January 11th: Gotham Writer’s Open House, Academy of St. Joseph’s NYC. I’ll be doing a FREE Children’s Book Writing class from 8:15-9:15pm.

January 15th: Housing Works Bookstore, NYC. FREE One-hour Children’s Book Writing class sponsored by Gotham Writer’s Workshop. 11am – 12pm

March 21-25th: Virginia Festival of the Book, Charlottesville VA. Schedule TBA

April 2-5: Chicago School Tour: Four schools in four days! Not open to the public, but I am considering doing a Chicago bookstore visit at the end of the tour so stay tuned!

One other very cool thing I’m doing this winter is a creative writing workshop with the excellent students at Holland Brook Elementary. Over the course of this four week residency, I’ll be running a writing workshop with the fifth graders and while it’s not a public event, I’ll certainly be posting some highlights from the experience here on the ever-popular news page!

Have a happy winter everyone!

Even more very nice news – Powerless has been selected as a 2012-2013 Reader’s Choice Nominee!

This means that my little book will be making its way into more classrooms and into the hands of more readers than ever before. A big thanks to the Virginia State Reading Association for this honor.

I hope to meet some of the great educators and readers this spring when I come down there for the Virginia Festival of the Book! (details forthcoming on this visit)

Powerless popped up on the list a few weeks ago, and if that wasn’t cool enough now both of my books have had that honor.

Makes me a bit homesick, I cannot lie . . .

What I love about state book awards – it’s book activism on a local level! These awards are the perfect union of educators and librarians (who nominate) and the readers (who vote!)

The Iowa Children’s Choice Award is one such award and I’m very happy to have Powerless nominated for the 2011-2012 year. They have posted a delightful series of reader-reviews, such as the one below. I’d encourage you to check out all the video reviews, but of course, this one’s my favorite!

I’ve put together a quick and easy list of links for you to do some Matthew Cody book shopping this season – signed copies, deals, stocking stuffers! Here’s your place for one-stop shopping! (Grandma loves steampunk and superheroes. Trust me)

Signed Copies of The Dead Gentleman from Books of Wonder! Missed me on tour? You can order a signed copy of this Indie Next book and get it in time for the holidays! And my handwriting is terrible! You must witness it yourself to believe it!

Deep discounts on Powerless Hardcovers from Amazon! Hardcover books are easy to wrap, and these ones are very affordable. Read it before the sequel comes out! Paperback Powerless is stocking-sized! I’ve tried. It fits perfectly in that stocking looks good doing it.

UPDATE!: Get your SIGNED Powerless paperbacks from awesome Pudd’nhead Books! And check out the nice blurb for The Dead Gentleman on their gift ideas list!

Load up a flashdrive with Audiobooks for that super-busy someone in your life!Get the Powerless audiobook from Audible! Sign up for the first time and get free downloads to load up a snazzy flashdrive for your overworked loved one. (Recommend this awesome drive, I do!)

A few weeks ago we got the nice news that The Dead Gentleman had been chosen by Amazon as a Book of the Month. A very nice honor and I’m grateful.

But THIS week I learned that the American Booksellers Association is including my little book on this Winter’s Indie Next List - and that’s just totally awesome! The Indie Next List is put together by the front lines, the many, many wonderful independent bookstores across the country and therefore it has special meaning to me (it should also help sell a few books)

Here’s my favorite line from the review written by Ellen Klein of Hooray for Books!

“This fantastic time-travel tale with a scary twist is great for reading with a flashlight under your bedcovers!”

That’s exactly how I picture readers with my book!

So please, please, please – take the time to do some holiday shopping at your local independent bookstore this year.

Oh, and buy The Dead Gentleman while you’re there.  It’s good.

Anton Strout is an old friend of mine,as well as being “America’s favorite lower mid-list urban fantasy author” (his words), AND the host of The Once and Future Podcast.

Anton invited on this week’s podcast episode to talk about my new book, comics and geekdom in general (and how roleplaying games can lead to a career in publishing!) It was a fun talk!

Follow the link and give a listen or subscribe on iTunes!

Signing at Books of Wonder

Besides having the splendid opportunity to be on a panel with some of YA’s coolest fantasy authors, while at Books of Wonder Sunday I was able to sign a number of books!

So if anyone wants to get a signed copy you should check out their mail service here!

Here’s the (impressive) skinny:

FANTASTIC FICTION FOR TEENS
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Sunday November 13th, 2011 1- 3PM

On Sunday, November 13th, Books of Wonder is thrilled to welcome a spellbinding cast of authors of fantastic new fiction for teens & tweens. Join us for this chance to meet these talented authors, hear their new stories, and find great gifts for all the teens on your holiday gift lists. Starting at 1pm, debut author RAE CARSON will introduce The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a breathtaking adventure; author MATTHEW CODY will present The Dead Gentleman, a wild ride between parallel New York City time-streams; New York Times bestselling author JOHN CONNOLLY returns to NYC from his native Ireland to shareThe Infernals, a not-so-typical story about a boy and his dog — and their struggle to escape the wrath of demons; author LEANNA RENNEE HIEBER will strike suspense with her new book Darker Still: A Novel of Magic Most Foul; author LAUREN McLAUGHLIN will take us to a dystopian future where everyone gets Scored; New York Times bestseller, author of over 25 novels, and fantasy genre icon TAMORA PIERCE will thrill us with Mastiff, the final volume of her hit The Legend of Becka Cooper trilogy; and author DELIA SHERMAN will share The Freedom Maze, a riveting story about an impulsive wish and a dark period in American history. Be sure to clear your calendars and make time to join us for this event full of great new books. Beginning at 1pm the authors will present their works, take questions from the audience, and then sign copies of all their wonderful novels. Ages 10 and up. Sunday, November 13th, 1-3pm

A wonderful, warm welcome from Woerther Elementary!

Showing off the new book trailer to students at Oakville Middle School

Outnumbered!

Quite a few POWERLESS fans showed up, too!

Reading and looking "authorly" at the Pudd'nhead Launch Party

Signing at Pudd'nhead for an adorable fan.

It's tradition for authors to sign the bathroom wall and draw a picture. My 3 yr-old son helped me with the artwork.