Macmillan Library @ ALA Annual 2012 (booth 2544)

Macmillan Library @ ALA Annual 2012 (booth 2544)

exhibiting logoWe're getting geared up for ALA Annual in Anaheim and it's about time we shared all of our exciting plans with you!

See our full schedule below:

FRIDAY, JUNE 22nd 

5:30 PM 
Macmillan booth 2544

Mignon Fogarty (a.k.a. Grammar Girl) will be signing copies of her Quick & Dirty Tips books and Deb Coonts will be signing copies of SO DAMN LUCKY in our booth. 

SATURDAY, JUNE 23RD

10:30-12 PM 
Convention Center Rm 202A

Gail Tsukiyama, author of A HUNDRED FLOWERS, and Jeri Westerson, author of TROUBLED BONES, will be speaking on ALTAFF’s "Historical Fiction" panel. 

11:00 AM
Macmillan booth 2544

Kelli Stanley will be signing copies of CITY OF SECRETS in our booth. 

1:30 PM 
Exhibit Hall, Aisle 2200

Gail Tsukiyama, author of A HUNDRED FLOWERS, will be speaking at ALA’s LIVE! @ your library Reading Stage

1:30-3:30 pm 
Convention Center Rm 209A

Deb Coonts, author of SO DAMN LUCKY, will be speaking on ALTAFF’s “Isn’t It Romantic?” panel. 

ALL DAY 
Pop Top Stage

A number of excellent Macmillan authors will be speaking on the Popular Topics Stage for Mystery Day! Read all about the Macmillan authors hereAnd see the full Pop Top Stage schedule here.

ALL DAY
Unshelved Day @ ALA!

Our buddies over at Unshelved are celebrating TEN YEARS (say whaaaat?!) of comic strip goodness and they're encouraging you to show off your Unshelved pride on Saturday at ALA. Details on their blog

SUNDAY, JUNE 24th  

9:00-10:00 am 
Convention Center Rm 210A/B

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the event you've all been waiting for... #BOOKBATTLE2: The Sequel! In one corner we have Talia "The Tiger" Sherer. In the other corner we have Chris "The Cutie" Vaccari. These two champs will duke it out to claim the title of Best Book Buzzer Ever! They'll be buzzing about books for both adults and teens! There will be galleys! There will be prizes! There will be A BATTLE TO THE DEATH!!

book battle 2

9:00-10:00 am 
Hyatt, Royal Ballroom

YA Author Coffee Klatch with Alex Award-winner Rachel DeWoskin. 

Enjoy coffee and meet with a number of great YA authors! Librarians will sit at a table and every 3 or 4 minutes, a new author will arrive at your table to chat.

10:30-12:00 pm
Convention Center Rm 204A

The Alex Award is given to the top 10 books that appeal to young adults, and is administered by YALSA and sponsored by the Margaret Alexander Edwards Trust. The 2012 Alex Award winning authors including Rachel DeWoskin, author of BIG GIRL SMALL, will speak about their books and the award on this panel. 

10:30-12:00 pm
Convention Center Rm 204C

The Great Non-Fiction Read-Alike: If You Like This, You’ll LOVE That! with Trivia!

As the popularity of non-fiction reading for pleasure continues to grow, librarians have a great opportunity to grow their reader’s advisory skills. All-star panelists Alene Moroni (Manager, Selection & Order, King County), Anna Mickelsen (Reference Librarian, Springfield City), Kaite Stover (Manager, Readers’ Services, Kansas City),  Robin Nesbitt (Technical Services Director, Columbus Metropolitan), and Stephanie Chase (Head, Reference, Adult Services, & Programming, Multnomah County) will cover major trends in popular non-fiction and recommend upcoming titles with pre-publication buzz as well as titles from your backlist will satisfy your patrons while the best-selling titles are on hold.

2:30 PM 
Macmillan booth 2544

Joel Engel will be signing copies of L.A. '56 in our booth. 

4:00 PM
Macmillan booth 2544

Francesca Lia Block will be signing copies of THE ELEMENTALS in our booth. 

MONDAY, JUNE 25th 

10:00 AM
Macmillan booth 2544

Eleanor Kuhns will be signing copies of A SIMPLE MURDER in our booth.

2:00 PM-4:00 PM 
Anaheim Marriott, Grand Salon E

Jane Green, author of ANOTHER PIECE OF MY HEART, will be speaking at the ALTAFF "Gala Author Tea." Tickets required.

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ALA Midwinter Love and Our YALSA Award Winners!

ALA Midwinter Love and Our YALSA Award Winners!

Whew, what a conference! Midwinter was a delight this year. We're so glad we got a chance to catch up with so many of you.

Now that we're back, we want to highlight the 2012 YALSA awards winners and nominees that we publish and distribute:

Our 2012 Alex Award Winners:

SALVAGE THE BONES by Jesmyn Ward
THE LOVER'S DICTIONARY by David Levithan
BIG GIRL SMALL by Rachel DeWoskin

See the full list of 2012 Alex Award-winners here.

Our 2012 Alex Award Nominations:

AFTER THE GOLDEN AGE by Carrie Vaughn
AMONG OTHERS by Jo Walton
EMORY'S GIFT by W. Bruce Cameron

See the full list of 2012 Alex Award-nominees here.

2012 Great Graphic Novels:

DAYBREAK by Brian Ralph

See YALSA's full list of 2012 Great Graphic Novels here.

UPDATE: YALSA posted more awards and lists today!

2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults:

MILES FROM ORDINARY by Carol Lynch Williams 

See YALSA's full list of 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults here.

2012 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers:

FALL FOR ANYTHING by Courtney Summers

See YALSA's full list of 2012 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers here.

2nd UPDATE: YALSA posted their popular paperback picks!

2012 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, Stick and Stones

SOME GIRLS ARE* by Courtney Summers

THE CHOSEN ONE* by Carol Lynch Williams

*This is the THIRD appearance on a YALSA booklist for SOME GIRLS ARE and THE CHOSEN ONE. They have each now appeared on YALSA’s Popular Paperbacks for Young Adult List (2012), Best Fiction for Young Adults (2010 & 2011) and Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (2010 & 2011). If you haven't read them yet, now's the time!

See YALSA's full list of 2012 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults here.

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On #YASaves: Darkness in YA More Help Than Harm

On #YASaves: Darkness in YA More Help Than Harm

I'm sure I'm not the only one out there who logged into Twitter over the weekend to find a new trend dominating the bookish conversations: #YASaves. I don't read many Young Adult novels, but I went ahead and read the desputed article on how YA has become too dark, I also read a rebuttal or two, then I decided to read some YA.

Back when I was reading YA regularly, I'll admit, it wasn't contemporary. I was reading YA of the wizards, knights, and spaceships variety. But this time I picked up something from 21st Century Earth, Courtney Summers' FALL FOR ANYTHING, in which our protagonist, Eddie, is coping (and sometimes not coping) with her father's suicide. Is this story dark? Yes. Is it written with care, sensitivity, honesty, and confidence that things can get better for Eddie? Absolutely. 

As I read, three things became very clear to me very fast:

1. It's easy to forget that the day-to-day life of a teenager is erratic, immediate, frustrating, and thrilling without additional adversity.

2. Tragedy and abuse are isolating. Only fellow teenagers can truly empathize with highly-visceral reactions to difficulty, but they may not know how to empathize with tragedy. Books offer a non confrontational form of support, normality, and a way to see past the confusion to the healing.

3. YA books dealing with issues like grief, self-harm, substance abuse, domestic violence, bullying and so on are invaluable tools for adults trying to understand someone younger dealing with difficult issues.

Sure, sometimes in YA the death of a parent is replaced with the death of a wizard guardian or substance abuse is told as addiction to time-traveling, but regardless of genre, the issues and the emotions are the same. These stories offer empathy, compassion, understanding, and shed light on difficult issues.

If you feel inspired to do some reading and decide for yourself whether dark issues in YA are helpful or harmful, I have a few authors to suggest:

Courtney Summers (FALL FOR ANYTHING, SOME GIRLS ARE, CRACKED UP TO BE)
Carol Lynch Williams (THE CHOSEN ONE, MILES FROM ORDINARY)
Rachel DeWoskin (BIG GIRL SMALL)

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Two Starred Reviews for Big Girl Small

Two Starred Reviews for Big Girl Small

Rachel DeWoskin's BIG GIRL SMALL, available April 2011, has earned starred reviews from both Booklist and Publishers Weekly for its accurate (at times painfully accurate) recreation of the high school experience. The boys are crushable, the girls are complicated, and Judy Lohden is a sarcastic, talented scandal-magnet that will draw you in, as well.

"DeWoskin deftly captures the often vicious dynamics of adolescents, which mask their fragility, and creates in Judy an unforgettable character, one who is, by turns, sardonic and heartbreakingly vulnerable." — Booklist (starred review)

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