WebJunction

In spring of 2007 four young adult authors from western Washington teamed up to create readergirlz, an online book community for girls. The impetus for joining forces was the experience author Justina Chen Headley had while doing a school visit. Realizing that not every school had budgets to host authors, she invited three kindred young adult novelists—award-winning authors Dia Calhoun, Janet Lee Carey and Lorie Ann Grover—to join her in developing what was to become readergirlz.
 
Social networking around books

Readergirlz includes a website, a blog and a MySpace site designed to make reading a fun, empowering, group experience. Girls connect to each other online, participate in author discussions, access loads of activities and programming ideas and link to a topic of the month that encourages community involvement.

Readergirlz's manifesta  outlines their vision for the site:

• Readergirlz is about girls having serious fun while talking about books with their friends and the authors.
   
• Readergirlz is about giving teen girls the inside scoop about why a novel was written —the tears and joys and real world angst that the author has lived and layered into her story.
   
• Readergirlz is about getting teen girls to read great books so the girls get to know themselves, their friends, and yes, even their mothers, better.
   
• Readergirlz is about celebrating strong girls in books who have the guts to dream.
   
• Readergirlz is about reaching out to others based on what you've read.
   
• And most of all, readergirlz is about inspiring girls to make history of their own!"

The site launched in March, which is National Women's History Month, nicely aligning with the authors' vision of empowering girls to be all they can be. The readergirlz MySpace had 500 members before its official launch; by August 2007 membership had grown to nearly 3,000.

School and public librarians have been enthusiastic supporters of readergirlz, because they recognize the benefit of girls connecting around a book no matter what their physical location. Using social networking technology—an integral component of virtually every contemporary young adult's life—makes these events fun, accessible and meaningful.

The Readergirlz "divas" (as they are called on the site) are scheduled to present at the Washington Library Media Association conference in October 2007 to share their remarkable story with hundreds of library media specialists from across Washington State.  After the audience hears these authors share their own gutsiest moments, one can only imagine how the numbers will grow.  

Live chat brings YA authors to audiences across the country and around the globe

Each month the authors profile a new book to not only read but to celebrate and feature in a Live Chat session with the author. For October they're partnering with YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) to host 31—yes, thirty-one—live author chats. Readergirlz across the world will be able to chat nightly at the ReaderGirlz group forum with a different YA author each evening in October, at 5 PM PST/8 PM EST
 
Find a copy of the poster featuring all October authors at http://www.readergirlz.com/31_Flavorites_Poster_FINAL.pdf

The readergirlz divas are:

Dia Calhoun, winner of the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature and the author of five young adult fantasy novels, three of which are ALA Best Books for Young Adults. See www.diacalhoun.com for more about Dia.

Janet Lee Carey, who writes, teaches, and speaks to audiences in the US and abroad. She's published five books and won numerous awards including a Mark Twain Award and a Booklist starred review.  See www.janetleecarey.com

Lorie Ann Grover, who has won accolades from VOYA, Bank Street College and Booklist for her story writing in verse.  Visit Lorie at www.lorieanngrover.com

Justina Chen Headley, the newest of the authors, who sold her first book at auction, has a third title to be published in 2007. Learn more about Justina at www.justinaChenHeadley.com

Check out the Readergirlz Web site at www.readergirlz.com or their MySpace site at www.myspace.com/readergirlz. On the website, you can sign up for their monthly newsletter. For more information, contact jlcarey@hotmail.com .