News Tidbits from SCBWI

In my latest SCBWI e-newsletter was the news that Scottish writer Julie Bertagna had won the Eco-Prize for her young adult novel Exodus, set in a future version of Glasgow. The book sounded interesting enough on its own for me to want to scrounge my library for it. But then I visited her website and loved reading her comments about her writing process--things every writer can relate to:

I mustn't waste time. But I do. I drop my daughter at school and tell myself I must grab a coffee in Little Italy to jump-start my brain. Staring out of the window at the traffic and flicking through a newspaper or a book is essential. I used to feel guilty about this until a friend told me work rituals are a warm-up for your brain, so now I do it with relish and think smugly of everyone else stuck in their offices and classrooms!

Also, here's a link to First Book's Hurricane Katrina Book Relief Campaign, where you can sponsor a new book for as little as 50 cents.