new for us friday: national book festival gala

Always in awe of authors, I jumped--literally jumped up and danced!--at the opportunity to spend an afternoon with Susan Meddaugh, of Martha Speaks, and several other DC-area friends last Friday.

So this New For Us Friday is another waaaay selfish--but crazy exciting--New For (Me!) Friday, a week late.

We'll all have a NFUF today that takes the cake when Maddy, Owen, and Cora meet their brand-new baby cousin this afternoon, but I had to share my NFUF because it does mean pretty cool things for awesome teach mama readers down the road! (I promise!)

• National Book Festival Gala: Each year the National Book Festival on the Mall in Washington, DC kicks off the Saturday event with a Friday night Gala at the Library of Congress. Five hundred authors, illustrators, members of the publishing industry, and members of Congress are invited to hobnob, eat fab foods, and have full rein of the incredible Library of Congress.
  

Maybe not everyone's dream night, but it was one of mine to attend this event, and never in a million years did I think that I'd be there. But many thanks to my good pal at PBS, I scored a last-minute invite.

Susan Meddaugh signed Maddy, Owen,
and Cora's book! And she drew them a Martha!

And not only did I get a chance to attend the event of (my) lifetime, but I also had the chance to spend the afternoon chatting--yes, just chatting!--with a few great people and incredible authors at a swanky DC-boutique hotel, having drinks and acting like an adult. F-U-N.

The too-cute Martha Speaks bags from Susan and Kate from WGBH.

We talked about what inspired Susan to write Martha Speaks; we talked about the real Martha, Susan's son, and her family. We talked about Susan's feelings about how Martha Speaks has become a show, computer games, Iphone apps, stickers, band-aids, and stuffed animals. We talked about Susan's life before Martha, during her writing, and now. All of these topics and more we'll find a way to incorporate into Susan's 'just 1 book' post which will include a pretty awesome Martha Speaks giveaway in the next few weeks.

Also in our group was the talented, incredible, and totally cool author Erica Perl, who will be the next 'just 1 book' guest writer, this Monday. Without giving away too much away about Erica, I'll just say that she has written some fantastic books, works for an amazing non-profit, and is one of those people I felt like I've known forever--even after only a few exchanged emails and one afternoon together.

Jeannine Harvey, me, Susan Meddaugh,
Erica Perl, Erika, and Kate Hathaway

Also in our group was the incredible and amazing Jeannine Harvey from PBS, whom I absolutely adore and could spend hours hanging out with and Erika, a local pal I've been anxious to meet who writes Metro DC Mom Blog and MCM Mama. Kate Hathaway was also in our group, and Kate works with Susan at WGBH and handles her job with so much professionalism and class, it amazed me.

When it was time for our group to head to the Book Festival Gala, I shared a cab with Susan and Kate, and we headed to the Library of Congress only to entertain the most bizarre series of taxi-cab drama and location mix-ups ever.

When we finally arrived, we breathed a huuuuge sigh of relief and stepped forward into the rest of our night. Over wine, champagne, hors d'oeuvres, sweets, books, and famous-people sightings, we talked about friends, children, books, and exchanged stories about how we met our husbands.

The National Book Festival Gala

We parted ways to explore the library, and I chatted with some friends from Scholastic and got lost in the crowd for a while. Hours passed in minutes, and I needed to head north in order to make it home before I fell asleep on my feet.

I shared a cab with Erica, back to her car and my Metro stop, and on my ride home, I dreamed about books, writing, and libraries. . .

Although I couldn't make it to this year's National Book Festival, it's on my calendar for next year, as are some 'just 1 book' posts that I'm really looking forward to sharing. . .

They'll involve interesting stories about how books moved some authors and signed copies of their books to top it off. (Woo-hoo!)

Many, many thanks to PBS for arranging and hosting this memorable afternoon, and for providing the tickets to the Book Festival Gala. Thanks are also in store for WGBH for the Martha Speaks books, DVD's, and goodies. Dozens of thanks to everyone who attended this event for answering my many questions and for tolerating my star-struck eyes the whole time. This is an unsponsored post.