Mackenzie Reide and Bridget Smith
January 2012's KidLit Drink Night reminded me of a scene out of the TV show, Entourage. I arrived at The Public House on East 41st Street in New York City only to find a line outside and the entrance guarded by bouncers.
"Wow!" I thought, "The children's book world has reached new heights of glamor."
I told one of the bouncers that I was with a group of librarians, and he said, " Go right in."
Okay, so the line was actually for college kids and young professionals crowding the downstairs bar, and the librarians were a separate group on the mezzanine balcony. But, I still felt like Vince or E cutting ahead of the line.
The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators is in town for their annual conference, so this was a special SCBWI edition of KidLit Drink Night. I caught a glimpse of Elizabeth Bird of the New York Public Library and Cheryl Klein of Scholastic, who were the original creators of this event.
Mackenzie Reide and Stephen Martin
I spotted Mackenzie Reide, one of the four new hosts of the program, talking with Stephen Martin (a member of the Metropolitan New York SCBWI steering committee). She introduced me to Bridget Smith, the assistant and office manager at Dunham Literary, a literary agency.
Barbara Ehrentreu
I also spoke with Barbara Ehrentreu, author of the young adult novel, If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor from Muse It Up publishing.
Kari-Lynn Winters, Clare DiLiscia Baird, Kirsten Carlson
And I met Kari-Lynn Winters (author and literacy researcher), Clare DiLiscia Baird (author), and Kirsten Carlson (author/illustrator and SCBWI regional advisor in Germany).
KidLit Drink Night tends to happen about once a month. All are welcome. You can get on the mailing list by sending an email to nyckidlitdrinks at gmail dot com. I look forward to seeing you there.