This week, fashion meets fiction at Katharine McGee’s book launch; kids’ lit folks get spooky; Sabaa Tahir draws a standing room-only crowd; a four-legged friend visits Lynn Plourde’s book release party; kids make big wishes with Lonely Planet Kids; and Zoraida Córdova and Dhonielle Clayton put their best resting witch faces forward.
A Fashionable Book Launch
Forever 21 in Times Square doubled as a book launch space for Katharine McGee’s The Thousandth Floor (HarperCollins) on August 30. Attendees enjoyed refreshments and mingling in the store and were invited to shop for the “looks” that Forever 21 curators – with McGee’s input – created for all five of the main characters in The Thousandth Floor. McGee also spoke in conversation with booktuber Sasha Alsberg (l.).
Trick or Reat!
Children’s book authors and industry folk gathered at the Old Burying Ground in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Mass., to create a video for the Trick or Reaters website [trickorreaters.com], which provides free downloads of scary, mystery, and fantasy stories. The project is a project coordinated by the creative outreach agency Curious City. The website encourages people to put flyers for Trick or Reaters in trick-or-treat bags. From l. (standing): bookseller Kate Mikell; Anika Denise (Monster Trucks); Angela Reynolds (children’s librarian), Kirsten Cappy (marketing consultant, Curious City), Josh Funk (Pirasaurs!); and Jennifer P. Goldfinger (Hello, My Name Is Tiger). Seated in front are Malia and Isabel.
Full House
YA author Sabaa Tahir celebrated the release of A Torch Against the Night (Razorbill), her sequel to An Ember in the Ashes, at Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park, Calif., on August 30. Tahir spoke about her books in conversation with fellow author Stephanie Garber (Caraval). Audience members in the packed bookstore also took part in a trivia game with Ember in the Ashes swag given away as prizes.
An Author’s Best Friend
Maine author Lynn Plourde celebrated the release of Maxi’s Secrets (or what you can learn from a dog) with a reading and a signing at The Briar Patch in Bangor, Maine. The launch was a benefit for the Bangor Humane Society. In addition to two-legged attendees, Koda, a rescue dog from the Human Society, happily soaked up some attention from Plourde and her fans.
Wish You Were Here!
Lonely Planet Kids was on hand for the Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area 5K held in Mountain View, Calif., on August 27. Between 500 and 600 kids and families took part in the walk and afterward, stopped by the event’s Plae Zone, a sponsored play and activity space. Lonely Planet Kids set up a station for kids to create their own passport activity books and to have their pictures taken in the “Wish You Were Here” postcard photo booth.
Life’s a Witch!
Books of Wonder in New York City hosted Zoraida Córdova’s launch party for Labyrinth Lost (Sourcebooks Fire) on September 6. She spoke about her book with fellow author Dhonielle Clayton (Tiny Pretty Things). Attendees also enjoyed having their photos taken in the #RestingWitchFace photo frame placed on display, which resulted in lots of resting witch faces shared on social media. Here, Clayton (l.) and Córdova take their turn in the photo frame.
