Friday, November 7, 2014

3 (Yes, THREE!) Weeks of Thanks-Giving plus Another CWIM Giveaway!


If your name wasn't selected in the drawing for our 2015 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market (CWIM) giveaway, I have good news for you: Writer's Digest Books, publisher of the CWIM, has generously donated a SECOND COPY for us to give away! (The 2015 CWIM features my interview roundup article, "Writing for Boys (and other 'Reluctant Readers')," which contains advice and insights from four award-winning authors known for writing books that appeal to reluctant readers: Matt de la PeñaLenore LookDavid Lubar, and Steve Sheinkin.) See entry details at the end of this post. And congratulations to Sue H, who won the first copy.

If you're a long-time TeachingAuthors follower, you know about our tradition of setting aside time in November to give thanks. It started in 2011, with our Ten Days of Thanks-Giving, inspired, in part, by Esther post about thank-you haikus, also known as Thankus. In 2012 we expanded to Two Weeks of Thanks-Giving, which we repeated in 2013. This year, we've decided to stretch our Thanks-Giving posts to a full Three Weeks of Thanks-Giving!


We're going to keep our Thanks-Giving simple this year. Each of the TeachingAuthors will share 3 things we're grateful for. As in years past, we're also inviting you, our readers (and your students!), to join in by sharing your own "gratitudes" with us in one of three ways:
  1. Share them in a comment to any of our blog posts from today through Nov. 28.
  2. Send them to us via email to teachingauthors [at] gmail [dot] com, with "Thanks-Giving" as the subject. Depending on the number of emails we receive, we may share some of your gratitiudes in our posts.
  3. Post them on your own blog and then share the link with us via a comment or email. (Feel free to include the above image in your post.) On November 28, I'll provide a round-up of all the links we receive.
To get us started, here are my three "gratitudes":
  1. My loving and supportive family. First and foremost, I'm grateful for the three very special men in my life: my husband, my son, and my father-in-law (who now occupies my son's old room). But I'm also blessed to have a wonderful extended family--being Italian means that includes A LOT of people. J
  2. My wonderful writing friends. Three groups, in particular, support and nurture me on a regular basis: my fellow TeachingAuthors, my Vermont College classmates (known as The Hive), and my critique group. Without them, I would have quit writing a long time ago. Thanks for helping me stick with it, Ladies!
  3. Our amazing TeachingAuthor readers. This blog wouldn't be here if not for the feedback and affirmation we receive from you, our readers. I'm especially grateful for three lovely ladies I've never met who often comment on my posts, so I know someone is reading them: Linda Baie, Jan Godown Annino, and Rosi.   
Hmm. I'm sensing a theme here. It inspired me to write this Thanku:

Thanks-Giving

Three times three times three . . . . . 
My thanks keep multiplying,
to infinity.

© 2014 Carmela Martino, All Rights Reserved

I invite all of you to also participate in our Three Weeks of Thanks-Giving and share your "gratitudes" with us!

To my above "gratitudes," I'd like to add a huge THANK YOU! to Writer's Digest Books for donating a second copy of the 2015 Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market (CWIM) for us to give away.


Readers, use the Rafflecopter widget at the end of this post to enter our giveaway drawing. You may enter via 1, 2, or all 3 options. The giveaway ends on Nov. 28. 

When you're done here, check out the terrific Poetry Friday roundup over at Diane Mayr's Random Noodling.

Good luck and happy writing!
Carmela

P.S. If you've never entered a Rafflecopter giveaway, here's info on how to enter a Rafflecopter giveaway and the difference between signing in with Facebook vs. with an email address. Email subscribers: if you received this post via email, you can click on the Rafflecopter link at the end of this message to access the entry form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

25 comments:

Diane Mayr said...

Thanks, Carmela, for starting off the season of thanks with this heart-felt post. I was lucky enough to meet Linda B. last year at the NCTE conference in Boston.

Linda B said...

I'm in the throes of some new things happening to me at my school, & am so busy, so seeing your thank you to me is like a hug this morning, Carmela. I love reading all of the Teaching Authors post, & have shared your ideas with other writer friends. And, it was a huge treat to meet Diane last year at NCTE-sorry I'm not going this time. Love that you're starting Thankus again-such a wonderful idea. Your 'three times three times three' is a blessing, isn't it? Happy Friday!

Carmela Martino said...

I'm happy to kick off this season of gratitude, Diane. Thanks for stopping by. One of my fellow TAs also met Linda in person and I hope to one day as well.
Linda, I'm smiling, knowing that my thanks felt like a "hug" to you this morning. I wish you the best in all your new things. Don't forget to make time to breathe! :-)

JoAnn Early Macken said...

I love the heartfelt poem, Marti! You've got me thinking already about my own "gratitudes." How will I limit them to three?

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes said...

What a sweet Thanku, Carmela! This is a wonderful time of year, isn't it? I love that you and your fellow Teaching Authors always expand the thankfulness into a community event.

Tara said...

People who stop by to read what we post and leave something lovely and meaningful are definitely worthy of ThankU's ! This is just the time to pause and think about our own ThankU's - so, blog post to follow!

Karen Edmisten said...

Love the Thanku! (The idea, and the execution.) :)

Carmela Martino said...

Thanks, JoAnn. I sort of cheated by having three "categories" of people I'm grateful for, rather than just 3 things. :-)
Thanks, Michelle. Thanks also, for your support of our blog over the years.
Hurrah, Tara! I look forward to reading your post.
Thanks for the affirmation, Karen, and for stopping by.

jan godown annino said...

Heartmelt.
To Find A Certain Name I Often WRite, Here. Among luminous names.
I feel I've won the Newbery!

If I could, I would scoop up our red flowers still abloom in North FL - spikes of cardinal guard, pentas & lipstick flowers - & whoosh them up & out to every Teaching Author.

Like you all I believe in a multitude of giving thanks, so here is that linkydkiny, with appreciations, as always for the generous TAs

My URL to participate is:

http://bookseedstudio.wordpress.com/2014/11/07/appreciations/

This is at Bookseedstudio, for the specific thankfulness that fits this post, scroll down to the very end.



jama said...

Loved your thanku and three gratitudes, Carmela. What a lovely post to usher in the weekend and a month of thanksgiving. :)

Margaret G. said...

I loved your Thanku! What a great idea. I'm thankful for my husband who is supportive of giving me time to write, my children who provide infinite inspiration, and my writing community -- without them I would be lost.

Bridget Magee said...

Thank-ku = brilliant! Thank you for this heartfelt post and all the insight you share. Love the idea of gratitude multiplying. =)

Margaret Simon said...

Thankus are great fun. My students love them and often write them for their teachers. I have a favorite Thanku pinned to my bulletin board.

"The seed of a rose
You sprout your knowledge like roots
We share our petals."
by K

Thanks for the reminder and for your thanks to commenters. Linda is one of my top commenters, too. She sure gets around.

Joyce Ray said...

Carmela, Thank YOU for encouraging the concept of gratitude with your readers. We all need reminders. Health, Loved Ones and Faith top my list today. Thankful moments throughout each day could really lift our spirits!

Esther Hershenhorn said...

I love reading this response to our Thankus - and especially - to yours, Marti.
I return the thanks to you and our readers.

Carmela Martino said...

Sorry, everyone, but I've been offline several days and unable to respond to all your lovely comments.
Jan, thanks for the virtual flowers. :-)
Jama and Margaret, I'm glad you like my Thanku.
Bridget, so happy you enjoyed the post.
Margaret, thanks so much for sharing your student's Thanku. How lovely!
Joyce, love that you shared your gratitudes with us.
Isn't this marvelous, Esther, and YOU started it all!

michelle kogan said...

For Carmella and the TeachingAuthors,

Thanku

thanku for your keen
haiku and teachingauthors
insights through the year

Carmela Martino said...

LOVE your Thanku, Michelle. <3
Thanks so much!

April Halprin Wayland said...

Dear Carmela,

I don't think you can call THANKING too many people cheating. I just don't.

Beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Thankful at this exact moment for KidLit 411, who steered me here. I have just discovered TeacherAuthors and will follow.
Meanwhile, I am in constant thanks for God's grace that covers my brokenness, for faith that maintains my hope, for surrender that empowers me.
Grateful to be carried into a season of life where I can pursue a writing dream, and for all the wonderful writers in this virtual community I have access to.
LOVE the thankus ...

Offering

bright coins Leaves that fall
golden whispered gratitudes
given back to Roots

Carmela Martino said...

SevenAcreSky, and we're thankful you found us, and that you shared your terrific Thanku with us!

Unknown said...

I am thankful for all the supporting websites and blogs aimed at writing. I never knew how little I knew until I started reading about writing! I am thankful for my friends, family, and pets...they know who they are.:) Last, I am thankful for all the blessings I have been given throughout my life. Even when things weren't great, there was a blessing to be found.

JEN Garrett said...

What am I thankful for?:
1. Chicken Noodle Soup
2. Hippos
3. Chocolate
Why? Because these are a few of my favorite picture book ideas.

Carmela Martino said...

Judy and Jen, thanks for sharing your gratitudes with us. Wishing great things for your writing!

Rosi said...

Thanks for a lovely post and for the shout out! Very nice. Three things I'm grateful for are having my family with me for the holiday, having by daughter do all the cooking (Yup -- ALL!), and for having a chance to win CWIM.