In Brief: November 4

One Less Lonely Girl

There was a mass outbreak of Bieber fever at the Grove location of Barnes & Noble in Los Angeles this past Sunday. More than 1,000 fanatical girls (and adults) came out to meet teenage singer Justin Bieber, who made an appearance in support of his new memoir, Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever: My Story (Harper, Oct.). Here, Bieber poses with Taylor Pannell, a reporter from Time for Kids who interviewed him at the appearance. In addition to the release of his book, Bieber is currently headlining a national tour.

Friends, family, authors, staff members past and present, booksellers, and, of course, customers gathered this past Sunday to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Diane’s Books in Greenwich, Conn. In honor of the day (Halloween), owner Diane Garrett dressed as the Queen of Hearts and staff wore costumes of other children’s book characters. Olivia, Little Red Riding Hood, Harry Potter’s Hermione, and Pippi Longstocking all put in appearances. Author Rosemary Wells, pictured here with her grandchildren, signed copies of Max and Ruby’s Bedtime Book and On the Blue Comet.

A pair of YA authors took part in the 64th annual Irvington Halloween Festival in Indianapolis last weekend. Writers Christine Johnson (Claire de Lune, Simon Pulse) and Saundra Mitchell (Shadowed Summer, Delacorte) each wore costumes that reflected their books—a werewolf in Johnson’s case, and a ghost for Mitchell. The authors signed copies of their books at local bookstore Bookmamas—and gave away a lot of candy.

Last Thursday, Reading Is Fundamental hosted a party at the Eventi Hotel in New York City. The event both honored the organization’s NYC-area volunteers and celebrated the release of Fear: 13 Stories of Horror and Suspense (Dutton, Sept.), a compilation of frightening tales edited by an authority on the subject—R.L. Stine. Fear contributors (l. to r.) Jennifer Allison, Suzanne Weyn, Stine, Ryan Brown, and Tim Maleeny all came out for the RIF event.

This past Saturday, Bank Street College of Education in New York City hosted Book Fest @ Bank Street, a daylong event (for adults) “devoted to the celebration, discovery, and discussion of books for children and teens.” Book Fest highlights included a keynote by author Laurie Halse Anderson, a celebration of Margaret Wise Brown’s 100th birthday (with Leonard S. Marcus, Wendell Minor, Diane Muldrow, and Stephen Savage), and a presentation with Guys Read: Funny Business contributors Jon Scieszka, Mac Barnett, and David Yoo. Here, Rita Auerbach leads a group session entitled “Picture Books: Books Lovers Unite!” Photo: Carol Van Houten.