Residents of Kansas City!

I will be a participant in this week's DNA Lit Fest. Please click that thing for more information. Also participating are Uri Shulevitz, Brian Selznick, Kate Klise, Patricia Polacco, and Judy Sierra, so give me a break, just go already.

If you don't want me coming and messing up your city now's the time to say something.

Ada Lovelace Day, Again

I can't believe it's been a whole year since the last Ada Lovelace Day. Phil Hilliker reminded me this morning, so I've decided to rerun my post from last year.

As Cory Doctorow puts it, Ada Lovelace Day is "the day that bloggers all over the world post about women in science as part of a global day of awareness and appreciation for the (often underreported) role that women play in the sciences." I love women in science (or at least one particular woman in science), and I'm a huge fan of awareness, so I'm blogging about my wife, Marie.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, she's an astrophysicist. That's her, second from the left, in a photo by Gaelen Marsden. Marie is here depicted in Antarctica in 2006, where she and her team built a telescope and launched it on a balloon to the edge of space to search the infrared spectrum for signs of star formation in the early universe. She was there for two months. Why yes, as a matter of fact she is cooler than your wife. That's nice of you to mention it.

Clock Without a Face 5

Once again I post a portrait from a forthcoming treasure-hunt book, The Clock Without a Face. Here's the future-man, who lives one floor below the hunter.

Today I have more to report, however, as I've noticed the official website seems to be back up again. Check it out, because there's a wealth of information about this weird little book, and about twelve emerald-studded numbers that have been hidden across this great country. These numbers will be yours for the keeping, if you find them first. Really.

Also, a great long-form review of the book up on the Fuse #8 blog.

There's a Pigeon Nesting on my Porch.

Clock Without a Face 4

Another portrait from The Clock Without a Face. Here's the hunter, who lives a floor below the hoarder.

An Open Letter

Dear Itawamba County School Board:

Forbidding Constance McMillen to attend prom with her girlfriend is bigotry. But it's unsurprising, run-of-the-mill bigotry, and I'll admit it's not what moved me to write.

To cancel prom rather than risk Constance's and her girlfriend's inclusion is petty and unconscionable, knowing (as anyone would) that it would lead to blame, harassment, and threats aimed at the girls.

But thank goodness that, due to your actions, there haven't been any "distractions" this year. That's what you were trying to avoid, right?

Take Care,
Adam Rex

The Clock Without a Face 3

Yet another portrait from that forthcoming book I've been talking about. This is the hoarder, who lives one floor below the alchemist.

Once again, this book is both a mystery and a treasure hunt. Readers will find clues inside that will lead them to twelve different bejeweled numbers hidden across the United States.

More information soon.

The Clock Without a Face 2

Here's another portrait from that forthcoming book I mentioned Sunday. This is the modern-day alchemist, who lives one floor below the billionaire.

Once again, this book is both a mystery and a treasure hunt. Readers will find clues inside that will lead them to twelve different bejeweled numbers hidden across the United States.

Someone asked on my last post if there was a way to get additional information. There will be soon, but the official website for the book hasn't launched yet. I'll pass along everything relevant when I can.

Tucson Festival of Books

If you live in or around Tucson, or if your car recently broke down here, I hope you'll join me this weekend on the campus of the University of Arizona for the second annual Tucson Festival of Books. Follow that link for a lot of information. Here, though, is my schedule:

Saturday the 13th:

10am–I'll be introducing the awards presentation for the Flash Fiction Contest on the Story Telling Stage in front of the Psychology building.

2-2:45pm–I'll be signing books at the Kids' Center/Simon & Schuster booth. No, I don't know where that is, either. Somewhere on the mall.

3-3:30–I'll be in the Teen Author's Lounge, which I understand is some kind of tent. I may be reading or drawing or just answering questions–it'll depend on who shows up.

4-5pm–I'll be on a panel with Jon Scieszka, Mac Barnett, and Chris Gall in the Kiva Auditorium in the College of Education building. We're apparently going to talk about being funny. To paraphrase Elvis Costello, talking about being funny is like dancing about architecture. So come watch us dance in the Kiva Auditorium in the College of Education building.

5-5:30–I'll be autographing some more in the designated area.

I've been to a lot of book festivals, and the one Tucson put on last year was among the best I've attended. Let's all get out there and show everyone what kind of town we live in.

The Clock Without a Face

Look at this thing. This unlikely-looking thing is a book, a mystery book titled The Clock Without a Face. And within this book lies the clues to uncover twelve bejeweled numbers which have been hidden across the United States of America. I'm not kidding about this.

The Clock Without a Face will be available this May. It features staggering environmental drawings by Scott Teplin, and those drawings are the stars of this book. But I'm happy to say that I provided portraits of its cast of characters, and I'm going to start sharing these today. Below is the billionaire–the emerald-studded numbers were stolen right off the face of his once-valuable clock.