On Sunday, I went on a field trip, practically in my own backyard, to the
University of South Florida. The fearless leader of our expedition was Dr. Joan Kaywell, founder of The Ted Hipple Young Adult Literature Collection.
Dr. Kaywell started the collection in memory of her mentor, Dr. Ted Hipple. The collection houses autographed first editions of YA literature in addition to manuscripts and ARCS.
My favorite part of the tour was looking at the papers donated by YA author, Greg Neri. Greg is also a talented illustrator and his drawings are more interesting than a typed manuscript.
I was like a kid in a candy store, surrounded by the works of S.E. Hinton, Richard Peck, Alex Flinn, Jacqueline Woodson, and many, many more.
When my debut novel, THE BALLAD OF JESSIE PEARL, is published in the winter of 2013, I plan to donate my working papers, editor's notes, manuscript, and a signed copy to the library.
If more middle grade and YA novelists were aware of this collection, it would grow even faster. So spread the word, spread the love of YA literature!
To find out more about the Ted Hipple Young Adult Literature Collection, watch this video on
YouTube.
I met Dr. Kaywell at ALAN. I love her dedication. I hope to see this collection one day.
ReplyDeleteMadeia, Dr. Kaywell collects manuscripts and ARCS in addition to signed copies. If you've kept any of that stuff from your novel, I'm sure she'd love to add it to the collection.
ReplyDeleteHealing Water is there as well as an ARC of BLUE. I really should pass on my file drawer of various drafts of my novels, shouldn't I?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got to see this. Hope I do someday! Nice to associate a face with Joan's name.
Hi Joyce, Yes, you should definitely pass on the manuscripts in your file drawer so they are saved forevermore. If you ever want to make a field trip to Tampa, you can stay at my house and I'll personally drive you to see the Ted Hipple YA collection.
ReplyDeleteThis was great to reead
ReplyDelete