Aloha, Friends!

I had a fantastic time in Nashville.

I made many new friends this weekend, including Tacky the Penguin, whom I’ve been a fan of for years, and Marion and Jack, two amazing book festival volunteers, who took the time to come to our session!

I so loved panel-ing with Cynthia Lord and Gail Nall and our moderator Jane-Elise at the Nashville Public Library! What a gorgeous place. Words carved in stone in the reading room say: A city with a great library is a great city. Yes! The beautiful book sculpture outside is titled La Storia della Terra, The Story of the Earth, with stones from five continents.

Two more highlights: Seeing Nashville 27-stories up. And 2015 Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander’s inspiring talk.

Special thanks to Helen Hemphill, Rae Ann Parker, Genetta Adair, Lindsey Lane, Carmen Oliver and organizers Serenity Gerbman and Lacey Cook. Thank you, thank you Southern Festival of Books for a fantastic event!

Always,

Anne