While the award committees doors are locked, the “media evaluation” committees such as Notables Books, Notable Recordings, YALSA’s BBFA, etc., are open. Here’s the Notable Books committee, discussing in front of an attentive audience, including many editors and publishers who wait patiently to hear the books they worked so hard over publicly praised and pulled apart. They’re just starting on picture books now; I entirely missed all the fiction. (Nonfiction will follow picture books, likely starting later tomorrow.) Any of you catch discussion of titles we’ve talked about here? I know that some of you lurkers were in the room…..