We put authors on such a pedestal, and it's a moment that humanizes the whole thing, and lends an absurdity to what otherwise is a "please sit with your hands on your lap" kind of event.
Mac BarnettToo often we tell kids pleasant stories devoid of truth, and stories without truth are not good stories. Our audience deserves more from us.
Mac BarnettI love those adult writers with the pranking ethos, [Don] DeLillo and [Donald] Barthelme and David Foster Wallace. I don't see any reason not to bring those kinds of influences to bear on books for children.
Mac Barnett