Get Ready for KidLit Conference '08!

MsMac and Laini Taylor are ramping up the planning for the 2nd Annual KidLit Bloggers Conference! The location: Portland, Oregon. The date: Saturday, September 27. The fee: if it's anything like last year, ridiculously affordable.

I went to last year's conference, which was organized by Robin Brande, more or less on a whim. It was held ten miles from my home, and it was, as I mentioned, ridiculously affordable. At the time, I didn't have a public blog about anything, much less children's literature, though I was a reader of quite a few blogs. (I heard about the conference through Fuse #8.)

I hadn't been sure what to expect, but here's what I got: a friendly, enthusiastic group of bloggers passionate about children's and YA literature and eager to share their knowledge and ideas about blogging in general and the "kidlitosphere" in particular. It was a very inspiring and informational day. I met a lot of really cool people and learned about way more blogs than I could ever keep up with.

In short, it was an experience I'd recommend to anyone who blogs about children's and YA lit or would like to. That includes authors.

I don't think I'll be making it this year, even though I know it will be great and I'd love to revisit Portland. There's just a bit too much going on. I'm hoping to make it to SCBWI Wisconsin's fall retreat, and I'll probably end up at the Illinois Library Association conference. That'll do me in for conferences this fall. But I'll be sad to miss it. It truly was a wonderful and inspiring experience. It inspired me to start this blog, after all!