Who Needs Sleep?

I don't. And it's a darn good thing, too, because things have been jumping in my world.

I just turned in the final manuscript for That's What's Up! - book three in the Del Rio Bay Clique series. I'm putting the final touches on the draft of book 4, Who You Wit'? and have been preparing for today, Brown Bookshelf announcement day.

We've selected our 28 authors and four illustrators for the 28 Days Later campaign. And I'm tickled to death.

We started reaching out to the finalists last week and the response has been touching. Some of these authors have no real "need" for a spotlight, having run into some recent good promo fortune (a John Steptoe winner, a National Book Award finalist, an author who's been on CNN and Tavis Smiley) or simply having been in this game for a number of years. And yet, words like "honored" "excited" and "thrilled" have been used when they've responded to our emails informing them.

So, between research, outreach and writing, I haven't gotten much sound sleep lately. Please tell me it's not in vain.

Visit The Brown Bookshelf and check out our spotlight authors. And come back every day next month to find out a bit more about these authors and their passion for children's literature.

I've listed them below. But you'll miss out on Don's wonderful poster, if you don't visit the page.

Key:
Authors in bold are vanguard authors
Illustrator spotlights are in italics

Feb 1 Christopher Paul Curtis - Elijah of Buxton

Feb 2 Michelle Meadows – The Way The Storm Stops

Feb 3 Dana Davidson - Played

Feb 4 Rita Williams-Garcia – No Laughter Here

Feb 5 G. Neri – Chess Rumble & Sean Qualls - Phillis’s Big Test

Feb 6 Janice N. Harrington – The Chicken-Chasing Queen of Lamar County

Feb 7 Eleanora E. Tate – Celeste’s Harlem Renaissance

Feb 8 Patricia McKissack – The All-I’ll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll

Feb 9 M. Sindy Felin – Touching Snow

Feb 10 Jabari Asim – Daddy Goes To Work

Feb 11 Mildred D. Taylor – The Road To Memphis

Feb 12 Nina Crews - The Neighborhood Mother Goose & Leonard Jenkins – Sweet Land of Liberty

Feb 13 Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu – The Shadow Speaker

Feb 14 Allison Whittenberg – Sweet Thang

Feb 15 Walter Dean Myers - Game

Feb 16 Tonya Bolden – George Washington Carver

Feb 17 Troy Cle – The Marvelous Effect

Feb 18 Eloise Greenfield – The Friendly Four

Feb 19 Sundee T. Frazier – Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything In It & John Holyfield - Bessie Smith & the Night Riders

Feb 20 Carole Boston Weatherford – I, Matthew Henson: Polar Explorer

Feb 21 Karen English - Nikki & Deja

Feb 22 Coe Booth - Tyrell

Feb 23 Irene Smalls – My Pop Pop and Me

Feb 24 Stephanie Perry Moore – Prayed Up: Perry Skky Jr. #4

Feb 25 Kyra E. Hicks, Martha Ann’s Quilt for Queen Victoria

Feb 26 Celise Downs – Dance Jam Productions & Shane Evans- When Harriet Met Sojourner

Feb 27 Valerie Wilson Wesley – Willimena Rules!: 23 Ways to mess up Valentine’s Day

Feb 28 Sherri L. Smith - Sparrow