Heeeere, Island, Island, Island!

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CNN.com - Hidden island off Sicily may reappear - Nov. 25, 2002

I can’t help myself. Whenever I work, I keep the news sidebar open on my copy of Mozilla and the strangest headlines pass by, and I just have to look.

This news story puts me in mind of Brigadoon: the mystical, fog shrouded land that appeared out of nowhere, only to vanish for centuries. Except that the fog is thick volcanic smoke, and there aren’t any forever young Scotswomen to survive the lava and the flood.

This news story falls into the “people are strange, but nations are stranger camp”. Talk of a diplomatic spat surfacing when the island appear boggles the mind, especially considering that, if previous visitations are any indication, the island will last about six months above water, tops. Italian divers went so far as to plant a flag underwater in the hopes that it would come up waving the moment the island broke surface.

Thinking of the potential players involved, we know that Italy wants it, and it’s near Tunisia. Hmm… Are we in for another spat over an island the size of a soccer field like we saw between Spain and Morocco?

Am I the only one who thinks that perhaps we should declare Shy-Disappearingland neutral territory and hand it over to the U.N. Department of Vulcanology (assuming there is one)?


Getting further back onto the horse (if such a thing is possible, metaphorically or otherwise), I’ve submitted a copy of Rosemary and Time to another publisher. Farrar, Straus & Giroux joins Groundwood Books on the list of publishers in play. Farrar, Straus & Giroux are a large American publisher, and their works include the stories of Madeleine L’Engle. Since a number of people have compared Rosemary and Time to A Wrinkle in Time, perhaps there will be some luck there.

They do advise that you send your submissions to publishers which have published similar stuff before. I’m not advocating plaigarism or anything like that, but publishers tend to like their novels to be grouped in genres. Some specialize in specific genres, and if your book fits in that genre, it’s that much easier to publish.

Either way, wish me luck!


A site that I discovered that really helped me is the official web page of the Children’s Book Council. This web page is put together by an organization of children’s book publishers, and is full of advice on how to get published and who you can send your submissions to. I especially liked the up to date listing of publishers, including contact addresses and editors, as well as whether or not each company was accepting unsolicited submissions. I’ll be visiting them in the future.

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