The Pull of Gravity: A Very Authory Post

The moody hardcover with the too-young looking,
too-Justin Biebery Nick -
oh, I won't miss you hardover Nick... ;)

SO,

this blog o' mine has had a one-track mind to Friday Feedback this summer ...
especially because of my involvement with the uber-amazing Teachers Write! program with Kate Messner, Jen Vincent and, really, Jo Knowles.
But, I've let other things lag.

So, I thought I'd take a few minutes to catch you all up on all my other authory stuff.

If you don't care about my other authory stuff and just want to hear about the movie stuff, scroll down . . . ;)


First, The Pull of Gravity will be out in paperback this winter (2/5/13!!).

I'm psyched and am loving and adoring the new cover:

What do you think?
If you like it, maybe you'll go click "like" on Amazon?

Other Cool TPoG things:

• In addition to being a Bank Street, Nerdy Book Club, and PSLA pick for Best of YA fiction in 2011 and/or 2012, The Pull of Gravity will also be a National Battle of the Books book selection for 2013-14. If you are involved with a particular state's BOB, I would love to be included! If you're close enough, I'll come and participate! :)

• I've noticed The Pull of Gravity on several summer assignment reading lists around the web. If you are a classroom teacher (or librarian) using the book, and read this post, please contact me!!! (g.polisner@gmail.com)

I will be happy to Skype in for free (or pay another type of school visit, circumstances depending). Or, at the very least, send bookmarks! :)



That's me, the giant head of Oz, Skyping into an 8th grade classroom last spring :)

And, while I'm at it, thanks to Kate Messner, here is a list of other MG and YA authors who will Skype into your classroom for free: http://www.katemessner.com/authors-who-skype-with-classes-book-clubs-for-free/

• In September, I will be Skyping in to my first CANADIAN book club -- the Chapters Kanata Youth Book Club in Ontario. I will also be paying an in-person visit to the Upper Dauphin Area High School in Elizabethville, Pennsylvania, because teacher extraordinaire and now friend, not to mention Nerdy Book Club co-facilitator, Cindy Beth Minnich, has also assigned TPoG as a summer companion to Of Mice and Men. I'm very excited about meeting her students in person, and hope they don't throw tomatoes at me for making them read over the summer. :\
• End of September, I'll also be at the Center for Fiction in New York City.

And, ta da! Some movie news. . .

• Last, but definitely not least... I hear the second draft of the script for the TPoG movie is done. In fact, I've seen a sneak peek at the first page of the script ...

Script being written by Chris Youngless. Movie: I Heart Math Productions.

It's really cool to see, no?! :)

As part of my option agreement, I've got creative consultation and will get to review the whole thing pretty soon. As far as I'm concerned, the movie stuff is still pie in the sky, but I know the team working on it is VERY gung-ho, and each day it seems a bit more real... if totally surreal. :)

In other book news...

• My "Frankie" revisions are with my agent, and are due to my shiny, new editor, the wonderful Elise Howard of Algonguin Books, on September 1st. They took me almost all summer -- way longer than I anticipated -- but I think it's a much stronger, tighter manuscript. Let's hope my editor agrees. Next up, is coming up with a title that sticks.

• My In Sight of Stars revisions are now underway. This manuscript has alternate endings, and I have no idea which one I like best. My option submission period opens with Algonquin in the beginning of next year. I'm crossing my fingers she likes it. It's a big departure from The Pull of Gravity and Frankie, especially in audience age. ISOS is definitely a 14 and up book.

So, that's it for now. I think you're caught up with my authory things.

Self portrait - July 2012

As for personal things . . .

I'm flabbergasted that, in some places, summer is already over and school has begun.

Not here. Thank goodness, not here.

I'm still on a summer schedule, revising and yoga'ing and chauffering around my kids. Plus, swimming strong...

I plan to attempt my first 5-mile swim in less than two weeks, in the company of a bunch of my swim pals from the West Neck Pod.

A typically magnificent day at West Neck Beach.

So, if you need me, that's where I'll be. In the water, hanging onto summer for dear life. . .

- gae