Lee Wind Newsletter #19 - December 2012 - February 24, 2013

[Lee Wind]

Hi, and welcome to the nineteenth edition of my newsletter!   

It's February and heck that's almost over, too.  So here's a nearly three-month edition of my newsletter - it's packed with books & GSA news, kid lit news, and news about what's kept me so busy I haven't had a chance to send this out until now!

I've organized the information into four sections, 

1.  New on the "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?" Blog (Books and GSA News)

2.  Speaker Visit News (what I've been up to and what's coming up)

3.  Children's Literature, SCBWI and Publishing Updates

4.  Current Inspiration

I hope you find it useful and inspiring.

Thanks for reading!

Namaste,

Lee

ps - if you'd like to respond, please don't hit "reply" - just send me an email to:  iamleewind (at) gmail (dot) com.  Thanks!

1.  New on the "I'm Here. I'm Queer.  What the Hell do I Read?" Blog:

Books:

Megume and the Trees - a teen lesbian debut novel http://bit.ly/V7a1Mw

 

Briar Rose - a woman discovers her grandmother's Holocaust Survival Story (& a gay partisan fighter!) http://bit.ly/UR3oYN

 

Starting From Here - A Teen Lesbian Novel http://bit.ly/TLADME

 

Rainbow Family Collections - new resource for kids books with #glbtq content! http://bit.ly/UG5lZ9

 

The You Know Who Girls: Freshman Year - A Lesbian Teen Series begins! http://bit.ly/Tv1FtA

 

Interview with Annameekee Hesik, author of "The You Know Who Girls" - Lesbian teen fiction http://bit.ly/Tv1sXc

 

Gender Now Coloring Book - for kids & adults http://bit.ly/Yq79L3 #glbtq

 

My Almost Certainly Real Imaginary Jesus - a lesbian memoir http://bit.ly/13ky2kc

 

Confessions of a Teenage Hermaphrodite - an intersex novel http://bit.ly/TmnH5y

 

Way To Go - a coming out story for boys and girls http://bit.ly/Wtoazz

 

But She is my student - lesbian 18y.o. teen/teacher love affair http://bit.ly/TmpO9x

 

Bumbling Into Body Hair: A Transsexual's Memoir http://bit.ly/TmpZln

 

In Your Room - a boy-girl teen romance where the guy has 2 moms http://bit.ly/WcHlgc

 

The Winter Garden - Fariy Tales for Gay Teens http://bit.ly/15tO1gQ

 

Obscura Burning - a Bi Sci Fi Thriller http://bit.ly/11EHMb4

 

Troll or Derby - teen lesbian crushes, roller derby & fairies! http://bit.ly/11EHVLp

 

Have You Seen Me - a Gay/Bi Novella http://bit.ly/X0pY4J

 

Tiger Lily - A Transgender teen historical supernatural novel http://bit.ly/TMgwCI

 

Sunblood - a gay teen sci fi novella http://bit.ly/14PeNQm

 

One in Every Crowd - stories for & about queer youth #glbtq http://bit.ly/13ds6uN

 

Blue Magic - a teen lesbian dystopian novel with magic & a transgender parent http://bit.ly/13dsf1q

 

Collective Brightness: #LGBTA poets on faith, religion & spirituality http://bit.ly/13dsV6V

 

The 2013 ALA Youth Media BEST Queer Book Award! http://bit.ly/11fawH1

 

The 2013 ALA Rainbow List (Best books for kids & teens with #lgbtq characters and content) http://bit.ly/XXEzvg

 

Culture, Politics & Gay-Straight Alliance News:

Gendercast – a fantastic podcast about gender http://bit.ly/XylcLL

 

On Fuddy Duddiness - advice for Queer Youth by Ryka Aoki http://bit.ly/XwRWD1 #glbtq

 

Obama’s Inauguration speech – gays included, trans not http://bit.ly/10KXafI

 

The 40 to None project - end #lgbtq youth homelessness! http://bit.ly/12YJuUc

 

The Ads for Schwarzenegger's latest film makes things worse #itgetsbetter http://bit.ly/XylelZ

 

2013 is a year to use our power for good: Josh & Brent from the amazing race http://bit.ly/UvOzev

 

Celebrate Gender Queer Holidays! http://bit.ly/XLv8S3

 

AZ Principal punishes high school boys by making them HOLD HANDS http://bit.ly/VraEzW  #homophobia

 

Straight Up Thanks - online place to thank our #glbtq allies! http://bit.ly/QKjBSn

 

Nominate YOUR #lgbtq Icon for Oct 2013 LGBT History Month Celebration! http://bit.ly/QKjR3D

 

It Starts With One - A great video about ending #bullying thanks @CherylRainfeld bit.ly/UfiMy7

 

APA: Being Trans is no longer a mental disorder! http://bit.ly/TUXnxF #lgbtq

 

Katy Perry gets the @trevorproject hero award! http://bit.ly/TX3uRb

 

Take Action music tour benefits #itgetsbetter http://bit.ly/WtoFtB

 

21 Great #lgbtq moments in music http://bit.ly/12YIIXj

 

The WE DO campaign for marriage equality in the US South http://bit.ly/12YJDqX

 

Jacob (a H.S. senior) comes out and his dad posts it proudly to youtube http://bit.ly/12YJROx

 

Teacher suspended for playing song about growing up gay http://bit.ly/12YKqYM

 

On God's Campus - Queer Students at Christian Colleges http://bit.ly/YApjqz

 

Gay Ally Chris Kluwe on Stephen Colbert http://bit.ly/13dtfCA

 

Call for submissions for new book on building intergenerational #lgbtq community http://bit.ly/13dtU6Z

 

2.  Speaker Visit News:

It’s a busy few months…

 

In January:

 

I presented a keynote on “Creating Safe Space and Ending Anti-Gay (And All) Bullying… and what Teachers Can Do” and my “Smashing Stereotypes” workshop to an audience of educators and college students at Fresno State University. (My second time being asked to speak at the university!)

 

I also did a day of “Smashing Stereotypes” workshops at the Archer School for girls in Los Angeles as part of their Diversity Day.

 

 

In February:

 

I attended, blogged and led the official SCBWI Team Blog coverage of the SCBWI Winter Conference in New York.  A real highlight was hosting the LGBTQ&A, which featured literary powerhouses Jane Yolen, Ellen Hopkins and Bruce Coville and was a packed room!  You can read more about the conference at the official conference blog here: 

http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/

and more about the LGBTQ&A here:

http://scbwiconference.blogspot.com/2013/02/lgbtq.html

 

I also attended the Supporting Students Saving Lives conference in San Diego (the 4^th annual national educator conference focused on LGBTQIA Youth) and had a wonderful time!  (I tweeted some of the highlights, which will be an upcoming blog post!)  If you want your tweets in a more timely fashion, you can follow me on twitter here:

https://twitter.com/leewind

 

I shared my “Discovering LGBTQ History” presentation at Brentwood School in Brentwood, CA for their Diversity Day.

 

I presented my “Creating Safe Space: Ending Anti-Gay (And All!) Bullying in our Culture… and at YOUR School” at the Marlborough School in Los Angeles to their 8^th grade students, and my “Smashing Stereotypes” workshop to a psychology class of 11^th and 12^th graders. It was my second year at Marlborough, and I especially loved meeting with their Alliance club (and getting a wonderful sweatshirt with the tagline: love is love is love is love!)

 

Coming Up…

 

I’m very excited that for the third year in a row, I’ll be presenting at Palisades Charter High School in Pacific Palisades, California.  In March I’ll be doing multiple assemblies on “SAFE SPACE: Ending Anti-Gay Bullying in our Culture… and at YOUR SCHOOL!”

 

In March I’ll also be sharing my “Smashing Stereotypes” Workshop for 9^th graders at Brentwood School – which will mark my fourth year of giving this workshop for their entire 9^th grade student body!

 

On March 9 and 10 I’ll be co-running SCBWI Los Angeles’ Writer’s Days, where we’ll be exploring Diversity with literary agent Adriana Dominguez, editor Daniel Nayeri, Award-Winning Author Malinda Lo, New York Times Bestselling Author Nikki Grimes, and Author/Illustrator Eugene Yelchin.  You can find out more (and still register) here:

http://scbwila2013diversity.eventbrite.com

 

And in April I’m scheduled to present “Discovering LGBTQ History” to the GLBT Caucus of the California Teachers Association!

 

For more info on my speaker visits: http://www.smashingstereotypes.org/

 

3.  Children's Literature, SCBWI and Publishing Updates 

Where would we be without books? a song for 2013 http://bit.ly/VGr9a6

 

Inspiration for 2013: The Art of the Possible http://bit.ly/W3U8ak

 

Inspiration as we “graduate” 2012:  Tony Kushner’s words to artists http://bit.ly/X4VJLj

 

New York Times bestseller lists to separate MG and YA titles http://bit.ly/Zh8VzF

 

Is YOUR kidlit article up for the #SCBWI Magazine Merit Awards? Deadline Dec 15! http://bit.ly/TLC4us

 

Short Stories & Poetry: A Digital Renaissance Moment? http://bit.ly/QKjZ3e

 

Yolanda Scott: The Exclusive Pre-#NY13SCBWI Interview http://bit.ly/UxPsDT

 

Simon & Schuster latest publisher to offer self-publishing services http://bit.ly/Ufjyef

 

The Standards are coming! Is the new common core unfriendly to fiction? #scbwi http://bit.ly/TX3oZS

 

Give yourself the gift of a #SCBWI int'l conference: #NY13SCBWI http://bit.ly/12rVR9m

 

Editor Françoise Bui - the pre-#NY13SCBWI Interview! http://bit.ly/U0VwWF

 

The Winners of #SCBWI's On-The-Verge Emerging Voices Award! http://t.co/adbRBg4l

 

Lisa Schroeder's timeline and checklist for a book release http://bit.ly/W9n37N #scbwi

 

Shaun Tan - the exclusive #NY13SCBWI interview! http://bit.ly/Tmo1Bv

 

Lambda Literary Foundation's writers retreat! http://bit.ly/W0mxvP

 

The 2013 Comment Challenge http://bit.ly/SoFZTj

 

The 2013 Comment Challenge Finale http://bit.ly/11b7mUP

 

Valiska Gregory wins the #scbwi Jane Yolen Mid-List Author Award! http://bit.ly/VGqFAN

 

#scbwi Jane Yolen Mid-List Author Honoree: Margo Lemieux http://bit.ly/Y8uygq

 

Author/Illustrator Jarret Krosoczka: How a boy became an artist http://bit.ly/VGqHbP

 

Int’l Book Giving Day - http://bit.ly/XuAXnW

 

scbwi conference prep tips http://bit.ly/11b7zqZ

 

A twitter view of #ny13scbwi http://bit.ly/YAp3aT

 

The 2013 ALA's youth media awards! http://bit.ly/ViQPYJ  #scbwi

 

Wed Writing Workouts - new from Teaching Authors http://bit.ly/VGqSnx  #scbwi

 

Cynthia Leitich Smith's GREAT resources for writers & illustrators http://bit.ly/VGqXrc #scbwi

 

Mitali Perkins' 10 tips on writing race in novels http://bit.ly/VGr4mx  #scbwi

 

Get your vote in! #scbwi 2013 Crystal Kite Round 1 voting open til Feb 28 http://bit.ly/VP2xhT

 

#SCBWI Los Angeles Writer's Days - Exploring Diversity! http://bit.ly/13dszNw

 

4.  Current Inspiration:

"Elementary school taught us that variety is what makes the world beautiful.  In high school, variety is weird and conformity is survival." 

-Beth Ann Katz, as quoted on page 313 of "The Geeks Shall Inherit The Earth" by Alexandra Robbins.  Find out more about this great non-fiction book about bullying and outsider status here:  http://bit.ly/LaFYuT 

Thanks for reading!

best,

Lee

Lee Wind, M.Ed.

Blogger, Author, Speaker

Founding Blogger of "I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell do I Read?"  (Voted Best GLBT Book Blog, BBAW 2009 and 2011) at http://www.leewind.org

Official Blogger for SCBWI: THE BLOG at http://scbwi.blogspot.com/ and Captain of SCBWI Team Blog

Co-Regional Advisor, SCBWI Los Angeles 

iamle...@gmail.com

http://twitter.com/LeeWind

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