tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post5827990609143822622..comments2024-03-15T09:26:02.796-05:00Comments on PROJECT MAYHEM: The Hugos and Kidlit, by Matthew MacNishProject Mayhemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05154342399869089664noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-73746873436333827022015-08-31T13:13:44.398-05:002015-08-31T13:13:44.398-05:00Thanks, Joe! Honestly, I'm just so busy at wor...Thanks, Joe! Honestly, I'm just so busy at work and raising my family and running my company that I have so very little precious time for writing. Blogging once a month doesn't take up that much time, but it's just one of those things where I have to prioritize to find any time to write.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-2308448731071152112015-08-31T13:12:41.051-05:002015-08-31T13:12:41.051-05:00Thanks, Heather!Thanks, Heather!Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-27849605362482907562015-08-25T10:23:35.946-05:002015-08-25T10:23:35.946-05:00Great post, mathew. This is a wonderful example of...Great post, mathew. This is a wonderful example of a great blog post. Love the links and the commentary. Now why no new posts? How's the re-evaluating going?Joe Lunieviczhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14484546087380905437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-43692128202879725432015-08-25T08:15:28.912-05:002015-08-25T08:15:28.912-05:00Thanks, Heather!Thanks, Heather!Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-2523708206189867812015-08-25T07:55:58.309-05:002015-08-25T07:55:58.309-05:00Love that your dad read to you and that's your...Love that your dad read to you and that's your wonderful memory. I read every night to my son and still do when the right book comes along. He's 9 so he likes to read his own books and I love that the most. Take care of you. Keep moving forward. HeatherHeather M. Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232419331422866247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-91873050335420120072015-08-25T07:55:31.386-05:002015-08-25T07:55:31.386-05:00Love that your dad read to you and that's your...Love that your dad read to you and that's your wonderful memory. I read every night to my son and still do when the right book comes along. He's 9 so he likes to read his own books and I love that the most. Take care of you. Keep moving forward. HeatherHeather M. Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07232419331422866247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-7081007562745051062015-08-25T06:40:37.522-05:002015-08-25T06:40:37.522-05:00Probably, to some degree.Probably, to some degree.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-63937615488550482942015-08-25T06:28:22.652-05:002015-08-25T06:28:22.652-05:00Isn't all viting ultimately a popularity conte...Isn't all viting ultimately a popularity contest at heart?Sean O'Brienhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14453652984394884519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-14085974882576593782015-08-25T05:41:20.201-05:002015-08-25T05:41:20.201-05:00Dianne, I ABSOLUTELY will still accept critiques a...Dianne, I ABSOLUTELY will still accept critiques at my blog, and I'm happy to do them anytime. Sadly, I haven't had a request for one in months.<br /><br />And I think you're probably right about biases against kidlit. I think there is often an element of jealousy or at least lack of understanding in most prejudice.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-25583173297576067452015-08-24T22:36:17.303-05:002015-08-24T22:36:17.303-05:00I know there are artificial barriers to children a...I know there are artificial barriers to children and YA authors in many writing communities and awards. I can't say I spend a lot of time thinking about it, since I'm introverted enough to think: Any group that doesn't want me as a member ... makes me want to go hide in the nearest public restroom.<br /><br />However, while hiding inside a stall, I can say that I'm pretty sure these barriers come from people who are FRIGHTENED by the quality of literature being written for children and teens -- as well as the popularity of these works. I feel nothing but pity for the recent adult authors who have written disparagingly about YA and MG books. ("Blah, blah, I've never read Harry Potter, and adults who read it are missing out on important adult works.") Don't you hear the seething jealousy in those words?<br /><br />Matt, we at Project Mayhem will miss hearing from you on a monthly basis, but we all have times when blogging has to take a back seat to life, work, and writing. I hope you'll still consider accepting query critiques at your personal blog because I reference you ALL THE TIME. Not everyone takes my advice, but occasionally someone does.<br /><br />All the best for you going forward from here ... DianneDianne K. Salernihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16459839567235304842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-74277008923303015852015-08-24T12:25:54.735-05:002015-08-24T12:25:54.735-05:00Novelette! That's right.Novelette! That's right. Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-91492072460481831112015-08-24T12:00:35.101-05:002015-08-24T12:00:35.101-05:00That would be a novelette, which is after a short ...That would be a novelette, which is after a short story and before a novella, just in case no one answered that (because I'm not reading through the comments).<br /><br />I did a post (or two?) about the puppy thing a while back.<br /><br />I agree with you about books.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-15946499679814793492015-08-24T11:52:43.188-05:002015-08-24T11:52:43.188-05:00Absolutely.Absolutely.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-18639807658616423782015-08-24T11:50:13.897-05:002015-08-24T11:50:13.897-05:00I think it's pretty damn important that divers...I think it's pretty damn important that diversity be important for kid lit, because we need to be introducing the beauty of diversity at an early age. alexiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07122487552931794871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-22080406876958265202015-08-24T11:33:12.430-05:002015-08-24T11:33:12.430-05:00LOTR definitely instilled a love of the written wo...LOTR definitely instilled a love of the written word in me from a very young age, Lee. And it did take a long time! Several months if I recall correctly.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-61544174850506999552015-08-24T11:31:06.280-05:002015-08-24T11:31:06.280-05:00Definitely not the end forever, Caroline! I love b...Definitely not the end forever, Caroline! I love being a part of this blog, and hope to oneday have more to offer again. Lately it is simply that I have not had any time to write, and if I'm not doing that, there seems to be little point to <i>blogging about writing.</i><br /><br />But yeah, I can only imagine what the experience of writing MG novels in verse is like, and how that must sometimes leave you feeling like an outside as well. Thankfully we have each other, and some readers who get it. :)Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-49332220169393759662015-08-24T11:30:11.337-05:002015-08-24T11:30:11.337-05:00I don't keep up with writing awards so I have ...I don't keep up with writing awards so I have little opinion of that. I'm still impressed that your father read <i>Lord of the Rings</i> to you when you were a kid. That must have taken a very long time!<br /><br />Personally I think it's a good idea to read advanced books to kids rather than just child lit. I used to read some rather advanced books and stories to my girls when they were little and they seemed to keep up with them just fine. I'd also make up a lot of my own stories and they loved those. My stories could get pretty strange sometimes.<br /><br />Arlee Bird<br />A to Z Challenge Co-host<br /><a href="http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Tossing It Out</a><br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-19976550055822461442015-08-24T11:28:49.577-05:002015-08-24T11:28:49.577-05:00All excellent points Steph! Thank you very much fo...All excellent points Steph! Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-35980254373182160582015-08-24T11:04:50.746-05:002015-08-24T11:04:50.746-05:00Matt, you've been here since the beginning (or...Matt, you've been here since the beginning (or at least my beginning here)! I hope this isn't the end forever. Here's to learning what you want to do and finding deep satisfaction there.<br /><br />Very curious about the sad puppy / rabid puppy...<br /><br />Fair or not, I think children's literature will always be the "less important" one when paired with adult literature. We are the deviation from the norm. I find this with verse novels within the kidlit community. Anything that isn't the standard makes its acceptance more difficult. BUT that doesn't devalue it (as we know...even if others perhaps don't).Caroline Starr Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04597510685273079757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-6463221517313028742015-08-24T11:01:18.175-05:002015-08-24T11:01:18.175-05:00This battle has been going on for awhile, and well...This battle has been going on for awhile, and well, I have my opinions and I'm not feeling bad for people butthurt that women or people of color are getting attention. Having said that, sometimes issues like this expose a need to look at how the contest itself is set up and whether it serves the community well enough. <br /><br />RWA (romance writers) is beginning to see a similar issue after a Nazi gestapo Christian inspirational made it through to the Ritas this year. It's not that RWA nominated this book, it's that the author paid to submit it, and just enough people (5-10) rated it high enough to make it through. This pokes at a rather disturbing underbelly of ignorance regardless, but if you even blink at the US political news, I think it's pretty clear we are in the midst of a culture and values war where racism, sexism, and privilage are being dissected. Stephscohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06328839483008086049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-74140429996184693282015-08-24T09:39:25.027-05:002015-08-24T09:39:25.027-05:00I can only hope, in the long run, that the increas...I can only hope, in the long run, that the increased awareness is for the best.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-20138573131748988932015-08-24T09:39:00.627-05:002015-08-24T09:39:00.627-05:00I'm sure you're not the only one, Bish.I'm sure you're not the only one, Bish.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-63865946085360529292015-08-24T09:25:02.977-05:002015-08-24T09:25:02.977-05:00I definitely am all for anything that is more incl...I definitely am all for anything that is more inclusive, whether it is book content or more people involved in voting. I hated seeing this process getting so politicized.Hart Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17599570189253229318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-33816667429329606582015-08-24T09:01:20.861-05:002015-08-24T09:01:20.861-05:00I didn't realize there were such barriers. Hav...I didn't realize there were such barriers. Having read all Bacigalupi's books it seems there should be a category for children'ts novels. I bet I'm not the only one who was introduced to SciFi through children's books by authors like Burroughs, Verne, or L'Engle.Bish Denhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13359927719391990534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2173408054965817352.post-23382050521850479452015-08-24T08:58:59.280-05:002015-08-24T08:58:59.280-05:00I hope so Jay. I am definitely encouraged by the t...I hope so Jay. I am definitely encouraged by the turnout they experienced this year.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.com