News & Features

At the Trump Soho hotel in Manhattan on October 1, Harlequin Teen and bestselling author Julie Kagawa unveiled her new dragon-focused series, "Talon." The first book in the series will be published on October 28, 2014. School librarians and Bammy Award nominees Deven Black, Jennifer Lagarde, Shannon Miller, Joyce Valenza, and Matthew C. Winner walked the red carpet on September 21.

Blockbuster author James Patterson treasures school libraries—and challenges you to help preserve them.

Earlier this fall, Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy in Avondale, Louisiana welcomed seasoned authors, Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian, who came to speak to all the sophomores and juniors about their newest book, Fire with Fire, the second title in the Burn for Burn series. After the authors’ presentation, the two sat down with two fans for an intimate interview.

Our friends at Macmillan want to give you a chance to share in the hilarity of From Nowhere to Norvelt, but you have to work for it. Remember Miss Volker's obituary writing and penchant for history? Be prepared to share what would be your town's "This Day in History?" and enter to win a visit from the ever-charming Jack Gantos. You'll be glad you did.

Join the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) November 21-24 in Boston for its 2013 Annual Convention! “(Re) Inventing the Future of English” is the theme for the event, which will offer teachers, librarians, administrators, curriculum coordinators, teacher educators, literacy coaches, reading specialists, and others more than 700 sessions, The topics range from general sessions featuring popular speakers and special presentations with well-known authors to sessions by classroom educators and full-day workshops that allow more in-depth exploration of a topic.

Sarah Zettel continues to turn out the hits for teen readers, and Palace of Spies is no exception. The Scar Boys is partly based on author's Len Vlahos's own experience playing in a punk band in high school, while learning how to become a good friend.

Technology makes everything simpler and more efficient, right? Maybe not always, but with teachers' class sizes increasing, we're all looking for tools to help manage their work load. Teacher librarian Phil Goerner shares info about a free Chrome extension that has been useful at his school. Kaizena allows teachers to grade student work and provide audio feedback, comments, or even a URL link right on their shared Google Doc.

Kristin Elizabeth Clark recently sat down with her mentor, Ellen Hopkins, to talk about writing, her transition from middle grade to young adult lit, and just how her book Freakboy was born.

A group of Colorado parents are challenging the use of John Green’s award-winning young adult novel Looking for Alaska (Dutton, 2005) in 9th grade classrooms, the author wrote on his Tumblr-based blog yesterday. Green is urging supporters to write in solidarity with the teachers and librarians at the school, Fort Lupton Middle and High School, who he says are "heroically" standing by their choice.