I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I read?

The Girl Scouts' cookie sales are being boycotted because the Girl Scouts include transgender girls - Let's rise up as a community and BUY OUT THEIR COOKIES!

2012-02-10T03:05:00.000-08:00

It's sad.

The Girl Scouts have got it so right.

“If a child identifies as a girl and the child's family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout."

But there are voices of intolerance who want to say transgender people don't belong in the Girl Scouts. That they shouldn't be accepted. That they aren't one of us.

Well transgender children are people, too - and they deserve to be treated with respect. And the Girl Scouts, rather than being praised for being on the right side of history, are being targeted. With a call to boycott Girl Scout Cookies.

So here's our mission, for everyone straight or GLBTQ, for everyone who believes in equality and working to create a better world: Let's buy Girl Scout Cookies. Lots of them. Buy the whole table-full. And tell the Girl Scouts you're doing it to applaud the Girl Scouts organization's stand for equality and embrace of transgender girls.

Let's make 2012 the year that the Girl Scouts sell more cookies than EVER before.

Let's show the Girl Scouts that embracing differences is not only the right thing to do, but it's good for business, and good for all their member scouts. And we'll show the world, too.

I'll be giving Girl Scout Cookies as gifts for the rest of the year, and I hope you will, too.

Because this time, standing up for equality... is delicious.

Namaste,
Lee

ps - a standing ovation to my husband, who had this brilliant idea! Love you!

pps - want to help the Girl Scout Troop in Colorado who welcomed the transgender child? Trans Youth Family Allies has set up a donation page here.

The Evolution of Ethan Poe - A Gay Teen Comes Of Age

2012-02-09T03:04:00.000-08:00

The Evolution of Ethan Poe by Robin Reardon

Ethan Poe, 16 and gay, is struggling to maintain balance in his increasingly chaotic life. His parents are divorcing, his brother Kyle is damaging his own right hand in the name of purity, and his best friend, who is extremely religious, prays for Ethan to be straight. As Ethan begins seeing the light in the form of Max Modine, a boy he wants to know better, his rural Maine town is exploding around him. Against his intentions he gets pulled into a pitched and sometimes violent conflict about whether Intelligent Design should be introduced into science classrooms.

Friendships end, families are torn apart, and the school becomes a battleground. It isn’t long before Ethan must decide how far he is willing to go to protect what he believes.

Add your review of "The Evolution of Ethan Poe" in comments!

The New Jersey Politics of Marriage Equality: Mayor Cory Booker calls it like it is, And Good News From 9th Circut Court of Appeals: CA's Prop 8 is Unconsitutional!

2012-02-08T03:03:00.000-08:00

This video clip is awesome.

Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, New Jersey, shares his thoughts on New Jersey Governor Christie's idea to put marriage equality in their state up to a popular vote:

He talks about the shame that our country still has second-class citizens, and says,

"Thank God, Jackie Robinson, wasn't a popular vote on whether he should join and be a professional baseball player."

Well said, sir!

And this news broke yesterday: the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that

Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples. The Constitution simply does not allow for “laws of this sort.”

You can read the full text of the court's decision here. And in the American Foundation for Equal Rights press conference yesterday they explained the next steps... including their plan to argue against the stay continuing, which might open up gay marriages in California again, as the case makes it's possible way to the US Supreme Court.

We'll be watching developments closely, but to paraphrase Ted Olsen (one of the lawyers heading up the case FOR gay marriage), it's hard to over-state the significance of this ruling.

Namaste,
Lee

ps - my thanks to Cay for sharing the Mayor Booker video with me!

Hushed - A Gay YA Thriller

2012-02-07T03:04:00.000-08:00

Hushed by Kelley York

He’s saved her. He’s loved her. He’s killed for her.

Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn’t protect his best friend, Vivian, from what happened when they were kids, so he’s never stopped trying to protect her from everything else. It doesn’t matter that Vivian only uses him when hopping from one toxic relationship to another—Archer is always there, waiting to be noticed.

Then along comes Evan, the only person who’s ever cared about Archer without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is.

But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders Archer’s committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn him in if she doesn’t get what she wants… And what she wants is Evan’s death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.

Add your review of "Hushed" in comments!

A Powerful 30 second 'Don't Say Gay' (in a bad way) PSA... Made by an 8th grader and his little brother!

2012-02-06T03:00:00.000-08:00

I love this thirty-second video:

Awesome! (the crack of the wet celery with the slaps is a hoot.) But the best thing about this is the message. And it's going viral.

So how about it?

How about your GSA - or you and your friends - putting together your own PSA and sharing it with the world?

Inspiring, huh?

Namaste,
Lee

ps - thanks to my gem of a husband for sharing this with me!

One more week to get in your POINT FOUNDATION Scholarship applications!

2012-02-03T03:05:00.000-08:00

"The Point Foundation provides financial support, mentoring, leadership training and hope to meritorious students who are marginalized due to sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression"

The Point Foundation's Online Application closes on Friday February 10, 2012 - so apply now!

Good luck and Namaste,
Lee

Zombies Vs. Unicorns: A Short Story Anthology with Gay and Lesbian Characters!

2012-02-02T03:04:00.000-08:00

Zombies Vs. Unicorns, Edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier

I found out about "Zombies Vs. Unicorns" when I interviewed Scott Westerfeld at KidLitCon 2011:

Reading this anthology was remarkably fun.

The stories are intercut with the ongoing argument between Justine and Holly, about which are better, Zombies or Unicorns. And, perhaps more important, which are better to write about?

The anthology includes twelve alternating skin-shedding and spiral-horned adventures, three of which have main queer characters:

The Highest Justice by Garth Nix

A Princess' journey to her father, with her recently dead and now Zombie mother/Queen, wouldn't be possible without the help of Elibet. A Unicorn. Who has his own view of justice.

Love Will Tear Us Apart by Alaya Dawn Johnson

A romantic gay teen Zombie story, it's a new twist on the I-love-you-but-our-love-is-impossible theme. You're a gay kid, you get some disease that turns you into a Zombie, and Jack, the incredibly hot guy you're crushing on smells like the most delicious macaroni and cheese ever.

Purity Test by Naomi Novik

Down on her luck, wearing a thrift-store Marine jacket and sleeping on a bench in Central Park, Alison's roped into helping a majestic - and rather sarcastic - Unicorn who needs a virgin to free five baby Unicorns from an evil wizard's brownstone in Gramercy Park. Alison's not actually a... but the Unicorn's not hearing any of it - he wants a little more competence in his heroine. Will Alison be the one?

Bougainvillea by Carrie Ryan

On a pirate Island, they survive in a world where the dead return as fast-moving Lihemorto. Surviving means you have to be ruthless. Iza's father rules their island with a fist, keeping them all safe - but at such a cost. Iza's mother is dead, and now Iza's faced with a dashing pirate, a dream of how the world was and might be again, and Zombies.

A Thousand Flowers by Margo Lanagan

A drunk man follows a Unicorn to an unconscious Princess by a forest stream. She's exposed, and he tries to cover up her modesty. In doing so, he's caught by the palace guards. What will be his fate? And what of the Princess?

The Children of the Revolution by Maureen Johnson

Sophie follows her boyfriend to work an organic farm in England for the summer. It's hideous and more like slave labor. After two weeks he abandons her, and she's desperate for a job to save her summer. An American celebrity who lives nearby is desperate for some child-care help. But there are special rules Sophie must follow...

The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn by Diana Peterfreund

The Unicorn Killers tried to recruit Wen to come to Italy and learn from them after she survived a Unicorn attack that killed her cousins, but her parents won't hear of it - the magic is not Christian, and they certainly are. But Wen has a special affinity for the killer beasts, or maybe they have for her. And when she stumbles upon a chained and dying unicorn at a traveling circus, somehow she ends up caring for its baby... a charming baby unicorn. She even names it 'Flower." But as she falls in love with it, she knows she'll have to kill it eventually. After all, it's deadly to everyone around her.

Inoculata by Scott Westerfeld

Six billion Zombies. And only a few small pockets of humans left. Ally's trapped with a small group of other humans on an old pot farm, with hundreds of Zombies pushing up against the chain link fence all around them. For the last four years. But, what if there was a way to be innoculated against the Zombies? To escape into the Zombie-infested world without being eaten? To finally learn to drive, and go somewhere? When the girl Ally's been crushing on tells her there may be a way, is it worth the risk?

Princess Prettypants by Meg Cabot

It's Liz's 17th birthday, and it's the worst day of her life. The day goes from creepy popular boy making fun of her breasts to her parent's 'surprise' party for her featuring High School Musical decorations. And no one's really showed up at her party anyway, since uber-popular Kate has the same birthday and is doing a blow-out party at her nowhere-around-parents' place. But then Liz gets a birthday present she doesn't expect: A real-live rainbow-farting lavender-eyed Unicorn. What is she, seven?

Cold Hands by Cassandra Clare

James is Adele's boyfriend. And he's due, when he turns 18, to become The Duke of Lychgate, or Zombietown, as their cursed town is known to the rest of the world. Because Lychgate's dead come back and walk among them. When James is murdered in front of her, Adele suspects his Uncle, the current man who rules as Duke until James turns 18. Now James will never turn 18. But Adele still loves him. And justice must be done.

The Third Virgin by Kathleen Duey

A first person tale, told from the point of view of a Unicorn who's lived 500 years, and can't stop his hunger for healing humans... and stealing years of their lives in that moment of healing. Only a Virgin, pure of heart and desperate of need, can hear the Unicorn's thoughts, and there's only been two in 500 years. But now, the Unicorn is determined to find one last Virgin, to help him end his immortal life and end the terrible hunger...

Prom Night by Libba Bray

Jeff was student body Treasurer. Tahmina was President. Now they're the law - after all, the adults are gone, dead or undead, and their town is a fenced-off prison keeping the infection out and the surviving students in. But it's Prom night, and much as they'd like to celebrate, they're busy. Their shift starts out with Jeff having to kill a Zombie - a guy that he used to think was so hot. Not so much anymore. And Prom night just gets stranger from there.

So which is it - are you Team Zombie, or Team Unicorn?

You'll have to read them all to decide!

Namaste,
Lee

The 2012 Comment Challenge Winners!

2012-02-01T03:00:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to all 164 participants in the 2012 Comment Challenge. And special congratulations to our five winners!

Drumroll, please...

In the 100+ comment category our winners are

Marcie Colleen, The Write Routine

Marcie's blog: The Write Routine

Beth, Library Chicken

Beth's blog: Library Chicken

and

Caryl, Leaning Tower of Books

Caryl's blog: Leaning Tower of Books

And in our under 100 category our winners are

Magdalena, Magdalena Ball

Magdalena's blog: Magdalena Ball

and

Heather Kelly, Edited to Within an Inch of My Life

Heather's blog: Edited to Within an Inch of My Life

Our winners will each be getting a prize package of different kid lit books, including recent award winners "Putting Makeup On The Fat Boy" by Bil Wright (which just won the 2012 Stonewall Book Award - The Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award and "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley (which just won the 2012 Printz Award AND the William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author!)

The 18 prize books!

And for everyone, remember that discovering all these new blogs, reading with the intent to engage, and connecting with our community through commenting has made every one of us winners!

Thanks again to all our participants, and look for the 2013 Comment Challenge next January.

Until then, Keep on Commenting!

Lee and MotherReader

My Top Five #NY12SCBWI Conference Highlights and a peek at my Conference Journal

2012-01-31T03:02:00.000-08:00

#1 The LGBTQ&A session I moderated and hosted was wonderful, and seemed to really fill a need - the over 40 attendees were so enthusiastic to be having the conversation.

With Alvina Ling, Editorial Director at Little, Brown)

T.S. Ferguson, Associate Editor Harlequin Teen

Jennifer Laughran, Agent at Andrea Brown Literary

and

Ellen Hopkins, Best-Selling Author

The LGBTQ&A Session Faculty, left to right: T.S. Ferguson, Alvina Ling, Me (Lee Wind), Jennifer Laughran, and Ellen Hopkins

Attendees mixing it up after the panel discussion

We covered a lot of territory, but I'll just share two highlights: Alivna, T.S. and Jennifer all said that they get under 5% of submissions with any diversity at all (Queer characters or characters of color) - which means that 95% of the stuff being submitted to them is about straight, white, middle-class or rich kids. There's an opportunity there, and all of them voiced that they wished they would get more submissions that had GLBTQ content.

And Ellen Hopkin's words are still echoing in my ears,

"Write Bravely."

My thanks to Alvina, T.S., Jennifer, Ellen, and all the attendees!

#2 Blogging at the SCBWI Conference Blog with my fellow awesome Team Bloggers: Martha Brockenbrough, Jolie Stekly, Jaime Temairik, and Suzanne Young.

Team Blog, from left to right: Suzanne Young, Me (Lee Wind), Martha Brockenbrough, Jaime Temairik and Jolie Stekly

We also tweeted and other social-media-ized up a storm! Together, we are the best! Thank you Jaime, Jolie, Martha and Suzanne!

#3 All the very kind people who came up to thank me for blogging, both for SCBWI and here at "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?"

#4 Feeling like I was with my tribe, and embraced.

#5 Community, which I'm learning I sometimes spell K-a-r-a-o-k-e! Hanging out in the hotel bar, and at the Saturday night party and all throughout my Conference stay, talking with other people - friends old and new - as passionate about creating children's books as I am. It was so much fun.

Here are some moments from my #NY12SCBWI journal:

Lin Oliver acknowledging and praising the writers in the Friday Writers Roundtable Intensive, saying that it is a "very brave thing" to put your work forward.

"Readers go where tension is" - Cassandra Clare

"There is always a market for awesome books." - Jennifer Laughran

Little Brown Books for Young Readers Editor Kate Sullivan sharing that they ask before acquiring a book, "Do you like this book or do you want to marry this book?"

"If you're going down the tragic road, you want to go just as far down the comic road." - Chris Crutcher

"The Truth that you know is the one that will get you published - Chris Crutcher

Print = story+illustration

Digital = story+illustration+experience

- Rubin Pfeffer

"Protagonists are more aspirational than regular kids at the same age, especially in fantasy because they're going to need to be to deal with what's coming." - Courtney Bongiolatti

Alexadra Penfold's tip: "Google yourself and make sure it's what you want agents and editors to see with your submission."

Jordan Brown said of his job as Senior Editor at Harper Collins, "You're in the business of acquiring authors, not books."

"Tell the truest truth you can and tell it in the language it needs to be told in." - Chris Crutcher

"When readers feel the characters in a story have the same feelings they have - it's a relief." - Chris Crutcher

"Your content should touch heart, soul or funny bone." - Rubin Pfeffer

Rubin Pfeffer on ebooks, enhanced ebooks and Apps: "If it's not a story, then it's really not anything."

The idea Rubin brought up about custom font sizes when you read on a screen being a way to reach reluctant readers.

"The bigger the obstacles the greater the love needed to overcome them." - Cassandra Clare

"People like really big obstacles. Go there. High stakes are good." - Cassandra Clare

"The greater the un-put-down-ability, the easier it is for me to sell." - Jennifer Laughran

Cheryl Klein's description of Fermatas, a last line that holds the emotional resonance of a scene.

"Your success is directly proportionate to your ability to take rejection." - David Gordon

"Whatever that character needs is the story." - Dan Yaccarino

Regina Brook's theory on the popularity of Fantasy, in that publishers want to look at books that have a global reach, and Fantasy isn't locked into the U.S. domestic marketplace.

Also Regina rattling off six new YA imprints from the top of her head as a sign of the kid lit market's robustness.

And her line, "There's an agent on this Earth whose divine assignment on this Earth is to represent you."

Kathryn Erskine saying that after two years of writing and trying, she thought maybe she should give up. But then she heard a speech where the agent or editor said to her and the rest of the SCBWI attendees that if they keep at it, they'll improve, and they will get published. And she kept at her craft. From her first writing class to getting her first book published took 10 years. And now she was giving the closing keynote of the Lucky 13th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference, and ended it with this fermata,

"Go out there, and go create."

My Thanks to everyone at #NY12SCBWI - faculty, staff, Regional Advisors and attendees, for making January in New York so fantastic!

Namaste,
Lee

Shades of Purple - A Music Video by Bye June (all about same-sex - same-love - marriage)

2012-01-30T02:50:00.000-08:00

Gil Kline, singer, guitarist and songwriter for Bye June, sent me their new video "Shades of Purple" to share with all of you!

It's pretty awesome (the song, the shadowgraphy, and the message) - Enjoy!

My thanks to the band!

Namaste,
Lee

#NY12SCBWI Sunday!

2012-01-29T03:00:00.001-08:00

Today is going to be remarkable, I can just feel it.

We'll find out who won the Portfolio Showcase.

Jane Yolen will be appearing!

We'll hear from the Bookmaker's Dozen. And from four literary Agents: Regina Brooks, Serendipity Literary Agency; Chris Richman, Upstart Crow Literary; Ken Wright, Writers House; and Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown Ltd.

There's the closing Keynote from Katherine Erskine, "What's Your Focus?"

And then the autograph party!

Every moment will be full of inspiration, craft, business and community!

Don't forget to check in at both the Official SCBWI Conference Blog and our twitter hashtag #NY12SCBWI for the latest and greatest from the Conference floor!

Let's keep getting our Conference On,
Lee

#NY12SCBWI Saturday!

2012-01-28T04:36:00.000-08:00

Today is going to be amazing!

From Chris Crutcher's opening keynote "Turning Real Life Into Fiction" to the LGBTQ&A session I'm hosting with special guests Editorial Director Alvina Ling and Agent Jennifer Laughran, this conference day is packed with great stuff!

We'll get to hear Senior Vice President & Publishing Director at MacMillian Jean Feiwel, Strategic Innovating Advisor at Penguin Barbara Marcus, President and Publisher of Nancy Paulsen Books Nancy Paulsen, and Agent at East West Literary Agent Rubin Pfeffer talk about "Children's Books: Today and Tomorrow: Four Expert Impressions."

There's a keynote by Cassandra Clare, "Love Triangles and Forbidden Love: Creating and Maintaining Romantic Tension in YA Literature."

And there are 14 break out sessions with industry-leading experts on topics from Thrillers to Revision to Picture books for Illustrators to Ebooks and Apps to Diversity and Multiculturalism and nine more! (The trouble is, you only get to go to three!)

Let's get our conference on!
Lee

Don't forget to check in at both the Official SCBWI Conference Blog and our twitter hashtag #NY12SCBWI for the latest and greatest from the Conference floor!

The Lucky 13th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City... Friday Intensives!

2012-01-27T03:05:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited about participating in the Writers Roundtable intensive today, and about the whole conference. After all, this is my first conference as the head of SCBWI Team Blog and the official blogger for SCBWI: THE BLOG!

You can check in on the conference at The Official SCBWI Conference Blog as well as follow the stream of info and comments on twitter with the hashtag #NY12SCBWI (and you don't even have to be on twitter to access it!)

Later tonight there's the New York City Kit Lit Drink Night, organized by Chrstina McTighe (@LaFabuliste on twitter) and other fabulous New York Kid Lit folk (including @newsboyhat, @Aunt_Feather, and Mackenzie Reide) to overlap with #NY12SCBWI so all us out-of-towners can attend. It's tonight, Friday January 27, 2012, at 8pm at Public House on 41st and Lexington. Right around the corner from the Hyatt!

It's the gathering in of our tribe...

Exciting stuff!

Namaste,
Lee

Inside the lives of LGBTQ Teens Today: "My Queer Testimony"

2012-01-26T07:55:00.000-08:00

This Tumblr site, My Queer Testimony, has some great stuff!

The "My Queer Testimony" Tumblr page

I really liked this testimony by Patrick,

who writes on the difference to him between identifying as gay versus identifying as queer:

"‘Gay’ is really nice and friendly and, you know, you’re friends with all the really nice girls and you look pretty and wear your v-neck sweaters and you want to maintain your privilege. You don’t want to step on anyone’s toes and you don’t want to be in-your-face. ‘Queer’ is in-your-face and calling people out and not being afraid to speak your mind and that’s more me, more of what I’m about. I like ‘queer.’ I am ‘queer.’"

And Janet Mock's story of growing up as a transgender teen is powerful. And you have to read this poem by Rex.

The site includes photos, videos, essays, heartfelt birthday wishes and organizations fighting for LGBTQ equality. Be aware, it does include some adult content (like the bisexual rapper Imani's lyrics.)

Awesome and diverse, My Queer Testimony is well worth checking out.

Namaste,
Lee

The 2012 Comment Challenge Finale!!!

2012-01-25T03:03:00.000-08:00

More than 150 participants.

With a goal of 100 comments each.

Over 21 days.

That's 15,000 comments.

15,000 connections, just in our world of people blogging about children's literature.

That's community. Or, in pictures...

lonely blogger

five-a-day commenter

commenter with a new habit!

ten of us with a new habit!!!!!!!!!!

150 of us with a new habit makes a COMMUNITY!

So whether you reached your commenting goal, or started reading blogs with a more participatory mind-set, or just felt more connected, we hope you've created a new habit... and that you'll continue your commenting on kid lit blogs throughout the year ahead.

If you'd like to be in our random prize drawings, please leave a comment (of course!) here and/or at MotherReader's with your final thoughts about the challenge, your how-you-did comment tally (honor system), and luck will determine the rest.

There will be prizes for those who made 100 and for those who just gave it a good try as well...

Thanks again for participating in the 2012 Comment Challenge, and keep on Commenting!

Lee

Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan, Behemoth and Goliath - A Steampunk Trilogy with a Teen girl disguised as a boy

2012-01-24T03:02:00.000-08:00

It was great to talk with Scott Westerfeld about these books:

Leviathan, Behemoth & Goliath

Here's the synopsis of the triology from Scott Westerfeld's amazing website:

Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She’s a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn’s paths cross in the most unexpected ways, taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.

All three books in this series are illustrated novels, full of incredible art (more than 50 plates in each book) by Keith Thompson. Here are two of them:

Add your review of "Leviathan," "Behemoth," and "Goliath" in comments!

Today is the start of No Name-Calling Week!

2012-01-23T03:00:00.000-08:00

Inspired by James Howe's awesome MG novel THE MISFITS, No Name-Calling Week is a wonderful real-world event.

With lesson plans (for elementary, middle and high school), resources, and even art lessons - No Name-Calling Week is a great event to know about - and to integrate into your life and school.

Imagine our world being one where no one said "gay" or "lame" or "bitch" as a negative.

Think about the names you're heard - and maybe even the ones you've said. We have the opportunity to recognize that our words are powerful... and we can use that power for good! And we can start right now!

Namaste,
Lee

A young child sums up the problem with how toys are marketed

2012-01-20T03:05:00.000-08:00

This is genius!

I'm really proud of Riley for "getting it" - shopping over the holidays it was very clear how there were "boy" aisles of toys and "girl" aisles of toys... and we can do better. We have to do better.

For my kid.

For Riley.

For all of us!

Namaste,
Lee

ps - My thanks to the GSA students who shared this with me!

Love and Leftovers - A Straight Teen Romance (where the Teen has a Gay father)

2012-01-19T03:04:00.000-08:00

"Love and Leftovers" By Sarah Tregay

When her parents split because her Dad is gay and begins life with a new boyfriend, Marcie is dragged from Idaho to a family summerhouse in New Hampshire. She leaves behind her friends, a group of freaks and geeks called the Leftovers, including her emo-rocker boyfriend, and her father. By the time Labor Day rolls around, Marcie suspects this "vacation" has become permanent. She starts at a new school where a cute boy brings her breakfast and a new romance heats up. But Marcie already has a boyfriend...

Written in poems, this is the Sarah's debut novel. Add your review of "Love & Leftovers" in comments!

The 2012 Comment Challenge Week Two Check-In... Are You Feeling the Habit?

2012-01-18T03:03:00.000-08:00

I love this image. It's all 'The Sound of Music' meets 'The Matrix,' isn't it?

Here on day 14, I hope you're feeling the commenting habit becoming more a part of your blogging and online experience! If you've been keeping up with the 5-comments-a-day-is-habit-forming-goal, you should be right around 70 comments so far.

Let us know how it's going - we have well over 150 participants in this year's Comment Challenge, and that's a great list over at Mother Reader's to browse if you're looking for new blogs of other avid kid lit bloggers to explore (and leave comments at!)

Keep on commenting,
Lee

A New Path For Pre-Adolescent Transgender Children and their families... A chance to be Themselves

2012-01-17T03:02:00.000-08:00

This is a remarkable story of 'identical' twin boys, one of whom has always been gender conforming, and the other who always said they felt like a girl.

And for that transgender child, the family has supported their transition from Wyatt to Nicole. She's on hormone blockers to avoid starting male adolescence, and the plan is for her to start estrogen this year.

The parents' journey. Their father, Wayne, going from unbelieving to supportive to a transgender rights activist, who said:

“We told our kids you can’t create change if you don’t get involved,’

The brother's journey. Nicole remembers her brother telling their father

“Dad, you might as well face it...You have a son and a daughter.’’

Fighting their schools, and the statehouse.

The clinic helping them.

And most of all, Nicole's spirit of pride in herself and hope:

“Obviously my life is not going to be as easy as being gender-conforming, but there are perks like being able to get out there and do things that will benefit the [transgender] community,’’ she says. “I think everything’s going to turn out pretty well for me.’’

It's inspiring. And to Nicole and your family... We're cheering you on!

Namaste,
Lee

ps: My thanks to Lawrence for sharing this with me, so I could share it with you.

Taking Time To Honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and His Dream

2012-01-16T02:50:00.000-08:00

Every time I watch Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" Speech, it inspires me.

Enjoy...

Join me in standing up in 2012 and working to make the dream a reality!

Namaste,
Lee

Publishing LGBTQ Characters, Themes and Stories in Kid Lit - A Discussion at #NY12SCBWI

2012-01-13T03:05:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to share with you that I'll once again have the honor of hosting and moderating the LGBTQ discussion at the Lucky 13th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City!

At last year's conference in New York we had over 50 attendees, and it was a great conversation!

The giant "Find the LGBTQ in SCBWI" circle at #NY11SCBWI that still felt 'cozy'

From left to right: Myself (in the checked shirt), last year's special guests Executive Editor Ari Lewin, Agent Jim McCarthy, and Aaron Hartzler

Here are the details for this year's discussion:

Find the LGBTQ in SCBWI

7:45pm-8:45pm Saturday January 28, 2012

Room: Broadway

Started at SCBWI's 2008 Summer Conference in Los Angeles and held at every conference since, a group of editors, agents, art directors, authors and illustrators will meet informally to discuss LGBTQ publishing, the submission process, who is interested and what kinds of stories they are interested in.

Maybe you've written a book about or for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, queer or questioning youth; maybe you're interested in doing so, and you're not sure where to begin; maybe you are just curious to learn more about this vital corner of the market for young readers. Whatever your interest in the subject matter, all are welcome. Bring a friend and any questions you may have.

Hosted by SCBWI Team Blog's Lee Wind, our special guests for this event will be Editorial Director at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Alvina Ling and agent Jennifer Laughran

Alvina Ling is Editorial Director at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers where she has worked since 1999. She edits award-winning children's books for all ages, from picture books to young adult novels, with some nonfiction mixed in. Some of the books she has edited include Newbery Honor winner Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, a young adult series by Libby Bray (The Diviners), as well as the middle grade novel The Land of Stories among many others. She contributes to the children's book blog Blue Rose Girls at http://www.bluerosegirls.blogspot.com

Jennifer Laughran joined Andrea Brown Literary Agency in 2007. Her clients include Daniel Pinkwater, Calef Brown, Matt Faulkner, Jackie Dolamore, Ilsa J. Bick, Eric A. Kimmel, L.K. Madigan, Adam Selzer, Tara Kelly and Kate Messner, and many excellent debut authors. She is always on the lookout for YA and middle grade fiction with unusual, unforgettable characters and vivid settings. You can find her online at http://literaticat.blogspot.com

I hope to see you there!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

John Rocco, the #NY12SCBWI Team Blog Pre-Conference Interview

2012-01-12T03:04:00.001-08:00

Author/Illustrator and #NY12SCBWI Faculty Member John Rocco

Author/Illustrator John Rocco is leading and participating in three sessions at the upcoming Lucky 13th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference - a keynote at the Friday January 27th Marketing for Illustrators Intensive, "New Methods of Promoting Your Book: Trailers, Co-Op Marketing and More," he'll be on a panel that afternoon in the same Intensive called "Is Self-Marketing Cost Effective? Wise Use of Your Money and Time" and he's presenting in the Sunday January 29th keynote: "Methods to the Madness: The Process of Making Picture books, Featuring the Bookmakers Dozen."

Here's our interview:

Lee: Hey John, glad we could connect!

John: Hi Lee, thanks for having me over to your blog-o-sphere! It’s been another busy year but I sure am looking forward to seeing you and everyone else at this years SCBWI conference. Now, on to the questions….

Lee: You've done some incredible cover art for authors like Rick Riordan and his "Percy Jackson" and "Kane Chronicles" series. Can you tell us how you approach doing a cover - do you have a punch-list of sorts from the editor and art director? Do you try to match the tone of the book? How do you do all that and still have it be your "voice" as an artist?

John: When I am creating a cover, I ALWAYS want to read the book first. Sometimes a publisher will send you a one-sheet with a description of the book, characters, and what they would like to see on the cover. I do my best to ignore that. (Don’t tell them.) Usually after one or two readings of the manuscript some imagery will start to rise to the surface in my head and get stuck there. That’s when I know that it’s right. Very seldom is it an actual scene from the book, but rather a dramatic moment that conveys the adventure you are about to embark on with the characters. I try to keep the image simple and iconic, with a limited palette so that it can be easily read from across the room at your local independent bookstore. More often than not, you cannot see the characters' faces on my covers. The reason for this is two-fold. One; I want the reader to be able to project themselves onto that character, to become that kid. If there is a very recognizable face on the cover it is difficult to do that. Two: When I have characters facing inward, or into the book, to me it feels more inviting. The reader is then positioned right behind the main character and is going to follow them on this crazy adventure.
Another thing I have to keep in mind is that the illustration is only one piece of the cover. There is also the Title, sometimes the Series title with a logo, the Author’s name, and possibly other things like “New York Times blah, blah, blah…”. So it is important for me to work directly with the Art Director of Designer to make sure that all the elements are supporting each other in a way that makes for a great cover. I have been very blessed to work with some great designers, including Joann Hill and Christine Kettner on the Rick Riordan books.

Lee: That's fascinating to know why the characters on the cover are sometimes facing into the book! You write and illustrate your amazing and beautiful picture books (Like "Fu Finds the Way," "Moonpowder," and your newest, "Blackout").

How does story evolve for you? Do you start with words, or pictures, or in some other way?

John: When I am writing and illustrating a picture book, it starts out as a movie in my head. There is a great quote by Gordon B. Hinckley that says, “You can’t plow a field simply by turning it over in your mind.” I love that. But, I have to say, I do quite a bit of plowing in my mind. It starts with a story. I will write down a couple of ideas, could be just one sentence. Then I plow in my mind for a couple of months while I am working on other things. Then I doodle. Images that I just have to get down. The doodles start to fill up notebooks, then, they graduate to sketches. Words start to form. I start thinking about interesting page turns. I ask myself, “If I want this spread to have impact, what should the previous page show me?”.
And slowly it builds itself into a book dummy. Then I spend the next six months re-working the dummy. Taking things out. Changing the pacing. Adding things in. Until... it…feels…just…right, or I am exhausted. I just spent over a year on my latest book dummy. I have about five bad versions, five or six pretty good versions, and one that I think really works well. We shall see…

Lee: I recently learned (from a great talk Scott Westerfeld gave at KidLitCon 2011) that the deer stalker hat that Sherlock Holmes is famous for wearing is actually never mentioned in the text by Arthur Conan Doyle. Rather, it was a creation of the illustrator of those illustrated novels, Sidney Edward Paget. When you're illustrating someone else's text, as you did in "The Flint Heart"

written by Katherine and John Paterson, are you thinking about making the story - and the characters - your own in some way?

John: I think there is no other choice. I mean, yes, I spent hours looking at the works of others who delved into the “fairy world”. But I think no matter how any of us are inspired by others, the work will always have your own fingerprints on it.

Lee: Your trailer for "Blackout" is remarkable - so different from the pan and scan variety! And so focused on evoking an emotional response in the viewer to transform them into a reader.

To get our 'marketing minds' ready for your presentations at the Marketing for Illustrators intensive, are there some other best book trailers you'd suggest we watch?

John: Stephen Shaskan has a book called Dog is a Dog. This trailer is simple and clean, and lets you know that this book will be a great read-a-loud hit.

Another one that is very simple and effective is Selina Alko’s Trailer for Every-Day Dress-Up.

Dan Santat’s book trailers are always hysterical, but here are a couple that I particularly love. Always Lots of Heinies at the Zoo, and Dancing with Dan Santat

Lee: That Dan is one funny guy! *laughing* Still with my marketing mind-set, what are the top three things we authors and illustrators can (and should) do to promote our books?

John: Top three? A lot of that will depend on what your book is about, honestly. But I would say having an internet presence really helps. Talk about it on your blog, facebook, website..etc. Another thing to do is develop relationships with your local independent bookstores. Help them get excited about you and your books. Have launch parties at their store and invite everyone you know. (You have to do all the heavy lifting at first, but as your relationship grows, you will find they will really help you and your books become local favorites.) And lastly, make sure all your relatives know that anytime they visit a bookstore, they must find your books and turn them face out or you will never speak to them again!

Lee: Good tips! Most books published in the U.S.A. do not feature GLBTQ or characters of color. Your picture book "Wolf! Wolf!" pushed the envelope of cultural diversity by taking 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' story to Japan... and telling it from the Wolf's point of view! What's your take on the power of illustrators to portray diversity?

John: This is an interesting question Lee. To be honest, I don’t spend too much time thinking about it, and yet I do feel that as creators of books we have a responsibility to represent diversity when it is “right” for a book. For example, in my book BLACKOUT, the mother and father are a multi-racial couple. Did I spend a lot of time thinking about that? No. This book takes place in Brooklyn, one of the most diverse and interesting places I can think of. It’s for that reason that it doesn’t feel out of place, or forced. In one spread there are two men walking down the street and one man has his hand tenderly resting on the other's shoulder. Are they gay? Maybe. Did I think to myself, “I better put a gay couple in this book.” No, they just happen to be two of my friends, who happen to be gay and I wanted to put them in my book. Just like I wanted to put one of my editors in the book. You can see Namrata Tripathi on the same spread in the upper right, singing on the stoop.
In a book I am working on now there are four boys. One is white, one is black, one is Asian and one is mixed race. I never spent a lot of time thinking about it, I just ended up drawing them that way. They all have very different hair, and THAT was important for this book. The marketing folks asked me if I would change one of the kids to a girl. I could easily do that, but I am not going to. This is a book about four boys.
My feeling on the matter is this; do what feels right to you as an artist. If you have the opportunity to represent diversity without it feeling forced, do it. Why not?

Lee: Well said! Can your share any portfolio tips with illustrators who will be attending #NY12SCBWI and entering their work in the portfolio showcase?

John: Your portfolio should consist of only your absolutely best work. Remember, an art director will look at the weakest piece in your portfolio and think “This is the best I will get from this person.” Start with a stunner and end with a bang.
And only put in the kind of work that you want to do. If you happen to have a really great painting of a cat, but you hate drawing cats, leave it out. Also, make sure the work all looks like it came from the same person's hand. It is okay to have more than one style, just make sure you separate those styles in different sections of your portfolio.

Lee: What's the best piece of advice you've received as an author/illustrator on your journey in the world of Children's Literature?

John: The best piece of advice I ever received, came to me many years ago when I was working on a picture book with Whoopi Goldberg. I had the opportunity to meet Maurice Sendak. He knew I was working on my first picture book and said to give him a call if I got stuck. Well, in short, I did get stuck and his advice stuck with me. In short, he said, “Draw what you love and if you love it, other people will too.”

Lee: I think that works for writers as well. Write what you love and if you love it, other people will too. Excellent - a new mantra. Thanks very much!

John: Thanks Lee. See you at the Conference!!!

You have the chance to attend John's presentations at #NY12SCBWI as well - registration is still open for the conference!

Hope to see you there.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

ps - you can check out all the links to the Team Blog pre-conference faculty interviews at the Official SCBWI Conference Blog!

The 2012 Comment Challenge Week One Check-In!

2012-01-11T03:03:00.000-08:00

Today is day seven - to make the Comment Challenge goal of 100 comments in 21 days, you should be around 35 comments in...

Have you noticed any changes in how you read blog posts?

Have you seen any difference (number, quality) in the comments on your own blog?

Share what's been going on...

And I'll share that I've put together some pretty awesome packets of books as prizes (more on that later...) For now, let's let the process be the prize, and keep the commenting, and the community interaction, going!

And if you're looking for a good list of kid lit blogs to explore in your own commenting rounds, you should check out the list of the over 140 participants in the 2012 Comment Challenge at MotherReader's sign up post!

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

Author Holly Cupala on the "Dear Bully" Anthology and her latest Young Adult Novel, "Don't Breathe A Word"

2012-01-10T03:02:00.001-08:00

I love getting the story behind the story, and that's exactly what Holly Cupala shares in our interview:

Don't Breathe A Word By Holly Cupala

"Joy Delamere is suffocating...

From asthma, which has nearly claimed her life. From her parents, who will do anything to keep that from happening. From delectably dangerous Asher, who is smothering her from the inside out.

Joy can take his words—tender words, cruel words—until the night they go too far.

Now, Joy will leave everything behind to find the one who has offered his help, a homeless boy called Creed. She will become someone else. She will learn to survive. She will breathe…if only she can get to Creed before it’s too late.

Set against the gritty backdrop of Seattle’s streets and a cast of characters with secrets of their own, Holly Cupala’s powerful new novel explores the subtleties of abuse, the meaning of love, and how far a girl will go to discover her own strength."

Dear Bully: 70 YA Authors Tell Their Stories Edited by Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones

A Non-Fiction Anthology of "dear bully" essays and letters by "today's top authors for teens and young readers"

The list of contributors is impressive, including Holly Cupala and a number of authors whose YA books (with GLBTQ characters and themes) are featured here: Carrie Jones, Cecil Castellucci, Ellen Hopkins, Jo Knowles, Lisa Yee, and Nancy Garden.

There's also a wonderful website, dearbully.com, that shares one new "dear bully" story a week - and these are stories not included in the book! You should definitely check it out:

Add your reviews of "Don't Breathe A Word" and "Dear Bully" in comments!

"Whats goin on" - one teen's wrenching cry to end bullying

2012-01-09T03:00:00.001-08:00

Watch this.

It's so powerful. It's been viewed nearly 9 million times. And while he's received some support, there has been so much meanness and denial and flat-out bullying continuing in the online responses to Jonah's video.

We have to stop anti-GLBTQ bullying. We have to stop all bullying.

Right now.

And how is Jonah doing?

This is from the video's page on youtube:

UPDATE 12/5/11 - PLEASE READ
To all my friends and supporters,
I made this video 4 months ago just before school was about to start. I was 13. It was a very emotionally dark time in my life. I made the video at 4:00 am in the morning; I hadn't been sleeping at night for a long time, too many things going on in my head. I was dreading going back to school and I had not come out to my family yet. Only my closest friends knew. I didn't know how to say what I needed to say. All I could think about were all the bad things that had been happening at school last year, every year for that matter. I just couldn't bare to go through that anymore. I was done being fake happy, pretending hateful words didn't hurt, done hiding it from my family.
So this video was made for my friends that had moved on to High School who were worried for me, to say to them that I was going to take a stand, and to the haters at my middle school that I'm not going anywhere. I am who I am. I posted the video here and told people were to find it. That was it.
My friends were moved by the video and thought I did something important. I was encouraged to link it to my Facebook page so more people could see it. Maybe it could help someone else going through the same thing. So I linked it Dec. 1st. My Parents saw it for the first time Dec, 2nd.
Then..... all this happened.

I never expected in a million years that it would have such a wonderful impact on so many people. I am truly humbled and truly thankful for all the love, encouragement and support from people all over the world. It's been incredibly overwhelming. I don't know what to say. Thank you so, so much!
Lastly, yes you have seen me happy in a couple short videos replies I posted; I would think that would be a good thing, and yes I do have friends, my High School friends. And I have made friends because when I came out they realized that they had hurt me and that they felt sorry.

The video is real, and true. In the last few months everything eventually came out in the open, I felt a huge weight off my shoulders; I'm happy, I'm excepted for who I am, I'm more confident and feel stronger every day.
Thank you all, Love and peace to all who are hurting.
Jonah Mowry

Let's make our world a better place, for Jonah, for all teenagers - Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning and Straight - for all of us.

Namaste,
Lee

Ari Lewin, the #NY12SCBWI Team Blog Pre-Conference Interview

2012-01-06T03:05:00.000-08:00

Ari Lewin, Executive Editor, G.P. Putnam (Penguin) and #NY12SCBWI Faculty

Arianne Lewin is an executive editor at G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers. She has edited award-winning authors including Cinda Williams Chima; Julie Anne Peters; Michael Rex; Rachel Hawkins, and Jessica Spotswood. She'll be giving three breakout sessions on FANTASY on Saturday January 28, 2012 as part of the Lucky 13th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City.

Here's our interview - enjoy!

Lee: Hi Ari, thanks so much for taking the time. You’re giving three breakout sessions on FANTASY. Are there any books (that you’ve worked on or otherwise) you’d like to suggest attendees read in advance so they can get the most out of your workshops?

Ari: I can't think of any particular books I'll be referencing yet, but I might do a handout on first pages or chapters of successful fantasy novels. My hope is that anyone interested in publishing into the genre will be able to get something out of the discussion, no matter how much or little they've read.

Lee: For many manuscript critiques and conferences (and it’s true of the Writers roundtable intensives on the Friday before this conference) authors have a chance to share the first few pages of their work with agents and editors. But it’s only the first few pages. Or the first 500 words. Or maybe even just the first page (which starts half-way down!) Often, writers despair at this – how could anyone know if they love it (or not) so soon? How far do you need to read something to know?

Ari: I consider first page sessions an opportunity to decide if I like the premise and the writing enough to want to read more.

Lee: Speaking of beginnings, since you’re talking about fantasy I have to ask: Prologues: Love ‘em or hate ‘em?

Ari: That's not a fair question! I love good prologues that draw me in and tease the rest of the book. I don't love prologues that exist solely for exposition -- that just feels lazy to me.

Lee: How about trends: How much should authors care about vampires being in or out. Or angels, or unicorns, or… the next BIG thing. (And yeah, I just added unicorns in there. But I don’t have a unicorn manuscript, I’m just asking…)

Ari: I suppose it's worth considering the idea that if the market is already glutted with a trend, publishers may not want to buy more. That being said, if someone handed me a dystopic novel that I absolutely LOVED, I wouldn't turn it down. I would never suggest writing to a trend -- authors should write what comes naturally.

Lee: What’s your opinion of the Hollywood-style pitch (“It’s ‘Mad Men’ meets ‘Aliens’… in middle school!”) Useful, or too reductive?

Ari: I vote useful. TV is such a big part of our consciousness that using it as shorthand seems natural. I do realize that there are a lot of books out there that can't be described in those terms, though, and that's okay too! If I were an author I'd spend about twenty seconds thinking about this, then get back to writing my story. NOTE: It’s easy to sound grandiose when using TV/Movie references, so try to stay reasonable...

Lee: Can you tell us what you’re looking for?

Ari: "I'm looking for writers who use words and story in a way that makes me feel something. I like all kinds of stories, but I want something to wake me up!"

Lee: Most of the people working in Children’s literature do it because they (we) love it… but I wonder if there’s a fear that once you make something you love your work, you can’t enjoy it ‘simply’ any more. Can you turn off your editor-brain and just enjoy a good book, or are you always in ‘editor’ mode?

Ari: I can forget myself if the book is good enough. And isn't that what you want every book to do? I’m probably not as patient a reader as I used to be– I don’t try to “push through” books that are not engaging or very flawed. I just put them down and move on.

Lee: To follow up on that, what are you reading for fun?

Ari: I'm trying really hard to read grown-up books, mostly so I'm not a total fail at cocktail parties. I just bought *am the last person on earth to buy* Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Lee: Illustrators and writers will be coming to #NY12SCBWI with lots of hopes. Some hope to be discovered and break through to be published. Others, who are published, hope to break out from the mid-list and really soar in their careers. Any many, from those just starting out through best-selling authors and illustrators, hope to immerse themselves in inspiration and community. What are your conference hopes? Do you come ‘shopping’ for new illustrator and writer talent?

Ari: SCBWI is such an amazing community. I always come to conferences hoping to recruit for my list, but I also come because I find it so refreshing and inspiring to spend time with people who are passionate about our business.

Lee: Is a business card something you like to have handed to you when you speak to an author or illustrator at a conference?

Ari: The unfortunate truth is that I don't keep 99% of the business cards that are given to me (does anybody?). If there's a reason for me to get in touch with someone, I'll ask for their information and probably plug it right into my phone.

Lee: Can you share with us your advice for conference-goers?

Ari: Talk to lots of other writers, and don't worry too much about meeting agents and editors -- that will come in time. Pay special attention to any lectures that will help you become a better writer.

Lee: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given that you’ve used in your career in children’s literature?

Ari: Work on what you love.

Thanks so much, Ari!

Now I'm even more excited about her session! You can still register to attend Ari's FANTASY Break Out Workshop yourself and experience the entire Lucky 13th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City, January 27-29, 2012.

Hope to see you there.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

The Fourth Annual Comment Challenge Starts Today!!!

2012-01-05T04:00:00.000-08:00

What's The Comment Challenge?

Across the kidlitosphere, there's a very small percentage of blog visitors who actually leave a comment. And since research shows it takes twenty-one days to create a new habit, Mother Reader and I are asking you to commit to leaving five comments a day for 21 days on Kid Lit blogs, starting today, and culminating on January 25, 2012!

Participating in The Comment Challenge will change your online life by turbo-engaging you in our kid lit community.

You'll start conversations. You'll see more traffic. You'll feel great knowing you're being heard.

Try it.

Take The Comment Challenge, and see what it does for you!

Questions? We've got answers.

Go sign up over at Mother Reader's, and check in here on Wednesdays for encouragement and to let everyone know how it's going.

Let's get our comments on!
Lee

ps - I adapted this old Hoover vacuum ad from this March 1950 ad in Life magazine.

Don't Let Me Go - Gay Teen Romance

2012-01-04T03:03:00.000-08:00

Don't Let Me Go By J. H. Trumble

"Some people spend their whole lives looking for the right partner. Nate Schaper found his in high school. In the eight months since their cautious flirting became a real, heart-pounding, tell-the-parents relationship, Nate and Adam have been inseparable. Even when local kids take their homophobia to brutal levels, Nate is undaunted. He and Adam are rock solid. Two parts of a whole. Yin and yang.

But when Adam graduates and takes an off-Broadway job in New York--at Nate's insistence--that certainty begins to flicker. Nate's friends can't keep his insecurities at bay, especially when he catches Skyped glimpses of Adam's shirtless roommate. Nate starts a blog to vent his frustrations and becomes the center of a school controversy, drawing ire and support in equal amounts. But it's the attention of a new boy who is looking for more than guidance that forces him to confront who and what he really wants."

Add your review of "Don't Let Me Go" in comments!

Barbara Marcus, the #NY12SCBWI Team Blog Pre-Conference Interview

2012-01-03T03:02:00.000-08:00

Kid Lit Marketing Expert and #12NYSCBWI Faculty Member Barbara Marcus

Barbara Marcus is a leading business and marketing strategist in the areas of children’s content and distribution. She's currently Strategic Innovations Advisor to Penguin Books USA focusing in the area of new ventures and new publishing opportunities and Advisor to Open Road Integrated Media in the area of children's digital publishing. Barbara is on the Board of Knowledge Adventure, a children’s software and technology company and Media Source, a children’s books direct marketing company and publisher of Library Journal and School Library Journal. Prior to that, she was President, Scholastic Children’s Book Publishing and Distribution where she was responsible for children’s consumer book publishing and distribution in the United States. After acquiring J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for publication in the United States in 1998, Barbara led the publishing effort for six out of the seven Harry Potter titles.

She will be speaking Saturday morning as part of a super-star panel exploring "Children's Books, Today and Tomorrow: Four Expert Impressions."

Here's our interview:

Lee: Hi Barbara, thanks so much for making the time to chat! The first question I have to ask is: There are so many people inspired by the success of Harry Potter - and you were right in there, part of making that success happen. While there's obviously no clear magic-potion formula to write and market a book series that successful - or we'd all have run-away best-sellers - can you share what were the elements, from your perspective, that made it all come together into such a perfect storm?

Barbara: I always say that the real reason that Harry Potter became the phenomenon of Harry Potter was because of the genius of Jo Rowling's story and writing. She created a world that was so fantastic and characters that every child thought could be their friends. It was an incredible combination of fantasy and reality. We all wanted to be best friends with Harry, Hermione and Harry and go to school at Hogwarts.

So much has changed since that time but we were lucky enough to create some firsts such as no review copies before publication, distributing the books at midnight with parties, creating a hardcover with embossing and foil.....now things that often can be part of regular publishing plans.

Lee: Do you see children's books following the path of adult books with the ever-growing consumption (and market share) of e-books, or is there a different future for kid lit?

Barbara: Children's books will have the best of both worlds. I think there are many paths for children's books as digital books. Some YAs will sell the same percentage in ebook form as adult books. There will also be original YA titles with enhanced features like music and video. Picture e-books and apps will be read alouds and have interactive features and also will exist in print. I think the push to use e-books in school and libraries will be slow and steady which translates into a longer time before e-books are as dominant as they are in adult publishing. The future of children's books as e-books also depends on the pricing of tablets. As the prices decrease, the possibility of more children's books being read as e-books increases.

Lee: Do you think being innovative with how stories are told is something that only established authors and illustrators can get away with, or does the Wild West of all this new technology create opportunities for new talents to break into the industry?

Barbara: I think authors and illustrators should always focus telling the best story they can. If technology or innovation is something that the artist feels is integral to the story, then they should include it.

Lee: Do you think every author and illustrator should be aware of building themselves as a "brand?" Or, to paraphrase Mo Willems, is branding just for cattle?

Barbara: I feel so repetitive when I say that a brand also comes out of a special story and characters. One big well defined story with a world and characters can lead to a brand but you can't just build one. Just write or illustrate the best book you can and with your agent and publisher you can explore the possibility of creating a brand

Lee: For attendees, the SCBWI winter conference is full of amazing networking, crucial information from experts, craft, business, inspiration, community, and opportunities to move our careers forward. What's exciting to you about coming to the conference?

Barbara: This is my first SCBWI so I am looking forward to the conversations I will be having with the other attendees about what is happening in the world of children's publishing

Lee: Words of wisdom for attendees?

Barbara: Try and make sure you think about what you really are trying to accomplish before getting to the conference. There will be lots of interesting people and sessions. Make sure that you come away with something that really resonates with you post conference. These are fascinating and sometimes confusing times in publishing so focusing can really help.

Thanks Barbara! That's great advice.

I'm really looking forward to hearing Barbara's presentation, and you can be there, too. Registration for the Lucky 13th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City, January 27-29, 2012 is still open.

Hope to see you there.

Illustrate and Write On,
Lee

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton's Address on the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People

2012-01-02T03:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke last month in Geneva to the United Nations on the Human Rights of LGBT People.

Her words and the Obama administration's positions are powerful and important.

"Gay Rights are Human Rights, and Human Rights are Gay Rights."

"Being Gay is not a Western invention, it is a Human reality."

"...Let us keep in mind that our commitments to protect the freedom of religion and to defend the dignity of LGBT people emanate from a common source."

and she asks this question of non-lgbt people and the leaders of countries who don't defend the Human Rights of LGBT people, for them to consider for themselves,

"How would it feel to be a crime to love who I love?"

Her address is 30 minutes long, and is well worth watching.

As we embark on our new year 2012, this is a shining moment of hope, and a vision towards creating a world where things are better for all of us gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer people.

And that will make it a better world for all.

Namaste,
Lee

ps: If you want the under two minute highlight version, check out, in the words of the Huffington Post, this "Hillary Clinton's Gay Rights Speech: State Department Turns Historic Moment Into Music Video"

Giving Back, The Holiday Spirit, and Taking Time Off To Fill The Well

2011-12-16T03:05:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the best presents are the ones you give.

Recently here in Los Angeles, the Kid Lit Drink Night Holiday Party was a big success. (Check out the great post about it - and photos from the evening - at my friend and fellow Kid Lit Drink Night organizer Rita Crayon Huang's blog.)

Over 120 revelers gathered to drink and network and eat cookies - there were agents, and writers, and illustrators, and librarians, and so many friends - ones we knew and ones we were just meeting! And everyone who came brought some books to donate to needy kids. Some people brought two books. Some brought BAGS of books. And ultimately we had a lot of wonderful books to donate!

Look at all the books donated!

The empty bookshelf at the LAUSD continuation high school main office, which is about to be filled with the three overflowing bags of YA titles we donated! The teachers in 29 classrooms all over Los Angeles will get to choose books from the ones donated for their own classroom shelf of books.

Ms. Ward, the Principal of Knox Elementary School, was so grateful for the donation of FIVE full boxes of picture books, chapter books, and middle grade titles! They have a library but no librarian, and now they have lots of new books for their students!

It really felt great making this happen, and my thanks to my fellow Kid Lit Drink Night organizers Rita Crayon Huang, Sara Wilson Etienne, Greg Pincus, Jill Corcoran and Jennifer Bosworth for making it such a success.

Also, Thank You to everyone who attended and brought books to donate - you also brought your holiday spirit, and it was wonderful to behold.

And in that Holiday Spirit, I'm going to be taking my annual two week break from blogging. I'll be back fresh and renewed on Monday January 2nd, 2012.

If you're not sure what you're going to do for two whole weeks of no new blog posts here, I thought I'd take the liberty of sharing some great posts from 2011 that deserve another look. Here they are, for your reprised enjoyment.

1. LEARN SOMETHING NEW ABOUT YOURSELF AND OTHERS: Check out the entire Gender 101 video series - there are 18 videos so far, and to watch them in order, you can find them listed on the right hand side of this blog. And once you've watched them, consider how you feel about these parents raising their child without letting others know their child's gender.

2. OPEN YOUR HEART: Watch this amazing video about Gay Marriage, and an actual gay wedding that happened on TV! And check out the true story of how a teenage skinhead and the homeless gay teen he beat nearly to death met decades later... and became friends who travel together to speak out about ending homophobia and anti-gay violence, about forgiveness, and hope.

3. THINK: Consider what our culture tells us about "Headless Fatties." The humiliation of men wearing pink. And what bathroom signs reveal about how our culture views gender. And see blatant homophobia for what it is, on TV shows like American Idol, and in the choices parents make about their children's Halloween costumes.

4. REALIZE THERE IS STILL MUCH WORK TO DO: From Transgender people being sterilized to how opponents of gay equality lie, and lie some more.

5. BE INSPIRED, AND REDEDICATE YOURSELF TO DOING THAT WORK: See what a 14 year old is doing to get queer books into school all across the country, and eventually, internationally. See the impact of a single teacher to change her students' views about prejudice forever. Check out the stand a school picture photographer made, refusing to make bullies pretty on the outside, since they're not on the inside. Read the blog of three queer teen athletes who are out to change the perception of gays in sports. Find out how to start a Gay-Straight Alliance in YOUR school.

6. LAUGH: Fighting prejudice with comedy is an art. Check out what St. Peter says to an anti-gay marriage activist at the gates of Heaven. And George Takei's hysterical (and generous) response to Tennessee's proposed "Don't Say Gay" law.

7. GET YOUR PRIDE ON: With T-shirts, and a Katy Perry "Firework" video that makes me so happy. And did you know that the more gay friendly a community is, the better it is for straight teens too? And watch some of my favorite "It Gets Better" Videos: Kevin, a gay teen in Montana. Zach, a gay teen in Iowa, and if it's not too forward of me to suggest it, I'd be delighted if you'd take a look at my It Gets Better video, too.

8. READ: There are so many wonderful books posted and reviewed here! The entire left hand column of this blog... So browse, and choose, and dive into some wonderful lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, questioning, queer and gender-non-conforming fiction and nonfiction! I am beyond blown away by these books existing in our world of today, and think of how much it would have meant to me to find just one of them when I was a teen. So read them. You never know where a book might take you...

And if you don't want to miss great posts like these as we move forward into 2012, please consider signing up for my newsletter - it's one email every two weeks, with one line summaries and fast links to the latest posts, info on my school visits, and some inspiration that's currently resonating for me.

The inspiration resonating for me right now is from "The Artists Way," by Julia Cameron.

"As artists, we must learn to be self-nourishing. We must become alert enough to consciously replenish our creative resources as we draw on them... I call this process filling the well."

I think those are wise words. And after 50 weeks of daily posts Monday through Friday, I realize that I need these two weeks to fill my well. And then I'll be back in the new year, artistic reservoirs full!

Until then, allow me to wish you and yours a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season.

Namaste,
Lee

"The Power Within" - An Anti-Bullying Comic Book that's Free for your GSA, school or youth services group!

2011-12-15T06:04:00.000-08:00

One of the coolest things I found out about at BentCon 2011 was this comic book, "The Power Within" about Shannon, a guy going into 8th grade who has an imaginary superhero alter-ego to deal with being bullied. But when things escalate Shannon can't retreat into his imagination, and he has to find the power within himself to triumph.

It's by Charles "Zan" Christensen and Mark Brill, with additional contributions by Donna Barr, Matthew Clark, Phil Jimenez, Andy Mangels, Carla Speed McNeil, Dan Parent, Greg Rucka, Stephen Sadowski and Gail Simone.

For more information on the comic book and to order your copies of "The Power Within," check out thepowerwithin.org

Add your review of "The Power Within" in comments!

Holiday Comedy (or is it Politics?): Stephen Colbert slams Rick Perry's Anti-Gay Campaign Ad

2011-12-14T03:00:00.000-08:00

In which Rick Perry says that gays are treated better than people like him, who are proud to celebrate Christmas but are denied their rights, and Stephen Colbert calls it like it is.

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Merry Christmas! (And happy all the other holidays, too!)

Lee

Nancy Paulsen, the #NY12SCBWI Team Blog Pre-Conference Interview

2011-12-13T03:02:00.000-08:00

Nancy Paulsen

Nancy Paulsen is President and Publisher of her own imprint, Nancy Paulsen Books, at the Penguin Young Readers Group. Her list launched in Fall 2011 and some of her first books included "Strega Nona’s Gift" by Tomie dePaola, "You Are a Lion and Other Fun Yoga Poses" by Taeeun Yoo, "Love, Mouserella," by David Ezra Stein,

"Looking at Lincoln" by Maira Kalman,

"Beneath a Meth Moon" by Jacqueline Woodson,

and "Prairie Evers" by Ellen Airgood

Before helming her own imprint she was the Publisher and President of G. P. Putnam's Sons Children's Books and Puffin Books.

Nancy will be speaking the Saturday morning of the conference, January 28, 2012, as part of "Children's Books: Today and Tomorrow: Four Expert Impressions."

You can join me in following Nancy on twitter at @nancyrosep, and I hope you enjoy our interview:

Lee: Hi Nancy, thanks so much for taking the time. President and Publisher of your own imprint sounds like a dream job. In determining what books you acquire, are you concerned with balancing the number of picture books versus novels, or is your list driven by what you fall in love with?

Nancy: Hi Lee - Yes, this is a dream job. I am so happy to be focusing on finding, editing and publishing books I love, rather than managing a staff of editors. My list is small and selective. I publish 15 books a year and aim for it to be half picture books and half fiction. Right now I have more picture books signed up so I am looking for fiction. But I do sign up what I love so if I see a marvelous picture book, I will go for it!

Lee: Justin Chanda said at the 2010 SCBWI Summer conference to a huge reaction, ‘If you all go home and write to the trends, then the vampires win.” How do trends influence you as a publisher?

Nancy: I am fortunate that I work for a company with a lot of imprints and plenty of them are on-point with trends (and hopefully leading some of them!) I am looking for the kind of books that I hope will backlist. I want picture books that are eye-opening and beautiful; novels with memorable characters who have hope in their lives.

Lee: Vampires, we hear, are on the wane… Trends or no trends, would you publish an amazing vampire book right now? (And no, I don't have one for you, I'm just asking.)

Nancy: I never say never… but man, it would have to be SO original and good…

Lee: Is there something you are looking for?

Nancy: I would love to find some wonderful middle-grade novels. I love writing that is lyrical and powerful (ala Jacqueline Woodson). Writers whose stories are full of heart. I would love to see more culturally diverse stories; and I am a fan of good historical fiction.

Lee: The authors and illustrators you’re working with (among them Tomie dePaola, David Ezra Stein, and Jacqueline Woodson) have quite a range of tones and voices. Do you have a working definition of voice you can share with us?

Nancy: All of the writers I publish work hard at their craft. They all have unique voices and are willing to go through as many drafts as needed to bring their work to the best place. All of them are amazing storytellers – and their stories are not written to order. They come from some miraculous place inside them, so they feel authentic. The emotions are palpable; the dialogue is natural. You get pulled into their stories immediately. If only there was a formula for this! But I think the best thing a new writer can do is read a lot to see what distinguishes great writing; and stay curious and open to the wonder of daily life.

Lee: I love that, "curious and open to the wonder of daily life." Great advice. What do you read for fun? Or can you still read for fun?

Nancy: I have a stack of books I hope to read over the holidays including two adult books -- "The Grief of Others" by Leah Hager Cohen and "Blue Monday" by Nicci French (which is set in London and I am a big Anglophile!) I always love to read Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" over the holidays.

Lee: For attendees, the SCBWI Winter conference is full of amazing networking, crucial information from experts, craft, business, inspiration, community, and opportunities to move our careers forward. What’s exciting for you about coming to the conference?

Nancy: I particularly love looking at the portfolios of new artists. Last year I saw You Byen’s work and I have her signed up for her first picture book – DREAM FRIENDS, which will come out Spring 2013. Our art director, Cecilia Yung, also mentored Eliza Wheeler, and we now have her signed up for her first picture book.

Lee: Exciting! It's great to hear those SCBWI success stories. Words of wisdom for attendees?

Nancy: Listen to the advice of the editors. Keep moving forward. If you are not getting a positive response on one story, write another. And read, read, read.

Lee: Can you share with us the best advice you ever received regarding your career in children's publishing?

Nancy: I think it is to remember that there will always be a need for great stories. No matter how they are delivered, people will want to read books that make them think and make them feel. So I think my job as an editor is to stay focused on that. There are great writers out there and there are avid readers and we want to connect the two.

Thank you so much, Nancy. I can't wait for your Saturday presentation!

You can still register to see Nancy yourself and experience the entire Lucky 13th Annual SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City, January 27-29, 2012.

Hope to see you there.

Namaste,
Lee

Announcing the Spring 2012 Grant Program for Lee Wind’s Speaker Visits

2011-12-12T03:00:00.000-08:00

Budgets are tight.

But the need is dramatic.

And the impact of my programs is powerful.

"I just went out to my friends and told them I'm not going to use the word 'faggot' or 'bitch' anymore."
- Palisades Charter High School Student

"I will remember the part when you said that people need to know more than one thing about a person to then know all about them. Your presentation will help me throughout my life."
- Brentwood 6th Grade Student

"It was amazing to have you come to Pali and speak to our students. I think you made a huge contribution to uplifting our campus culture.
- Jill Barker, Palisades Charter High School Counselor

Most Valuable thing I learned from the workshop:
"You're not a stereotype. You are you!"
- High School attendee at my Models of Pride 19 Smashing Stereotypes Workshop

"Thanks for doing this for our school."
- Corvallis High School Student

I’m delighted to announce ten grants of $500.00 each to help bring me out to your school or library for a full day of either

SAFE SPACE: Ending Anti-Gay bullying in our Culture… and in YOUR School Assemblies

or

SMASHING STEREOTYPES In-Class Workshops

With one of these grants, it will cost only $500.00 for me to come to your school or library this Spring 2012 and help energize your community to end Anti-Gay - and all - bullying and smash the stereotypes that hold us back… as a culture and as individuals.

How to apply:
Have your GSA Advisor, school counselor, parent, librarian, or other adult point person contact me via email: iamleewind (at) gmail (dot) com.
Tell me (in their words or yours, in a couple of sentences) about your school, and why you feel my speaker visit would help make a difference in your community.
We’ll need to schedule the visit between January 16 and May 31, 2012.
If you’re not driving distance from Los Angeles, you’ll have to cover my travel and hotel, but that’s billed at cost.

And that’s it.
The first ten schools who need the financial help, apply for it, and schedule me, get these grants!

So see if you can make it happen for your school.

I’d love to come help you make things better, starting right now!

Namaste,
Lee

ps - To see more of what I do in my speaker visits, here's a link to two different nine minute videos showing highlights of both my SAFE SPACE assemblies and my SMASHING STEREOTYPES workshops!

The "Publishing Queer" Panel at BentCon 2011

2011-12-09T03:05:00.000-08:00

ComicCon in San Diego sounds incredible, and they always have some great programming that focuses on GLBTQ Comics and Graphic Novels.

For the second year, BentCon (held this past weekend) was a Comics Convention that's ALL about queer comics, and they reprised one of the most amazing panels from this year's ComicCon,

Publishing Queer: Marketing and Creating Queer Comic Books And Graphic Novels

I had the remarkable experience of not only attending but getting to record (as a last minute thing, and on my cell phone video camera!) this panel on December 4 in Los Angeles. With the permission of all the amazing participants, I'm sharing their discussion here.

This is a still image of the panel (the videos are below.)

The panelists were, from left to right, Tony Valenzuela (lambdaliterary.org), Robert Fraser (classcomics.com), Alex Woolfson (Yaoi911.com), Steve MacIsaac (SteveMacIsaac.com), Charles "Zan" Christensen (prismcomics.org and northwestpress.com) and the panel moderator, Justin Hall (allthumbspress.com).

There were so many great things discussed, and tons of quotable moments - here are just a few:

“Self publishing is so easy and cheap now, it’s the easiest and cheapest it’s ever been, and it became that way just as the infrastructure that will allow you to do that successfully collapsed.”

- Steve MacIsaac

“The ‘freemium model’ where you’re giving content away for free, with then perhaps offering something extra for money.”

- Alex Woolfson

The panel included an excellent discussion on the future of independent bookstores, Canadian/U.S.A. border shenanigans, the importance of a niche and a following, and lots of great advice for how to make it work as writers, artists, self-publishers and business people.

One of the questions in the Q&A that sparked the best discussion was What’s the best way to start publishing your own stuff? Every panelist had lots of suggestions, from big-picture considerations to specific tips, strategies and tools - like how to make your comic books print all the way to the edge of the page!

And I think Justin summed up the feel of the discussion, and BentCon as a whole, when he said:

“One of the wonderful things about the comic book community is that it’s extremely small and kind of insular but it’s really supportive...”

And Zan followed up with

“We’re not competing with each other, and that’s the wonderful thing about it. We know that when one of us succeeds, it peaks interest and people start to say ‘well what else is there?’”

I could see that spirit from the panel. You can see it, too. Here is the full panel discussion, in six parts:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six, conclusion

There you go, Great Panel. Wonderful Information.

My thanks to Tony, Robert, Alex, Steve, Zan and Justin.

I’m so glad I got to attend, and I’m thrilled I get to share it now with all of you!

Namaste,

Lee

Renfred's Masquerade: A Gay Teen Fantasy Romance

2011-12-08T03:04:00.000-08:00

By Hayden Thorne

It's a world of magic.

Impossible dreams.

Masquerades.

And unrequited love.

Torn from his family and thrust into that world, 16 year old Nicola, a boy with a disability who thought he had to stop dreaming, has to solve the mystery of another teen's disappearance before time runs out.

Add your review of Renfred's Masquerade in comments!

Gender 101, Episode #18: Being Trans Enough

2011-12-07T03:03:00.000-08:00

Continuing my discussions with my gender queer friend Lucy, we explore Lucy's experiences with being seen in different circumstances as being either too trans or not trans enough.

Thanks, Lucy.

This will be the last Gender 101 episode for 2011. Look for the videos to start up again in Spring 2012!

Namaste,
Lee

A New Approach To Win Gay Marriage

2011-12-06T03:02:00.000-08:00

This is so beautiful.

And powerful.

Watch it.

Now check out the op ed over at advocate.com about why this two minute video is being seen as something that's changing hearts and minds, and going viral, internationally. Seems there's this thought that we gay people want to get married so we can cash in on all the great rights and bonuses of marriage. Like it's a "special right" we greedy gay people want to get our hands on. And the more we talk about equal rights, the more some people think we want to get in on this great thing straight people have going on... for those rights.

But as this two minute video from Australia's Get Up! shows, we want to get married for the same reasons straight people want to get married.

Because we're in love.

Love is love.

And to my husband - I love you. Thanks for sharing this with me - dang it, you made me cry. Happy tears. And, you made me think. Another reason I love you.

And for all my readers, this is food for thought, isn't it?

In fact, it's a great opportunity to be a Keyboard Activist. Let's share this video far and wide!

Namaste,
Lee

Are You Gay Enough To Play Ball? Inclusion, Exclusion, and the idea of Gay-Only Sports

2011-12-05T03:00:00.000-08:00

So get this. There's a North America Gay Amateur Athlete Alliance, and they put on the Gay Softball World Series. But not everyone on the teams has to be gay. Turns out, they have rules about how many gay players each team is allowed.

In 2008, the second place team was disqualified because it was found that they had more than two heterosexual players on their team.

The players sued, saying that they "had been discriminated against because they were bisexual, not gay."

And to make matters more unsettling, five of the team's players were brought before a committee of 25 people and made to answer questions about their sexuality. The panel found three of the men to be straight, and

"The men said they weren't given the option of stating outright that they were bisexual, even though the organization considered bisexual players to be gay for roster purposes. They and their team were disqualified. One observer at the hearing commented, "This is not a bisexual World Series. This is a gay World Series."

Well it was just announced that the organization settled with the players,

"Since the lawsuit was filed [by The National Center For Lesbian Rights], NAGAAA has added language to its rules clarifying that bisexual and transgender players are fully welcomed participants in its events. As part of the settlement, the organization said disqualifying D2 was not consistent with its goal of welcoming bisexual players."

And the team has had their second place finish re-instated, and the players can get back on the field.

This brings up so much to discuss: It's a good thing to promote a "message that openly gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals can thrive in competitive sports." But on the other hand, if straight guys are good enough allies that they're happy to play in a gay league, shouldn't that be a good thing, too?

And beyond baseball, should non-queer allies be allowed to participate in "queer" spaces? Should there be exclusionary spaces within the GLBTQ community? Does it make it seem "safer?" And as a broader question for our culture, should we have "us-only" spaces at all, or should all "us" spaces be "us and allies?"

It's almost as if we imagined that Gay-Straight Alliances were Gay Student Alliances instead.

What would happen if we didn't include our allies?

And how are bisexuals treated, both outside and inside the queer community?

Let me know what you think.

Namaste,
Lee

ps: Thanks to my awesome husband for sharing this with me, so I could share it with all of you!

pps: You can find out more in this article in the Bay Area Reporter.

Good News From Major League Baseball (And The National Football League)

2011-12-02T03:05:00.000-08:00

This is very good news.

Article XV, Section A of MLB’s expiring Basic Agreement, in effect from 2006-2011, states: “The provisions of this Agreement shall be applied to all Players covered by this Agreement without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.”

In the new agreement, the words “sexual orientation” were added to Article XV. Michael Weiner, the union’s executive director, said that the decision was not motivated by requests from his membership, but by “the lawyers on both sides just recognizing that it should be there.”

On the we-still-have-a-long-way-to-go side, there's the rookie relief pitcher hazing-by-wearing-pink going on in Major League Baseball, and some players on the Mets saying privately in the aftermath of the legalization of gay marriage in New York that they would be uncomfortable with an out gay player on their team.

“Most of us are still Neanderthals,” one Met explained.

And on the other, we're-making-progress side, other Mets players said they would be comfortable with an out gay player on their team. A number of the teams have created "It Gets Better" videos and are recognizing their GLBTQ fans. Add to that the whole league has now added sexual orientation to their non-discrimination clause and it really is a huge step forward. The article also says that

The National Football League also included “sexual orientation” in its CBA [Collective Bargaining Agreement] this year.

So while Billy Bean, featured in the article's photo, came out as gay after he retired from baseball, and we still don't have an out gay player - this is one more important step towards queer equality and making our world a better place.

And that gives me hope that one day - hopefully soon - we'll get there. These sports will include gender identity protection as well, and we'll have our queer Jackie Robinson moment.

And I'll be there, cheering them on.

Namaste,
Lee

Hello, Cruel World: 101 Alternatives To Suicide For Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws

2011-12-01T03:04:00.000-08:00

By Kate Bornstein

"Celebrated transsexual trailblazer Kate Bornstein has, with more humor and spunk than any other, ushered us into a world of limitless possibility through a daring re-envisionment of the gender system as we know it.

Here, Kate bravely and wittily shares personal and unorthodox methods of survival for navigating an often cruel world. A one-of-a-kind guide to staying alive outside the box, Hello, Cruel World is a much-needed unconventional approach to teenage suicide prevention for marginalized youth who want to stay on the edge, but alive.

Hello, Cruel World features a catalog of 101 Alternatives To Suicide that range from the playful (Moisturize), to the irreverent (Disbelieve the Binary), to the highly controversial (Get Laid. Please.) Designed to encourage readers to give themselves permission to unleash their hearts' harmless desires, this book has only one directive: "Don't be mean." It is this guiding principle that brings its reader on a self-validating journey, which forges wholly new paths toward a resounding decision to choose life.

Tenderly intimate and unapologetically edgy, Kate is the radical role model, the affectionate best friend, and the guiding mentor all in one kind and spirited package."

And I have to share a bit from a great review of this book by Jack Radish:

"Bornstein’s book is the thing that could help all those people sitting in front of their computer screen looking at “It Gets Better” videos and getting hope answer the question, “how can I make it better now???” You would think that all the people orchestrating [the "It Gets Better"] project would want those people to get those answers. But what happens when those answers are weird, dangerous and freaky? What happens when the answer is not that life gets better for depressed queer people when they neatly assimilate into mainstream culture? What happens when the answer is that queer people and trans people and other people who are different can make their lives better by embracing the things that make them freaks and weirdos and outlaws and deviants and say “f[-] you” to mainstream culture that tries to stop us from doing that?"

Add your review of "Hello Cruel World" in comments!

And if you are in crisis and need to talk to someone, The Trevor Project's lifeline has people 24/7 on their phone lines. Call them at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386).

Gender 101: Episode 17: The No Pronoun Preference

2011-11-30T03:03:00.000-08:00

In this episode my gender queer friend Lucy explains how even well-intentioned questions about preferred gender pronouns from queer people and our allies can misfire - and then explains how to successfully navigate the conversation.

I really am learning so much! Thanks, Lucy.

Namaste,
Lee

My Speaker Visit Trip To Corvallis, Oregon

2011-11-29T03:02:00.000-08:00

I'm still flying high from my amazing experience going to Corvallis, Oregon to give my SAFE SPACE presentations and meet with teens at both the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library and Corvallis High School.

It all started with Robin Fosdick, the amazing youth services and reference librarian at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, who reads this blog every day (Hi, Robin!) It was her determination and belief in me and what I have to share that made the trip a reality.

And it was an amazing reality, especially as it was my first 'business' trip where I was presenting outside metro Los Angeles (where I've been able to drive to schools!) The response was overwhelmingly positive, and moving, and I got to talk about what we can do to end anti-gay (and all) bullying in our culture and in Corvallis to over 300 teens, librarians, teachers, administrators, and adults.

I kept a brief photo log of the two days, and with your indulgence, I'd like to share it here!

The first day started really early. Still dark at the airport.

Flying high. Literally.

A display in the airport lets me know I'm in the right state!

Arriving at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library!

Flyers for my talk are inside the library, too!

After a great pizza dinner with Robin and Curtis, the library's youth services Division Manager, I met with two different groups of teens at the library. And then, I gave my SAFE SPACE presentation:

Talking about the 'ick' factor, and how if we called being gay 'homoLOVEual' instead of 'homoSEXual' it would change the whole conversation about our equality.

Language is powerful...

and it's one of the elements we need to recognize and change.

Lots of people hung out and spoke with me afterwards, and the room was buzzing. A number of the teens who I'd met earlier in the smaller gatherings stayed for the presentation, and a few told me they'd see me the next day at the High School. I grabbed a quick bite and then headed to the hotel to rest up.

The next day was another early start, and Robin and Curtis took me to the High School. I set up in the school's Black Box Theater, and got to meet Julie Williams, one of the amazing faculty sponsors of Corvallis High's GSA. Then, one after the other, I did three different hour and a half presentations.

In the middle, I got to have lunch with some students from the Gay-Straight Alliance, and that was really great.

Presenting in the Black Box Theater

It's pretty interactive - here I had the kids up on their feet!

Corvallis High are "The Spartans!" This is me and Julie Williams, Corvallis High's faculty sponsor for their GSA

Check out the amazing Gay History Month display in the High School's main entrance

Robin loved it as much as I did!

I'm official

With Robin at Corvallis High School, the day of Assemblies complete!

Moments that have stayed with me:

The teen who saw my presentation at the library, and sat through it again at the High School. It was clearly delicious for them to have it witnessed by their fellow students. And they had this joyous look on their face while I spoke.

The teen in the GSA who told me a guy said to them after my first assembly, 'I'm homophobic and that was hard to sit through.' And they replied, 'Why are you homophobic?' And the guy said, 'That's how I was raised, my Dad is homophobic.' And it occurred to me - and I shared with the GSA - that it wasn't necessarily a bad outcome for my talk. For someone entrenched and comfortable with the idea that they don't like gay people to leave my presentation and feel uncomfortable. That means they're thinking about what I shared, and that's a good thing.

The teen who came out as queer and is struggling with their parent's disapproval, who was so grateful for my being there.

The teen who said they want to be more involved.

The mother and teen at the library together, asking questions and listening so passionately.

The students from nearby Philomath, telling me about their school's efforts to block a Gay-Straight Alliance there.

The Corvallis High GSA student who came up to me at the end of our lunch and said,

"Thanks for doing this for our school."

The generosity of spirit of Curtis, and the powerful joy and passion for teen lit and helping teens that emanates from Robin every moment!

And I'll take this opportunity to once again express my enormous appreciation to Robin and Curtis, who made me feel like a rock star, brought me to Corvallis to add my voice to the many many wonderful people working to make things better for GLBTQ teens and all teens there, and who made my entire trip come off so well!

I also want to thank Julie Williams, Millie Kimes, Judy Welever (Corvallis High's wonderful librarian), Christine Hackenbruck (my tech support!), Dena Minato, Mary Skillings, Trudi Caster, Cathy Wright and all the other counselors and teachers at Corvallis High who brought their students to my presentations! My appreciation as well to all the other Corvallis librarians I met, and to Bryan Bliss for inviting me to speak to his group of teen writers at the library.

Oh, and I even got a gift from the Corvallis High School Gay-Straight Alliance - one of their 2011-2012 t-shirts!

Rocking my Corvallis High School GSA Pride!

Overall, it was a wonderful experience, for me and - from the feedback I received - for the community, too.

I am truly honored to have had the opportunity to help make things better.

Thanks, Corvallis! I hope to come back soon.

Left to Right: Curtis Kiefer, Me, and Robin Fosdick

Namaste,
Lee

p.s.:

My inspiration bonus from the trip: Turns out the high schools in Corvallis and neighboring Oregon have a school rock that students are allowed to graffiti. Here's Corvallis High's Rock. And yup, now that I know that, it's something I've added to my current work-in-progress.

pps: Here's a link to a whole bunch of great resources I shared in my talks.

GSA Monday: Tough Questions About The Lawrence King Murder Trial

2011-11-28T03:00:00.000-08:00

Here's what you need to know to get caught up:

In February of 2008, 15 year old Larry (Lawrence) King was an 8th grader who had come out as gay earlier that year.

He told a classmate that he had a crush on him.

That classmate brought a gun to their Oxnard, California middle school the next day and shot Larry in the head.

Larry died later that week.

The trial of Larry's killer recently ended in a mistrial, because the jury couldn't agree on the degree of guilt. And now just this past week, it was announced that to avoid a second trial, a plea bargain has been struck, where Larry's killer will be in jail for 21 years.

And I think this raises a lot of hard questions:

1. The defense didn't dispute that their at-the-time-14-year-old client was the shooter, but said that he reached an "emotional breaking point after King made repeated, unwanted sexual advances." He was "sexually harassed" by King. Is this blaming the victim?

2. Does it make sense to try a 14-year-old as an adult? Or is killing someone on purpose an adult crime no matter how old you are?

3. Hate crimes laws increases penalties, so the jury couldn't agree on calling this a hate crime. Lawyers had been discussing re-trying the case without the hate crime charges, thinking it would be easier to get a conviction. What does this case say about hate crime laws?

4. What's the worst thing that could have happened to the boy Larry liked after Larry expressed interest in him? Maybe that other kids would have thought he was gay, too. He could have just said, no thanks, I'm not interested. But what does it say about our culture when the response of a boy to another boy's expressing interest in him is murder?

5. Does it make a difference knowing that the guy who killed Larry had suffered abuse (emotional, physical, and sexual) at home?

6. Is the plea bargain deal the right decision for everyone involved?

7. What would be justice in this case?

Lisa Bloom, a lawyer and legal analyst is quoted in the Advocate's "System Failure" article on the mistrial by Neal Broverman (print issue, November 2011, pg. 13) as saying:

"This case was a heartbreaking intersection of our policy failures, ...our lack of effort to keep guns out of the hands of angry teenagers, our failure to intervene to protect abused kids, our refusal to adequately teach tolerance and respect for LGBT kids in schools, our culture's relentless message to boys that violence is a satisfying resolution to their problems, and our willingness to then put all the blame on a child by trying him as an adult."

Hard questions. But they're easier to tackle in a safe environment, and hopefully you can discuss them with your GSA. Or, leave a comment here in our virtual Gay-Straight Alliance.

Namaste,
Lee

A Short Comedy Video Treat

2011-11-25T03:05:00.000-08:00

This is awesome.

(and for context, Maggie Gallagher is a very publicly outspoken opponent of marriage equality.)

My thanks to Fred for sharing this with me, so I could share it with all of you.

Namaste,
Lee

Happy Thanksgiving - "A Note To My Kid" - Giving Thanks for our GLBTQ Loved Ones!

2011-11-24T03:04:00.000-08:00

A Note To My Kid is a wonderful new blog. In it, parents, family and friends who love the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and gender-non-conforming people in their lives write open letters to them.

Just reading the first one brought tears to my eyes, when Elaine, mother of Taylor (a gay drag performer) in Canada wrote:

What a path we have travelled since that night when you told me you were gay and I answered: "No you aren't you just think you are because you have been hanging out with those guys for too long". What I knew about homosexuality back then would have filled one line of an address book.

But I determined I would learn so I could convince you that you really were not gay and so I could change you.

As Dr. Phil would say how's that working? Well, you know and I know, that didn't work and I soon discovered that the person who had to change was not you but me.

And this one, from Claire in Arizona. She's the mother of Kevin, a young gay man:

I did not know my son was gay until his freshman year of college. I must admit to a feeling of loss when I first knew. Loss of a wedding to attend, loss of a daughter in law who may just love my antiques etc. But as time as progressed I have learned that I did not lose anything....I gained a son who was honest with me, and if things change... I may yet have a wedding to attend and maybe even his partner will like my antiques:-). I just had to re-learn.... and Kevin helped me with that. I am lucky. My son had little trouble accepting who he is and being so self-assured has helped others and myself accept it. I love him a great deal, as does his Father, and his entire extended family. He is very special man, and we are lucky to know him and have him in our lives. This world could use many more just like him!!

And this piece, "Things I Know" by a Seattle mother of Miles, who is transgender FTM:

I know this is a process of stages. Grief is the first, acceptance the middle, celebration is the last.

** I am now celebrating the wonderful joyful man that you have become. **

And this one, a Scottish godmother's note to Chris, who is not accepted by his parents:

My darling now you must be who you were meant to be, embrace this love and be happy. Know when to cut people out of your life who are not good for you no matter how hard. You need to feel true love and that is on offer now, and if you ever need me my darling, I am on call 24 hrs a day.
I love you.

Notes from lesbian stepmothers to their straight daughters, mothers learning of their children's struggles and asserting that "God makes all of us and he doesn’t make mistakes." mothers learning about love from their queer children:

"You have taught me love isnt defined by others. Love is limitless. Just like you.

I love you."

Reading these notes is like a bath in unconditional love, and I'm thankful to have found it. So go lose yourself reading the notes at "A Note To My Kid." And maybe write a note to someone you love in your life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Namaste,
Lee

A great new review site for Transgender Teen Book reviews - Jack Radish on PrettyQueer.com

2011-11-23T03:03:00.000-08:00

The more people talking about queer teen books, the better. And Jack's reviews of Transgender teen fiction and nonfiction, a new series over at prettyqueer.com, are awesome.

Jack's studying to be a teen services librarian, reads this blog, and I'm thrilled he got in touch to let me know what he's up to online.

Check out his reviews so far:

Hello Cruel World by Kate Bornstein

I am J by Cris Beam

Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher

Luna by Julie Anne Peters

Parrotfish by Ellen Wittlinger

I've gone ahead and bookmarked Jack's reviews, and hope you check them out, too.

Namaste,
Lee

Bullied - a short story collection about gay teens and bullying

2011-11-22T03:02:00.000-08:00

By Jeff Erno

This collection has seven short stories about gay teens and bullying.

"In Invisible, the bullying victim's voice is heard. Chase Devereaux is fifteen, and he's terrified when he has to give a speech in his oral communications class. To make matters worse, though, he has a really hard day when he falls victim to an episode of merciless bullying in gym class.Worst of all, his humiliation is witnessed by the boy of Chase's dreams.

Chuckie is told in the voice of the bully. David is a high school jock, one of the popular kids, and he's annoyed by the pathetic weakness and vulnerability of his classmate Charles. It seems natural to David to flex his superior muscle in front of the little wimp and remind him who's boss. When David discovers that Charles shares a connection with a mutual friend, David begins to see things in a whole new light.

Bryan Daniels is the narrator of Blending In, the story of a gay teen who stands idly by while one of his openly gay classmates is repeatedly bullied. Bryan feels sorry for Chris, but on some level he thinks perhaps Chris' openness and flamboyance make him an obvious target. Perhaps Chris is really asking for it and is just getting what he deserves. Bryan doesn't want to get involved. It's too risky, because if he speaks up in defense of Chris, he may be the next victim.

Saved: Jonathan goes to a Christian parochial school, and his best friend is Curtis. The boys have been best buds since the seventh grade. Jonathan tells their story in Saved. As he begins high school, Jon aspires to fit in with the guys on his soccer team. When he witnesses his teammates tormenting his best friend Curtis, he knows there really isn't much he can do. In truth, Jon has outgrown Curtis, and he wonders why they ever were close friends to begin with. Curtis just needs to man-up and stop being such a wimp. It's not up to Jonathan to protect or defend him. After all, he's not his brother's keeper.

In Shame,Terri Tyler is a single mother of two teenagers. Her son Cameron has always been her pride and joy. Cam is artistic and sensitive, and his sense of refinement has always been something she's regarded as special. She also prides herself on her open-mindedness. She has gay friends and acquaintances, and is not the least bit prejudiced, or so she tells herself. When Terri discovers that her son Cam is being bullied at school, she becomes very concerned. Of course she is worried about Cam's safety and well being, but more importantly, she fears that maybe Cam's uniqueness is something more profound than merely a matter of refinement.

Different is the story of three gay teens: Caiden, Rick, and Tina. Each of them has battled their own demons and has learned to cope with the reality of being different from their peers. One of them, however, is far more vulnerable than the other two. Caiden lacks social skills, and he feels completely ostracized, which only seems to fuel the bullying that plagues him on a daily basis. When he reaches a breaking point, the other two have an opportunity to step forward and save him, but their efforts may prove to be too little and too late.

Kirby is not only gay but he's also overweight. It's not easy for a teen to cope with being fat, let alone also being homosexual. Kirby's okay though. He's learned how to put on a happy face and ignore the constant name-calling and teasing. The one thing that makes his life bearable is his best friend Tony, and Kirby leans on him for support during his darkest hours. Tony, however, doesn't seem to have the character to be the friend Kirby needs, and the results are devastating. Can Kirby find the strength within himself to rise above the bullying, or will he remain a perpetual victim?"

Add your review of "Bullied" in comments!

You Can Change The World For The Better - Check out what 14 year old Amelia is doing!

2011-11-21T03:00:00.000-08:00

So Amelia's 14, and out as a lesbian at her middle school. She not only founded her school's GSA, and is a student Ambassador for GLSEN, but she's started an organization, THE MAKE IT SAFE project, that sends GLBTQ Teen books to schools around the country (and eventually around the world!) She's taking donations and for every $100 she raises is sending out a group of about 10 GLBTQ books that she and her friends really loved.

How amazing is that?

Oh, here's a quote from Amelia in a Bay Windows article:

"When I figured out that a lot of schools didn’t have any resources about what it means to be LGBT or how to come out," explained Amelia, "I decided that I wanted to help send those books to schools."

"My goal is to provide awareness for people and also to provide the reading material that will make them safe," she added.

Which books did she choose? Six fiction and four nonfiction books:

Annie On My Mind, by Nancy Garden;

Empress of the World, by Sara Ryan;

Luna, by Julie Anne Peters;

Boy Meets Boy, by David Levithan;

Rubyfruit Jungle, by Rita Mae Brown;

It Gets Better, ed. by Dan Savage and Terry Miller;

GLBTQ: The Survival Guide for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Teens, by Kelly Huegel;

Queer: The Ultimate LGBT Guide for Teens, by Kathy Belge; and

Like Me, by Chely Wright.

And I love how it's not just about sending the books to the schools, but about making sure students have access to them.

Great job, Amelia! You're changing our world for the better!

And for everyone else reading... Inspiring, isn't it?

Namaste,
Lee

My thanks to Erica for letting me know about this, so I could share it with all of you.

"Headless Fatties"

2011-11-18T03:05:00.000-08:00

I came upon this quite brilliant essay on Charlotte Cooper's website, about how the media often portrays fat people by cropping their heads out of the picture and how that practice is dehumanizing.

In the top image, their eyes are blacked out like criminals - at the bottom, they're seen as "Headless Fatties"

As we're on the verge of celebrating Thanksgiving, which here in the USA is very much about FOOD, I thought it was a great opportunity to think, as Charlotte urges us to, about the people in those photos - we've all seen these "Headless Fatties" on the news, and in print, and on billboards. Here's a bit of what Charlotte writes:

"As Headless Fatties, the body becomes symbolic: we are there but we have no voice, not even a mouth in a head, no brain, no thoughts or opinions. Instead we are reduced and dehumanised as symbols of cultural fear: the body, the belly, the arse, food. There's a symbolism, too, in the way that the people in these photographs have been beheaded. It's as though we have been punished for existing, our right to speak has been removed by a prurient gaze, our headless images accompany articles that assume a world without people like us would be a better world altogether.

Yet these are real people who look as though they've been photographed without their knowledge, consent, or payment of any kind, for commercial photographs that are then marketed and sold by photographers and agencies. I wonder what it must feel like to open the paper one morning, or click onto a news site, and see a headless version of yourself there, against a headline decrying people who look like you."

Go read Charlotte's "Headless Fatties" article. It's thought-provoking, and challenged me. Why hadn't I thought about this before? It's not just Fat people who should stand up against their being mocked and dehumanized. It's all of us who should.

I mean, check out this billboard image I came across:

I'm a vegetarian, but frankly, I'm offended for fat people. For the judgements our culture makes. And I'm embarrassed that I didn't really notice all this before.

Food for thought, huh?

Namaste,
Lee

Morning Rising - A YA fantasy adventure with a lesbian love story

2011-11-17T03:04:00.000-08:00

By Samantha Boyette

"In the ever present dusk of Inbetween, Kara Hart wakes up dirty and alone with the memory of a girl named Dylan. She remembers meeting Dylan and how her heart beat when Dylan touched her face, but nothing else. When Kara is sent to Demitar, the evil ruler of Inbetween, the truth is revealed. She is Dylan’s Guardian and neither of them are who they thought they were.

Set in a darker version our own world, Morning Rising follows Kara as she tries to save Dylan from Demitar’s clutches. She is given three days to find Dylan and get her out of Inbetween before she belongs to Demitar forever. Memories must be regained and powers restored if they have a chance of escaping. Each memory and sighting of Dylan helps Kara remember the love they once shared. If only she can help Dylan remember before it’s too late."

Self-published by the author for the nook and kindle, you can read the first two chapters of "Morning Rising" here. And add your own review in comments!

Today is the 13th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance

2011-11-16T03:03:00.000-08:00

You can go here to see a list of events all over the world observing this year's Transgender Day of Remembrance:

From their website:

The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, an action that current media doesn’t perform. Day of Remembrance publicly mourns and honors the lives of our brothers and sisters who might otherwise be forgotten. Through the vigil, we express love and respect for our people in the face of national indifference and hatred. Day of Remembrance reminds non-transgender people that we are their sons, daughters, parents, friends and lovers. Day of Remembrance gives our allies a chance to step forward with us and stand in vigil, memorializing those of us who’ve died by anti-transgender violence.

So much still to do in making our world a better place for all of us, including the Transgender members of our community!

Namaste,
Lee

Gay slur costs Brett Ratner the Oscar producing job - and how that's a good thing

2011-11-15T03:02:00.000-08:00

The Academy Award telecast is a big deal. After the Superbowl, it's pretty much the second biggest televised event in the U.S.A. (last year had 37.6 million viewers). In fact, it's watched all around the world. This year, for the February 2012 broadcast, there was a new producer hired to take over the Oscars, Brett Ratner.

During a Q&A session prior to a screening of his film Tower Heist in Los Angeles November 4, 2012, Ratner said

"rehearsal's for fags."

The fallout for him saying that - for that flippant bit of homophobia - continued even after his apology, until only a few days later, he stepped down from the Oscars job.

What's good about this homophobic moment and it's aftermath?

Well, for one thing, it's a loud and clear statement that putting down GLBTQ people is no longer acceptable. We'll start with that being true in the entertainment industry, and hopefully it will spread from there.

And two, it may a turning point - at least for Brett. He's teaming up now with GLAAD, and together they're planning

"public discussions featuring leaders in the entertainment industry that will address anti-LGBT jokes and slurs in films and on television today as well as their trickle-down effect into popular culture."

So the upcoming Oscars won't be produced by Brett Ratner (and Eddie Murphy, who was to host, has also withdrawn from the show.) And it's all because of a gay slur.

Words have power. And I for one am glad we're starting to hold people accountable for their words of hate.

Namaste,
Lee

ps - the Oscars telecast is moving on, with Brian Grazer taking over Brett Ratner's producing role, and Billy Crystal hosting for what will be the ninth time.

A Newsletter!

2011-11-14T03:00:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed the cute new sign-up box on the top left column of this blog?

I'm launching a new twice-a-month newsletter to share an overview of my latest "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" posts, news about my speaker visits, and an inspirational gem.

The first issue goes out tomorrow, and I'd be delighted if you would sign up! You can enter your e-mail address in the Lee Wind Newsletter subscribe box (top left) or visit the google group page to add your e-mail address here.

Current laws don't allow anyone to collect e-mail addresses for youth under 18, so if you're under 18, there's the option of subscribing via feedburner to this blog, and following me on facebook and twitter. You'll get much of the same information, just not put together in tidy two-week packages. But heck, you're teenagers, and you know that life isn't tidy. Thanks!

*** Correction, Wednesday November 20, 2011***

Turns out the law is a restriction on collecting email addresses of children under 13. So for blog readers 13-17 years old, you CAN sign up! (Apologies to my 11 and 12 year old readers.) Thanks to the commenter who let me know I was mistaken, and to all of you!

***

Thanks as well to my friend and social media guru Greg Pincus, who helped me figure out the best way to do this newsletter, and to everyone who suggested - and requested - I do one.

And for all of you, thanks for reading!

Namaste,
Lee

Holiday Party edition of our Kid Lit Drink Night - Los Angeles (and photos from our Halloween Costume Bash!)

2011-11-11T03:05:00.000-08:00

Join other writers, illustrators, agents, editors, bloggers, librarians, educators, and people who just love children's and teen literature at a Kid Lit Community Holiday Party!

Cash Bar

(pay as you order),

Cookies

(bring and share),

Books for needy kids

(donate unwrapped books, picture-books through YA, and feel all holiday-festive!)

Sat. December 3, 2011

from 5p.m. - 8p.m.

at The Wellesbourne
10929 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064
(Across the street from the Landmark Theater and the Westside Pavilion Mall)

Your Picture Books through Middle Grade Novels will be donated to Knox Elementary School in South Central Los Angeles. They're a new school, and even though they don't have a librarian, their Principal, Ms. Ward, is a huge advocate of reading and has teachers take their students to the library to check out the books. They're incredible excited at the prospect of more and new books for their kids! New and gently used books are fine, ARCs are fine, and donating more than one book is better than fine!

Your Young Adult books will be donated to needy youth as well, and we'll announce the details of that as soon as we can.

***UPDATE SATURDAY DEC 3 - THE DAY OF THE PARTY!***

I got confirmation from Janet Seary, the principal of Central High School/Tri-C, that they would love to accept our YA book donations. They are a continuation school serving at risk youth, and they have 29 classrooms all across the LA school district. There is no main library for these 600-800 students, but each classroom tries to have some books for their teens. The teachers will choose which ones they want for their classrooms from the donations brought.

I'm very excited that we now have two very worthy schools to accept all the books that get donated during our holiday party!

And there's also a YA On the same day, you can also attend Carol M. Tanzman's book launch party for Dancergirl, a young adult thriller published by Harlequin Teen. Carol's book launch is happening from 4 to 6 PM this Saturday at the Curve Line Space Gallery/Frame Store at 1577 Colorado Blvd. in Eagle Rock. Lots of people are planning to attend both. We actually extended the time of the Holiday Party so everyone could!

This event will feature live performances, Brooklyn Treats by Eagle Rock Bakery, book sales by Skylight Books, and, of course, Carol and her new book, Dancergirl!

***

It's going to be an amazing time. Just check out how much fun we had at the Halloween Costume event!

This is my writing group: Sara Wilson Etienne (as Harriet The Spy), Rita Crayon Huang (as Bunnicula) and myself (as the artwork from "The Dot")

Check out more of the amazing costumes from the party:

Kid Lit people are the best. Thanks to Rita Crayon Huang for the great photographs. Kid Lit Drink Night - Los Angeles is always so much fun, and we hope you join us for our (and your) Holiday party!

You can RSVP (and see who else is planning on attending) at the party facebook page here, or in comments on this blog.

Namaste,
Lee

Awake - A GLBTQ Teen Anthology

2011-11-10T03:04:00.000-08:00

Edited by Tracey Pennington, with a forward by Kathe Koja

Awake features four novellas by some wonderful authors...

Worth Waiting For, by Nancy Garden
When a young lesbian, Marina, falls in love and joins a gay-straight alliance, she learns just how her beloved, very religious mom feels about gay people, and is faced with an agonizing decision.

A Line in the Sand, by Robin Reardon
What could have been just another summer vacation on Hilton Head Island for 15-year-old, out-and-proud Dustin Hamilton takes turn after turn as his infatuation for the exotic Randy Aziz spins him in different directions. Dustin's clear but unspoken challenge to Randy, “Come out of the closet for me, just for a week,” receives first a tentative and then a joyful “Yes!” from Randy. The boys spend days, and a very special evening, on the beach together, learning that their lives are similar in some surprising ways. But coming out takes Randy in a direction neither boy predicted. It's a summer the boys—and their families—will never forget.

Shattered Diamonds, by Jordan Taylor
Told from the point of view of the bully who has made the effort to view the video journal entries of the boy he and his friends have unmercifully harassed. The story painfully inches toward the bully’s epiphany: “The truth—that tiny, precise spark which occasionally crosses my path—is that I do not know how to face his mother and say, ‘I killed your son.’”

Pervert, by Brian Katcher
The unnamed protagonist secretly dresses in his mother’s and his sister’s clothes and suffers the shame that attends any realization that one’s physical gender is just simply “wrong.” But the boy’s sister comes to the rescue and actually accepts him to the point of dressing him up herself. His sister concludes: “Sometimes holding something inside can just eat you up. Sometimes a secret isn’t so hard to deal with if you share it with someone.”

And here's something else really great about this anthology: all net proceeds will benefit The Trevor Project, the 24 hour lifeline for GLBTQ & Allied youth in crisis at 1-866-4-U-TREVOR (1-866-488-7386.)

Add your review of "Awake" in comments!

Transgender People Undergoing Forced Sterilization in... Sweden? (And France, the Netherlands, Australia, and some U.S. States)!!!

2011-11-09T03:03:00.000-08:00

It's shocking how gender non-conformity is so threatening.

I had no idea this was going on. Check out this article at Huffington Post Gay Voices, about transgender actress Aleksa Lundberg and how she's fighting the laws that force transgender people like her to never be biological parents.

Wow.

Evidently, Italy and Germany just overturned similar laws.

There's lots of work still to do, and lots injustice still to fight.

Namaste,
Lee

p.s. - My thanks to Karol for sharing this with me, so I could share it with all of you.

Letters! (Some of my favorite things...)

2011-11-08T03:02:00.000-08:00

"Thank You" letters from sixth graders

I recently got this batch of letters from students who participated in my Smashing Stereotypes Workshops. They're sixth graders at an independent school in Los Angeles, and clearly they were given the assignment "write a thank you letter to our speaker." No matter the motivation for writing me, reading their thoughts about what they learned, and how the workshop effected them, is pretty awesome.

Here are ten of my favorites:

"Dear Mr. Wind,
Thank you so much for coming to talk to us. Your "Smashing Stereotypes" workshop was amazing. It was inspiring. I've had people tease me about going to a private school and for being too white because my whole building is Latino. I am Latino. But now I feel like I have the power to stand up to them. Thank you so much! Namaste,"

"Dear Mr. Wind,
Thank you so much for sharing "Smashing Stereotypes" with us. I really appreciated the time and hard work you put into making the presentation. I enjoyed the part where we put the stereotypes on the sticky notes and them crumpled them to show we were "smashing" them. I will remember the part when you said that people need to know more than one thing about a person to then know all about them. Your presentation will help me throughout my life. Namaste,"

"Dear Mr. Wind,
Thank you so much for coming to our school to explain stereotypes to us. To me this is a very important concept that isn't recognized in our messed up world. One of my stereotyped traits is that I am Persian. In addition to that, I am a Jew. I am very proud of my heritage but once someone asked me if I was a terrorist and I felt horrible after that. Since then, I have always been against racial profiling and have tried to help as best I can because of my past experiences. What really stood out to me were the examples of gay men or kids who actually killed themselves or were killed. I really think that it was amazing and must be stopped. I also liked how you gave us an activity that was really important. I think I took away many things form [sic] your lesson, however, I thought that one stereotype that you may consider putting in your presentation is the one about Muslims being terrorists. Thank you so much once again for coming. Sincerely,"

"Dear Mr. Wind,
Thank you so much for coming in. I really enjoyed your talk because I have been the butt of some racist jokes before. You are a great speaker and really touched on many different aspects of stereotypes. You did a great job and it was one of the highlights of my week. Thanks."

"Dear, Mr. Wind
You have taught me soo much and now I know how tough it can be to be bullied. Thank you so much for taking time out of your schedual [sic.]"

"Dear Mr. Wind,
Thank you so much for coming to 6th grade to talk to us about "Smashing Stereotypes." I think that it was very important for our class to hear about the children who committed suicide and others who were killed. It helped us understand that bullying is completely wrong and that people shouldn't be teased for being who they are. What really stood out to me is that you didn't just focus on the negative things; you also focused on positive things. I learned that just everyone should just accept who people are and that everyone is a bit different from another. Everyone has a stereotype like if you are blonde you are dumb, or if you are Latino you are a laborer, or if you are Jewish you have an accent. Your presentation taught me a bit more how stereotypes have been proved completely wrong. I was inspired by your presentation and it helped me and my classmates smash stereotypes. Yours Truly,"

"Dear Mr. Wind,
Thank you so much, for coming to our class to talk to us about stereotypes. Like you, I'm glad we talked about it this year and no later. I loved how you made us stomp on the stereotypes, and I especially enjoyed the video you showed us. It's a very good thing you're doing, teaching kids that there is always hope. Namaste, THANK YOU!"

"Dear Mr. Wind,
Thank you for coming to present your workshop. Your presentation was very well put together and really stood out to me. I really liked how you showed us all of these pictures and now I have a completely different outlook on gay and lesbian people. I took away with me that everyone is different in a good way. Thank you again sooooooooooo much. Namaste,"

"Dear Mr. Wind,
Thank you so much for coming to [our school] and presenting your amazing workshop. Smashing Stereotypes made me really think about all the crazy stenotypes [sic] that go on in this world. I really appreciate the program you run and how you stand for people who are being treated badly. You made me, personally, really want to make a stand for stereotypes and "smash" them to. I loved how you told us to write down stereotypes and then step on them and smash them at the end. You made me think a lot about everything and every story you told. Tango makes three really stood out to me. It's crazy how it is the most DANGOUOUS [sic] book in the WORLD! I loved the presentation and what you stand for. Thank you so much for coming. It made an impact on [our] school. Namaste,"

"Dear Mr. Wind,
First of all, thank you so much for coming in to speak with us. I [heart] every thing you stand 4. I made me start thinkin' real hard, why is there sooo much HATE in this world? I thought and I thought, but, I couldn't come to a logical conclusion. However, what I did come to a logical conclusion about was that if we all try hard we can bring LOVE into this world. Your whole presentation reminded me of a famous M.L.K. Jr. quote "Hate cannot drive out hate, only [heart] can do that." What you do is so kind, and when you talked you had so much passion. THANK YOU FOR TEACHING ME THAT EVERY STORY DESERVES A HAPPILY EVER AFTER! Namaste,"

I love doing these workshops, engaging with students and empowering them to change our world for the better. And I loved getting these letters in the mail.
Thanks for letting me share.

Namaste,
Lee

Conan O'Brien Officiates A Gay Wedding On His TV Show

2011-11-07T02:50:00.000-08:00

This was awesome to watch.

Thanks Conan, and Scott and David, for sharing this moment with over three quarters of a million viewers. And with us.

Enjoy,

Oh, the world is changing for the better.

Namaste,
Lee

And thanks to my husband for sharing it with me. I'd marry you again, cameras or no cameras.

The ACLU walks you through HOW TO START A Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Club at YOUR School!

2011-11-04T03:05:00.000-07:00

I really liked this video, and hope you find it useful:

Good Luck with your GSA!

Namaste,
Lee

85A - A gay punk-rock 1980s novel

2011-11-03T03:04:00.000-07:00

By Kyle Thomas Smith

It’s a subzero Chicago morning on January 23, 1989, and Seamus is at his fighting best. Braving the bitter cold at the 85A bus stop, Seamus rails against his repressive environment in anticipation of his “the-minute-I-turn-18” move to London.

Liberated by failure when kicked out of school for yet another late appearance, Seamus makes a break for London via an Amtrak to the mean streets of Late Eighties Manhattan.

Add your review of 85A in comments!

Gender 101, episode #16: The Alien Abduction Question

2011-11-02T03:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, my conversation with our gender-queer friend Lucy really is about Masculinity, Femininity and Androgyny. About how we identify, on the outside and on the inside. And even about the gender-loaded terms "handsome" and "beautiful."

But the Alien question is in there.

Thanks, Lucy!

Namaste,
Lee

The Quarterback's Secret - Pride Pack #3

2011-11-01T03:02:00.000-07:00

By Ruth Sims (writing as R.J. Hamilton)

Set in the mid-1990s, The Pride Pack is a group of teenagers who band together to help each other out in a time before teens were equipped with cell phones, when homework was done in a notebook rather than on a laptop, and when gay-straight alliances were nothing but a pipe dream.

Athletics remain largely homophobic environments. How will his teammates react if 16-year-old baseball pitching star Ben Reis admits he is gay? And so he mostly lies about his sexuality even when he is with the Pride Pack at the local gay and lesbian community center. All that may change however as the result of his falling through a sinkhole into an unknown cavern and learning The Quarterback’s Secret ...

This is book three in the Pride Pack series, with the first two, Who Framed Lorenzo Garcia? and The Case Of The Missing Mother being re-issued by Cheyenne Publishing with new covers:

And this is really cool - the author is donating her royalties from all three titles in this series to The Trevor Project.

Add your review of "The Quarterback's Secret" in comments!

The Blair Academy in New Jersey Wrestling Team's It Gets Better Video, and Athlete Ally... Now what about YOUR school's teams?

2011-10-31T03:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

In keeping with the American tradition of trick or treating (kids dressing up in costumes and going door to door to collect candy...) this post is divided up into one trick and one treat.

First, the treat:

Check out this amazing (and under one minute) It Gets Better Video, by the wrestling team at Blair Academy:

And Athlete Ally (started by Hudson Taylor) has a pledge on their home page:

I pledge to lead my athletic community to respect and welcome all persons, regardless of their perceived or actual sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Beginning right now, I will do my part to promote the best of athletics by making all players feel respected on and off the field.

I think that's pretty amazing.

Then, the trick:

Here's a video of Hudson doing a crazy-impressive card trick!

Now, the changing our world for the better:

So how about it? What about YOUR sports teams at your school? Can you and your GSA club team up with them and encourage them to sign this pledge? Can they make an It Gets Better video?

Hudson and these athletes at Blair are leading the way, and making things better.

Let's join them!

Namaste,
Lee

Rachel Maddow and the blog Good As You catch the anti-gay marriage campaign FAKING support in New Hampshire

2011-10-28T03:05:00.000-07:00

Check this video out, it's outrageous:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

And get this, at the Good As You blog, they show how after two days the anti-gay marriage organization took down the fake anti-gay rights photo Rachel showed above and replaced it with... wait for it... a photo from the New York City march against gay marriage. Um, still not actually showing support in New Hampshire for taking away gay people's right to marry.

It's so important for us to be savvy consumers of media and advertising, and this story really highlights how critical it is to have reporters and bloggers and the media as watchdogs to catch these kinds of tricks and expose them.

I love how Rachel says "Caught You!" at the end.

Yeah. We sure did.

Namaste,
Lee

ps- thanks to Kathryn for the heads-up about this!

Good News! I'm the new Captain of Team Blog and the new official Blogger for SCBWI!

2011-10-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

I'm very excited to finally announce that the organization I adore so much, the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), is now an even bigger part of my journey, as I am part of theirs!

As of ten minutes ago my first post as their new official blogger is up at the newly re-designed SCBWI: THE BLOG.

Don't fear - I'll still be blogging here daily Monday through Friday, 50 weeks a year!

Blogging for SCBWI will let me do more and blog more in the world of children's literature, and I'm very grateful for that opportunity!

I hope you continue to share the adventure...

Namaste,
Lee

Gender 101, episode #15: transsexual, transgender, and drag queen/drag king

2011-10-26T03:03:00.000-07:00

Join me for episode #15 - where Lucy defines and distinguishes between the terms "Transsexual," "Transgender," "Drag King" and "Drag Queen."

The movie Lucy mentions is "Paris is Burning" - I watched it years ago, and remember it being fascinating and really entertaining.

As always with these discussions, I learned so much. And I'm delighted to share these videos with all of you.

Namaste,
Lee

"Pop-It" by Raghava KK - an ipad picture book app I wish I'd had when I was a child

2011-10-25T03:02:00.000-07:00

Check out this great TED talk that's less than 5 minutes:

It's how I heard about "Pop-It" - a charming non-narrative word-less app for the youngest kids (pre-school, really) that shows a family potty training, looking in a mirror, changing a diaper, at bath and play time. There are fun things readers can do by touching the screen - make the parent giggle, have the child make a silly face, have a baby elephant tiptoe out from behind a chair. The sound effects are a nice element, and they compliment the quirky illustrations.

But the real power of this picture book app is what happens when you shake the entire ipad. The two dad family becomes a two mom family. And then the two mom family becomes a one-mom-one-dad family. And then that one-mom-and-one-dad family becomes a two dad family again!

The story starts out showing the child with two dads

Shake the ipad, and the two dads transform to two moms!

That shift of perspective, and it's thematic message that love (and potty training, etc...) is the same in all kinds of families, is mind-blowing in both its simplicity and power.

I'm really excited about this picture book app, and I wish I'd had it to read and shake and read and shake when I was a little kid.

My thanks to Sarinah for letting me know about this, so I could share it with all of you!

Namaste,
Lee

Samuel comes out about the conversion therapy he faced at the hands of his own parents

2011-10-24T03:00:00.001-07:00

It's pretty harrowing:

Whoa.

The father beating him.

The lies about how he was the last gay person in the country (the government had tracked down and killed the rest) and if they found him they'd kill him, too.

The moment with his mother on the roof - "I'll love you again if you change."

It's so sad that his parents can't accept their child for who he authentically is. As Samuel says,

"I can't change what I never chose."

Yes.

And that's the choice - not to be gay or not be gay, but if you are gay you choice is that you can either lie, or be authentic.

Kudos to Samuel for being authentic, and for telling his story to help let others know they're not alone.

This video was posted as part of the I'm From Driftwood project.

We have much still to do.

Namaste,
Lee

"Shine" by Lauren Myracle... It's not a National Book Award Finalist after all, but maybe it can be a best-seller

2011-10-21T03:05:00.000-07:00

By Lauren Myracle

Cat is 16 when her best friend Patrick, a gay 17 year old, is murdered. And now she's determined to discover who in her small Southern town did it.

"...a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery."

"Shine" is very much in the news because last week it was announced as one of the five young adult novel finalists for the National Book Award. And then, it was revealed that it was mistakenly short-listed, because it's title, Shine, is so close to the actual fifth book on the list of finalists, Chime, by Franny Billingsley. So then they said that Lauren's book could stay on the list of finalists due to the book's merit, and there would be six finalists (but "Shine" clearly wouldn't be the winner.) And then later last week, they contacted the author and asked her to withdraw her book from the competetion, "to preserve the integrity of the award and the judges' work." Wow - so poorly handled.

You can read more about the events and hear Lauren's incredibly gracious take on the whole mess in this Vanity Fair article.

The only two good things I can share to come out of this?

The National Book Foundation "has agreed to donate $5,000 to the Matthew Shepard Foundation." (I suppose this is their apology to those of us who felt the subject matter of anti-gay hate crimes shouldn't be dissed in this way.)

And the other good thing is that "Shine" is getting a lot of attention. So maybe it won't win the National Book Award. But I think it has a pretty good chance of becoming a best seller.

What do you think? And add your review of "Shine" in comments!

Namaste,
Lee

Today is Spirit Day - Wear Purple to support LGBTQ Youth!

2011-10-20T03:00:00.000-07:00

Millions of Americans wear purple on Spirit Day as a sign of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth and to speak out against bullying. Spirit Day was started in 2010 by teenager Brittany McMillan as a response to the young people who had taken their own lives. Observed annually on October 20, individuals, schools, organizations, corporations, media professionals and celebrities wear purple, which symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag. Getting involved is easy -- participants are asked to simply "go purple" on October 20.

Here's more info on Spirit Day from the folks at GLAAD.

And remember, if you or someone you know is in crisis, there's someone to talk to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year (366 days in leap year) at the Trevor Project lifeline, 1-866-4-U-TREVOR (1-866-488-7386).

It does get better - you get stronger, and our world is changing. And one way things are getting better is that days like this happen.

So wear purple with me, won't you?

Namaste,
Lee

Gender 101, Episode #14: Genderfork.com

2011-10-19T03:00:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend I did my Smashing Stereotypes workshop at the Los Angeles Models of Pride conference, the largest queer and allied youth conference ever - with over 1,100 young people attending, and separate tracks for parents and educators. My workshop went great - overflowing the seats available, and we all had a great shared experience.

It was an amazing day (I kept thinking how this would have rocked my world when I was a teen) - and at the lunchtime resource fair, I ran into a good friend:

Genderfork.com is a super resource.

One of my favorite quotes of the genderfork readers I didn't grab an in-focus photo of read:

"I decided that my gender is 'dragon.' I mean, it's 'technically' genderqueer but I have dubbed my own personal flavour as 'dragon.' Because dragons make everything better, are awesome, and come in a whole boatload of varieties." - Anonymous

I'm so happy to learn more about genderfork, and to share that info with you!

Thanks, Benji!
Namaste,
Lee

Lesbian couple of 30 years arrested after being denied Marriage License in North Carolina

2011-10-18T03:02:00.000-07:00

A call to action...

You can find out more about the campaign for Southern Equality here.

Namaste,
Lee

Sex, Gender and Bathroom Signs - a fascinating article to check out

2011-10-17T03:05:00.000-07:00

This post over at The Society Pages' Sociological Images was so interesting!

It looks at different bathroom signs across the world (with lots of photos!) and analyzes what's going on - the confusion between sex and gender,

the assumed universality of men (that they can represent "mankind") and the presumed lesser value of women (they they can only represent other women)

Where men are men and women are 'wo' - This makes me want to spell 'women' as 'womyn!'

and most of all, that looking at how washroom signs segregate people who need to pee can be a window into how societies construct gender.

Stereotype Jackpot: The 'girl' image is thinking about shopping, and the 'boy' image is thinking about football.

It's very thought-provoking. I encourage you to check it out!

Namaste,
Lee

ps - My thanks to Sara Ryan for sharing this!

Resource Link-A-Palooza! (Links and Resources from my SAFE SPACE Assemblies)

2011-10-14T03:05:00.000-07:00

That's me, talking about "SAFE SPACE: Ending Anti-Gay Bullying in our Culture... and at YOUR School" on Wednesday of this week, up in Oregon at Corvallis High School

The last two weeks have been packed with speaking visits, including giving my Smashing Stereotypes workshops to the entire sixth grade at Brentwood School in Los Angeles, sharing an Empowering Diversity session with the Los Angeles Independent School Counselors, and flying up to Corvallis, Oregon to do my “SAFE SPACE: Ending Anti-Gay Bullying in our Culture… and at YOUR School” program four times – once at the amazing Corvallis Benton County Public Library and a full day of three packed presentations to students at the Corvallis High School’s Black Box Theater …I also met with two different groups of teens at the library, hung out with the coolest of librarians and GSA Advisors, and even had lunch with students from Corvallis High’s GSA.
I’ll blog separately about my trip to Corvallis, but for now let me share what I promised in my talks – links to the many, many, many resources I shared.

For those of you who weren’t at one of these presentations, there’s still lots of great stuff here for you to browse. And if you want to get a taste of what my presentations are like, you can go here to see video highlights of both my Smashing Stereotypes Workshop and My SAFE SPACE Assembly. And/or, you can have your school, library or group contact me and we’ll see if I can bring my programs to you… If that’s the case, please email me at iamleewind (at) gmail (dot) com.

And now, without too much further ado, here are some links and resources I shared:

The Chimamanda Adichie TED Talk on the danger of stereotypes being a single story.

The quote by Holocaust Survivor Martin Niemoller

"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

-Martin Niemoller

Hug of Shame 1

Hug of Shame 2

Hazing in Pro Baseball

Oregon's Constitutional Amendment 5a

HB 2599 – Oregon Safe Schools Act

Basic Rights Oregon

PFLAG Oregon

The picture book “King and King”by Linda de Haan & Stern Nijland is the picture book about two princes falling in love that was used in the anti-gay marriage Prop 8 commerical.

The Most Dangerous Book In America, “And Tango Makes Three”

Harvey Milk speech

The two wonderful films about Harvey Milk that I mentioned are The Times Of Harvey Milk, a documentary that won the Academy Award (for best documentary) back in 1984. And Milk, a 2008 biopic that won two Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor (Sean Penn as Milk.)

The Corvallis Benton County Public Library has amazing librarians and a great website (check out their url: www.thebestlibrary.net !) with super lists of books for teens. Oh, and check out their LGBTQ Teen Graphic Novel/Manga list, too!

http://lgbthistorymonth.com is the site for the 31 Days. 31 Icons. October celebration of LGBT History. I have lots more info on queer history on my blog here and here.

Facing History and Ourselves is the organization I mentioned that coined the term UPstanders. They have lots of great resources and programs, and here’s their website.

The New York Times series on Coming Out and the Salon series “Interview With My Bully” are fascinating reading.

I mentioned former NBA player John Amaechi's talk on prejudice and diversity - here are more of my notes from attending his presentation.

Here’s the abstract on the study published in “Pediatrics” on “The Social Environment and Suicide Attempts in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Youth” that showed better outcomes for all students from a more queer-accepting environment.

The Trevor Project runs a 24 hr crisis lifeline for GLBTQ and questioning youth – the lifeline is 1-866-4-U-TREVOR, 1-866-488-7386 and their website is: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/

Some of my favorite “It Gets Better” videos are collected here: The project website and their pledge

Everyone deserves to be respected for who they are. I pledge to spread this message to my friends, family and neighbors. I'll speak up against hate and intolerance whenever I see it, at school and at work. I'll provide hope for lesbian, gay, bi, trans and other bullied teens by letting them know that "It Gets Better."

is at: www.itgetsbetter.org/

I'll just pull out two to share in this list: My own It Gets Better video, and the "It Gets Better" - Broadway sings for the Trevor Project song I shared at the end of my sessions.

Thanks for being such great audiences. I hope each one of you chooses to be an UPstander - and then together we can change our world for the better!

Namaste,
Lee

The Mortal Instruments Series - YA Fantasy with a Significant Gay Teen Character

2011-10-13T03:04:00.000-07:00

By Cassandra Clare

Clary is 15 when she goes to the Pandemonium Club in New York City and witnesses a murder committed by three teens - Jace, Alec and Isabelle, who are covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air.

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

I really liked author Justine Larbalestier's blurb for it:

"City of Bones has everything: vampires, werewolves, faeries, true love, and stuff that blows up. What's more, Clare's characters are brilliant -- she better not kill any of them off in the next two volumes!"

And at the end of this first book, one of the significant characters is revealed to be gay. (More info on this in the spoiler section, below)

It's a series that's projected to be six books:

City of Bones (Book One) - the publisher's description is above

City of Ashes (Book Two)

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go -- especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil -- and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings -- and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

City of Glass (Book Three)

Clary has to use all her ingenuity and newfound magical skills to get herself to the Glass City in Idris, the secretive Shadowhunters’ home country, where she is forbidden to go—for it is only there that she can find the cure to her mother’s enchanted sleeping sickness.

When Valentine attacks the city and destroys the demon towers, Clary and her allies are all who stand between him and the total annihilation of all Shadowhunters. Love is a mortal sin and the past tangles inextricably with the present as Clary and Jace face down their father in this third volume of The Mortal Instruments.

City of Fallen Angels (Book Four)

Who will be tempted by darkness? Who will fall in love, and who will find their relationship torn apart? And who will betray everything they ever believed in?

City of Lost Souls (Book Five) - to be published 5/1/12

City of Heavenly Fire (Book Six) - to be published 9/1/13

You can read the beginning of City of Bones, Book One here for free. And you can add your review of any and all books in the Mortal Instruments series in comments!

And as promised, here's the spoiler section of this post - with more info on the gay character. If you want to be surprised, don't read on until you've finished "City of Bones!"

On the Mortal Instruments website there's an interview with the author which includes this question, "Why did you decide to make Alec gay?"

Here's her answer:

Why did I decide to make Isabelle straight? I didn't go into writing Alec thinking "there must be a gay character in this story." As Alec's character evolved, I realized that he always seemed to be angry about something and that he seemed to dislike Clary more than made sense. That he was in love with Jace explained both things about him, and suddenly I understood his character better. Once I did, I knew I very much wanted it not to be the only character note about him. Alec is a good guy, a great friend, an excellent demon hunter, and has a terrible dress sense. He's just also gay.

I love her answer!

Enjoy the series,
Namaste,
Lee

Gender 101, Episode #13: Presenting & Passing

2011-10-12T03:03:00.000-07:00

Join me as I continue the conversation with Benji, my gender-variant friend, as we dive into the issues of "presenting" - as cis or trans or other, and "passing" - being perceived as non-queer when you are queer. We even play with the lexicon, minting some new words to describe love:

You can get those "Legalize Trans" t-shirts Benji mentioned here.

I'm learning so much from these discussions (I'd never even heard of Queer Femme before.) Fascinating stuff!

Thanks, Benji.

Namaste,
Lee

National Coming Out Day 2011 - Standing Up For What We Know Is Right: A Guest Post By Martha Brockenbrough

2011-10-11T03:02:00.000-07:00

In honor of National Coming Out Day this year, I want to focus on how important it is for our GLBTQ Allies to stand up, speak out and come out in support of what we know is the right thing to do. Sometimes that can be really challenging, especially in a culture steeped too long in homophobia and gender stereotypes. But when people do stand up, it is a joyous and remarkable thing. The kind of thing that gives me hope, and powerfully changes our world for the better.

Below is a guest post by my friend, author and fellow SCBWI Team Blogger Martha Brockenbrough.

Her story inspired me... and I know it will inspire you, too.

Qui tacit consentit. Through silence, consent. I first encountered this expression in college and it struck a deep chord with me. It summarized that feeling I had in high school when the cool boys in the cafeteria were ragging on one of my friends for being gay. It also echoed what I’d learned much earlier, when reading “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

It resonates with all of us on some level. Why else would an expression in a dead language live on?

In the twenty years since I first met the words, I’ve tried to live by them. It’s sometimes harder than others. On Facebook when I post things in support of my gay, lesbian, transgendered and otherwise “other” friends, my own friend count goes down. Good riddance, I think. They were never my friends to begin with.

It’s a bit harder in real life. Do you speak your views at work? What about at your kids’ school, where they might suffer the consequences? My livelihood depends on my having readers. My kids’ success in life depends on their doing well in school.

And yet, the truth remains: through silence, consent.

So I start conversations, sometimes in person, and sometimes via emails like this one, which I wrote after watching a play put on by the kids in my daughter’s fourth-grade class:

That was so much fun and such a great way to celebrate what the kids have been studying. I was amazed at the risks the kids took on stage. They were so gutsy and it really worked.

There is one thing, though, that I've been continuing to think about all weekend, and that was [a particular student’s] tall tale. It was cute and clever, but the bulk of the humor relied on certain gender stereotypes. Boys aren't supposed to like dolls and flowers. It made me think of a boy in one of the lower grades who really loves playing with dolls and traditionally girl things, and how he has sometimes suffered as a result. Putting that on stage, in a way, legitimizes mocking kids who don't fit gender and possibly sexual identity norms. The resolution defied that somewhat, though it was more his size and less about his interests that drove the conclusion.

I'm sure this wasn't intentional on [the student’s] part. She defies a lot of stereotypes herself, and regularly has to defend her interest in cross-gender friendships. I think it's more a symptom that the kids know what's funny--and to a certain extent at this age, funny = making fun of differences.

I wouldn't have changed a thing about the roundup. It was truly brilliant.

But it might indicate the kids are ready to examine certain types of humor. What makes something "funny" can often be quite hurtful when stereotypes are at the heart of things. It's nothing new. Aeschylus made fun of the disabled in his plays--that was standard. There are alternative forms of humor, though. The kids might enjoy learning about them, and it might save some truly vulnerable children a bit of pain.

I sent the email to both fourth grade teachers and waited in vain for a response. They didn’t acknowledge the email. They did not speak to me about it on the class overnight the next week. They haven’t spoken to me about it in the times we’ve run into each other at the store or at community events. It’s as if I’d never spoken up, as if what I have to say doesn’t matter.

This is, I know, a taste of what it’s like to belong to a minority group. There’s a certain kind of unpleasant invisibility—the feeling that the contents of your heart aren’t important enough to be acknowledged. There’s a definite message that you should be silent. Go along or shut up.

It was a disappointing experience, to say the least, and one that made me that much more sympathetic to the people who are always being asked to keep themselves and their lives hidden away.

I don’t belong to any particular minority group myself. I’m a middle-aged, middle-class mom with two kids and two dogs. I’m a Y-chromosome away from being The Man, actually. This makes it all the more important that the likes of us speak up. The more we do, the harder it will be for people to keep silencing and marginalizing people who aren’t in the majority. I can’t control whether anyone listens to what I say, but I surely don’t have to consent to the mistreatment of my fellow human beings.

Ultimately, we took both of our children out of that school, not because there was anything wrong with the classroom education they were receiving, but rather, because the culture permitted rampant unkindness, including the mocking of people based on their differences.

It wasn’t the school’s official position, of course. But it was the one people slouched toward, because it takes more time and energy to stick to standards than it does to shrug off or ignore bad behavior. It's uncomfortable, and people would rather avoid their own discomfort than acknowledge the far deeper pain of others.

Our departure won’t change the school in any way, I’m sure. But that’s beyond my control. It always was. The more important thing was that I didn’t let the school change me. I did not consent to anything I knew to be wrong. In the process, I’ve shown my kids there are always other choices than to consent—and that the world, instead of getting smaller for what you’ve left behind—expands accordingly.

What an amazing woman - I'm really proud to know her. Thank you Martha!

And f you're considering coming out, the Human Rights Campaign has a lot of online resources to help. (And yes, they even have a guide for straight supporters!)

Happy National Coming Out Day!
Namaste,
Lee

Help The Students at Sequoyah High School In Tennessee Get A GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance Club) And Feel Safer!

2011-10-10T03:00:00.000-07:00

Chris wore this t-shirt to support his sister and to try and get a GSA club at their high school.

Here's what happened.

When several students at Sequoyah High School in Madisonville, Tennessee tried to start a Gay-Straight Alliance club after years of bullying, their principal said no. When the students circulated a petition and gathered 150 student signatures supporting the club, the principal banned petitions. When this brought local media scrutiny and the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the administration blocked the club based on its failure to secure an advisor. Although the students found teachers who seemed supportive and willing to serve as advisers, all eventually withdrew without explanation.

Now, according to the ACLU, Principal Moser has allegedly assaulted one student, Chris Sigler, for wearing a handmade shirt that read “GSA: We’ve got your back” – grabbing his arm and chest-bumping him while asking “Who’s the big man now?”

Despite the complaint filed by Chris and his mother, the Sheriff’s Department has failed to interview his sister, who witnessed the alleged assault, or his mother, who witnessed additional behavior from the principal.

And the students at Sequoyah High don't have a GSA. Yet.

Want to help?

You can sign a joint petition by the Tennessee Equality Project and Gay-Straight Alliance Network’s Make It Better Project that demands

that the Sheriff’s Department fully investigate this incident, and further, that Monroe County Schools approve the GSA, state that teachers who agree to advise the GSA will not face repercussions (as demanded by the TN ACLU), and address the hostile environment that LGBTQ students face at Sequoyah.

You can also send a letter to Director of Schools Mike Lowry from the ACLU website - and customize it with your own words. (My own take on that: be courteous but firm.)

You can find out more here at the ACLU site and sign the petition here at change.org.

This is a great reminder of how we have to stand up for others... and let's help the GLBTQ and Allied students at Sequoyah High School get a GSA and feel safer!

Namaste,
Lee