Welcome to KidLit Cares, an online talent auction to benefit the Red Cross relief effort to help communities recover from Hurricane Harvey and related flooding. Agents, editors, authors, and illustrators have donated various services to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with donations being made directly to the Red Cross disaster relief fund. You can read more about KidLit Cares here. Now, on to the auction!

Opening bid: $50
Auction ends:Thursday, September 7, 2017 at 10pm EST.
Any bids submitted in comments after that time will be void. (Please note: bidding at the last second isn’t a good idea. Websites get overloaded & there’s always a chance that your bid might not post on time. So please bid your best offer with plenty of time to spare.)
If you’d like to bid on this auction, check the current high bid and place a higher bid by leaving your name and bid amount in the comments, along with some way to contact you (email, FB or Twitter…I’m not fussy.) Winners will be notified when the auction ends and should be prepared to make an online donation to the Red Cross Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief fund in the amount of the high bid at that time. After you’ve made your donation, you’ll forward your receipt to me, and I’ll put you in touch with the person who donated the service you won so that the two of you can work out the details about how and when. All services will be provided at the convenience of both the person making the donation and the auction winner, but this should happen within three months of the auction’s end unless something else is agreed upon by both parties.
Good luck, and thanks for bidding!





Alex Flinn will donate an in-person school visit and five signed books of the bidder’s choice to a school or library in Central or South Florida (Monroe to Pasco County on the west, Miami-Dade to Seminole/Orange County on the East). School visit will include three 50-minute sessions on a single day or one evening session with two daytime sessions the next day. Transportation is included within this geographical area. If schools in North Florida or outside of Florida wish to bid, they may do so provided that they are in the Eastern or Central time zones and pay the author’s transportation and hotel expenses. Author visit subject to scheduling availability, must be scheduled at least one month in advance and take place in 2017 or 2018. Value is approximately $1,500.
Just Us Books is pleased to offer an online critique of a 32 page picture book manuscript (ages 4-8) plus autographed copies of Bright Eyes Brown Skin, Jamal’s Busy Day and Book of Black Heroes from A to Z.
Lynda Mullaly Hunt is offering a full author Skype visit (45 minutes), a signed copy of FISH IN A TREE, and Fish in a Tree swag for 50 children – for the top 3 bidders in this auction!
Award-winning author, Kathi Appelt, is a seventh generation Houstonian. Even though she now lives in College Station, she considers Houston her home town. She is offering a one-day school visit (three sessions) to one of the schools affected by Harvey. She’ll bring a selection of autographed books for the library with her, and will include an after-school session just for teachers if they’re interested.
Editor Cassandra Pelham Fulton has donated a 25-page graphic novel or chapter book proposal review, along with a 30-minute phone call to discuss is. Cassandra grew up in Delaware and graduated from Spelman College. She has been in the children’s publishing industry for eleven years, and is currently a senior editor for the Graphix and Scholastic Press imprints at Scholastic, where she has edited award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling, and USA Today bestselling graphic novels. When she’s not reading books or writing editorial notes, she spends her time enjoying the arts and hanging out in Brooklyn.
New York Times bestselling author April Henry is offering a 30-minute Skype visit for your school, library, or book club, along with 15 assorted signed copies of her award-winning books, which include GIRL, STOLEN; THE GIRL WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE; THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED, THE BODY IN THE WOODS; BLOOD WILL TELL; THE GIRL I USED TO BE; and COUNT ALL HER BONES. April has written 21 mysteries and thrillers for teens and adults.
Martha Brockenbrough will visit your class via Skype or Google Hangouts, and she can talk about Alexander Hamilton, and where his biography is different—and often even better—than the musical. She’ll answer questions about the founding father and talk about how she found all the facts and images that made it into the book, which received a starred review from School Library Journal.
New York Times bestselling author Nikki Grimes is offering a basket of signed books: