Even though the 2014 National Book Festival is over, you can still enjoy all the author presentations. They were videotaped and will be available soon on the Library's website. I enjoyed listening to Jacqueline Woodson who shared writing tips, personal information, and excerpts from her newest book, Brown Girl Dreaming. When a young writer in the audience asked for a few tips, Woodson's reply was "BIC" which is short for "butt in chair." She also shared how, as a child, she told many lies. One day a teacher suggested she write them down "which turned the lies into fiction. They are legitimate, and you can get paid for them."
Jacqueline Woodson has written more than 20 books; some of the most notable include Newbery Honor Medal winners Show Way, Feathers, and After Tupac and D Foster and the Coretta Scott King Award-winning Miracle’s Boys. Brown Girl Dreaming (Penguin), her newest title released this summer, recalls the story of her own childhood as a young African American girl growing up amid the Civil Rights Movement. Written in verse, each poem gives the reader a snapshot of a child’s effort to build a strong voice in the world.