I was honored to be invited by the prestigious School Library Journal to take over their Instagram account on 4/24/2020 and present my work and new book to school librarians, teachers, and the general public. The session is now available on Youtube for everyone to watch:
I will be doing an online book tour via blogs introducing my new book and giving folks a behind-the-scenes peek into the book. I'll add links here as the blog posts go live: * Suma Subramanian's Mixed-Up Files: https://fromthemixedupfiles.com/2020/02/writing-and-illustrating-funny-poetry-for-kids-author-interview-with-vikram-madan-and-giveaway/ * Jane MacCulloch's DeoWriter Blog https://deowriter.wordpress.com/2020/03/19/poetry-friday-a-hatful-of-dragons/ * Matt Forrest's Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme Blog https://mattforrest.wordpress.com/2020/03/24/poetry-friday-celebrating-poetry-with-a-hatful-of-dragons/ * Sylvia Vardell's Poetry for Children Blog http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com/2020/03/tla-virtual-poetry-round-up-irene-latham.html * Irene Latham's Live Your Poem Blog https://irenelatham.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-hatful-of-dragons-and-dash-of-hope.html * Sylvia Vardell's Poetry for Children Blog (2nd Appearance) http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com/2020/04/guest-post-vikram-madan.html * Linda Mitchell's A Word Edgewise Blog https://awordedgewiselindamitchell.blogspot.com/2020/04/a-hatful-of-dragons-review.html * Mrs. Knotts Book Nook http://mrsknottsbooknook.blogspot.com/2020/04/spotlight-friday-hatful-of-dragons-blog.html Many thanks to my publisher, Boyds Mills Kane, and to Kerry McManus and Chelsea Abdullah for organizing this tour.  My third book of self-illustrated funny poems, A Hatful of Dragons, will be releasing April 21, 2020. I am very excited for this book - it's taken years of effort and is loads of fun, and suitable for poetry lovers of all ages. Here is a quick flipthrough of what the inside looks like: You can already order the book via your favorite bookstore or online (Indiebound, Barnes & Nobles, Amazon).
Learn more here.
  For my humorous poetry book releasing in March 2020, 'A Hatful of Dragons: And More Than 13.8 Billion Other Funny Poems', I have been working on various iterations of the covers for the last year. Here is the current finalist for the front:  And here are some variations for the back. I made several different ones so we could accommodate varying amounts of back-cover text (such as blurbs and reviews). We won't actually know how much space we need for the text till very late in the game, so making lots of variations gives the book designer flexibility: As you can see there is a ton of work that goes into the making of a book that is invisible to the reader.
I am excited to share the news that Boyds Mills Press has acquired the world rights to my upcoming poetry book titled A Hatful Of Dragons: And 13.8 Billion Other Funny Poems. The book is scheduled to be released in Spring 2020 under their WordSong imprint.  Many thanks to my agent Rosemary Stimola of Stimola Literary Studio for making this happen! These days I am not producing much art because I am busy finishing up the manuscript, which I am also illustrating. As you can imagine, writing and illustrating 13.8 billion poems is quite a bit of work! :)  Boyds Mills Press, publishes a wide range of high-quality fiction and nonfiction titles for young readers. Established in 1990, Boyds Mills Press’s picture books, chapter books, novels, and nonfiction focus on excellent storytelling, imaginative illustration, and strong characters. Our exceptionally crafted titles are designed to entertain, inform, and engage children of all ages.
WordSong is the only children’s imprint in the United States specifically dedicated to poetry. WordSong titles capture the vibrant, unexpected, and emotional connections between text and young readers. Some of the well-known poets who publish under the WordSong imprint include Nikki Grimes, J. Patrick Lewis, Jane Yolen, Marilyn Nelson, and Marilyn Singer. I am so very excited to share with you the release of my SECOND Self-Illustrated book of funny poems titled LORD OF THE BUBBLES, a followup to my earlier award-winning collection THE BUBBLE COLLECTOR. Read more here, watch a flip-through, and download a sample: LORD OF THE BUBBLES    As part of National Poetry month, I was invited to read a poem on KUOW 94.9 FM The poem will be appearing in 'WA 129' published by Sage Hill Press. This collection, assembled by WA State Poet Laureate Todd Marshall features 129 poems celebrating WA State. Former WA State Poet Laureate Elizabeth Austen liked my poem enough to invite me to read it on air. If you missed the broadcast, you can hear me reading it here: http://kuow.org/post/treat-yourself-washington-grown-poems-national-poetry-month  Continuing my National Poetry Month school visits, I was honored to be invited to the Henry David Thoreau Elementary School in Kirkland, WA to present to a combination of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. Once again I was delighted to be able to read poems to the kids and talk about the writing process. Having an intimate setting in the school library made the kids more willing to ask lots of questions. Once again we did the exercise of illustrating a Shel Silverstein poem, which produced these wacky images: I always tell the kids to compare the images we create with the one Shel Silverstein used to illustrate his poem, and then decide for themselves who has the better imagination. They all conclude that kids have the better imagination, so I am hopeful it inspires them to be freer with their creative talents. (Note: To see similar images from other school visits, click the School Visits tag on the right and scroll through the school visit blog postings).  To quote the school librarian: "Vikram's presentation was humorous and inspiring for students. He encouraged students through his own stories, poetry and art to persevere as they pursue their unique dreams and aspirations. This important message cannot be repeated enough and Vikram did so eloquently and with grace."
So humbling. :) If you would like to arrange a school visit to a middle or elementary school, please contact me. |
Categories
All
Archives
May 2020
|
RSS Feed