Panel Fun

[Love Is Murder Conference]

You still have a couple days to get your panel ideas in to the LIM Board! Go to the site by November 1 and submit your panel and presenting ideas. There have been more than a few times at LIM where I've heard someone speak then I've gone to get a couple of their books and then had them signed. Speaking on a panel is great for marketing. It can also be fun.

Fellow librarians and Readers Advisory experts Marlene Leonardi from the Palatine PL and Susan Gibberman from Schaumburg Twp. Library have been offering the topic of how to get your books into libraries for the past several LIMs. For the past two years it's been my privilege to join them. Last year, we also did "Books You Should Be Reading, but Aren't!"

Get this - those panels are always packed. We were very surprised by the response to the last one. People were even standing in the back. Many of us are writers with other jobs - who has time to read? Really, though, I'd rather read than eat some days, with the right book. (except if chocolate is available) So clearly we are a book hungry bunch.

My point is that you never know what panel will appeal to folks, so think about what you love about writing, or reading in my case, and how you can present that in a way other folks will enjoy. What panels at conferences have you enjoyed? It's not always about the people. I'm not a good public speaker; but I do get pretty passionate and wordy about YA stuff. Marlene and Susan are both humorous and knowledgeable, and I know that has a lot to do with it.

So send in your panel ideas before 11/1.

We will be repeating both those panels, and I'm already making notes of teen books adults would love. For example, there is a fabulous closed-door type scenario YA mystery called The Night My Sister Went Missing by Carol Plum-Ucci. I reviewed it for Crimespree a while back. I've bought it as gifts for YAs and adults. I have at home right now 12 YA mysteries to review for my next Crimespree article too.

What have you read that was fabulous about which no one knows?