Bookmarks 7.7.09

Illustrating Books for Children with Harry Moore in Orlando, Fla. (July 7, 6:00 p.m.) – Anyone interested in the art of book illustration will benefit from discussion and instruction from Harry Moore, a character artist for the Spongebob Squarepants books and several other projects from Disney and Hasbro. The event will be held at Planet Digital Education. Call 407.970.4792 for details.

Writers of New York in New York, N.Y. (July 8, 12:30 p.m.) – This panel discussion held in the Bryant Park Reading Room and monitored by Thomas Beller will feature authors Jonathan Ames, Alice Mattison, Colum McCann, and Joseph O’Neill. All are local New York writers, and will lend insight to the writing life and how their city seeps into their work.

Scenes of Life: Works from the WPA Philadelphia Printmaking Workshop, 1935-1943 in Philadelphia, Pa. (through July 10) – When the WPA established a printmaking workshop in Philadelphia during the Great Depression, it aimed to stimulate art and the economy by paying artists for their work. The prints on display at the Free Library of Philadelphia espouse the ideals of democracy and hope during the toughest of times.

The Science of Obscurity in Chicago, Ill. (July 10, 7:00 p.m.) – This is a science fair hosted by the Chicago Underground Library at Jupiter Outpost. But don’t come expecting colored chemicals running through tubes or analyses of lab rats’ test results: instead, it will present literary works in progress as science fair experiments. Other highlights of the evening will include a cathartic burning of rejection letters and a literal book launch (via a catapult).

The 2009 Winkie Convention in Pacific Grove, Calif. (July 10-12) – This conference is the 45^th annual celebration of all things related to Oz, Dorothy Gale, and Frank L. Baum. This year it commemorates the 100^th anniversary of the publication of The Road to Oz. Events will include a 10-minute ballet, a costume contest, an Oz trivia game, talks from Oz illustrators, and more.

--Emmaline Silverman

Photo: The Judy Garland Database