From March 14 to March 27, 2008, Simon & Schuster is launching our first annual Pulse Blogfest -- a two-week event where more than 120 of our top teen authors and all of their fans will come together to share ideas on one single blog.

So how does Pulse Blogfest work?

Over the past few weeks, we solicited questions from teen readers, including those on our Pulse IT advisory teen board, as well as on the Pulse Blogfest MySpace page, and we chose fourteen questions that covered a wide range of topics.

Each day, for fourteen days, we'll have one featured question. For each question, dozens of our authors will be posting blog entries addressing that question. You'll be able to get dozens of unique viewpoints of the same question. Each participating author will be answering anywhere from one to seven different questions throughout the event.

Can I still submit questions for the authors to answer?

The fourteen questions that will be answered during the blogfest have already been chosen, so we won't be taking submissions for new questions at this time. However, you can still post your own thoughts and feelings about any author's blog entries. See below...

Can I post comments or responses to authors' blog entries?

Yes, you can, but there are certain restrictions. In order to post a response to a particular blog entry, go to the end of the entry. There, you'll see something that looks like a link that shows the number of comments thus far for that entry. So you may see a link that says

1 Comment
or
No Comments
or
12 Comments

You get the idea.

To post your own comment, simply click that link. That will open up a new page that lets you post a reply, along with your name.

Three important notes about posting your comments.

1. Do NOT put in your last name. We will not be posting any private information about anybody. If you enter your last name, we will remove it before your response goes live. Your first name is fine, or your nickname.
2. Please, no foul language or inappropriate comments. Remain respectful of the authors and other visitors. Posts that contain foul language or are disrespectful of the authors or other visitors will not be posted.
3. Your response will NOT show up immediately when you submit it. To keep out spammers, we are moderating all comments to make sure nothing inappropriate sneaks in. Therefore, it may take a few hours (but often less) for your comment to show up.

Will the authors be coming back to respond to my comments to them?

Sometimes the author will be able to come back and respond to your comments, or respond in general to the comments posted about their blog entry.

However, some of the authors are kind enough to be blogging from the road while they tour, or while they're traveling. So many of the authors may not be able to personally stop on by and respond to your comments.

Please note though -- when the blogfest has ended, we will send copies of everyone's comments to each of the authors, so that they can see what teens had to say about their posts, even if the authors couldn't personally come back and respond. All of the authors will get to see what you posted for them.

That's it! Now go check out the blog entries, post your own comments, and have fun!