This week you can win a gift bag from a Dove Self-Esteem workshop I recently attended in NYC. There are all kinds of feel-good goodies inside:

1. A Dove Self-Esteem Fund t-shirt
2. A “True You” activity guide for mothers and daughters
3. A copy of “Mirror, Mirror: A Guide for Girls 14-17″
4. A Dove Self-Esteem Fund DVD
5. I’ll throw in a signed copy of You’re Amazing! to sweeten the deal.

To enter, tell me about a time when you got a big self-esteem boost. What happened? Who/what made you feel good about yourself? Leave your comments here. The winner will be announced on Friday, October 17th.

The 2008 Cybils honor the best in children’s and young adult literature. Anyone can nominate a book that was published in 2008, then book bloggers judge the finalists and winners. You can nominate one book per category. Nominations are open until October 15th.

Nominate your favorite Middle Grade/Young Adult non-fiction book of 2008!

Check out the other categories.

I was so incredibly honored to do an interview with Little Willow–a true superstar in the book blogging universe. Read the interview and spend some time on Little Willow’s blog, Bildungsroman. Her recent feature on The Great Gatsby is fantastic.

Hey New Yorkers! If you’re going shopping this week (October 1st-8th), choose a store that’s participating in Shop Week and a percentage of your purchase will help improve New York City Public School libraries! Here’s the full list of participating merchants and a couple of my top picks:

Books of Wonder–I’ve spent many quality hours in this children’s book shop.

Blue Ribbon General Store–Probably the only place in the city where you can buy Eau De Brooklyn soap and a pirate disguise! Buy those and other products this week, and come back on October 18th for a You’re Amazing! workshop.

I’m heading to my hometown tomorrow–a fine city that was also once home to the godfather of goth, Edgar Allen Poe. While I will not be reading from The Raven, I will be reading from my book and facilitating some self-esteem boosting activities at Roland Park Country School.

The event is open to girls and adults. If you’re in the area, come on by! Here’s all the info you’ll need:

You’re Amazing! Workshop
Wednesday, October 1st
7:00-8:30 p.m.
$35.00
Roland Park Country School, 5204 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD
410-323-5500

September 27th-October 4th is Banned Books Week. Here’s one way to celebrate: Read Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody’s heartfelt tribute to Judy Blume.

In an article for Canada’s Globe and Mail, L.M. Montgomery’s granddaughter, Kate MacDonald Butler, has revealed that her grandmother took her own life at the age of 67. This is the first time the family has discussed the Anne of Green Gables author’s suicide publicly. Says MacDonald Butler:

[T]he recent focus on my grandmother’s creativity – this is the 100th anniversary of the publication of Anne of Green Gables, with events around the world celebrating Anne and her creator – has encouraged me to end our silence.

I have come to feel very strongly that the stigma surrounding mental illness will be forever upon us as a society until we sweep away the misconception that depression happens to other people, not us – and most certainly not to our heroes and icons.

Anne of Green Gables has been one of my favorite books since I read it as a girl. Anne Shirley always seemed so real to me. She put her emotions right out there, and her vulnerability as a character made me feel less alone.

Millions of young “kindred spirits” have found similar comfort and inspiration in L.M. Montgomery’s books over the years. Tragically, Montgomery spent much her own life feeling isolated and depressed. My hope is that this announcement about her suicide will encourage others to seek the connections that this talented author never had. During her lifetime, there were limited resources to treat mental illness. Today we have made strides, but there is still much work to be done. Part of that work starts with lifting the stigma and shame surrounding mental illness. Whether within our families or our circle of friends, we will all come face-to-face with these illnesses. It is up to us to resist the urge to shield them in secrecy. [Globe and Mail]

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK.

What you see is not what you get in the world of fashion and beauty. I just posted this video on my other blog. Watch it and tell me what you think. Did anything surprise you?

Jossip got its snark on last week when reporting on the launch of YA for Obama:

A bunch of authors of young adult books got together on the Internet and created a new social networking site, because there really aren’t enough of those things floating these days (young adult writers or social networking sites, obviously)…Ha ha, no offense to the “children are our future” contingent reading Jossip right now (all three of you) but kids under 18 have absolutely no pull when it comes to this election. Or any election.

YA for Obama founder Maureen Johnson wrote a hilarious response to this jab. She manages to make a compelling argument that includes both Scooby-Doo and joke walls. Seriously, go check it out.

Surely Jossip knows that there are plenty of ways for kids under 18 to shape the outcome of this election–as influencers in their families and as volunteers in their communities. And they must be aware that the earlier kids get engaged in the political process, the more likely they will be to vote and run for office as adults. I think they were just looking for an excuse to Photoshop Barack Obama’s face onto a Gossip Girl ad. Barry van der Woosen for Prez?

As the election season heats up, more high-profile people are getting into the conversation. One of them is superstar author Judy Blume. She writes about her support of Barack Obama in a blog post for the just-launched YA for Obama site:

I watched the Vietnam war unfold on TV as I played on the floor with my two small children. I became a skeptic about politics and politicians. Yet there was never an election when I didn’t vote. For me, voting was both obligation and privilege.

I’ve never spoken publicly about my politics. But I’m speaking out now because at last we have a candidate who makes me believe again. A candidate who I see as America’s best hope, a candidate who inspires not just my grandson’s generation, but my own, and my children’s.

Talking frankly about her politics might be new territory for Judy Blume, but she is certainly no stranger to telling it like it is when it comes to everything from puberty to bullying to teen sexuality. With over 75 million copies of her books in print, she’s one of the world’s most beloved authors. She’s also one of the most banned. Through it all, Judy Blume has never stopped writing from a place of honesty–even when others reacted to her with fear and censorship.

None of us can afford to be silent at a time when there is so much at stake. We must stand up and speak up for the candidates we believe in. Please VOTE on November 4th!

Read Judy Blume’s full post.