A few nice things for you
signed bookplates, free book club visits, a surprise event, and more!
Dear Scuttlebutt readers,
Today’s newsletter is a collection of nice springtime odds and ends: a promotion I’m running to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day, a reminder about my free virtual visits to classroom groups & book clubs, information about a surprise Pittsburgh book event, and a sneak peek at The Tinkerers advance copies!
Signed bookplates for Indie Bookstore Day
Independent Bookstore Day is coming up on Saturday, April 26th, and I want to encourage you all to support your favorite indie bookstores, so I’m running a signed bookplate & bookmark giveaway until the end of this month! All you have to do is buy a copy of Wicked Marigold from an independent bookstore by April 30th. (It can be for yourself or for a young reader. You can pick up the hardcover or preorder the paperback. You can go to the store in person or order your copy online. You can even special order a copy if it’s not in stock at your favorite store. All options are okay as long as you’re supporting an indie you love!)
Once you’ve made your purchase, send me a photo or screenshot of your receipt at caroline [at] carolinecarlsonbooks [dot] com. (I don’t need all your personal details, just proof that you ordered Wicked Marigold from an independent bookstore!) Tell me how you’d like your signed bookplate personalized and where I should send it, and I’ll pop it in the mail, along with a very cool Wicked Marigold bookmark and possibly some other swag depending on what fits in the envelope.
Free book club visits
I had a great virtual visit earlier this month with members of a 4th and 5th grade book club in Massachusetts, and I wanted to remind you all that I offer free 20-minute virtual Q&A-style visits with any group of readers that has read at least one of my books! This is my favorite kind of visit because it revolves entirely around the questions readers have for me, which I love hearing and answering. Your group can be a classroom group, a book club, or just a group of friends. I’ve spoken to after-school book clubs, mother-son book clubs, library book clubs, girl scout troops, classes where teachers have used my books as readalouds, and more!
(Oh, and by the way: If you’re a teacher and you’d like to use Wicked Marigold or The Door at the End of the World in your classroom, I’ve got downloadable readers’ guides for both of those books on my website. You can read the book as a class, check out the readers’ guide for fun activities for your students, and invite me for a virtual visit when you’ve finished reading!)
To schedule a virtual visit, email me at caroline [at] carolinecarlsonbooks [dot] com.
Surprise Pittsburgh event
If you happen to be in Pittsburgh, I wanted to let you know that I’ll be in conversation with the children’s author Jonathan Auxier at Riverstone Books Squirrel Hill on Saturday, May 3. Jonathan’s new book, The War of the Maps, is a wonderful fantasy adventure that readers of all ages will adore. If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll come to hear our conversation about Jonathan’s books and his writing process. If you’re not in western Pennsylvania, I hope you’ll check out The War of the Maps in your own part of the world!
The Tinkerers advance copies are here!
If you follow me on social media, you might have seen a video of the gorgeous advance copies of The Tinkerers that I got in the mail recently. They are absolutely dazzling, designed by Lissi Erwin and put together by the whole talented team at Candlewick Press. I’ll have more behind-the-scenes looks at The Tinkerers in upcoming newsletters, but for now, you can preorder the book or add it on Goodreads! I can’t wait to share this story with you in October.
Happy reading,
Caroline