Party Party Parrrr-ty! The Heart and Soul Celebration

Wowsa. We children's lit folks know how to boogie on down. And have a great time. Maybe it's because writing and illustrating can feel like such solitary pursuits, when you get a critical mass going (and yes, more than 1,100 of us *IS* critical mass) we can generate some amazing costumes, dance moves, and talk waaaaaay into the night.

Here are some highlights of the evening, costume-wise, silliness-wise, and of course, connecting and hanging out with the most awesome tribe ever - the community of children's literature!

Me and the Wonderous Sara Wilson Etienne!



Graham (a.k.a. Doctor Love), Media Guru & Author Greg Pincus, and the fantabulous Rita Crayon Huang

Funny Man and writer Charlie Cohen and the effervescent author Eve Porinchack

Agents galore! From Left to right: Jill Corcoran, Tracy and Josh Adams, and gate-crasher Barry Goldblatt

And then, hours into the party, I had to blink hard to make sure I was seeing things properly, from my bats-eye view:



See what I mean? If you flip it upside down, you'll see Michael Reisman and Jacqui Robbins, in a re-enactment of "Cupid and the reluctant Muse..."

And still, the party charged onwards, taking over the X-bar and talking into the small hours of the morning, where I got to hang out with (among other incredible folk) the amazing Ellen Hopkins!

In addition to learning and networking and growing in our careers, it's important to say just how fun these conferences are - it's a chance to celebrate what an amazing community we are all part of!

Thanks all for a great night!

Lee