Month, the queer authors discussed Pride’s origins as a protest and how it still remains one today, their respective creative processes, character development, and more.

The Real and Totally Fun Storytime

Last week, cartoonist and author-illustrator Sam Wedelich (Chicken Little: The Real and Totally True Tale, Scholastic) took to Instagram Live with Philipp Geodicke, children’s book buyer at Community Bookstore in Brooklyn, N.Y., for an installment of its “I Read, You Draw” series of virtual storytimes. While Geodicke read aloud two chapters from Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty McDonald, illustrated by Hilary Knight, Wedelick provided supplementary doodles of the scenes. Community Bookstore subsequently posted the session to its Instagram feed.

Victoria and Deke in the Wild

Victoria J. Coe (the Fenway and Hattie series, Putnam) hopped on Zoom May 19 to celebrate the paperback release of Fenway and Hattie in the Wild, in an event hosted by Belmont Books in Belmont, Mass. Joining Coe was Jack Russell terrier Deke, the cover model for the series. The event’s 100 guests learned how Deke got his start in show business and got a peek into his life as a celebrity dog. Guests also partook in a “Guess the Next Line” contest to win $15 gift cards to the bookstore.

Colorado Conversations

Recently, Lindsay Lackey (All the Impossible Things, Roaring Brook) joined Ryan Warner from Colorado Public Radio on Facebook Live for an interview on May 20. Turn the Page with Colorado Matters book club selected the contemporary middle grade—which follows Ruby “Red” Byrd, who has the power to influence the wind, as she navigates the foster system—as its inaugural pick in order to inspire intergenerational collaborative reading. After the discussion, young readers from across the U.S. were invited to ask questions.