My First Newsletter

September 2000

Hi everyone! I'm writing to announce that TEEN POWER POLITICS: MAKE YOURSELF HEARD, my new in-your-face, issue-oriented book for youth on civic and political activism, is finally published!

Even before its release, it has attracted notice: from my interview on Fox News live from the DNC (what a kick!), to Teen People, to Seventeen Magazine's November issue, to Publishers Weekly which featured the cover in its September 4th article on kids' election books. I already have spoken on teen advocacy at major conferences from the American Library Association to the Shadow Conventions. I have written an article on the basics of voting for first timers ("Voting 101"), now up on chickclick.com and written in the style of the website; will have an article in the November issue of Book Links; and my own website, http://www.teenpowerpolitics.com is up! And this is just the start!

During this heated election season, it is important to keep the pressure on all of our candidates from presidential down to city hall, to remind them that the issues of youth - from skateboarding, to better recreation, health and safety, environment, even the bare minimums of education, racial profiling, juvenile justice and equal opportunity throughout the world - need to be seriously considered and that the voices of youth need to be heard during this election and way beyond. Let's all keep moving!

BELOW IS SOME POLITICAL INFORMATION FOR ALL OF YOU, STARTING WITH

1. TPP's press release.

2. Some sites for voter registration information.

3. Several political sites of interest if you don't know them already.

4. Where I'll be speaking, appearing, attending conferences next.

5. Upcoming media attention.

6. Other info.

Look for TPP. Ask for it. (It's not in all stores yet but you can pre-order at many - check your independents first if possible! - and at amazon.com. If you have any questions about it or ideas for marketing and publicity other than what my publisher's publicist and I might already have, please don't hesitate to contact either of us! It's important that we help motivate and support young people today - for them and for our democracy.

I plan to do an occasional update newsletter on youth issues, politics and what's happening with the book. Let me know what information you might like me to provide and any comments or whether you just don't want another email (that's ok too!). And, if you like it, feel free to send this on to your friends! I am also available for conferences, school visits or meetings to speak about youth advocacy and voting and how we, youth and older, can work together to revitalize this country and this world. Here we go!

1. HERE'S THE PRESS RELEASE ON THE BOOK:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Michelle Bayuk @ The Millbrook Press (800) 462-4703 x3008

THE TIME IS RIPE FOR TEEN EMPOWERMENT

Stereotypes abound for this generation: Apathetic. Violent. Selfish. Putting our future at risk. But who's doing the scapegoating? An adult population that no longer votes nor engages in our civic life. What's youth to do? Empower themselves now.

The teenage population in the United States today has number power (15 percent of the U.S. population), spending power ($153 billion in l999) and vocal power (over l6 million already on the Internet). The 18-24 year-old voting population even more. These - over 80 million - are the voices of the present and the future ‹but are their voices being heard for the good of us all?

Sara Jane Boyers is determined to inspire teens to discover the voice they possess and show them that they can be effectively heard, even before they vote.

Her new issue-oriented book on civic and political activism, TEEN POWER POLITICS: Make Yourself Heard (The Millbrook Press, ISBN: 0-7613-1391-5, paper $9.95)((Twenty-first Century Books, ISBN 0-7613-1307-9 rlb, $25.90), motivates youth to speak up and get involved by making a strong connection between their daily lives and how decisions by others impact them directly.

"We must recognize and respect the intelligence, persistence, and strong sense of justice inherent in teens and give them ideas on how to channel that strength and passion into strong and positive vehicles for change. Teens have much to teach us all," says Boyers.

From skateboarding to the environment to equal opportunity, TEEN POWER POLITICS highlights examples of what today's teens are doing to make a difference, including:

a. One persistent teen in Texas helps establish a landmark recycling program.

b. A Florida teen creates a solution to one of our most pressing needs: donating food to homeless shelters c. A teen in Montana organizes "Youth for Unity," a human rights group committed to combat stereotypes of any sort

d. A young African-American competition tennis player in California starts a program to provide tennis lessons to underprivileged youth, starting in her own community.

In addition, TEEN POWER POLITICS details the substance of our American democracy from how it works, the history of our voting rights, the youth voting record, the formal election process, media literacy and ways to get involved from politics to fixing potholes on the street. With cartoons throughout, a pragmatic and direct style to appeal to teens, and an extensive resource section.

Also check out Sara Jane Boyers' web site at http://www.teenpowerpolitics.com

Sara Jane Boyers is a former music industry attorney/executive and personal manager of performers who changed direction to write books. The creator of an award-winning series of books on the arts, she is an active speaker and photographer who lives in Southern California with her two teenagers and her husband.

2. VOTER INFORMATION - REGISTRATION

For those of you not yet registered to vote, this is an important election with issues not only of great concern in the presidential and congressional races but also full of issues affecting us on a local and on a global level. Please don't neglect to exercise this valuable right! Each state has deadlines for registration and you can check your state's requirements at http://www.womencount.org/m3regdate.shtml (for deadlines) and http://www.fec.gov/pages/Voteinst.htm (for registration eligibility).

And, you can register to vote online at many sites like Rock the Vote . You fill out the form and they send you a paper document for signature. If you have young people in your house (or you're one of them!) or friends around, use my book and website to help them understand the control they can have over their own lives when they vote and get active, even before they can vote. Friends older than teens are telling me THEY want to read TPP to see how the system really works!

3. POLITICAL SITES OF INTEREST RIGHT NOW

a. Project Vote Smart This is the best non-partisan political site on the web ever. Also, check out their comment-laden Youth Inclusion Project at http://www.vote-smart.org/yip/ . b. Web, White and Blue 2000 http://www.webwhiteblue.org/

c. Youth Vote2000 A strong coalition of everyone from Rock the Vote, to Envirocitizen, to Black Youth Vote and more seeking to activate and register young voters. They've been pushing a petition to have the presidential candidates dedicate one of the formal debates to the issues of youth See it at http://www.youthvote2000.org/news/

d. Rock the Vote, of course!

e. Choose or Lose MTV's strong voter registration campaign.

f. The Worldwide Wrestling Foundation's "Smack the Vote" campaign"

g. Black Youth Vote

h. LatinoVote2000

i. ServiceVote 2000

j. and a lot more on my website, http://www.teenpowerpolitics.com/tpp_ref.html

You'll note how weird it is that the youth images on many of these websites match mine in my book! Looks like we all used the same youth design CD this year.... at least we're on the same wavelength that youth votes and activities ARE important!

WHERE I'LL BE NEXT Actually, I don't know where I'll be next as the book is just coming out! Tentative schedule:

October 3 - perhaps at the important Youth Vote 2000 rally in Boston during the first televised presidential debate.

October 23(a definite!) - 7:30 pm reading at Dutton's Books, Brentwood (WLA), CA

November 2-4 - CRA, San Jose, CA

November 13 - 16th, Jackson Hole, Wyoming - High School and Public LIbrary

November 17-19 San Antonio, TX - National Council of Social Studies, Annual Conference 2001

March 21-25 - Stanislaus County, Ca - Professional writers conference, speaker

UPCOMING MEDIA (Print, Broadcast, Web) SPOTS

October 2000 - Sidebar on the Electoral College, http://chickclick.com

November 2000 - Seventeen Magazine, Teens and Politics (I'm interviewed for this feature piece) November 2000, Book Links Magazine, Article on teen advocacy.

OTHER INFO

If I decide to make this a periodic newsletter to keep you abreast of issues concerning youth, some of the sites for the election in general and then matters beyond, I promise it will never be as long as this first one! Check out my website and let me know what you think of it. It was written as a guide and a tool for activism.

If you received this twice, please let me know as I refine my list.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Check out the sites! Send it on! I know we can all go on from here.

Sara Jane Boyers

sjboyers@teenpowerpolitics.com

http://www.teenpowerpolitics.com