Nerd Camp!

This fall, I participated in Nerd Camp Long Island and WOW was it ever fun! Nerd Camp is a professional development “un-conference” for teachers centered around reading and writing and of course, books.

Back in September, I wrote a guest post for the Nerdy Book Club blog about my fascination with point of view (POV). So when rockstar teacher Kristen Picone invited me to Nerd Camp, I immediately thought of leading a session on teaching POV in the classroom.

When we arrived at Nerd Camp, there was a blank session board. It was up to us to fill it in!

On November 7th, more than 400 teachers and two dozen authors gathered on Long Island, ready to share and learn and embrace our mutual nerdy-ness.  The energy was incredible!

Top left: Arrival! Top right: Cake! Bottom: Author panel!

To say that I was excited and nervous about leading a session for a room full of teachers would be a HUGE understatement. But thanks to rockstar teacher Jason Lewis who helped me put together an interactive presentation based on the FENWAY AND HATTIE classroom guide, it turned out great!

Leading the session on POV - Photo courtesy of Kristen Picone

From the very first moment, those teachers were ON FIRE. Their enthusiasm for POV and the creativity they put into each exercise blew me away. When our hour was up, it took a long time for the classroom to empty out, even though it was time for lunch!  

Aside from my POV session, my biggest highlight was hanging out with teacher friends – those I already knew plus the amazing new friends I made. Everyone was welcoming and friendly and eager to learn and share. And man, did we ever talk about books!

In the afternoon, I had the honor of participating in my very first author panel, as well as signing advance reader copies of FENWAY AND HATTIE that Penguin had very generously donated for the event. It was a thrill to sign books for the first time – almost all of which went to elementary school classrooms. And if that wasn’t enough, Penguin also provided printed copies of the F&H classroom guide for teachers to take home!

Top: My signing table! Bottom left: Fenway poster! Bottom right: Hanging out with fellow Putnam/Penguin author Corey Rosen Schwartz!

All in all, Nerd Camp was a phenomenal event that I will always remember. I’m so grateful to Kristen, Jason, and all the other Nerdy Book Club friends who made this incredible experience possible!

Hey, everybody! Meet Fenway! (And a special offer for teachers and librarians!)

Wowee! Now you can "meet" Fenway! The cover of FENWAY AND HATTIE recently made its debut on the blog of librarian extraordinaire, dog lover, and all around lovely human, Margie Myers-Culver. I am honored and grateful that Margie agreed to host the cover reveal and throw a few questions my way -- my very first interview. If you haven't seen it, go check it out!

And if you're an elementary school teacher or librarian, you can let your students meet Fenway, too! Send me your school's name and address and I'll be happy to mail you this FENWAY AND HATTIE postcard for your room or library while supplies last. (Shown below: Postcard front and back.)

Fenway Postcard

Great news: Another FENWAY AND HATTIE Book is Coming!

Evil squirrels are bad enough. Wait till Fenway meets this guy!

I'm so excited that GP Putnam's Sons will publish FENWAY AND HATTIE in February 2016. And now I'm even more excited because Putnam will also publish FENWAY & HATTIE AND THE EVIL BUNNY GANG in Spring 2017!

In this sequel to the first book, Fenway thinks nothing could be worse than a Gang of Evil Bunnies, until Hattie brings home a cage with a bunny who poses the biggest threat of all. 

I’m beyond thrilled to continue working with my brilliant editor Susan Kochan to bring another Fenway and Hattie book into the world.

Victoria J. Coe

Welcome to My Author Web Site!

I'm so excited to launch my brand-new web site! Thanks for stopping by.

Back in 2011, I imagined a character named Fenway - a Jack Russell Terrier - who moves with his human family from a high rise in the city to a house in the suburbs. After months of thinking and journaling and brainstorming, I wrote the first draft of what would eventually become FENWAY & HATTIE, a novel for kids.

But that was just the beginning. I spent nearly two years completely rewriting the manuscript with outstanding support from generous teachers, writing classmates, and wise fellow writers. And the hard work paid off!

In August 2013, I signed with my incredible super agent, Marietta Zacker of the Nancy Gallt Literary Agency. She sold the story to Putnam/Penguin a few months later!

You can read more about my publishing journey on Theresa Milstein's blog. You can also read my announcement in Publisher's Weekly.

Here I am signing my first publishing contract!

This past summer I had the opportunity to meet Marietta as well as my fabulous editor, Susan Kochan, in New York. I had so many stars in my eyes, I could hardly see straight! I feel unbelievably lucky to have connected with these fabulous and talented ladies who love Fenway as much as I do. 

Here I am with Marietta in the lobby of the Penguin offices.

And now, Fall of 2014, I'm launching my web site! Super huge thanks to the talented and gorgeous Connie Huang (MIT Class of 2015) for her expert design and amazing support. We're hard at work developing the rest of the site, which we hope to launch next Spring.

In the meantime, check back here for the latest news. I look forward to keeping you updated!

Victoria J Coe