When I lived in New York, I always loved going to the Public Library. The big one, with the lions out front.
Often, I had nothing I particularly needed to research — I just liked spending some time in a space so historic, hushed and grand. So I caught a thrill when I came across these spectacular photos of the world’s great libraries. They’re from the book Libraries by photographer Candida Höfer and they represent a time when libraries weren’t just functional boxes, but where works of art in themselves.
OK, I’ve finally bought into this whole Twitter thing and, I admit, it’s pretty cool. Come join me — I’ll post occasional links, news tidbits and thoughts about children’s writing. I’m not the obsessive sort, so it will be just a few each day.
The children’s literature blog world (or Kidlitosphere, as it’s come to be known) is filled with smart, clever and insightful folks. So many, in fact, that it can be a bit overwhelming to keep up with all the genius being tossed around out there. So, we’re doing our part, by highlighting the absolute best postings from the Kidlitosphere in this daily video series.
Have a look…and then pay the featured blogs a visit. And tell ‘em Jon sent you!
One of my great realizations from last weekend’s Kidlitosphere 2008 conference was that the future belongs to those who band together. There’s simply too much clutter and background noise for individual authors to make a big splash on their own. We need to collaborate.
Enter the group blog.
Writers, illustrators, agents, booksellers, librarians, readers — anyone with an interest in children’s literature — are working together to present multi-author blogs that are gathering plenty of attention. These blogs work because they multiply the promotional power of having multiple authors, reduce the workload for each author and do better at attracting readers who are seeking a “big picture” approach about a particular topic.
You can group together with other bloggers to develop a group blog based around genre of books you write, where you live, where you went to school, common subject matter – or just about anything else.
Here are a few of the top group blogs in kidslit to get your creative juices flowing:
Sure, YouTube is filled with great stuff for kids to view. It’s also packed with videos that, well, aren’t too great for them to view. How to keep a young surfer on a safe path? Try TotLOL, a monitored front-end to YouTube that offers only G-rated videos for the young ‘uns. It’s free!
Writing contests are great ways to gain some recognition and find out exactly how you stack up against other writers. There are many, many contests these days, ranging from big national events to tiny niche competitions.
Want to find out if there’s a contest you’re perfectly suited to win? Try these hand-picked links….
Whoa, this is cool. Jott.com is a free service that does lots of things, but the most immediately impressive is its voice to e-mail feature.
Here’s how it works:
1. Set up a Jott account by registering your e-mail and your phone number.
2. Program Jott’s toll-free number into your phone contacts.
3. Whenever you want, call the toll-free number and leave yourself a message.
4. The message is transcribed and e-mailed to you, along with a link to the actual audio.
The possibilities are numerous.
You’re in the library or the bookstore and you come across some titles you’ll want to study later. Jott yourself all the info and it will be waiting for you in your inbox.
You’re at a conference looking for subjects to interview for your blog when you meet a famous author. Call Jott and conduct the interview using the phone as a “microphone”. The entire interview will be transcribed and sent to you along with the audio.
Needless to say, there are hundreds more uses, and Jott has a lot more to offer, including the ability to send RSS feeds to your phone. A killer resource!
hushed and grand. So I caught a thrill when I came across these spectacular photos of the world’s great libraries. They’re from the book Libraries by photographer Candida Höfer and they represent a time when libraries weren’t just functional boxes, but where works of art in themselves.
occasional links, news tidbits and thoughts about children’s writing. I’m not the obsessive sort, so it will be just a few each day.
for them to view. How to keep a young surfer on a safe path? Try 
Also, be sure to check the comment thread. Lifehacker users are often as informative as the site’s editors when it comes to digging up cool resources.
