On the Road Again (and again): upcoming events

If you think I’m spending the next month doing something other than traveling all over God’s Green Earth promoting Plunked, then you are sorely mistaken. You can take aspirin for the soreness, but the mistakenness can only be cured by reading this blog. Herewith:

Read Local Red Hook

It all starts Saturday, April 14, at Read Local Red Hook in upstate New York. Red Hook is next to Rhinebeck and the event is quarterbacked by ever-awesome Oblong Books. I grew up buying Smiths cassettes, Dungeons & Dragons modules, and John Ashbery collections from their other store, in Millerton, and they held an event with David Levithan, Libba Bray, Eliot Shrefer (and yours truly) last year in Rhinecliff that was downright astounding. Anyway, I heart them, now and 4eva. Normally, I’d go up to Salisbury a few days early and drive over, but The Deadline, I am on it, so I’m taking a more heavily trained approach and Amtraking it up and back. I’m on a panel with awesome authors Jennifer Castle, Robin Palmer, and moderator Nancy Castaldo. The theme is “trauma and drama,” which is, of course, also the title of my as-yet-unwritten memoir. I expect to see you there, All of Poughkeepsie!

Texas Library Association

I have a lot of Chuck Norris on my site lately—how can that be bad?!

I’ll be in Houston for the TLA’s annual conference from Tuesday, April 17, to Thursday, April 19. Why? Because Texas librarians rock, OK? They frickin’ rock. Their support has been a huge (Texas-size) factor in my career as a writer. In fact, they are a big reason why I have a career as a writer and am not, for example, selling fish from a cart on Coney Island Avenue. Well, OK, I do that sometimes, but it’s just so I can work “fishmongering” into conversations. (Q: “Why do you smell so funny, Michael?” A: “I’ve been fishmongering!”) But perhaps I digress.

I’ll be taking part in an incredible event at Blue Willow Bookshop on the 18th, speaking on the Middle School Matters panel with Sarah Mlynowski (super-cool, even by Canadian standards) and Augusta Scattergood (there is a movement to change the spelling of awesome to Ausome, just because of her) on the 19th, and doing a million and eight things in between. Basically, if you are there, you are liable to see me. And you should be there, All of Texas!

Hudson Children’s Book Festival

Won’t you spout literacy with me?

On Saturday, May 5, I’ll be at the Hudson Children’s Book Festival. This will be my third year at the HCBF, and I Do Not Do Things Three Times If They Are Not Amazing—I Am Not An Idiot! I could tell you all about it, or I could let the kids and teens of Hudson do so, awesomely.

For continuity, I should end this item: And you should be there, All of Hudson! But I know from experience that All of Hudson will be there. The pressure is now on you, Outlying Communities!

Anyway, throw in a few middle school visits (I’d invite you, but you’d never make it through security) and a Wonderful event in NYC (hint, hint) that I’ll have more on later, and that’s that. I hope to see you out there, All of the Internet! (Or at least three or four of you and maybe a few LOLcats. I mean, come on, I got a haircut for this!)