News & Features

I’m leaving soon for ALA Midwinter Meeting 2013 in Seattle! Most of my time will be spent in the committee meetings for YALSA’s Fabulous Films Committee. By the end of the meeting, we will have 25 films about “survival.” Stay tuned to see what t hose films are! I also hope to be able to attend the YALSA Board [...]

Fans outside of Carnegie Hall display their loot from John and Hank Green's An Evening of Awesome.

"There’s a shift towards a more multimodal ways of communicating through digital videos, VoiceThread, and graphic novels/comics that is more appealing and engaging to adolescents who now expect such multimodal ways of learning..."

Sixty percent of publishing executives believe that tablets have become “the ideal reading platform,” and 45 percent believe that dedicated e-readers will soon be irrelevant, according to a recent online, by-invitation survey conducted by global research and advisory firm Forrester.

Gerald McDermott, award-winning author, illustrator, and filmmaker who died on December 26 at age 71, will be fondly remembered for his unique style of vibrant, visual storytelling, which has inspired and engaged generations of kids. Highlights of McDermott’s career, which spanned a 49-year period, include a Caldecott Medal, two Caldecott Honor books, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award.

Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo. Alfred A. Knopf, Random House. 2012. Review copy from publisher. YALSA Morris Award Finalist. The Plot: Amelia, fifteen, is in love with Chris. Chris is her co-worker at the local supermarket. Chris is twenty-one years old. Chris is finishing up university, trying to get over Michaela, figuring out what [...]

MARK:  Back before the 2011 Alex Awards were announced, Angela said she “would never presume to predict the Alex winners”, but this year I’ve convinced her to help me go ahead and presume away. So today we offer our combined random guesses, er . . . informed predictions as to what might make the 2013 [...]

Looks like the National Book Awards are taking a page out of the Oscars’ handbook.  Which is to say, if people like nominees for awards so much, why not give them MORE nominees?  Says PW, “In an effort to broaden the reach and impact of the National Book Awards, the National Book Foundation will select [...]