Screw Harry Potter and his Deadly Hollows!
The REAL big buzz in the publishing world belongs to The Age of Conversation , a collaborative effort dreamed up and meticulously guided by Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton. It comes out today, but last night there were midnight bashes in online bookstores throughout the world, with kids and adults alike dressing up as their favorite The Age of Conversation contributor, munching on Alpha-Bits cereal (the official foodstuff of the AOC) and downing unprecedented amounts of smart drinks.
I could ramble about what it's all about and how it all came together, but Drew and Gavin have done such a phenomenal job of that with a blog, I would be adding nothing but babble.
Here's what I will say about the project, though:
1) Even more important than the book's subject matter is its soul. This is a book with a heart; ALL proceeds from ALL book sales will be donated to Variety, the Children's Charity. And there are three ways to buy 'em, ensuring that all along the reading spectrum --from the digital downloader to the hardcover hoarder-- can buy the book in their fave format via Lulu.com. Here are the more-than-reasonable prices:
- The e-book--$9.99 ($7.99 going to charity)
- The Paperback--$16.95 ($8.10 to charity)
- The Hardcover--$29.99 ($8.55 to charity)
2) This is no cliché or butt-kissing--I am TRULY honored to be part of the project. I worked like a looney to be eloquent and relevant in my piece, entitled "How to be LOUD!"
3) And why did I work so hard? 'Cuz I had at least be as good as this group of prestigious peers, who all deserve a round of applause for gathering thoughts and banging the drums to raise the level of support and donations for The Age Of Conversation. Check 'em all out:
Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Mack Collier
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
Mike Sansone
Paul McEnany
Roger von Oech
Anna Farmery
David Armano
Bob Glaza
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Scott Monty
Richard Huntington
Cam Beck
David Reich
Luc Debaisieux
Sean Howard
Tim Jackson
Patrick Schaber
Roberta Rosenberg
Uwe Hook
Tony D. Clark
Todd Andrlik
Toby Bloomberg
Steve Woodruff
Steve Bannister
Steve Roesler
Stanley Johnson
Spike Jones
Nathan Snell
Simon Payn
Ryan Rasmussen
Ron Shevlin
Roger Anderson
Robert Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Kris Hoet
G.Kofi Annan
Kimberly Dawn Wells
Karl Long
Julie Fleischer
Jordan Behan
John La Grou
Joe Raasch
Jim Kukral
Jessica Hagy
Janet Green
Jamey Shiels
Dr. Graham Hill
Gia Facchini
Geert Desager
Gaurav Mishra
Gary Schoeniger
Gareth Kay
Faris Yakob
Emily Clasper
Ed Cotton
Dustin Jacobsen
Tom Clifford
David Polinchock
David Koopmans
David Brazeal
David Berkowitz
Carolyn Manning
Craig Wilson
Cord Silverstein
Connie Reece
Colin McKay
Chris Newlan
Chris Corrigan
Cedric Giorgi
Brian Reich
Becky Carroll
Arun Rajagopal
Andy Nulman
Amy Jussel
AJ James
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman
S. Neil Vineberg
So what are you waiting for? Buy the book!