Children's Authors Help Battle Cancer

Stephenie Meyer, Shannon Hale, and Others Launch Project Book Babe

Apr 8, 2009

For years, book buyer Faith Hochhalter has promoted children's authors. On April 4, 2009, authors returned the favor by creating a benefit to pay her medical expenses.

Not many book buyers would show up at a bookstore in the middle of the night (in her pajamas no less) to see a mockup of a new children’s book an author wanted to show her, but that’s the kind of enthusiasm Faith Hochhalter, a former book buyer for independent Arizona bookstore Changing Hands, showed fantasy author James A. Owen – and many other authors over the years.

“Faith is just one of those people everyone in the book business knows and loves,” says Shannon Hale, author of The Princess Academy. “And book buyers are so crucial to an author’s career. They decide what books go into a store, they sell them – they’re really on the front lines of literacy.”

Known affectionately as the “Book Babe,” Hochhalter spent years arranging successful school visits, author events, and media coverage for children’s writers, helping to launch the careers of many popular authors including Stephenie Meyer, creator of the Twilight series and J.S. Lewis, co-writer of The Grey Griffins books.

So when Hochhalter told her friends she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2009, children’s authors everywhere decided to support their Hochhalter by launching “Project Book Babe,” a benefit event designed to raise money for Hochhalter’s medical expenses.

Project Book Babe

“At first we weren’t sure what to do – if it was just going to be a charity auction or dinner,” states Daanon DeCock, a friend of Hochhalter and many of the authors, who became the event's operations director along with J.S. Lewis. “But we immediately began emailing authors to get their publishers to donate books for an online auction. Publishers love Faith, so they were happy to help.”

In all, almost seventy authors, including Eoin Colfer, Gregory Maguire, and Lisa McMann, contributed signed books, original artwork, and even an opportunity to have a character named after the winning bidder for a highly successful online auction.

Children's authors weren't the only creators to support Hochhalter. Having served as the Director of Youth Activities for the Phoenix Comicon, Hochhalter had made friends with several comic book creators, including local artist Ben Glendenning. After learning about the event, Glendenning and four other graphic novel artists came to the event and drew sketches for audience members -- raising hundreds of dollars in donations within minutes.

Stephenie Meyer

Yet one of the biggest boosts for the benefit came when Twilight author Stephenie Meyer learned of Hochhalter’s situation and offered to not only make a live appearance but also donate many rare items – including her original Eclipse and The Host manuscripts, a never-before-seen epilogue to Forever Dawn, and a lunch with a fan – for a live auction.

“We had no idea the lengths Stephenie would go to,” says DeCock. “The manuscripts, the lunch, the epilogue – she was amazing.”

With Meyer’s name behind the event, tickets (which ranged from $25 to $300) quickly sold out as hundreds of fans traveled from New York, Philadelphia, New Mexico, and California to attend the event at Tempe, Arizona’s Marcos De Niza High School.

For three hours, fans were treated to live music and an author panel discussion featuring popular children's authors Chris Gall, P.J. Haarsma, Shannon Hale, J.S. Lewis, Dean Lorey, Brandon Mull, James A. Owen, Janette Rallison, Laini Taylor, and Stephenie Meyer. The event culminated with a live auction where Meyer’s fans bid furiously on her items – raising thousands of dollars in minutes.

The Future of Project Book Babe

According to DeCock, the success of Project Book Babe inspired the authors, who hope to create future cancer benefits that will help fund Well Woman Health Check Program, the Arizona program that diagnosed Hochhalter’s cancer.

For Hochhalter, the support she has received from her friends is nothing short of extraordinary.

“When I first heard about it I was shocked and a little baffled – I never thought it would reach this level of excitement or become this huge,” she stated in an address to the event’s audience. “I will never be able to find enough words to express my gratitude to everyone involved.”

The copyright of the article Children's Authors Help Battle Cancer in Children’s Books is owned by Michael Jung. Permission to republish Children's Authors Help Battle Cancer in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.