Do the Write Thing for Nashville — An Irresistible Auction


Elizabeth Bluemle - May 12, 2010

Photo by Keith Gallagher at Flickr


Children’s book professionals are raising some serious cash for flood-damaged Nashville through a creative auction organized by three enterprising writers: Victoria Schwab, Amanda Morgan, and Myra McEntire. Not content with the inadequate coverage of a natural disaster that has leveled neighborhoods—no excuse for the oversight even though the oil spill and car bomb were simultaneous stories—these three women have drawn attention and monetary relief to the problem by auctioning off valuable goods and services donated by industry folks, including publishers, editors, agents, authors and illustrators.
I’m a little late in discovering this amazing effort; the auction is already in its fifth round. Items in the current grouping (bidding goes for three days) include manuscript critiques from agents, editors, and one publisher; a book-marketing package including one piece of “marketing swag,” such as a postcard or bookmark; autographed books and totes and goodies; five days at a Montana ranch; three pieces of laundry handwashing done in Manhattan (!); an author Skype visit for a school or to talk about publishing; and—wait for it—a Dolly Parton clothespin doll. (I’m not linking to these examples individually because there are 16 items in this round, and each one deserves checking out. But I will start you off on Round 5, Item 1, and you can browse from there.)

Photo by Keith Gallagher at Flickr


This auction is an incredibly generous effort; the organizers have not only gathered the donations and partnered with a Tennessee Flood Relief organization (readers, you can donate directly if you’re not bidding on items), but have spent countless hours sorting out the organization of the rounds, answering emails, and smoothing out bumps in the process. Anyone who’s ever done this kind of thing knows the sheer amount of time it all takes.

Photo by Keith Gallagher at Flickr


As someone with a family member in Nashville affected by the flood, I am particularly appreciative of Do the Write Thing for Nashville. I love the children’s book world, and this is one of the reasons why: because people in our field are a helpful breed in general, and are better than most at making good on good intentions. Brava, DTWTN, and thank you.

Photo by Keith Gallagher at Flickr

5 thoughts on “Do the Write Thing for Nashville — An Irresistible Auction

  1. Pingback: Tweets that mention Do the Write Thing for Nashville — An Irresistible Auction « Shelf Talker -- Topsy.com

  2. Barbara

    Thank you for such a creative way to help Nashville. My home was spared, but many of my neighbours lost everything. The end of my street was one of the places that was used to launch boats to try to rescue folks trapped; 3 of the deaths were my neighbours. The devastation of the homes is unbelieveable – I was amazed at how quickly the flood waters came up and the power the water had. I had been through several tornadoes and they were bad but the power and speed of the flood waters is even more frightening.
    Thank you everyone for your efforts, the news media has ignored the heartbreak Nashville is suffering but once someone sees the widespread disaster area, they are shocked. After Katrina, Nashville welcomed many refugees from New Orleans and many stayed and made Nashville their new home. Now some have once again felt the waters flood them out of homes and everything they own.

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  4. Carin

    Yay! I blogged about this too. What a cool fundraiser! Poor hometown. Everyone I know was okay, but a lot of friends of friends were not. The second water treatment plant still isn’t online, and likely will cost$50M to fix. Oh, and it isn’t covered by insurance because it’s in the flood plain.

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