Library Journal Day of Dialog Fall 2026: Virtual, Free, and Features ME

Join us October 22 for our Library Journal Day of Dialog virtual event! Spanning a variety of genres, this free, day-long program will offer an in-depth look at the biggest forthcoming books for fall/winter 2026. You’ll hear directly from top authors as they discuss their new titles, inspiration, process, and more.

And don’t forget the virtual exhibit hall! Visit the booths to download free resources and chat with publishing representatives. 

EVENT HOURS: 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM ET

 

I am going to share the full program below, but please note, there are often 3 concurrent programs. This is all good because all sessions will be available for on-demand viewing within 24 hours, and the entire event will be accessible for three months from the event date. So pick your first go around faves and then join in after, but you have to register to have access.

Speaking of the schedule, I am doing one of those first sessions:

10:05 – 10:55 AM ET | Nightmares on the Page
Creepy novels, full of atmosphere, foreboding dread, and shocking scares.

Gerardo Sámano Córdova, Imps! (Tin House: Zando)
Elle Engel, He Always Comes Back (akaSTORY: Abrams)
Eric LaRocca, Brute (Simon & Schuster/Saga Press: Simon & Schuster)
Gus Moreno, If You Think You're Lonely Now (G.P. Putnam's Sons: Penguin Random House)
Tanya Pell, This B Just Won't Die! (Gallery Books: Simon & Schuster)
Moderator: Becky Spratford, LJ Horror Review Columnist

But there is SO much more.  

Go to the main page and you will find everything you need know: full schedule, registration link, another bios, and the sponsors who will be in the virtual exhibit hall. 

I hope to see some of you there.

FULL PROGRAM is below or at this link.

9:00 – 9:30 AM ET | The Exhibit Hall Opens
 

9:30 – 10:00 AM ET | Opening Keynote
Jojo Moyes discusses Three Sisters (Pamela Dorman Books: Penguin Random House), a novel about a family reunion that is by turns comic, tempestuous, heartfelt, and ultimately redemptive.
Moderator: Jill Cox-Cordova, former LJ Associate Editor

THREE CONCURRENT PANELS
 

10:05 – 10:55 AM ET | Nightmares on the Page
Creepy novels, full of atmosphere, foreboding dread, and shocking scares.

Gerardo Sámano Córdova, Imps! (Tin House: Zando)
Elle Engel, He Always Comes Back (akaSTORY: Abrams)
Eric LaRocca, Brute (Simon & Schuster/Saga Press: Simon & Schuster)
Gus Moreno, If You Think You're Lonely Now (G.P. Putnam's Sons: Penguin Random House)
Tanya Pell, This B Just Won't Die! (Gallery Books: Simon & Schuster)
Moderator: Becky Spratford, LJ Horror Review Columnist

10:05 – 10:55 AM ET | Spellbound for Love
A conversation on crafting fantastical worlds with romance, adventure, and high stakes.

Ruby Dixon, Villain Origin Story (Ace: Penguin Random House)
Tzeyi Koay, A Curse Carved in Ink (Atria Books: Simon & Schuster)
Alexis L. Menard, Vices & Virtues (Forever: Hachette)
Lexi Ryan, Night Tide (Deluxe Limited Edition) (Avon: HarperCollins)
Tasha Suri, The Lady of Thorns (Orbit: Hachette)
Moderator: Nicole Gaudier Alemañy, Assistant Branch Manager, Brooklyn Public Library (NY)

10:05 – 10:55 AM ET | Turning the Page Together
A lively discussion on books worth talking about, perfect for sharing with friends and book clubs.

Karen Joy Fowler, Otter Music (G.P. Putnam's Sons: Penguin Random House)
Elizabeth Wellington Rollins, The Three Graces of Pearl Street (Atria Books: Simon & Schuster)
Nina Michiko Tam, Tastes Like Seeing God (Pamela Dorman Books: Penguin Random House)
Rory Squire, Small Talk (Cardinal: Hachette)
Marisel Vera, The Girls from Humboldt Park (Liveright: Norton)
Moderator: Lynnanne Pearson, Head of Adult Services, DeKalb Public Library (IL)

THREE CONCURRENT PANELS
 

11:00 – 11:30 AM ET | Nobody Told Me This About Parenting
Experts provide practical, compassionate approaches to raising kids today.

Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge, The Dysregulated Kid (Page Two: Page Two)
Lisa Damour, The Emotional Lives of Parents (Ballantine Books: Penguin Random House)
Moderator: Ashley Rayner, Librarian at NORC, University of Chicago (IL)

11:00 – 11:30 AM ET | Nonfiction Illustrated
Discover culinary traditions, experience a life-changing journey, and reflect upon a tragic moment in history.

Christopher Benson, Framing Emmett Till (Abrams ComicArts - Megascope: Abrams)
Matthew Maxwell, How to Hold a Cockroach (Penguin Random House)
Linda Yi, Let's Make Sichuan! (Ten Speed Graphic: Penguin Random House)
Moderator: Alexander Zalben, Host and Editor, Comic Book Club

11:00 – 11:30 AM ET | Supernatural Curiosity
Explore the museum of lost things, travel to enchanted fairy lands, and encounter ghostly hauntings.

Sarah Clegg, Perilous Enchantment: The True History of Faeries (Atria Books: Simon & Schuster)
Sam Kean, The Museum of Lost Things (National Geographic: Disney)
Margo MacDonald, A Curious Presence: An Exploration of Ghosts and the People Who Haunt Them (ECW Press: ECW)
Moderator: Sarah-Ruth Tasko, Readers' Advisory Librarian - Darien Library (CT)

THREE CONCURRENT PANELS
 

11:35 AM – 12:25 PM ET | Culinary Adventures
Discover fresh ways to cook, eat, and feel your best with these four Union Square cookbook authors. From Italian favorites and fiber-fueled meals to the science of flavor and everyday wellness, this panel serves up practical recipes, expert insights, and delicious inspiration for every home cook.

Anna Francese Gass, Instant Italian: 100 Modern Classics—Ready in Under an Hour
Dr. Emily Leeming, Fiber Power: 60 Recipes to Transform Your Energy and Boost Your Health in Four Weeks
Helen Rennie, The Science of Dinner: Lessons in Flavor and Texture with 60 Essential Recipes
Elizabeth Stein, Nourish and Thrive: 100 Balanced Recipes for Everyday Wellness
Moderator: Ron Block, Branch Manager, Cuyahoga County Public Library System (OH)

11:35 AM – 12:25 PM ET | Novels of Twists and Turns
These mysteries and thrillers range from cozy to creepy and are full of suspense, misdirection, and plot twists.

Tempest Black, Bitter Fruit (Little, Brown and Company: Hachette)
Meg Blakemore, When Harriet Met Homicide (Atria Books: Simon & Schuster)
Lauren Ling Brown, The Inheritance Thief (Bantam: Penguin Random House)
Alyssa Cole, It Takes a Village (Wildthorn: Macmillan)
Rebecca Connolly, Webs of Ink (Shadow Mountain: Shadow Mountain)
Moderator: Tina Panik, Reference Manager, Avon Free Public Library (CT)

11:35 AM – 12:25 PM ET | Sea Stories
Nonfiction books that capture the drama and danger of life at sea, with accounts of shipwrecks, science, and tragedy.

Caitlin Doughty, Dead in the Water (W. W. Norton & Company: Norton)
Mark Harris, Deep End (W. W. Norton & Company: Norton)
Ben Rawlence, The River in the Sea (St. Martin's Press: Macmillan)
Decker Watson, The Sinking of The Scandies Rose (Gallery Books: Simon & Schuster)
Moderator: Dontaná McPherson-Joseph, Collection Management Librarian, Oak Park Public Library (IL)

12:25 – 12:55 PM ET | Break / Visit the Exhibit Hall

12:55 – 1:25 PM ET | Afternoon Keynote
Join Isabel Ibañez in conversation with St. Martin’s Publishing Group’s Executive Editor Eileen Rothschild as they discuss Witch Dance (St. Martin's Publishing Group / Saturday Books: Macmillan Library Marketing), an atmospheric, historical fantasy where forbidden magic, a deadly mystery, and an enemies-to-lovers romance collide in Renaissance Europe.

TWO CONCURRENT PANELS

1:30 – 2:20 PM ET | Enchantment in the Everyday
These books blend time travel, alternate realities, and magical recipes into daily life.

Sarah Addison Allen, Paper Ghosts (St. Martin's Press: Macmillan)
Tabitha Bouldin, Seven Recipes for Second Chances (Bethany House Publishers: Baker)
Emilia Hart, The Enigmas (St. Martin's Press: Macmillan)
Kelly Murashige, Milkiverse (Soho Press) 
Alex Schulman, June 17th (Harper: HarperCollins)
Moderator: James Gardner, Reference Librarian at Clark County Public Library

1:30 – 2:20 PM ET | Make Your World Better
Self-help authors discuss reconnecting with one’s self, focusing on what's really important, and practicing social bravery.

Autumn Brown, Temper (St. Martin's Essentials / Sounds True: Macmillan)
Chris Cleave, Human Again (Scribner: Simon & Schuster)
Amy Cuddy, Bullied (Harper Wave: HarperCollins)
Jedidiah Jenkins, Go Quiet on the Mountain (Convergent Books: Penguin Random House)
John S. Kruse, ADHD World (New Harbinger Publications: New Harbinger)
Moderator: Emily Bowles, Lecturer in English, Georgia Gwinnett College

TWO CONCURRENT PANELS
 

2:25 – 3:15 PM ET | First-Time Authors
Learn about debut novels that run the gamut from ping-pong to magical party islands.

Renny Gong, Ping Pong Kids (Ecco: HarperCollins)
CJ Green, Record Lows (Cardinal: Hachette)
Jordan Harrison, Miss Archer (William Morrow: HarperCollins)
Ronald Lee Robertson, Goliath (Scribner: Simon & Schuster)
Raelle Tucker, Obscura (Crown: Penguin Random House)
Moderator: Jen Jumba, MLIS, Popular Department Manager, Cleveland Public Library (OH)

2:25 – 3:15 PM ET | The Heart of the Matter
Romance books that celebrate connection, character, and unforgettable love stories.

Liana Cincotti, Don't Be in Love (Forever: Hachette)
Kristina Forest, The Unrequited Love Department (Atria Books: Simon & Schuster)
Roxanne LoMarc, Love and Other Two-Player Games (Haven: Baker)
Martha Waters, Spellstruck (Atria Books: Simon & Schuster)
Julia Whelan, Casanova LLC: Deluxe Limited Edition (Kensington: Kensington)
Moderator: Migdalia Jimenez, Librarian, Chicago Public Library (IL)

3:15 – 3:40 PM ET | Break / Visit the Exhibit Hall

TWO CONCURRENT PANELS
 

3:40 – 4:30 PM ET | The Stories We Carry
Authors share the vulnerability and craft of telling their unique histories in their own words.

Miranda Brown, Dumpling Therapy: My Mother, Chinese Food, and Five Thousand Years of Not-So-Ancient Recipes (St. Martin's Press: Macmillan)
Tamra Davis, Girl with a Camera (Gallery Books: Simon & Schuster)
Ana Hebra Flaster, Property of the Revolution: From a Cuban Barrio to a New Hampshire Mill Town (She Writes Press: Indie Author Project)
Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, Both and Neither: A Memoir and History of Gender (or a Haunting) (Doubleday: Penguin Random House)
Moderator: Natalie Marshall, Executive Director, Flint River Regional Library System (GA)

3:40 – 4:30 PM ET | Worlds Beyond
Books filled with cozy magic shops, dystopian cli-fi futures, and desert kingdoms readers won't want to leave.

Delemhach, The Dues & Don'ts of Magic (Simon & Schuster/Saga Press: Simon & Schuster)
Sara Hashem, Merciful Carnage (Orbit: Hachette)
Ashley Poston, Elodie and the Dark Lord (Ace: Penguin Random House)
Lev AC Rosen, All Her Potential (Erewhon Books: Kensington)
A.D. Sui, Our Infinite and Inevitable Ends (ECW Press: ECW)
Moderator: Jessica Trotter, Collection Development Specialist, Capital Area District Libraries (MI)

TWO CONCURRENT PANELS

4:35 – 5:25 PM ET | Fantastic Fiction
From the mountains of Jamaica to the hills of Ireland, these books have stories that defy the ordinary.

Mateo Askaripour, Pure Ox (Dutton: Penguin Random House)
Wiley Cash, Same River Twice (William Morrow: HarperCollins)
Nicole Dennis-Benn, Black Gold (Random House: Penguin Random House)
Mary Beth Keane, Whale Harbor (Scribner: Simon & Schuster)
Susan Meissner, Somewhere, Something Incredible (Berkley: Penguin Random House)
Moderator: Andrea Gough, Adult Services Librarian, Seattle (WA)

4:35 – 5:25 PM ET | Reading the Past
Writers weave historical elements, including the Space Race and 19th-century immigration, into compelling narratives.

Marianne Fons, The Dressmaker of Winterset (Union Square & Co.: Union Square)
Jennifer Galvão, Maria, Maria (Random House: Penguin Random House)
Pam Jenoff, The Society of Forgotten Wives (Park Row: HarperCollins)
Shirin Yim Leos, Of Wind and Dust (The Dial Press: Penguin Random House)
Erin Litteken, Find Me in the Stars (Harper Muse: HarperCollins Christian/Focus)
Moderator: Felicia Humphries, Asst. Director Library Services, Boston Public Schools (MA)

5:30 – 6:00 PM ET | Closing Keynote
Bestselling crime writer S.A. Cosby brings his signature grit and suspense to the Marvel Universe with Truth to Power: A Luke Cage Marvel Crime Novel (Hyperion Avenue: Disney), a thrilling tale of justice and power that pushes heroes to their limits.
Moderator: Ron Block, Branch Manager, Cuyahoga County Public Library System (OH)

Publishers Are Getting Nasty Now That Libraries Are Finally Fighting Back on Unfair Pricing- UPDATED 9/15/26

As many readers know, I have been fighting for months, very publicly, calling out the publishers for overcharging libraries for ebooks and eaudio. You can read all of my posts here or go straight to the letter of testimony I delivered to the IL State House in person back in March. 

Well, while I was on vacation the publishers showed their hand big time. That hand? They are scared of us. Our arguments about the unfairness and our pursuing legislation based on the fact that the pricing hikes for libraries violates contract laws and takes advantage of the taxpayers is working! If it was not working why would they pay for studies like this one. From the PW report on this study

Study Says Library E-book Lending Hurts Industry Sales

As some states consider legislating how publishers negotiate with libraries over e-book agreements, the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild have released a report which found that increased e-book library lending is supplanting sales of print books.

Titled “An Empirical Study of the Impact of Library E-Lending on the Book Economy” and conducted by Secretariat Advisors, the report predicts that “decreases in library e-book prices or certain other changes to licensing terms, as required in recent state legislative initiatives, would cause further harm to commercial markets,” including publishers, authors, and booksellers.

The report’s authors emphasize the role of libraries as both public institutions and market participants, acknowledging that “collection budgets have not meaningfully increased even as states and localities expect libraries to offer both print and digital formats to their communities.”

However, the authors argue that the imposition of government controls on the distribution, purchase, and pricing of e-books and audiobooks in library channels “would effectively undermine the commercial marketplace by demanding more digital copies for libraries for less money immediately upon first publication with little regard for the larger ecosystem.”

In a joint prepared statement, AAP president and CEO Maria Pallante and Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger said that “fully funding libraries should be an urgent priority for all lawmakers, and the Authors Guild and AAP stand firmly behind efforts that would increase taxpayer funding at every level of government and support new ideas for private sector support.” They continued, “It should be obvious to policymakers that both the mission of libraries and the intellectual property of authors and publishers are equally invaluable to the public interest, not a tradeoff.

Click though to read more. But as you can see in the intro above, they are clearly scared. They wants to keep bilking us for extra money but also, they know people are mad that they are picking on libraries in general and stealing their tax dollars in particular. 

Well we are not falling for it. Well, to be fair, some libraries are. They tell me, but Becky what if they stop selling to us if we fight? To them I say, you are joking right? With margins so tight already, 

These are the same people who obey in advance when it comes to soft censorship, so they can just shit their mouths. They are wrong and keep proving over and over again that they are unwilling to fight for what is correct when push comes to shove.

But I digress. Here is what I know about their scare tactics. The smartest people on books are not buying this crap. Take Ron Charles' Substack article on this issue: Libraries Are Not the Problem: A new publishing-industry study takes aim at ebook lending just as public libraries are fighting for their lives.

Click through to Ron Charles' well argued essay, click here for the PW report on the study, and of course, keep following my coverage and FIGHT here.

Important Update: My colleague and friend Stephen Sposato from Chicago Public Library alerted me to this VERY important article pointing out SIGNIFICANT faults in the study the Authors' Guild commissioned. So not only are they nasty and scared, but they are fighting libraries by releasing data inaccurately manipulated to make us look bad.

Please read and pass on.

Booklist's Corner Shelf Newsletter is Live for August 2026

A new issue of Corner Shelf: A Booklist Newsletter for the space where Readers' Advisory meets Collection Development just dropped. You can access the table of Contents and Susan Maguire's Editor's letter below. Or just click here to read the issue in your browser.

And please go here, if you haven't already, to sign up for any of Booklist's newsletters.

Specifically, this issue is packed with useful information and lists, but in general, this is one o fly favorite newsletters. It gathers a wide variety of useful information in one place, and all of it is focused around helping our readers through our collections or direct RA service.

August 2026

• Read ‘n’ Rave 2026: The List
• Fall Audiobook Preview 2026
• Reference Roundup: Summer 2026
• Top 10 Memoirs: 2026
• Excerpts from the Experts: Peacebuilding: A School Librarian’s Journey
• Essentials: Body Horror
• Shelf Care: Looking Back and Looking Ahead with Robert Wedgeworth
•  From the Backlist: Sweet Nothings: Confessions of a Candy Lover, by Sarah Perry

Hello Shelfers,

As you all stick a fork in your summer reading programs (they’re done!), I hope you’re each taking a well-deserved break. This issue of Corner Shelf is a little light, to match the workload you’re able to take on after the library year’s busiest season. We’re looking back a little bit: to ALA Annual, where we co-hosted the ever-popular Read ‘n’ Rave with our friends at LibraryReads; to our not-too-long-ago August issue, which featured the top 10 memoirs of the past year; even further back, to our June Essentials on Body Horror; and even further back than that with a Shelf Care interview with former ALA Executive Director Robert Wedgeworth, who ruminates on a decades-long career. We’re also looking ahead with the Fall Audiobook Preview for all of your preordering/hold-gathering needs. Then we’ve got a roundup of recent reference reviews and an inspiring piece on one librarian’s journey to serving his students with empathy and love.

This is sort of a lot for a “little light” issue, but what can I say, I’m an overachiever. And I know you need that sweet sweet readers’ advisory and collection development content to get you through your week!

Speaking of sweet sweet readers’ advisory and collection development content (with a soupçon of programming thrown in there), Booklist is hosting another series of FREE online workshops, this time centered around **comics**: Comics & Libraries: Resources for Collection Development and Programming. Maybe you have a few comics readers in your library? You’ll want to check these out. The workshops are being held on September 8th, but if you can’t make the live event, a recording will be sent out to all registrants. So sign up today!

Happy reading!

—Susan Maguire
Senior Editor, Collection Development and Library Outreach, Booklist
smaguire@ala.org
@booklistsusan.bsky.social

My Updated Horror RA Program is Happening Today

This afternoon I am presenting my updated program on how to help Horror readers for PCI. Many libraries across the country have access to PCI's webinars either live or on demand. Please look into you system or state's niche academy or similar access points for continuing education.

I work very hard to update this program every single year so that it has everything you need to help Horror readers from the most hard core to new fans and even the Horror curious who always come out each Spooky Season. 

Please note, whether you have access to my live presentation or not, I have made the slides so that they are an excellent resource even without me talking. There is a baseline of expertly crafted information here for anyone to use. 

Please see the excerpts from my post from 7/31/26 entitled, Updated Horror RA Program for 2026 and my 2026 Appearance Schedule Page is Now Live, for more information below. See some of you later today or sometime in the future when you catch the replay.

Believe it or not, but I am in full Spooky Season prep mode even though it is still July. Besides the Horror Genre Preview that went live earlier this month, I also have my annual update to my program-- Horror Readers Advisory: How to Help Your Scariest Patrons.

The first time I am giving this talk is for PCI for a national audience-- some live, some on demand. You can access the slides for yourself here or at the end of this post.

This presentation is updated every year around this time. It is THE standard for everything you need to know about Horror from appeal to themes, how to handle the Horror RA conversation, what titles you need to know about. And all of this is presented so that you can use the information to serve your patrons whether you are a hard core horror fan, a complete fraidy cat, or anything in between.

This means everyone reading this should be looking at these slides now, before you are slammed with more Horror readers. Remember, horror is hot right now and people always want to give it a try in October, even those who have never read it. These slides can help you help them and every level of Horror reader. 

FYI, you can always find my upcoming and immediately past programs and RA training appearances on this page, always in the right gutter BELOW the RA for All logo. That page lists my fees, my most popular programs and their descriptions, links to slides, and a direct link to my book specific appearance page.  

Using Awards Lists As a RA Tool: Cundill History Prize Edition

This is part of my ongoing series on using Awards Lists as a RA tool. Click here for all posts in the series in reverse chronological order. Click here for the first post which outlines the details how to use awards lists as a RA tool.  

Well, it has been a busy week, but I still have one more day of posts to give you, and this one has been in draft most of the week but it was bumped for the surprise World Fantasy Award nomination and the NYT Thrillers list.

It's the Cundill History Prize. From the announcement:

The world’s leading prize for a work of history written or translated into English, the Cundill History Prize, has announced its longlist of fifteen books for 2026, chosen from almost 400 submissions from across the world.

Following in the footsteps of recent Cundill History Prize winners, Lyndal Roper (2025) who was announced as 2026 Holberg Prize Laureate earlier this year, Pulitzer Prize winner Kathleen DuVal (2024) and Guardian journalist Tania Branigan (2023), the fifteen longlisted authors will now be in the running for the US$75,000 prize. The Cundill History Prize is awarded annually to a book that demonstrates excellence across the prize’s guiding criteria: craft, communication, and consequence.

The books on this year’s longlist introduce us to topics from across the globe, spanning continents and generations, from the history of the five partitions that shaped modern South Asia to the legacy of the Magdalene laundries in Ireland, from post-Second World War colonial Africa to the hidden story of Indigenous slavery in US history.

Chair of the Jury Emily Greenwood, James F. Rothenberg Professor of Classics at Harvard University, said: “We are always in history but not always conscious of it. The best analytical and interpretative historical works reveal the past to us in staggering, new ways. Not only do the fifteen works on this year’s longlist recover history through fresh archival research, but they also offer new lines of sight on matters that continue to weigh heavily on us in the present.

“Ranging from the late fourth century CE to the present day, these books address topics including the theft of Indigenous land and people, the geopolitical upheaval of partitions, Jewish history and the shifting nature of anti-Judaism and antisemitism, the history of racial laws and immigration in America, autocracy and leadership cults, the party machinery of communism, the delicate dynamics of international diplomacy, passive collusion on the part of entire societies, the amendment of constitutions, colonial looting and post-colonial restitution, and the complex agency of plants—in this case vanilla—in the modern history of human consumption. Some of these works revise seemingly settled histories: the Africanness of St. Augustine; how to tell the history of Mexico; and new understandings of past dreams of liberation, from lost artworks of the American revolution to visions of Pan-Africanism.”

You can see the full longlist of titles here. 

As you can see above, this is a history prize that values, "craft, communication, and consequence." This focus on those three pillars, especially the "communication" piece means that these 15 titles are excellent history reads for a library patron audience.

History is one of the nonfiction area where we see a lot of leisure reading circulation. It might not in the same high numbers as things like true crime, cookbooks, or biography and memoir, but it is popular enough that we can make displays and use prize lists to build out our collections and remind readers of these great books.

And because these are just "History" and not a specific branch or type of history, the titles themselves represent a broad swath of excellent, vetted history writing. You can coincidently add these titles across your dewey areas and suggest them with confidence.

The Cundill Prize also has easy backlist access going back to 2008 here. Since we are talking about history books, backlist titles are less time sensitive. Dig deep into the backlist for this one because history never gets old. (pun intended)

And that backlist will help you make a display of history books. You can even use the prize's mantra as your catchy sign/title-- "History books of craft, communication, and consequence"-- that will draw readers in to see what that means. You can even put the logo for the prize on the sign. And for the online version of your display, add a link to the prize itself.

Because this a a history prize and the jurors are all academics, they also have a great page explaining exactly how they pick their winners. I appreciate the transparency of this page.

Finally, and regular readers know exactly what is coming next, you can make this display interactive but using it as a conversation starter, but asking-- What is your favorite popular history book? This is an excellent way to engage your nonfiction readers in your RA efforts. 

Remember, you can click here for the post where I explain how to ask these conversation starter questions in the library and online to capture your patron's answers and make displays that include them in the RA Conversation. 

Back Monday with 5 reviews by me from the August 2026 issue of Booklist.

Using Awards Lists As A RA Tool: The World Fantasy Award Finalists Edition....Featuring Me

This is part of my ongoing series on using Awards Lists as a RA tool. Click here for all posts in the series in reverse chronological order. Click here for the first post which outlines the details how to use awards lists as a RA tool.  

Well I got a surprise yesterday when my editor at Saga Press, Joe Monti called me to let me know that my book was nominated for a 2026 World Fantasy Award.  To say I was surprised would be an understatement. As I told Joe, I didn't think they gave awards for nonfiction. They don't, he told me, but they have one category, "Special Award – Professional" where they can nominate anything they want.

I also want to give a shout out to everyone at Saga because while I was on the phone with Joe, people were coming by to congratulate me over his phone and then the joy in the email chain with the official announcement that Joe was sharing with me and the team....it was wonderful! They work so hard for their authors and are proud of all of us. 

Okay, enough about me, let's talk about the award in general. The World Fantasy Awards are given each year at the World Fantasy Convention for books in the Fantasy and Horror genres. From their site:

A highlight of the annual convention is a banquet and ceremony announcing the recipients of that year’s World Fantasy Awards. The finalists and winners are selected each year by a jury of judges and the members of the current and previous two years’ conventions. For details on submitting material to be considered for the current year’s awards, see this page.  

You can click here for this year's ballot or see the full list below. And you can use the Locus Magazine award database for all past nominees and winners.

Use this award list AND the jurors to help your speculative fiction readers, to make displays, give suggestions, and develop your collections.

2026 World Fantasy Awards Final Ballot

Jurors:

• Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ
• Tamsyn Muir
• Madeleine E. Robins
• Richard Thomas
• Ann VanderMeer

Novel

• Audition for the Fox by Martin Cahill (Tachyon Publications)
• Once Was Willem by M. R. Carey (Orbit/Orbit UK)
• The Secret Market of the Dead by Giovanni De Feo (Saga Press)
• The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow (Tor Books/Tor UK)
• The Adventures of Mary Darling by Pat Murphy (Tachyon Publications)

Long Fiction

• The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar (Tordotcom/Arcadia)
• “The Secret Diary of Mina Harker” by Theodora Goss (Letters from an Imaginary Country)
• “Uncertain Sons” by Thomas Ha (Uncertain Sons and Other Stories)
• The Death of Mountains by Jordan Kurella (Lethe Press)
• “The Spotter” by Josh Malerman (You, Human: An Anthology of Dark Science Fiction, Vol. 2)
• Psychopomp & Circumstance by Eden Royce (Tordotcom)
• A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)

Short Fiction

• “The Hungry Mouth at the Edge of Space and the Goddess Knitting at Home” by Renan Bernardo (Reactor, Aug. 27, 2025)
• “In My Country” by Thomas Ha (Clarkesworld magazine #223, April 2025)
• “10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days” by Samantha Mills (Uncannymagazine #63, March-April 2025)
• “St. Dymphna’s School for Borderland Girls” by Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece (Weird HorrorIssue 10, Spring 2025)
• “Unfinished Architectures of the Human-Fae War” by Caroline M. Yoachim (Uncannymagazine #64, May-June 2025)

Anthology

• Night & Day edited by Ellen Datlow (Saga Press)
• Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology edited by Julie C. Day with Carina Bissett & Craig Laurance Gidney (Essential Dreams)
• The Best Weird Fiction of the Year: Volume 1 edited by Michael Kelly (Undertow Press)
• Year’s Best Canadian Fantasy & Science Fiction: Volume Three edited by Stephen Kotowych (Ansible Press)
• Bog People: A Working-Class Anthology of Folk Horror edited by Hollie Starling (Chatto & Windus)

Collection

• Letters from an Imaginary Country by Theodora Goss (Tachyon Publications)
• Uncertain Sons and Other Stories by Thomas Ha (Undertow Publications)
• The Essential Patricia A. McKillip by Patricia A. McKillip (Tachyon Publications)
• The Eleventh Hour: A Quintet of Stories by Salman Rushdie (Random House/Jonathan Cape)
• Black Hole Heart and Other Stories by K. A. Teryna, translated by Alex Shvartsman (Fairwood Press)

Artist

• Galen Dara
• Kathleen Jennings
• Daniele Serra
Rachel Smythe
• Charles Vess

Special Award – Professional

• Clive Bloom, for London Uncanny: A Gothic Guide to the Capital in Weird History and Fiction (Bloomsbury Academic)
• Blumhouse and Dave Schilling, for Horror’s New Wave: 15 Years of Blumhouse (Simon & Schuster/Simon Element)
• Jaymee Goh, Jill Roberts, and Jacob Weisman, for Tachyon Publications
• Tim Lucas, for Succubus (Necronomicon) (PS Publishing/Electric Dreamhouse)
• Becky Siegel Spratford, for Why I Love Horror: Essays on Horror Literature (Saga Press)
• Richard Wolinsky, for Space Ships! Ray Guns! Martian Octopods!: Interviews with Science Fiction Legends (Tachyon Publications)

Special Award – Non-Professional

• Scott H. Andrews, for Beneath Ceaseless Skies magazine
• Andy Cox, for Remains magazine
• Patrick Swenson, for Fairwood Press and for the Rainforest Writers Village Retreat
• Elise C. Tobler, for The Deadlands magazine
• Wendy Wagner, for Nightmare magazine