What Is @nErDcampNC?

On July, 29th I attended the second annual nErDcampNC. I’ve had several people ask me what is a nErDcamp, anyway? The answer is it’s an informal gathering of authors and educators. The schedule is not set ahead of time, which can make it a little uncomfortable for Type A personalities.

This year’s nErDcamp went like this: 

1. Our illustrious organizers took the stage. We met the people behind bringing us all together: Amy Ralph, Sara Ralph, Travis Crowder, and Brian Smith. 
2. We had a morning planning session, which basically means anybody who would like to lead a session walks on-stage and proposes it. I decided to stay in the auditorium and listen to Alan Gratz talk about the hero’s journey. Here’s a picture I took of Alan:

The second session I attended was an informal discussion about LGBTQ books led by Constance Lombardo. 

After lunch, we met back in the auditorium for giveaways. Some publishers had sent swag, and I scored an ARC of Alan Gratz’s ALLIES D-Day. One chance to unite. Everything to lose. Then we had another planning session, and I proposed a session on Reading & Writing Across Cultural Boundaries. 

One bad thing about presenting is that I’m frequently caught with my mouth open or my eyes closed. Amalie Jahn managed to catch me doing both at the same time.

My session was packed because both educators and authors are anxious to do a better job for the students we interact with. One question I was asked was whether I had had a sensitivity reader for RUBY LEE & ME. The answer is no. Ruby Lee & Me was published in January of 2016 before the push for that kind of vetting, but my editor is African-American and helped me tell a better story than I could have told on my own. I did a brief reading from my upcoming novel–a sneak peak into a book that hasn’t been announced yet and talked about my experience working with a co-author. I’m dying to share more about that, but will wait for Scholastic to make the formal announcement. 

Until next month!

Shannon