Tag Archives: author

The Book of Elsie is out now!

Great news! I have a book out today. *throws confetti*

The truth is that I wish I hadn’t felt the need to write a book about a kid who has to deal with antisemitism and other forms of prejudice but as long as there is hate out in the world, well, here we are. It hurt my heart to write this book and it hurt again to edit and reread it in preparation for release, but I hope it does a little good out in the world.

This book, my response to antisemitism, is also full of hope, a few laughs, and even a recipe that kids can try, lest you think it’s all doom and gloom.

More about why I wrote it can be found in my Teen Librarian Toolbox guest post here.

THE BOOK OF ELSIE is a book that I think all kids (and adults) can enjoy and learn from but don’t take my word for it:

“Strong first-person narration thoughtfully explores experiences of antisemitism and prejudice…Levy presents a realistic, gutsy, problemsolving youth navigating difficult situations with the love and support of community, friends, and family.” – Booklist

“Both Jew­ish and non-Jew­ish read­ers will be inspired by Elsie’s brav­ery while learn­ing about Jew­ish hol­i­days and com­mu­ni­ty sup­port.” – Jewish Book Council

“Allows readers to find the space to ask questions and have conversations about racism and antisemitism in society. Recommended.” – CM: Canadian Review of Materials

And my favorite review so far from the awesome E Train:

https://anchor.fm/e-train5/episodes/My-Book-Review-of-The-Book-of-Elsie-by-Joanne-Levy-e1kn8mu

p.s. Don’t miss my video interview with the smart and insightful E Train.

I hope you’ll check out The Book of Elsie and don’t forget to drop a review at retailers and/or Goodreads – that helps spread the word.

Get your copy: Your Canadian indie bookstoreBookshop.orgIndigoBarnes & NobleAmazon.comAmazon.ca

About the book:

Elsie Rose-Miller loves celebrating the Purim holiday and can’t wait for the annual costume party at her local synagogue.

Elsie plans to dress up as the fierce and smart Queen Esther, who saved all the Jewish people. But when financial hardship and a terrible incident of hate-inspired vandalism threaten not only the party but the synagogue too, Elsie, like Queen Esther, takes action to bring her entire community―Jewish and non-Jewish alike―together.

Read an excerpt here.

**Activity and discussion guide coming soon.**

 

Launch Week Awesomeness!

Well, friends, it’s been a week already. Whew! I’ve been so incredibly overwhelmed with the book love (and author love!) that I’ve received already and as I’m writing this, it’s only Wednesday. I’ve been so consumed with this book and getting the word out, that I actually forgot to do a release day post.

Here it is, just a day late. Still counts and now I can include some of the assorted media and posts.

In case you’re new to these parts, my book, SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS came out yesterday (October 12). *throws confetti*

Here are a few of the celebrations – first with the upcoming things so you can hurry to register/get your ticket.

October 14 – Triple Author Launch Extravaganza!

Click for ticketing! https://www.changinghands.com/event/october2021/lisa-mcmann-joanne-levy-dusti-bowling

October 14 at 7pm PST/10pm EST is the triple-author launch extravaganza in partnership with Changing Hands Bookstore.

Event details are here. If you purchase one of my books as part of your ticket, you’ll get a signed bookplate and one of these cool wood and paper bookmarks.

NOTE: Changing Hands Bookstore is in the US but they will ship anywhere. Ticket price includes US shipping.

If you are in Canada and would like to purchase a book and bookmark directly from me, please head on over to my Etsy shop.


http://http//www.joannelevy.com/reading

October 20, 11:30am – I’ll be doing a virtual public reading from SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS and will then be discussing the book and doing Q&A with award-winning author and psychiatrist, Tziporah Cohen. Free but registration is required. Sign up here.


And here’s some media/posts about me and the book:

The Nerdy Book Club – The story behind SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS – includes a giveaway open until October 19.

A spot on CHCH Morning Live – my hometown station’s morning show that I watch every day.

A Q&A I did over at the Orca blog.

Another Q&A I did with Deborah Kalb.

A post I wrote about how Jewish funerals are inherently green funerals over at L. E. Carmichael’s Cantastic Authorpalooza.

More to come but until then, I hope you’ll join me at one of my events. If you enjoyed reading SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS, please support the book by giving it a review at Goodreads and/or the place you bought it. More importantly, please pass it along to someone else who may enjoy it.

If you’ve read this far, you are the best. Thank you.

CRUSHING IT Launch Party!

Even if you’ve already bought (and hopefully loved) CRUSHING IT, if you’re in the Hamilton, Ontario area, why don’t you come out to help me celebrate the book? I’ll be reading from the book and answering questions AND will be signing while you mingle and consume snacks.

There will be giveaways, too! Bring the book you’ve already purchased for me to sign or there will be copies there to buy.

Please join the official Facebook event so I know you’re coming.

Hope to see you!

 

I’m CRUSHING IT Today!

See what I did there? I made a corny pun with my book title! Well, you know what? It’s my blog, so it’s my prerogative to make corny puns!

Back to the business at hand – it’s they day we’ve all been waiting for – CRUSHING IT release day!

***Throws confetti***

To celebrate, I’m chatting with my excellent friend, Debbie Ohi, over on her site today and I’m also talking about writing funny at the Nerdy Book Club.

If you haven’t pre-ordered your copy, you can get yours from Bryan Prince Bookseller, or at one of these fine retailers:

Chapters/Indigo

IndieBound

Barnes & Noble

Amazon.com

Amazon.ca

If you’re local, I’d love to see you at the LAUNCH PARTY on January 28 at the Westdale Libary (2pm).

Don’t forget to please review CRUSHING IT (unless you hated it) at review sites like Goodreads and at retailers. That is the kindest, and cheapest way you can help authors get the word out about their books.

So this happened!

“As always, Levy’s refreshing tween voice is spot on in CRUSHING IT. It’s the perfect laugh-out-loud read for middle graders.”

Lisa McMann
NYT bestselling author of the Unwanteds series

 

!!!!!! How cool, right? Here’s me doing my happy dance. You know, if I wore skirts. Which is almost…no, not almost, it’s never.gdance_e0

Thank you, Lisa!

Don’t forget, you can read the first three chapters of CRUSHING IT here.

 

Writing Process Blog Tour

Yes, I know, I haven’t blogged in a while and I probably wouldn’t have even written this post if not for the wonderfully awesome Philippa Dowding! I have to tell you how I met PhilipGwendolynpa, because meeting her was just one part in the amazing Forest of Reading experience I had last spring! When I did the ‘near north’ tour, Philippa and I traveled together (through some crazy terrain and a heck of a storm, I might add) from North Bay to Parry Sound and we got to know each other and had great chats, as writers often do. I can’t tell you what we talked about (what happens on tour, stays on tour) but by the end of the trip, I was so glad to have met her!

2014-09-09 09.34.50AND we exchanged books, which I love, because the one thing I cherish and collect more than anything (because it’s hard to collect cheese, though I do love it so) is signed books.

Please check out Philippa’s post and her books and make sure you tell her I sent you. Make sure you watch the trailer for The Strange Gift of GwendolynGolden (Philippa even did the music for the video—could she be any more talented?).

Now, to the questions!

1. What are you working on?

Oh, okay, so let’s start this with the hardest question to answer! I hate talking about projects I’m working on, because inevitably, they don’t freaking sell and then people are all like, “Remember you were working on that story about the purple alien that fell in love with a crocodile who ate beets? When is that coming out?” and I have to tell them that the book will come out on the fifteenth of never. So I think I’ll play it safe here and tell you I’m working on a wickedly funny Facebook post.

2. How does your work differ from others of its genre?

Well, I wrote it, so that’s the most notable difference. Plus, my writing tends to be funny and honest. I try to mine the most embarrassing moments from my own youth (real or imagined) and project them onto my characters. Then, I manipulate those scenes to make them even funnier and work them into a plot. So yeah, there’s a good chance if you’re reading my work, you will laugh. I keep hearing there’s not enough funny books, so I’m trying to help fill the niche.

3. Why do you write what you do?

2014-05-14 13.14.06I have always looked up to authors who honestly portray the lives of tweens/teens and who write the books that everyone relates to. There are so many experiences that we all go through in some way or another and sharing those experiences is one of the great parts of being human. Dogs can’t share the story of a great romp at the leash-free park or describe the taste of a really delicious steak bone found at the bottom of a garbage can. The stories we share bond us to each other with no reciprocal hind-end sniffing required. So I write to share stories like that. ALSO, and maybe more importantly, I love to make people laugh and if I can do that with strangers I’ve never met, well, that’s the most amazing feeling ever. No, the second most amazing feeling—having a kid come up to me wearing a shirt with my book on it, that’s pretty much THE most amazing feeling.

4. How does your writing process work?

This is a very wide-open question, which I’m guessing is by design… Uh, I come up with an idea, and then I have four or five plot points in my head before I start actually writing. Then I sit down (or, actually these days, I go to my treadmill desk) and start writing. I don’t normally write to outline, so I make up the story and characters as I go. This means I need to do more editing/layering of details later as I learn more about my book and what/who it’s actually about, but it’s hoTend a Gravew I work. I’ve tried outlining and it just doesn’t work for me. If I need an outline or synopsis for a proposal, I pretty much have to write the book (or most of it) first.

Thanks again for tagging me, Philippa! And of course, one good turn deserves another, so I tag: Jocelyn Shipley! I know Jocelyn from #TorKidLit, a social group of writers from the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) that gets together monthly. I’m a big fan of Jocelyn and her work (particularly her HOW TO TEND A GRAVE that I couldn’t stop raving about when I read it) and I’m looking forward to her post next week.

Thanks so much for stopping by and feel free to leave a comment about your process.

Auction #81 – MEGA Signed Copy of Eye of the Storm by Kate Messner and Small Medium at Large by Joanne Levy

Welcome to KidLit Cares, an online talent auction to benefit the Red Cross relief effort to help communities recover from Superstorm Sandy. KidLit Cares was started by the very awesome Kate Messner, but I’m taking over Round 2. Agents, editors, authors, illustrators and other generous people have donated various services to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with donations being made directly to the Red Cross disaster relief fund. You can read more about KidLit Cares here.

Now, on to the auction!

Kate Messner started these auctions, but I have the honor of closing them, so for this, the final auction, I wanted to do something a little special. Okay, a lot special.  So I got a copy of her Eye of the Storm and got as many authors as I could to sign it.

I kind of want to keep this myself, but I will do the right thing and give it up as originally intended. And then I thought, what’s better than 1 mega signed book. Yep, 2 mega signed books. So I’m throwing in a copy of Small Medium at Large, too and it’s also signed.

Awesome people who signed these books (besides Kate & myself):

R.J. Palacio, David Levithan, Lisa McMann, Eileen Cook, Libba Bray, Marla Frazee, Shannon Hale, Terry Trueman, Maggie Stiefvater, Megan Miranda, Matt de la Pena  and others (books will come with a full listing of signatures).

Opening Bid: $30

This auction closes at 10pm Eastern Standard Time on November 28. Any bids placed after that time will be void.

If you’d like to bid on this auction, check the current high bid and place a higher bid by leaving your name and bid amount in the comments, along with some way to contact you (email, FB or Twitter…I’m not fussy.) Winners will be notified when the auction ends and should be prepared to make an online donation to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund in the amount of the high bid at that time.  After you’ve made your donation, you’ll forward your receipt to me, and I’ll put you in touch with the person who donated the service you won so that the two of you can work out the details about how and when.   All services will be provided at the convenience of both the person making the donation and the auction winner, but this should happen within three months of the auction’s end unless something else is agreed upon by both parties.

Good luck and thanks for your help!

Tip: if you’re bidding, you may want to subscribe to the follow-up comments, so you can get notice of future bids. Subscribe via RSS on the right. —>

Auction #80 – Original Artwork from Author/Illustrator Matt Faulkner

Welcome to KidLit Cares, an online talent auction to benefit the Red Cross relief effort to help communities recover from Superstorm Sandy. KidLit Cares was started by the very awesome Kate Messner, but I’m taking over Round 2. Agents, editors, authors, illustrators and other generous people have donated various services to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with donations being made directly to the Red Cross disaster relief fund. You can read more about KidLit Cares here.

Now, on to the auction!

From Matt Faulkner‘s website: A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, Matt Faulkner has written and illustrated a number of children’s books. His work has won wide praise for its humor, exuberance and sensitivity. In addition, he is a contributing illustrator to such national periodicals as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes.

The winner of this auction will receive an original illustration from Thank You Sarah, The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving, written by Laurie Halse Anderson and illustrated by Matt Faulkner.

Opening Bid: $50

This auction closes at 10pm Eastern Standard Time on November 28. Any bids placed after that time will be void.

If you’d like to bid on this auction, check the current high bid and place a higher bid by leaving your name and bid amount in the comments, along with some way to contact you (email, FB or Twitter…I’m not fussy.) Winners will be notified when the auction ends and should be prepared to make an online donation to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund in the amount of the high bid at that time.  After you’ve made your donation, you’ll forward your receipt to me, and I’ll put you in touch with the person who donated the service you won so that the two of you can work out the details about how and when.   All services will be provided at the convenience of both the person making the donation and the auction winner, but this should happen within three months of the auction’s end unless something else is agreed upon by both parties.

Good luck and thanks for your help!

Tip: if you’re bidding, you may want to subscribe to the follow-up comments, so you can get notice of future bids. Subscribe via RSS on the right. —>

Auction #76 – Three Month Rhyming Picture Book Mentorship from Author Corey Rosen Schwartz

Welcome to KidLit Cares, an online talent auction to benefit the Red Cross relief effort to help communities recover from Superstorm Sandy. KidLit Cares was started by the very awesome Kate Messner, but I’m taking over Round 2. Agents, editors, authors, illustrators and other generous people have donated various services to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with donations being made directly to the Red Cross disaster relief fund. You can read more about KidLit Cares here.

Now, on to the auction!

Corey Rosen Schwartz is the author of HOP! PLOP! (Walker, 2006), THE THREE NINJA PIGS (Putnam, 2012) GOLDI ROCKS AND THE THREE BEARS (Putnam, forthcoming) and NINJA RED (Putnam, forthcoming). Corey has no formal ninja training, but she sure can kick butt in Scrabble. She lives with three Knuckleheads in Warren, NJ. Website: coreyrosenschwartz.com Twitter: @CoreyPBNinja Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoreyPBNinja

The winner of this auction will receive a Three Month Rhyming Picture Book Mentorship. From Corey: I will mentor an aspiring picture book author for three months (preferably Jan-March, but somewhat flexible) I will answer all of your questions by phone or email about my road to publication (i.e. how I got an agent) I’ll look at your PiBoIdMo list if you participated and let you know which ideas seem the most marketable to me. And, I will give you feedback on up to 6 PB manuscripts, plus review any revisions on those manuscripts. Please note: I will comment on all aspects of your story (character, story arc, etc) but my real strength is rhythm and rhyme. It is okay if not all six manuscripts are in rhyme, but if you write exclusively in prose, I am probably not the best choice for you.

Opening Bid: $30

This auction closes at 10pm Eastern Standard Time on November 28. Any bids placed after that time will be void.

If you’d like to bid on this auction, check the current high bid and place a higher bid by leaving your name and bid amount in the comments, along with some way to contact you (email, FB or Twitter…I’m not fussy.) Winners will be notified when the auction ends and should be prepared to make an online donation to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund in the amount of the high bid at that time.  After you’ve made your donation, you’ll forward your receipt to me, and I’ll put you in touch with the person who donated the service you won so that the two of you can work out the details about how and when.   All services will be provided at the convenience of both the person making the donation and the auction winner, but this should happen within three months of the auction’s end unless something else is agreed upon by both parties.

Good luck and thanks for your help!

Tip: if you’re bidding, you may want to subscribe to the follow-up comments, so you can get notice of future bids. Subscribe via RSS on the right. —>

Auction #75 – Picture Book or 3 Chapter MG or YA Novel Critique from Agent and Author Ammi-Joan Paquette

Welcome to KidLit Cares, an online talent auction to benefit the Red Cross relief effort to help communities recover from Superstorm Sandy. KidLit Cares was started by the very awesome Kate Messner, but I’m taking over Round 2. Agents, editors, authors, illustrators and other generous people have donated various services to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with donations being made directly to the Red Cross disaster relief fund. You can read more about KidLit Cares here.

Now, on to the auction!

Ammi-Joan Paquette is an agent with Erin Murphy Literary Agency, representing all types of children’s and YA literature. She is also the author of the recent picture book The Tiptoe Guide to Tracking Mermaids (Tanglewood, 2012) and the middle-grade novel Nowhere Girl (Walker, 2011). She is particularly drawn to richly-rendered, unforgettable characters and settings, as well as tightly-paced, well-plotted stories with twists and turns that keep you guessing right until the end. Visit her on the web at: ajpaquette.com

This auction is for a full picture book or first 3 chapters of an MG or YA novel manuscript critique.

Opening Bid: $50

This auction closes at 10pm Eastern Standard Time on November 28. Any bids placed after that time will be void.

If you’d like to bid on this auction, check the current high bid and place a higher bid by leaving your name and bid amount in the comments, along with some way to contact you (email, FB or Twitter…I’m not fussy.) Winners will be notified when the auction ends and should be prepared to make an online donation to the Red Cross Disaster Relief fund in the amount of the high bid at that time.  After you’ve made your donation, you’ll forward your receipt to me, and I’ll put you in touch with the person who donated the service you won so that the two of you can work out the details about how and when.   All services will be provided at the convenience of both the person making the donation and the auction winner, but this should happen within three months of the auction’s end unless something else is agreed upon by both parties.

Good luck and thanks for your help!

Tip: if you’re bidding, you may want to subscribe to the follow-up comments, so you can get notice of future bids. Subscribe via RSS on the right. —>