On April 25th and 26th, I was privileged to attend the Texas Library Association Convention held in Ft. Worth, Texas. Some of the highlights include:

Getting to hear five Lone Star authors (all ladies) speak about their books, their writing process, and why they like to write for teens and young adults. The five authors I heard speak were Ally Carter, Tera Lynn Childs, Marie Lu, Mary Pearson and Kiersten White. I got autographs from Ally Carter and Marie Lu. I also got an autograph from Jennifer Ziegler, another author whose book made it to a Texas Lone Star list.

Sitting in on a session with Buffy Hamilton, "The Unquiet Librarian."

Attending the Texas Bluebonnet Award Author Luncheon. The winner of the 2012-13 Texas Bluebonnet Award was Simms Taback for his book Postcards from Camp. Sadly, Mr. Taback died
on Christmas Day 2011. He knew his book had been nominated for the Texas Bluebonnet Award, but he didn't get to live to see it get voted as the favorite book of students in grades 3 through 7.  His editor accepted the award on his behalf and presented a very moving video tribute about his life, books and art. I learned an interesting fact about him, too. Taback designed the first McDonalds Happy Meal box in 1977 since not only was he an author, but a graphic designer!

I also enjoy the time I get to spend with my fellow Midlothian ISD library media specialists and librarians from all across the state of Texas and beyond!