Introducing...the February 2012 "Tips From the Pros" #MGlitchat Series!

Now that #MGlitchat has been around for awhile, we hostesses decided it was time to shake things up.  And what better way to do that than to bring in the professionals?

So today we'd like to introduce our first ever "Tips From the Pros" chat series!

Each week during the month of February, we have invited a few professionals to share their tips for writing and publishing middle-grade books in today's market.  We'd like to thank each of our professionals for graciously volunteering their time and expertise for this series of chats.

Because of the nature of these chats, we are asking that chat attendees please refrain from tweeting until our moderators open the floor for questions.  This will give our professionals a few minutes to share their tips at the beginning of each chat.

Also, when participating in the Q&A portion of the chats, please ask thoughtful questions that will add to the conversation.  Let's not waste our professionals' time with basic questions that can easily be answered elsewhere.  Thank you!

The schedule and our guests are as follows:

February 2--Author Night

Kate Messner (@KateMessner), author of SUGAR AND ICE and THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z, both from Walker Children's

Kate Milford (@KateMilford), author of THE BONESHAKER, from Clarion Books

Jenn Reese (@jennreese), author of ABOVE WORLD, from Candlewick

Kurtis Scaletta (@kurtisscaletta), author of  THE TANGLEWOOD TERROR, MAMBA POINT and MUDVILLE, all from Knopf Books For Young Readers

Laurel Snyder (@LaurelSnyder), author of BIGGER THAN A BREADBOX and PENNY DREADFUL, both from Random House Books For Young Readers

February 9--Agent Night

Jennifer Laughran (@literaticat), agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency, Inc.

Joanna Volpe (@JoSVolpe), agent with Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation

Tina Wexler (@Tina_Wexler), agent with International Creative Management (ICM)

February 16--Editor Night

Jordan Brown (@thisjordanbrown), editor at Walden Pond Press and Balzer + Bray (both imprints of HarperCollins Children's Books)

Nancy Mercado (@nanmercado), executive editor at Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Group

Harold Underdown (@HUnderdown), editorial consultant and owner of the popular website, The Purple Crayon

February 23--Publicist Night

Kellie Celia (@WaldenPondPress)--Marketing Communications Manager, Publishing at Walden Pond Press, an imprint of HarperCollins Children's Books

Tracey Daniels (@TrayMMP)--founder and senior partner at Media Masters Publicity

Greg Pincus (@gregpincus)--author and social media consultant at his website, The Happy Accident

We are excited to hear from each of these professionals.  And we hope you'll join us as well!  Happy chatting, everyone!