2.7 million page loads... and counting!

It's fun to mark these milestones (hundred thousand stones?) with you all!

This blog just blew by 2.7 million page loads (it's at 2,714,043 as I write this.)

Thank you for being my community (from over 100 countries all over the world!), and for finding value in what I'm sharing. I do it from the heart, and to know it resonates means so much.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

P.S. - if you're not yet signed up for my occasional newsletters, you can do so at the top left of this blog. Thanks!

Over 2.5 Million Page Loads To This Blog!

The counter on the Statistics Page of "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What The Hell Do I Read?"

I know it's challenging to not get caught up in numbers,  and I want to remember and recognize that each and every individual person's experience can be powerful and meaningful. Having said that...

WOW! We're over two and a half million page loads!

Yesterday, over 1,100 page loads alone.

That's a lot of people visiting this blog.

Finding out about books for kids and teens with LGBTQ characters and themes.

Learning about LGBTQ history.

Exploring politics, and gender, and the intersectionality of identity.

Exposing the connections between prejudices and bias like misogyny and homophobia, and between racism and xenophobia.

And being empowered by stories, music videos, LGBTQ news from all over, and a community coming together to support LGBTQ teens and their allies.

So that nice round number stands for a pretty beautiful thing. You. And me. Together.

We did this. And I'm so proud of us.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

The Top 7 Lessons I Learned About Blogging Children's and Teen Literature From #KidLitCon13

Cute cat reading photo from here.

1. What's up with the cat above? And the numbered list? Turns out animal photos and top this-many-number lists are gold in terms of getting traffic to your blog/website. This was one of the asides from Cynthia Leitich Smith's amazing Keynote. As she put it, "Posts topped with animal photos get the most click-throughs." (We'll see how this post does!)

2. "This is your audience. This is your blog. Your audience probably likes you." - Jen Robinson, on how you can reach out to your blog audience to be supportive, during her and Sarah Stevenson's "Blogger Burnout: Suggestions For Getting Your Groove Back" session.

3. "Every kid is a different target audience." A brilliant comment by Charlotte Taylor that is still resonating with me.

4. It would be a great project to explore Girly covers hiding books boys might like, and Boyish covers hiding books girls might like. (This came out of the "Blogging the Middle Grade Books" panel discussion.)

5. 'You don't always know what the connections you make are doing. If I've met an author (and liked them) I'm more likely to put their book face out on the shelf.' - A librarian attendee.

6. If you want to see more diversity in children's literature, and the book you're reviewing isn't inclusive of diverse characters, you can point that out in your review. Sheila Ruth did just that in a recent review at Wands and Worlds, saying, "Unfortunately, I didn't really see much diversity in this future." And if a book you're covering does include diverse characters, share that!

7. In my session, "Diversity In Kid Lit: Nurture More, Blog More, Get More," I was listing the main categories of things we bloggers of children's and teen literature do:

We aggregate content (like lists, links, and featuring what others have put out there)
We create content (like reviews, articles and interviews) and
We communicate (start discussions, comment threads, guest posts, twitter, facebook, etc...)

and then one attendee raised her hand. I called on her, and she said I'd missed the most important thing of all that we book bloggers do:

We Read.

And she was right.


KidLitCon is the annual gathering of bloggers, librarians, authors and illustrators who share a passion for children's and teen literature. It was held in Austin, Texas Nov 8 and 9, 2013, and it was my honor to present and attend. 

My thanks to the organizing committee members: Pam Coughlan, Tanita Davis, Kimberly Francisco, Kelly Jensen, Jackie Parker, Jen Robinson, Leila Roy and Sarah Stevenson!

You can find out more about the kidlitosphere and all our events at Kidlitosphere Central.

Celebrating Half A Million Visits By GLBTQ Teens And Their Allies... Including YOU! And some other good news!

Well, it's quite a milestone... We just passed 500,000 visits to this blog since I started over three and a half years ago.

While figuring out the number of blog readers one has isn't an exact science (or perhaps it is, but I am no scientist) this is not counting everyone who reads this blog via syndication or their google-readers or any other not-reading-it-here method of reading my posts. This is pure clicks to come here and check things out. To find out about the books for kids and teens with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning characters and themes, and to explore queer teen culture and politics and Children's literature and our world and how to make our world a better place for all of us.

I blogged it. (Today's post is #1,004!)

And you came.

Over half a million visits!

Woot!

To celebrate, I'm opening up an "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" logo store... where you can get T-shirts, coffee mugs, and other "swag" featuring the amazing blog logo that the incredibly talented Jim DiBartolo designed!

It's fun,

It's fresh,

It's refreshing,

It's even a little bit cheeky,

And hey, it's a stylish way for you to celebrate all the great GLBTQ Teen and Kid Literature that exists today (as well as all the new stuff on the way!) and to show your pride, your smarts, and your support!

But most of all, I have to say thank you.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. 500,000 thank yous.

I am so honored to be here, and to be read by you.

As far as other good news, I'm pretty excited to tell you that this past week two really nice things happened:

1. It's been formally announced that I will be the co-Regional Advisor for SCBWI-Los Angeles starting November 1st, working with the fabulous Sarah Laurenson. (I'm currently the Assistant Regional Advisor for our region.)



Here I am getting my ceremonial "scepter" - and yes, if you must know, it's a toilet plunger wrapped with sequins and a wiffle ball wrapped with tin foil attached with a string to enable me to play the try-to-catch-it game... which leads me to believe my position does double duty as royalty and court jester.

2. Also at our recent SCBWI-Los Angeles Writers Day event this past Saturday, I was given the Sue Alexander Service and Encouragement Award - it's our region's highest honor for acknowledging the contribution of a volunteer in the last year, and I was stunned, and moved, and incredibly honored to receive such an amazing tribute.



And hey, that's an actual lead crystal award - a book! (I joked that perhaps I should call it my "first book" as it's the first book to have my name on the cover - getting my interviews published in CWIM was swell, but I didn't make their cover!)

So it's been a big week - I am so grateful. And I'm excited to say to myself, and to all of you...

Get ready, there's more great stuff to come!

Namaste,
Lee

ps - And Happy Earth Day!
pps - my thanks to Rita Crayon Huang for the great photos of me getting my scepter and book!

Blogging, Honesty, and that Damn Sports Closet: Hockey Kid "Mikey"

So there was this blog that was getting a lot of attention. It was an anonymous blog, by "Mikey," a closeted gay Teen who was an ice hockey player. He talked about loving sports, and being gay, and how he felt he couldn't come out.

Lots of other Teens who felt like they couldn't find a place to be both jocks and gay were drawn to the blog, and a community started to build around it.

Then, recently, it was revealed that this anonymous Teen was actually NOT a Teen at all. The photos "Mikey" had posted of himself with his face blurred out weren't him. In fact, he was some adult. (Here's the full story over at outsports.com)

Now, there's been noise on both sides of this issue. Outrage at someone pretending to be what they're not - and at the same time, some appreciation for the fact that, written by a Teen or not, that blog created a space for actual closeted teen jocks to find each other and a sense of community.

I find this story really upsetting. Here's my count-down of why:

5. It's a total catch-22 with sports and the closet - the more people say 'you can't be gay and play team sports' the more it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. We need more heroes to stand up and be out while they're still playing. (Not just coming-out-after-the-fact memoirs of retired NFL, NBA and MLB players - as great as those are.) I want to read a blog by an out and proud gay teen jock.

4. You don't have to pretend to be a Teen to create a safe space for Teens. I've worked really hard to make this blog something of a virtual Gay-Straight Alliance for Teens and their allies - and everyone knows I'm not a Teen. Adults have a really important place in the lives of Teens, but it is by being guides and creating safe spaces, not by pretending to be a Teen!

3. If you want to write fiction, write fiction. But don't try to pass fiction off as fact. Lies always get revealed eventually.

2. I'm angry for the Teens who were betrayed by someone they had accepted as one of their own.

1. I'm angry for all the gay adults who now how to fight even more that harmful myth that gay men are not to be trusted around children - because the adult that perpetrated this lie of being "Mikey" seems to have been a gay man. The myth/lie of the connection between pedophilia and homosexuality has been shown again and again to be false, but stories like this - of an untrustworthy gay adult - lying to teenagers - doesn't help that lie go away. This is a story that doesn't help our GLBTQ and Allied community. It doesn't help how our greater culture perceives us.

It's also another excuse/reason for gay adults to not be there for gay Teens - because they're afraid their actions will be misconstrued as inappropriate. And that fear acts as a wedge between the generations.

Ultimately, I wonder if the tale of "Mikey" and his blog will make it that much harder for other closeted gay teens to share their struggles.

I'm certain it will make me more dubious of the next anonymous 'closeted gay teen' confessional.

What's your take on the lessons we should learn from this?

Why would I start a second blog? Shrinking Violet Promotions (Marketing For Introverts) gets me to talk!

So I'm excited about this interview I did with Shrinking Violet Promotion's Robin LaFevers - she asked some great questions, and I was able to share some really substantive answers.

We talked about why in the world would I start a new blog (The Zen Of Blogging Blog), the evolution of this blog, and what are people's three greatest fears about blogging. (And yes, I talked about how you can counter those fears!)

Their site is super-cool, all about giving a voice to authors who might not otherwise be heard. And that mission of empowerment is something I really believe in!

And as if that weren't enough, they're running my interview with the most awesome photo of a monk in a saffron robe in front of a temple... on a laptop!

Okay, you've got to go check it out!

Thanks Robin and Mary!

Namaste,
Lee

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's my new blog... on Blogging!

So Today is the official launch of my new blog, The Zen Of Blogging, uh... Blog!



It's all about how blogging doesn't have to be superheroic. It can be fun. Useful. Manageable. And yes, even Zen.

I'd love for you to click on over and check it out.

Thanks!

Namaste (the light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you),
Lee

Teen Voices Get Heard: Teens Who Blog!

So when I started blogging over two and a half years ago, the conventional "wisdom" was that while adults may blog for teens, teens themselves don't blog.

I don't think that's true anymore.

Here are 3 blogs, created with passion by teenagers. These blogs - these Teens - inspire me.



Ramblings by Adrienne, with the amazing tagline:

These are the very random ramblings of a fat/plus-sized, girl-loving, broadway-obsessed, flute-playing, homeschooled teenager.

Reading In Color by Ari. This blog is so professional in its focus, execution and fierce advocacy of characters of color in teen fiction that it blows me away every time I'm there.




That's So Happy by Johnny. An ally of the Queer community, Johnny started his blog to focus on Gay equality. In his own words:

I named my blog "That's So Happy" because the phrase "That's so gay" is thrown around a lot. The word "gay" means happy. So what you're really saying is "That's So Happy." I hope one day this will be true.

Go check these blogs out. Follow them. Show them we're listening to their voices.

And I want to know: What teen blogs inspire you? Share in comments!

Or, if you are a teen who blogs, share with us what you're doing!

Namaste,
Lee

How am I celebrating Mardis Gras? I'm hanging out at Shelli's "Market My Words" ...and I'm even vlogging there!

So all this week Shelli Johannes is running contests (with prizes like literary agent critiques and consultations!) There are daily interviews and lots of great information on marketing yourself and your books... even if you're not yet published.

Today's installment of her Book Marketing Mardis Gras Celebration features 2 great vlogs - one by the amazing Greg Pincus on "The Twitter Golden Rule," and one on blogging for authors by... ahem, well, by ME!

And to make it even more awesome, today's prize package includes winning a free copy of my e-book, "The Zen Of Blogging!" (As well as a copy of "Get Known Before the Book Deal" by Christina Katz!)



So, come on - what are you waiting for?

Throw on some plastic beads and go check it out! Whoo-Hoo! Mardis Gras!!!

Namaste,

Lee

Gay Teen Ideas... For Knitting and Crocheting? Why I love Google Alerts

Check this out:



It's a magazine from 1944, called "Gay Teen Ideas for Knitting and Chrocheting."

The word "Gay" has evolved quite some distance, hasn't it?


See, one of the great things you can do with Google Alerts is put in an alert for what you are interested in and what you blog about. (I set it for daily e-mails) Then see what pops up on the web. I found this gem because I have a Google alert for "gay teen."

And because of that, now I get to share this with you. I mean, after all, how else are you gonna know how to make a "New-some Two-some jerkin and beanie?" (Yeah, I have no idea what that is.)

There's even a "How're You Doin Toots?" quiz!

So think about what YOU could set a Google alert for - you never know what you'll find!

Have a great weekend,

Namaste,
Lee

The 2010 Comment Challenge FINALE!

Congratulations, fellow blog commenters!

We did it!

We've arrived at day 21 of our 21 day challenge.

The goal was to get ourselves into a new, good habit of commenting more on the blogs in our world of Children's literature (The Kidlitosphere.)

We aimed for 5 comments a day for 21 days - could we reach 100 comments (with one day off) in that 3 week challenge period?

Did I?

YES! Just before writing this post I hit "publish" on my 100th comment!

And oooh, it feels good.

And YOU? Did you make it to the finish line?

If you did, leave a comment here so you'll be entered in the prize drawing and can bask in the glow of praise your community will heap upon you.

And even if you didn't quite reach the 5-a-day goal to reach 100 comments total, did you comment more? Did you discover some great new blogs? Did some new readers (and commenters) discover your blog? Leave a comment also, and let MotherReader and I and everyone else know how it went for you.

Here are some highlight quotes from this year's Comment Challenge participants:

I've gotten comments from new readers, whose blogs I had commented on, and vice versa.

I can't believe how connected I've become with writers on the other side of the country...

I'm greatly enjoying learning about & becoming more a part of the kidlit community.

It's been great to find interesting new blogs and to see new people visiting mine.

It's a great challenge and I've found lots of cool blogs and people. I've been getting more visitors to my blog too, which is nice.

It's fun to reconnect and it's fun to find new friends.

I've discovered some new-to-me blogs that I'm really enjoying and I really feel like I've gotten more involved in the community over the past couple of weeks.

I have received several comments! Not a deluge, but more in one week that I had in the past few months. That's very nice.

I visited new people, and had people visit my new blogs...

I've gotten more traffic on my blog, more comments, a few followers and maybe a couple of future friends.

This challenge is brilliant. :) I can tell I'm forming a commenting habit already.

See, just participating in The Comment Challenge is its own prize. And while we're determined to do this event annually, try to keep it up over the next 11 months... after all, a good habit is a terrible thing to break!

Keep Commenting, a big shout-out of THANKS to the unstoppable MotherReader for being my co-host and partner-in-commenting-crime, and congratulations to everyone who joined in!

Namaste,
Lee

The 2010 Comment Challenge Week One Check In: How Ya Doin'?

I know I used this image last time round, but it's so great, I had to bring it back! Think of each of our blogs as the drop of water in the air, and the comments we leave get our drop of water to hit the surface of the pond... enough comments get going and the ripples from all our blogs and comments spread across the water and touch each other, and suddenly we're all rippling along together...

and we're not a single drop of water anymore. We're a community!

205 of you signed up for this year's Comment Challenge both here and at MotherReader's amazing blog! And even if you're not officially signed up and you're just paying more attention and making more of an effort to comment, we want to know:


So how's it going?

Have you been commenting?

Is it going consistently, or is it more fits and starts?

Are you getting more comments on YOUR blog?

Here's how my week went as far as my leaving comments:

Friday, Jan 8 - 10 comments (I was really excited!)
Saturday, Jan 9 - 6 comments
Sunday, Jan 10 - no comments (I was crazy-busy setting up for Monday's e-book launch)
Monday, Jan 11 - 5 comments (Okay, I can do this...)
Tuesday, Jan 12 - 7 comments
Wednesday Jan 13 - 7 comments
Thursday, Jan 14 - zero comments so far, but hey, it's 3 AM here!

Total comments in Week One: 35

But I did it - I'm in the zone with 5 comments per day.

I discovered some great new blogs, and visited some old favorites.

How about you? How's it going?

let me know by... you guessed it! leaving a comment.

e-book Launch Party! "The Zen Of Blogging: 7 Steps On The Virtual Path To Real Success" Is Available Starting TODAY!!!

Today is my birthday, and it's also the launch for my first e-book!

I've been blogging here at "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" for over two years.

In that time, over 140,000 unique visitors have come by (now more than 2,500 a week!)

I've won awards, and had some amazing opportunities that came directly from my blogging here (signed for professional blogging jobs, approached by magazine editors to write articles, hired to conduct interviews for publication in an industry-leading reference book...)

And by going on this journey I've learned a lot about what I call "The Zen Of Blogging."

A lot of people have asked me for advice about their blogs, both from inside the world of Children's Literature and from outside - from the worlds of fitness, fashion, corporate training, dating, and more... And figuring out the lessons I've learned that are applicable to ANYONE who wants to blog was the inspiration for writing this e-book.

So please, check out my e-book website. And if you are or want to be a blogger (or know someone who blogs, or wants to blog)...

consider buying a copy of "The Zen Of Blogging!"

As Social Media Guru Jenn Bailey put it:

“There’s plenty of information on the web about the technical aspects of blogging. What Lee Wind gives us with his fantabulous E-Book, The Zen of Blogging, is the inspirational aspects.

Beginners should read this if they want to know how to create and, more importantly, maintain a blog they’ll love. Old pros need to read this so they can remember the fun and recapture the joy of blogging.

Lee blends sound advice with real life success stories to make his blogging guide both constructive and uplifting, and his beautiful Kanji give it a delicious refinement.

Keep this E-book floating on your desktop and let it inspire you to change your world.”

Jenn Bailey
Professional Blogger, Writer and Editor
The Social Lites

Thanks, Jenn, for the early review. And thanks to all of YOU for being part of my Launch Party!

And to celebrate the launch, here's a $5.00 off coupon code for you to use!

newzen

"The Zen Of Blogging" e-book. Let it help you discover YOUR Path to The Zen Of Blogging!

Namaste,
Lee

The 2010 Comment Challenge Starts This Friday!!!

Okay, kid lit blog writers and blog readers, take note:

It takes 21 days to form a new habit.

So starting this Friday, January 8, 2010 - the amazing Mother Reader and I will launch our community-building annual event: getting YOU to join in for 21 days of habit-forming commenting on other people's blogs - with the goal of commenting on 5 different blogs a day.



That's it - 5 a day!


Why participate?

You'll be part of the conversation.

You'll expand your circle.

And you'll get more visitors to your blog, and more comments left on your own blog as well.

The last Comment Challenge was a big success, comments were up all over the kidlitosphere, and it really built a sense of community for everyone who participated - and we learned some great lessons, like this one:

Leave three comments on someone's blog that are contributions to their conversation and most likely they'll click back to your blog to see just who is that insightful commenter?

I'm excited to see what we learn this time round - and remember, in addition to link-lists on individual blogs (like the 18 blogs I try to check out all the time, listed in the right hand column here), you can blog-hop via google alerts (try setting keywords for your personal passion so you know who else is talking about what you care about. i.e., I have a google alert for "gay teen book" which helps me find blog posts I wouldn't know about otherwise.) You can also navigate to blogs that are new to you via the indispensable kid lit central blog page which lists (with links) nearly 300 "Bloggers in Children's and Young Adult Literature!"

So, crack those knuckles, fire up your computers and hand-helds, and get ready...

'Cause starting Friday there's going to be a whole WORLD of blog commenting going on!

Namaste,
Lee

New Blog To Know About: "Gay-Themed Picture Books For Children"

I love it when all this technology (like blogging) makes things easier. When people see something they can do to help others, and they do it.

Well Patricia Sarles has done just that with this new blog resource, GAY-THEMED PICTURE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN: Picture Books for Children About the Experience of Knowing or Having a Gay Parent, Family Member, or Friend.

There are books I've never heard of, like 1983's Jenny Lives With Eric and Martin, by Susanne Bosche, and with photographs by Andreas Hansen



Books I own and love, like "The Family Book" from 2003, by Todd Parr



It's a gathering of (so far) 88 picture books with GLBTQ content (the most comprehensive list I've seen!) It's super-fun to browse, and is a wonderful addition to our on-line community!

My thanks to Yapha for sharing Patricia's putting the list together - which gave me the chance to share with Patricia my "Picture Books I Wish Had Been Read To Me When I Was A Little Kid" bookshelf. Thanks as well to Rilla for making sure I knew about the list's debut, and finally, a *STANDING OVATION* to Patricia for putting together such a great new resource for all of us!

Namaste,

Lee

The Cybils* and Me... and YOU! *Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards

I am really excited to share with you all that I will be a 2nd round judge for the Young Adult Fiction category of the Cybil Awards!



And YOU get to participate, too. YOU get to nominate books, until October 15, 2009! Click here to find out how to nominate YOUR favorite books that were published since October 16, 2008.

You can go here to find out all the details about the Cybils.

Check out these amazing blogs of my fellow judges - I'm honored to be in such great company!

Young Adult Fiction Panel

Fiction for young adults is what these bloggers are all about--at least during the Cybils. Check out our panelists and judges for the YA fiction category.

Panel Organizer: Jackie Parker, Interactive Reader

Panelists (Round I Judges):

Sally Kruger, Reading Junky's Reading Roost
Jackie Parker (see panel organizer)
Tirzah Price, The Compulsive Reader
Leila Roy, Bookshelves of Doom
Amanda Snow, A Patchwork of Books
Sarah Wethern, YA Librarian Tales
Sarah Woodard, Sarah's Random Musings

Round II Judges:

Cathy Ensley, Words, World and Wings
Carrie Harris, The Wonder that is my Blog
Kelly Jensen, STACKED
Em King, Em's Bookshelf
Lee Wind, I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell Do I Read? (and look, you're already here!)

Reading books from THIS SIDE of the metaphorical table should be fascinating.

I'm excited about my new gig - and I hope you take your nominating power seriously.

If you've read a book and loved it, check out when it was published and nominate it! The more participation we get from readers, the more representative and better these awards will become!

Namaste,
Lee

I Won Best GLBT Review Blog for Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2009!

Well, I guess a birthday celebration isn't complete without a present. And look what I got!




My thanks to My Friend Amy for organizing the Book Blogger Appreciation Week Awards (my award announcement is here), and to everyone who voted!

Special thanks to my husband for all his patience, cheerleading, inspiration, and love!

And thanks to you, my readers! Hey - you're all now OFFICIALLY at an award-winning blog!

Whoo-hoo! What a party!

Namaste,
Lee

Happy Birthday, To My Blog... 2 Years, More than 200 Gay Teen Books, Over 100,000 visitors!

It's my blog-o-versary! Today, September 15, 2009 is exactly 2 years to the day since I started "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?"

Over 100 countries!

Over 100,000 unique visitors!

Over 200 books for Teens with GLBTQ characters and themes!

I thought to celebrate, instead of candles, I'd share with you a few excerpts from some really heartwarming comments I've gotten about this blog:

So happy about the blog. This is very BIG.

- dp

...I'm 22 years old and a gay man. I love your blog, as I have plans of my own to write a story (just finished my plot outline!) that I like to think of as a mixture between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harry Potter. ...Someday I hope my book will appear on here, and that yours will too =) Thank you very much because I am here, I am queer, and I've found some things to read.

- Jacob

I decided to google an old term I have heard a few times. Winkte. I am Lakota (Sioux) of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. It is nice to see some understanding and remembrance for the peoples of the Oceti Sakowin (Seven Council Fires - Great Sioux Nation). Thank you!

- Bobby

I am a youth services librarian and I follow your blog religiously. I just wanted to tell you that I really enjoy all of your recommendations. While I am not gay, growing up as a young adult in Iowa I had many friends who were and could have definitely benefited from a resource like this. ...keep up the good work and I look forward to continue reading!

- Sara

WONDERFUL blog and the work you are doing for GLBTQ teens; thank you!

I’m a public educator in Portland, OR and 25 years ago, when I took an class on adolescent literature, I wrote a “bibliotherapy” paper for the same cause. The few books I found had very tragic, grim outcomes for gay characters; so much has changed and I applaud your efforts.

Glad I found your blog tonight for all that it holds. Thank you so much for the work you do.

- Gwen

...Thanks again for such a wonderful site! I'll be sure to check the reviews, since I'm always in a mood for something new to read. :)

- K L

I've been reading your blog for a while now and really hate the effect it's had on my wallet (no, really, I find more new titles here than just about anywhere else).

- Brian

I just wanted to say thank you for making this site available to teens. I am straight, but I have friends who are gay. I think anyone can relate to stories about people of a different sexual preference because we all deal with things that we want to hide. I have recommended this site to many friends and I will continue to do so.

- Korianne

I think your blog is amazing. I'm a teen reader and it's like discovering a whole new world! Thanks for doing this, you must put a lot of time and effort into it. I wish my local library carried all the books on your list, I'd never leave there :)

- Charlie

Comments like these make me see that I'm making a difference, and that, together, we're changing our world for the better, one book - and one blog post - at a time!

Thank you all for your support, for reading my blog, and for reading and talking and being excited about the culture, the politics, the poetry, and these great GLBTQ Teen books!

Here's to another amazing year ahead,

Namaste,
Lee

The Kidlitosphere Conference 2009: An Amazing Event!

MotherReader is pulling together this year's Kidlitosphere Conference, and as the registration kicks into it's final days, (the hotel discount rate ends Wednesday!) I'm super-nostalgic about how great LAST year's conference was, and a bit wistful about missing this year's.

To HONOR all the hard work that MotherReader and everyone else is putting into this amazing event, and to let you know WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER GOING, I'm going to do something I almost NEVER do.

I'm going to do her Meme!

Why did you decide to attend the KidLitosphere Conference?

I was scared and intrigued. I really liked the idea of connecting in person with other kid lit bloggers and feeling like I was actually part of a real community, rather than just one more blog in a virtual universe.

Who was most like their blog? Who was least like their blog?

I found it amazing how "voice" comes through so clearly in everyone's blogs. MotherReader is impassioned and a Doer. Colleen Mondor at Chasing Ray is Insightful and Smart. Betsy Bird is Quirky and Indispensable.

There's so much discussion about how "voice" is this undefinable something that authors should strive for - and I think many of the really dedicated kid lit bloggers have a really strong voice on their blogs!

What surprised you at the conference?

I was blown away by the Readergirlz. The whole concept of a book club for teen girls, with virtual author visits and discussions... The passion of the women involved. Genius. Pure Genius. And such lovely people, too!

What will you always remember about the last conference?

While I may not be a ride at Busch Gardens (MotherReader, you crack me up!), attending the Kidlitosphere Conference sure felt like one.

Everyone had something to offer that was FASCINATING.

I got to really talk to people, find out about them and their passions, and tell them about me, too.

And major career and blog things happened for me as a direct result of attending the conference.

I met Alice Pope, editor and blogger for Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market, and through that connection she knew me and knew about my blog... and that visibility was one of the reasons I ended up as part of the SCBWI Team Blog - which was an incredible experience!

I met Mark Blevis, children's book review podcaster and social media expert, who made me feel that I could do video and audio podcasts on my blog... and I left the conference last year determined to go multi-media. And I did! (About Gays and Vampires, About Gays and Leprechauns, About Gays and Conservatives!)

I met the amazing MotherReader and we teamed up to launch the first annual Comment Challenge, a really successful kidlitosphere-wide event to increase commenting on blogs!


And, perhaps best of all, I felt like I was really embraced and accepted as part of this amazing community!

Did you blog about the conference?

I did. It's here.

So, hopefully that whets your appetite for checking out this year's Kidlitosphere Conference!

Go! And give MotherReader a big HUG from me!

Namaste,
Lee

Your Chance to Vote For This Blog!

I'm quite honored that "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" has been nominated for a Book Blogger Appreciation Week Award for

Best GLBT Review Blog!

There are many other categories with great kid literature blogs up for awards, and even my friend Thalia Chatlas' debut novel, "Because I Am Furniture," which was nominated for best YA book of 2009! Actually, a whole bunch of my friends and fellow bloggers are nominated, so...

Please, take a quick minute and vote! Voting ends tonight, 11:59 pm Eastern Time.



Namaste,
Lee