Last evening I received a phone call from a lovely editor at Scholastic Library telling me that Quiet Wyatt is to be included in an anthology and not to be too upset or surprised or puzzled when the check arrives. I explained that I have never been known to be upset or surprised or puzzled at the arrival of a check--just in a hurry to make a deposit. So that's something to look forward to in the mail. With any luck, this may re-open the door to more work with Scholastic Library. I always enjoyed working on the Rookie Reader and True Book series for them, and would welcome the opportunity to continue the relationship.

The Benchmark books on Booker T. Washington and Chief Crazy Horse have been edited and revised and returned. Booker T. has gone to layout, so it will be exciting to see "the look" of the book. One more to go: Pocahontas. This should come in from my editor for revision and page breaks in short order. These titles were fun to research, and my Benchmark editor is a gem to work with. I need to think of some new ideas to pulse her with.

I took time yesterday afternoon to view the tape of my "Arizona Illustrated" segment. It aired on MLK day (but since I was in B'ham on MLK day I had not seen it). Except for a couple of stand out flubs on my part--they stood out to me, anyway--and for the fact that they told me to lean forward which tended to give me a hunchback appearance, it wasn't too horrible. Still, I'd rather not see myself televised. Aaargh!

I'm back from doing research in Birmingham, Alabama. While I've had many enjoyable trips to Birmingham in the past--usually staying at the Broerman Hilton in Hoover or in lodging in Vestavia Hills, Homewood, or Five Points--this is the first time I've actually been "in" Birmingham proper. But this is where my research contacts were, so I parked myself in downtown B'ham near the library archives and the B'ham Civil Rights Institute. What strikes one first and foremost about downtown B'ham is how clean it is. Unlike many residents in Tucson or San Diego or in other urban areas with which I'm familiar, people in B'ham seem to take pride in their city and dispose of trash and cigarette butts in the many receptacles that dot the landscape. Another thing one notices is the massive parking garages frequenting practically every block in the city center. Obviously, it is a commuter city. The result is a limited number of choices in restaurants--especially after 2:30 in the afternoon. Breakfast and lunch options are pretty much limited to corporate dining; i.e., the food court in the Alabama Power building or the food court in the Regions Bank building. Stand-alone restaurants are few, and those that do exist also usually close by 2:30 because once the worker/commuter population leaves for the day, the streets are deserted. B'ham has a lot of potential, but still much of the city reminded me of East Berlin before the fall of the Wall--desolate and gray and run down. (Having said that, I'll also add that it looks ripe for loft space development.)

I'll return to B'ham the first week of February to finish up (he says with hope) my research.

I was having one of those mornings when nothing was going right. Then around 11:00 the phone rang and it was Nancy Hogan from Boyds Mills Press. She was in LA with somebody--Crystal Jeeter (with apologies for any misspellings)--on the line who wanted to share some good news with me. Well, thinks I, it's a day too early for the Newbery and Sibert awards. So what can this good news be? Here's the gist of what I recall from our conversation: We Are One: The Story of Bayard Rustin has won the Norman A. Sugarman Biography Award for the most outstanding biography published in the United States in the last two years. All I can say is that a little bit of glitter can do a lot to turn a person's day around.

Now, if you're like me, you've never even heard of the Sugarman Biography Award, so I did a little online digging. It seems that Joan Sugarman contributed a substantial endowment to establish the Norman A. Sugarman Biography Award in honor of her late husband--a distinguished attorney and author. The award is administered by the Cleveland Public Library, and the award ceremony is held in Cleveland. This year, in addition to the award winner, three honor books were chosen.

Okay, I need to slap myself in the face a few times to make myself focus on work at hand.

What a hoot! I just read that the Allen County Public Library (Fort Wayne, IN) sponsors a Mock Sibert reading list and award. It was thrilling to see We Are One on the reading list (even if it didn't win, Fort Wayne--even if it didn't win).

I'm deep into revision territory on my Crazy Horse text. I stared at one section so long I couldn't tell if it made sense or not, so I cut and pasted the much revised paragraph into an e-mail to my editor and asked her. Do you ever have those writing moments when you've tweaked something so many different ways and back again that you just don't know if it conveys what you think it does? I think it's time to clear out the cobwebs by hitting the kitchen and losing myself in cooking for the evening. Hopefully, I'll have an editorial e-mail tomorrow...and/or a fresh brain to analyze the troubling paragraph again.