Tag Archive for: M.C. Higgins the Great

Page(s) Count

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My heart skipped a beat with an email I received from the Ohio Center for the Book back in May.

“Congratulations! Your book, Virginia Hamilton: America’s Storyteller, has been chosen by the Ohio Center for
the Book to be included in the “Great Reads from Great Places” list for the 2025 National Book Festival of the
Library of Congress!”

Wow.

What an amazing and validating honor, I thought.

And, truly full-circle. The National Book Festival was established by former First Lady Laura Bush. Mrs. Bush also founded the Texas Book Festival, which served as inspiration for the creation of our Claire’s Day in honor of our little reader gone too soon.

Even crazier, this was the 25th annual National Book Festival.

Claire’s Day will celebrate 25 years this coming May.

I continued to read the invitation.

And then my heart sank.

The National Book Festival was scheduled for September 6 in Washington, D.C.

Ugh.

That was smack-dab in the middle of when I was to be teeing it up with my besties up in Northern Michigan for our sacred annual ladies’ golf trip.

I couldn’t imagine missing the National Book Festival, but just as equally, I would have been heartbroken to miss time with my dear friends.

I reached out to my friends and explained the dilemma.

Without hesitation, these seven other ladies rearranged their schedules so that I wouldn’t miss this presumed once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

And of course, my husband Brad, also jumped on board to join me for this exciting trip to D.C..

In the meantime, the Ohio Center for the Book reached out and shared that they would love to feature me in their podcast, Page Count.

Laura Maylene Walter, Fellow with the Center, served as the on-air hostess. Laura, also an author, did an excellent job conducting the interview. If you missed it, check it out here.

The entire weekend in D.C. was everything I could have hoped for.  From a fantastic dinner on Thursday at the Iron Gate restaurant (our waiter, Joey, proclaimed the night “all about Julie” and took such good care of us, even ending the evening with a complimentary glass of champagne!), to touring the Washington Monument, the Natural History Museum, and the National Museum of African American History on Friday.

Friday evening, we were hosted at a reception for all of the Library of Congress affiliates and honorees at the James Madison Building. Don Boozer, the coordinator of the program for the Ohio Center, was kind enough to meet us in the lobby, usher us to the reception, and then introduce us to key Library of Congress staff members. Such a thrill.

The sun filtered through our curtains at the historic Morrison Clark hotel on Saturday morning. I was already awake, so excited for the day. It did not disappoint.

The National Book Festival was like any other book festival I’ve either participated in as an author or simply gone to as a reader. But on steroids!

As pictures speak volumes, here is the highlight reel from my experience…

From left to right: Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, meeting a young fan, hanging with Don Boozer at the Ohio booth, fan-girling over Newbery Medal (twice over!) Erin Entrada Kelly.

And finally, my book was featured among all the honorees.

Pinch me.

Brad and I flew home, did laundry, repacked, and prepared for leaving the next day.

Me for that ladies’ golf trip, Brad to a family gathering in North Carolina.

We golfed.

We boated.

And we celebrated over 30 years of friendship.

In the world of children’s book writing, there are industry standards for typical page counts for stories.

In my opinion, as in life, every page counts.

I’m so grateful my pages are filled to the brim!

 

Virginia Hamilton - Five Novels

Library of America interview for Virginia Hamilton: Five Novels

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I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Library of America staff about Virginia Hamilton and my role as editor of Virginia Hamilton: Five Novels.

Virginia Hamilton - Five Novels

Check out the transcript here: Interview: The pathbreaking Virginia Hamilton and her “liberation literature”

She was a gift to All

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I had a wonderful time recently sharing the life of Virginia Hamilton, sponsored by Ohio Humanities and hosted by the National Afro American Museum and Cultural Center.

We had over 100 participants who joined me as I walked them through Virginia’s life journey, from her adventures as a little girl growing up in Yellow Springs, Ohio to her college years at Antioch College and The Ohio State University, to her beautiful love story with Arnold Adoff, which began in New York City.

The city proved to be an inspiring start for both Virginia’s writing career as well as Virginia and Arnold’s family life. Virginia’s first novel, Zeely, was written while living in New York, and their two children, Leigh and Jaime were born there.

But the call of home, of extended family, was strong and Virginia and Arnold eventually resettled back in Yellow Springs, on a plot of land carved from her family’s original farm. Virginia and Arnold built their dream home, where they raised their children, all the while creating stories and poetry from their respective workspaces. Virginia’s study was on the main floor, and as she looked out her windows beyond her desk, the 100-year-old hedgerow served as a daily reminder of her history.

Virginia was a natural-born storyteller, influenced by the yarns that swirled around her, spun from the hearts and minds of her elders. Virginia drew upon these stories, to craft her own. Virginia referred to these recollections as her “Rememory” which she defined as “an exquisitely-textured recollection, real or imagined, which is otherwise indescribable.”

Virginia wrote forty-one books in her short lifetime. She won EVERY major award extended to writers of children’s literature. Sadly, she left this world all too soon, after quietly and bravely battling breast cancer for ten years.

Virginia is still revered in the world of children’s literature, and her legacy continues through the annual Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Youth held at Kent State University. Virginia’s works live on, in libraries, schools, and private collections around the world.

Now, five of Virginia’s novels for young readers are being re-presented by the Library of America. Virginia Hamilton: Five Novels is to be released on September 14, 2021. You may preorder your copy here.

As a final note, I’d like to thank all of those who subscribed to this blog as a result of my presentation. And, the winner of a copy of Virginia Hamilton: Five Novels is Susie Loik.

Ms. Loik offered these kind words upon being informed of her prize, “Your work to bring Virginia Hamilton’s contributions to light are commended. I am learning so much that I wish had been deemed relevant during my years of formal education. She was a gift to All.”

Virginia was indeed a gift to All.