Marking the triumphs of Midwestern authors published in 2017, the Society of Midland Authors announced the winners of its annual award today. The ceremony will be held in downtown Chicago on Tuesday, May 8th, to commemorate the winners and their works from the last year. The winning and honored titles, linked to their Booklist reviews when possible, are […]
The news of novelist Philip Kerr’s death on March 23 from cancer at the young age of 62 came as a blow to the author’s devoted fans across the world. As one of those fans and a reviewer of Kerr’s books for many years, I was shaken by the news, especially as I had only […]
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the great Australian crime fiction writer Peter Temple, even planning to revisit his books for a piece in the 2018 edition of Booklist‘s Mystery Month this May—so it came as a shock to learn last night that he’d died of cancer at age 71. As a fan, that’s hard […]
Early this morning at the Midwinter Meeting in Denver, the American Library Association announced the 2018 Youth Media Awards to a cheering crowd. Here’s a list of this year’s winning and honor titles, linked to their Booklist reviews when available. JOHN NEWBERY MEDAL Hello, Universe, by Erin Entrada Kelly Newbery Honor Books Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut, […]
Throughout the week, the National Book Foundation has announced the longlist for the 2017 National Book Awards. Below, a list of titles, listed by category, linked to their Booklist reviews when available. Fiction A Kind of Freedom, by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton Barren Island, by Carol Zoref Dark at the Crossing, by Elliot Ackerman […]
Earlier today, the National Book Foundation announced the longlist for the 2017 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (YPL). Finalists will be announced on October 4. Two of this year’s longlisted authors are previous National Book Award finalists, nine out of ten of the authors on the longlist are women, and two are debut […]
Always one of my favorite literary awards, the winner of the 39th annual Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year has been announced: The Commuter Pig Keeper: A Comprehensive Guide to Keeping Pigs when Time is Your Most Precious Commodity, by Michaela Giles, edged out runner-up Renniks Australian Pre-Decimal & Decimal Coin Errors: The Premier […]
Earlier today, the judges of the 2017 Man Booker Prize for Fiction revealed their longlist. The winners will be announced, and their authors honored, at a ceremony in London on October 17. Visit the Man Booker website for exclusive interviews, articles, and other news about the shortlist authors. Following are the nominated titles, listed by country of […]
About 15 years ago, when Thrity Umrigar was already a successful journalist and about to become an English professor, she attended a lecture at Emerson College in Boston and left with her first literary agent. Shortly thereafter, her debut novel, Bombay Time, hit the shelves. Balancing a reporter’s eye for detail with academic rigor, Umrigar has written six more novels, […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
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