Vicki Oransky Wittenstein

My husband and I flew to Austin, TX to receive the Science Communication Award from the American Institute of Physics (AIP) for PLANET HUNTER. AIP's Fred Dylla and Charles Blue were very gracious in their praises for PLANET HUNTER, and for hosting a lovely cocktail reception and dinner. I met many astronomers and science writers, and visited my dear Austin friend, Debbie Dunn. For those of you who have asked about the AIP's award-winner's chair, no, I didn't carry it home! The hand-carved, mahogany Windsor chair arrived in Brooklyn, replete with the AIP seal and a plaque with my name, the title of the book, and the award. It's beautiful, and I will treasure it forever.

Planets are everywhere! A team of scientists operating NASA's Kepler Space Telescope announced the detection of an astounding number of new planets -- 1,235.

In a front page article in the New York Times, reporter Dennis Overbye quoted Geoff Marcy, the astronomer profiled in my book, PLANET HUNTER. Marcy called the findings "an extraordinary planet windfall, a moment that will be written in textbooks. It will be thought of as watershed."

Although it will take years for Geoff Marcy and other astronomers on the Kepler science team to confirm the findings with telescopes on the ground, they think the numbers are 80-95% accurate.

But the shear number -- which almost triples the amount of extrasolar planets known to date -- is just one piece of the excitement. Some of the planets (68) are among the smallest found so far. They are only one and one quarter larger than Earth and may be rocky, just like our own planet. Of those detected, 54 lie in the habitable zone around their parent star. This area, often called the Goldilocks zone, is the area around a star where conditions are "just right" for liquid water, and possibly life.

Could these planets share the rich diversity of life we have on Earth? Although astronomers don't think an Earth-like planet lies among these findings, the new planets were detected from only four months of data. However, Kepler, which was launched in March 2009, is a three and a half year mission, so there will be lots more data to analyze.

So stay tuned -- Kepler may detect planets that are candidates for life!

This afternoon I spoke at Elizabeth Bird's Children's Literary Salon at the main branch of the New York City Public Library. The program was entitled Children's Literary Salon - Getting Organized: A Conversation With PEN, SCBWI, And The Authors Guild. Elizabeth is a librarian in the Children's Room and blogs at Fuse #8 Production, which is hosted by the School Library Journal.

Joining me on a panel were two award-winning children's authors, Pat Cummings and Susanna Reich. The talk focused on the three main organizations for children's writers -- the Society for Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI), The Author's Guild, and the PEN American Center -- and how these organizations support published and unpublished writers.

Speaking on behalf of the SCBWI, I discussed the organization's extensive website, chock-full of publications and on-line forums that answer virtually every question a new or published writer or illustrator might have about writing and illustration techniques and tips, critique groups, contracts, marketing and publicity, agents, school visits and more. I also encouraged unpublished and published writers to take advantage of the SCBWI's Work-in-Progress grants. The SCBWI is huge, and membership is open to all writers, whether published or unpublished! There are over 22,000 members around the world, with 70 chapters.

As a member of the Steering Committee for the Metro New York Chapter, I help coordinate the Professional Series. These events occur monthly from October - June, on Tuesday evenings at 7:30pm (usually on the second Tuesday of the month), at the Anthroposophical Society, New York Branch, 138 West 15th Street (between 6th Avenue & 7th Avenue). This coming Tuesday, October 12, Cheryl Klein, Senior Editor at Arthur Levine Books, will speak about the 25 techniques that writers can use to revise.

Check the Metro New York Chapter website to read our newsletter, and to learn about upcoming events and happenings in the New York City area! (more…)