From: laura.kemp at att.net <laura.kemp>
Date: Tue, 06 Sep 2005 15:26:15 +0000

I'm not sure if we are still in the announcement week, but I just found out about this. April Pulley Sayre and her fellow author husband Jeff Sayre created a new Children's Media Professionals' Community Website. They are just now launching it. Carolyn Marsden (Moon Runner, The Gold Threaded Dress, Silk Umbrellas, Mama Had to Work on Christmas) is the first featured author. You can ask her questions this week. Also, since the forum is new, they might be looking for other authors and Children's Media Professionals to feature. The direct link is http://www.aprilsayre.com/cmpforum.htm

What is CMP Forum? CMP Forum, Children's Media Professionals' Forum is an online community where media specialists, booksellers, authors, illustrators, agents, educational consultants, publishing industry professionals and television producers can have targeted, professional, friendly discussions of ideas, problems, and solutions for creating, packaging and marketing children's content. It's a place where new media minds--people interested in using new technologies to spread content--can gather and discuss the issues that matter most to them today.

What will I find on CMP Forum?
*A meeting place for media specialists, publishing industry professionals, and educational consultants involved in children's media
*A meeting place for authors, illustrators, and producers of all children's genres
*Featured authors, illustrators, and media producers who share the stories behind their work and respond to questions about their projects
*A community of colleagues where you can post questions or help answer questions
*Fresh information on new books and new media
*Frank, professional discussion on the state of the children's media market
*Discussions of new media such as ebooks, DVDs, HD Video programming, website creation
*Listings of authors, illustrators, and educational consultants who visit schools, libraries, and stores
*A marketplace subforum for job postings in the publishing industry, to list work-related items you have for sale, to post a link to your resume, to learn of editors accepting manuscripts and producers looking for television programming ideas
*Ideas for marketing, sales, and promotional events
*Links to research that can help justify funds and information to help satisfy mandates

Why create CMP Forum? Because more than ever people who care about the quality of the content that reaches children need help. The challenges of presenting fresh, relevant content, understanding new media, finding grants, creating storytimes, marketing books, working with editors, working with authors and illustrators, teaching writing, presenting talks, setting up promotional events, and programming new media productions are complex.

Who is behind this forum? In essence, the members will run the forum by bringing quality discussion to it. As the community grows, professional volunteers in each area will moderate selected subforums. Husband-and-wife team April Pulley Sayre and Jeffrey P. Sayre, authors of One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab and 50 other children's books are subsidizing and running the forum with the help of their many colleagues who care about great content for children. The forum will be hosted via April's website ( www.aprilsayre.com )

How do I reach CMP Forum? It's easy! Just go to www.aprilsayre.com and click on the CMP Forum link. You can always read forum postings as an anonymous guest. But, we encourage you to take a few minutes and become a member. As a member, you'll have the ability to not only read postings, but join in, creating your own threads or adding to discussion in on-going threads!

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Laura Kemp 
www.livejournal.com/users/laurakemp 

Received on Tue 06 Sep 2005 10:26:15 AM CDT