Welcome, welcome, welcome. On March 15th, two weeks from today, the 2010 Battle begins. Don’t know about all of you spectators, but we cannot wait! While you have known about our contenders and judges for a week (thank you Ms. Fuse for your delightful announcement), we’ve been sitting on all of it for a whole lot longer. What a relief to be able to finally talk about it!
Now, I hope you noticed our beautiful new home. Isn’t it to die for? We are very grateful to the folks at SLJ who made this all possible. Many people have been enormously helpful, but there are three in particular we want to honor. First of all, the Battle would not exist if Brian Kenney, Editor in Chief, hadn’t decide to run with it after Monica pitched it to him last January. His support has been invaluable. As for the witty look of the Battle, it is all due to the remarkable Mark Tuchman, Creative Director, who is responsible for the clever graphics (some of which he has done while caring for newborn twins and their not-much-older brother). And then there is our great champion, Rick Margolis, Executive Editor, who took this on last year with a wing and a prayer. It was Rick who decided the judges should all be writers, the best of this world. He’s been behind the scenes for two years now putting out fires, fixing things, finding things, attracting people, and helping in ways you can’t …
