BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Right now I am trying to think of a title for the next Brixton Brothers book. Here are some possibilities:

Mockingflock
The Mockingjays
Bird Wearing a Mock Turtleneck
Jay Wearing a Mock Turtleneck
Mimus dorsalis

Vote on your favorite! Actually I don't know how to set up one of those voting things and this joke doesn't seem good enough to justify learning. So maybe just read The Ghostwriter Secret!

TWO STARRED REVIEWS FOR GUYS READ: FUNNY BUSINESS

Publishers Weekly calls Guys Read: Funny Business "stellar" and Booklist says it's a "must-have." But why take their word for it when you can check out these guys, who made this video immediately after finishing the book?

THE GHOSTWRITER TOUR

Mac is heading out on the road to read and sign The Ghostwriter Secret. Catch him in Portland, Seattle, or the Bay Area.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9: WORDSTOCK, PORTLAND, OR.

2:00 PM
Reading at the Target Children's Stage
Oregon Convention Center

5:00 PM
Panel: "Writing for Children," with Renee Watson and Mark Williams, moderated by Dana Plautz
Target Children's Stage
Oregon Convention Center
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13: SEATTLE, WA

7:00 PM
Reading at Barnes & Noble
2675 NE University Village Street

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14: SEATTLE, WA

Reading at the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co./826 Seattle
8414 Greenwood Ave North

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19: PETALUMA, CA
4:00PM
Reading at Copperfield's
140 Kentucky St

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10: CORTE MADERA, CA
10:00AM
Book Passage in-store event
51 Tamal Vista Blvd

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16
7:00PM
Reading at Kepler's
1010 El Camino Real

THE GHOSTWRITER SECRET

In the latest Brixton Brothers adventure (out now!) Steve Brixton sets out to rescue his favorite writer from a gang of kidnappers. There's a review from Wired's GeekDad here. Ace!

GUYS READ: FUNNY BUSINESS

Today marks the release of Guys Read: Funny Business, book one of the Guys Read Collection, and it's full of good stories by Eoin Colfer, Christopher Paul Curtis, Kate DiCamillo, Paul Feig, Jack Gantos, Jeff Kinney, David Lubar, Jon Scieszka, and David Yoo. And also Mac Barnett: his story is called "Best of Friends" and is accompanied by this fantastic illustration by Adam Rex:

Grab a copy. We think you'll like it!

EYEWITNESS REPORTS

In celebration of the book Oh No! or How My Science Project Destroyed the World, Dan Santat has organized an online auction of thirty-seven pieces of original art by some of the best illustrators around. Artists created their own interpretations of the book's events: it's a great chance to pick up a fantastic picture of a rampaging robot, giant toad, and other mayhem. The proceeds benefit 826LA, a nonprofit center that gives kids free tutoring and help with their writing. Please, go bid! (image by Chris Appelhans)

Bookie Woogie Review

"Hypnotized Puppies Dressed as Robots," by Lily

The gang at Bookie Woogie (Isaac, Grace, Lily, and, of course, Dad) have posted a review of Macaroni Barnett and Dan Sanitizer's latest, Oh No: Or How My Science Project Destroyed the World. (There's more great art over there, too.)

Book Passage Children's Writers & Illustrators Conference

Terrific Bay Area bookstore Book Passage is hosting its Children's Writers & Illustrators Conference in July, and Mac is on this year's faculty. What is the Children's Writers & Illustrators Conference? Well:

The conference will cover all aspects of writing and illustrating for children—from developing ideas to honing skills to finding a publisher. Students will work closely with other writers and illustrators, as well as with agents, editors, and publishers. The conference is designed to meet the differing needs of those who create for different age groups. Students will choose an area of emphasis for the morning sessions, such as writing for picture books, early readers, young adult books or illustration, and then work with a teacher in a workshop setting. In the afternoon, students choose from panels of common interest, such as working with editors, working with agents, marketing and promotion. There will be many opportunities for faculty and students to talk, laugh, and exchange ideas in classes, lunches, and evening events.

Sign up here.

CLOCK WITHOUT A FACE ON NPR'S WEEKEND EDITION

Click here to listen to Mac Barnett and Eli Horowitz talk about The Clock without a Face on Weekend Edition Saturday with Scott Simon. You'll also hear Christina Wagner, who had her dad drive her across state lines to dig up one of the book's buried treasures.

Two Starred Reviews for OH NO!

KIRKUS REVIEWS - STARRED: Santat’s brilliantly hued digital illustrations are the perfect foil for Barnett’s almost-wordless tale of a science project gone awry. When the bespectacled heroine surveys the post-apocalyptic opening scene, the speech bubbles tell the tale—“Oh no…oh man…I knew it.” Like a 1950s B-movie, complete with the widescreen boundaries, the drama of her prize-winning robot stalking New York is one part cautionary tale and many parts over-the-top humor. When she screams, “HEY, ROBOT! KNOCK IT OFF ALREADY!” the page turn shows her shaky, understated realization, “I should have given it ears.” In a world where technology progresses rapidly and consequences are often not anticipated, this lesson in “I should have” is subtle, never preachy and always action-packed. Comic-book, picture-book and movie styles come together in a well-designed package that includes a movie poster on the reverse side of the jacket, an old-time computation book as the inside cover and detailed scientific drawings on the endpapers. The Japanese subtitles and translations on the pages before the title add to the fun. The only thing missing are the 3-D glasses! A must-have.


PUBLISHERS WEEKLY - STARRED
Santat and Barnett collaborate seamlessly on this slapstick adventure about a pigtailed, bespectacled science fair entrant trying unsuccessfully to control her prize-winning robot. "I probably shouldn't have given it a superclaw, or a laser eye, or the power to control dogs' minds," she sighs as she watches the metallic monster storm across her city. Barnett's (Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem) telegraphic text packs wicked humor into economical, comic book-style lines, while Santat's (Always Lots of Heinies at the Zoo) skylines pay homage to old monster movies. In one scene, the robot looms Godzilla-like, railroad car in hand, over an urban Japantown; another sequence is viewed through its fish-eye lens, with crosshairs trained on its creator. When the robot reacts with fury to the girl's futile attempts to stop it ("I should have given it ears," she laments), the girl and text become blurred, testimony to the impact of its stomps. Blueprints for the robot and the genetically altered toad she deploys to defeat it are included on the endpapers, but, kids, don't try this at home!

Fuse #8 Interview

Click here to read an interview with Mac on Fuse #8.

The Joke

Please enjoy this video of eleven writers telling one joke. Guys Read: Funny Business comes out in the fall.

National Bookmobile Day

Wednesday, April 14, is National Bookmobile Day, and to celebrate Mac will be at the San Francisco Main Library, reading aboard Tom Corwin's bookmobile (which is not the bookmobile pictured). Tom is working on a documentary called Behind the Wheel of the Bookmobile, which follows a classic bookmobile across the country, with writers taking turns behind the wheel. The events kick off at 12:30 at the library's Fulton Street entrance.

THE TUCSON FESTIVAL OF BOOKS

Mac is spending this weekend at the Tucson Festival of Books, on the University of Arizona campus. Here's where you can find him:

Saturday, 13 March 2010
10:3o-11:00: Reading at the Teen Author Lounge.

11:30-12:30: Teaching this workshop: Zombie Westerns & Sci-Fi Fairy Tales: A Genre Mash-Up Writing Workshop (Ages 9-12); at the College of Education Rm. 351. Autographing afterward.

2:00-2:45: Autographing at the Kids Center/Simon & Schuster booth.

4:00-5:00: Talking with fellow panelists Jon Scieszka, Adam Rex, and Chris Gall at the College of Education, Kiva. Autographing afterward.

6:00-8:00: Napping in the passenger seat of Adam Rex's car.