Public Library Services for Strong Communities Report via PLA

Today I am posting information I received from PLA via email. I have not read the  entire report yet, but I wanted to make sure I posted it so people can have time to sign up for the free webinar. I have signed up. Maybe I will see you there.

This information is a birds-eye view of the public library landscape and is important for every person who works at a library, in any capacity to read. 

The Public Library Association (PLA) has published the 2022 Public Library Services for Strong Communities Survey report. Read the report to learn about the latest nationwide trends in library program and services, partnerships with other organizations, and the state of library facilities. The survey is the third in a rotating series of three national surveys exploring public library roles, services, and resources to provide actionable data for decision-making and advocacy.   Sign up for a free webinar on Tuesday, July 11 at 1:00 p.m. Central to learn more about the survey results.

All libraries have access to their own survey responses and key metrics via Benchmark. A Benchmark subscription is required for upgraded access to the interactive data dashboards and full results from all PLA surveys. Libraries that complete the annual survey receive a 10% discount a Benchmark subscription. The 2023 Technology Survey will open in September.   Learn more about PLA surveys and research on the PLA website. If you have questions or require assistance accessing your library’s Benchmark account, please contact: plabenchmark@ala.org.

ALA Annual 2023: Becky's Conference Notes Part 2 of 2

I am back for the second and final day of ALA Annual wrap-up and the focus today is on specific panels. But first, I want to mention the time I spent on the Exhibit floor.

I made sure to stop by the publishers who care about Horror and just say hi and chat with them. So I visited, Sourcebooks, PRH, Harper, Machete, Macmillan (but complained to them that no one from Nightmare was there and how short sighted that was), S&S, IDW, and SOHO Crime. I was not there for giveaways or to meet specific authors 

The only authors I made a point to visit during their signings were authors I work with and know so that I could thank them. So I was at Stephen Graham Jones' signing at IDW and P. Djèlí Clark's at Macmillan. Both are Summer Scares authors and Clark, in particular, I wanted to thank. I am friends with Jones and was there for pictures and to say hi. But Clark, is one of this year's authors and we have emailed, met before his Zoom for Booklist, and he has already done a few appearances this year. I snuck to the front as he was signing just to day hello. While he was busy I said to the publishing rep helping him, "I am not cutting, I just want to say Hi because I have been working with him for Summer Scares." And she said, "Oh, we know Summer Scares." I was elated. 5 years in and we are getting traction.

Here are a few comments on some of the panels I attended. This is not everything I did, but what I chose to write about.

BOO! - Horror in Middle Grade & Young Adult Literature.

Saturday, June 24, 2023

 9:30 AM – 10:20 AM CT

 Location: Exhibit Hall – PopTop Stage (End of 1600 Aisle)

• Alex Brown, NIGHT OF THE LIVING QUEERS (Wednesday Books) and DAMNED IF YOU DO (Page Street Kids)
• Daniel Kraus, SCREAM FOR THE CAMERA, Graveyard Girls series, Book #2 (Union Square Kids)
• Ryan La Sala, BEHOLDER, (Scholastic, Inc.)
• Kristen Simmons, FIND HIM WHERE YOU LEFT HIM DEAD, (Tor Teen)

Panel moderated by Jenna Friebel, Oak Park Public Library.

This panel was standing room only. This is important because it proves what I keep saying-- Horror is having a moment for all ages. You need to be aware of these authors, their titles, and why kids love Horror because they will become adults who will crave it too.

There was a lot of good content here and I prioritized listening to taking notes, but I did grab a few good comments.

Friebel asked them, "What draws teen and kids to horror?"

• Kraus: As a kid I used horror movies to find out what my limits were. I was always interested in my strong reaction to it. he stuff that traumatized him in those moments also helped him in the long run and fueled me as a writer.
• Simmons: Monster Horror is more relatable than we give it credit for.
• Brown: For some teens horror is an escape butt also a way to find themselves 

One of my favorite questions Friebel asked was, "If you were in a Horror movies, which character would you be?" I missed Simmons answer but the rest:

• Kraus: I have to admit it, I am probably the killer
• La Sala: I am the Bimbo.
• Brown:I want to say I'd be the final girl but in reality, I am the first to die.

I also went to this RA specific program featuring 

Transforming Readers Advisory: Read Beyond

Saturday, June 24, 2023

 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM CT

 Location: McCormick Place, W179b

Readers’ Advisory (RA) is a skill that must be continuously developed. When asked for book recommendations, library staff default to either tried and true authors or the most recent books they themselves have read. Too often, those books and authors are white, able-bodied, cisgender, heterosexual people writing about characters similar to them in some way. However, there is a vast landscape of diverse titles with which library staff can engage and recommend for the stumped reader. In this session, a panel of RA experts will share their views, tips, and tricks for recommending diverse materials. From the trademarks of genre fiction to author readalikes, these experts will engage in a dynamic conversation about book moods and appeals that will spark interest from any potential reader. Hear what our panelists have to say about their approach to RA, how they recommend books they’ve never read, how easy it is to include diverse recommendations, and what to do when a reader says they don’t want something in their suggestions.

While the focus will be on adult titles, we will also have commentary on RA for teens and how to leverage adult books for young adults. To wrap up the presentation, panelists will be asked to share their top five best books of the year so far. Q&A to follow.

This program featured: 

Moderator: Dontaná McPherson-Joseph, n/a (she/her/hers) – Rainbow Round Table

Presenter: Rose Barnes (she/her/hers) – Oak Park Public Library

Presenter: Stephanie Sendaula (she/her/hers) – LibraryLinkNJ

Presenter: Gabby Womack (she/her/hers) – Tufts University

Presenter: Rebecca Oxley (She/they) – Prince George's County Memorial Library System 

I am friends with Sendaula and have seen Oxley present before, so I knew this would be good. I was correct.

I was happy to hear them give a lot of the same advice Robin Bradford and I do in our Anti-Racist Service to Leisure Readers training. They also shared some great beginner RA advice about talking to readers. In fact, like Robin and I, they all agreed that you do diverse RA the same way you do all RA.

Here is a good comment summarizing that by Oxley: Always assume that the reader in front of you wants both books about them and books introducing them to books by people different than them. Assuming they want to be a global citizen. Also Womack clarified even further: Don't ask if they want "diverse" options because that assumes white is the default.

Barnes also reminded the group to never say this is by an author who is a specific identity. Books do not have an identity or ethnicity.

Sendaula talked about working with college students at the Community College and she has found that they are really good at telling her what they don't like and she has learned to ask adults what they don't like too. She also asks RA questions like, "What is your current mood?" "What are you not interested in right now?" "What do you wish you could see more of in your life?" These are much more conversational questions. 

Oxley made one of my favorite comments of the conference in ragrds to those ebbing LGBTQ books because they are grooming kids saying-- I read so many straight books growing up and if they didn't turn me straight, the opposite isn't going to happen either.

Another large part of this panel was about social media and RA. Womack and Sendaula are very active on social media and they both had some great advice. Womack in particular talked about how long she observed TikTok before she got into it. She did research about how the algorithm works and figured out how to curate her feed to be mostly Black creators, Then when she started posting her videos about Black books, they were presented to a curated community. She also shared another one of my favorite comments of he conference: if people complain that their TikTok is all porn know that it is because Epson is what they engage with. LOL.

Sunday I did the Horror Huddle I talked about yesterday here. And then Family Feud which was hilarious, fun, and raised $1000 for charity and Lila Denning cataloged in detail here (Tweets in reverse chronological order)

Monday was all LibraryReads all day, all to celebrate their 10th Anniversary.

Its began with Your Morning is Booked:

Join the Adult Library Marketing Assoc. and LibraryReads for their annual adult author panel. You'll hear 5 top authors talk about their upcoming releases, get galley access, and more!

Featuring the following authors: Bonnie Jo Campbell, The Waters: A Novel (W. W. Norton & Company); 
Jean Kwok, The Leftover Woman (William Morrow, HarperCollins Publishers); 
Thrity Umrigar, The Museum of Failures (Hachette Book Group, Algonquin Books); 
Anise Vance, Hush Harbor (Harlequin, Hanover Square Press); 
Pam Zhang, Land of Milk and Honey (Riverhead, Penguin Random House).

Again, Lila Denning captured the event with this thread. 

And then my favorite panel of ALA Annual always, one I have had the chance to do a few times as well:

Booklist and LibraryReads Read 'N' Rave
Location: McCormick Place, W176ab

Moderator: Susan Maguire (she/her/hers) – Booklist/ALA

Presenter: Ashley Rayner (she/her/hers) – NORC at the University of Chicago

Presenter: Migdalia Jimenez (she/her/hers) – Chicago Public Library

Presenter: Rebecca Vnuk, LibraryReads – LibraryReads

Presenter: Magan Szwarek (she/her/hers) – Schaumburg Township District Library

Presenter: Annabelle Mortensen (she/her/hers) – Skokie Public Library

And here is the full report of the books that were Read and Raved.

The night ended with a spectacular party to celebrate 10 years of LibraryReads with Board  members past and present and all of my favorite people.

While I am talking about LibraryReads, I want to remind ALL of you that anyone who works in a library, no matter their job title, can vote for LibraryReads. And all votes are due by the first of the month for the next month. This means votes for August titles are due Saturday, 7/1. You still have time. Might I suggest voting for WHALEFALL by Daniel Kraus?

One more point about LibraryReads.  You do NOT have to have read the book to vote for it. The votes are for the books library workers are most excited about. 

Click here for directions on how to participate.

And that's all for me about my time at ALA Annual. If you want to see the bookseller perspective of the conference as well, click here for PW's coverage.

Back to your regular RA for All programming tomorrow. 

ALA Annual 2023: Becky's Conference Notes Part 1 of 2

Over the next two days, I am going to have my notes about my conference experience. However, I do want to note that I had very different goals in 2023 than I did in 2022. 

While in 2022 I focused on attending as many program slots as possible (my reports from that conference are here), this year, I was focused on networking. 

Why the change? Well I think the answer is super useful to all of you as well so I will discuss. 

In 2022, the conference was a big step "back to normal." We were mostly masking, not sure about how much time to spend with others, people were all still getting used to being together again, and we were all starved to learn new things from our colleagues. I needed training from new voices more than I ever have in my career.

By 2023, I realized I had missed just chatting with my colleagues, meeting up with them, and catching up. After ALA 2022 in DC, I attended 4 more in person conferences and felt very much more back in the flow of attending and learning in this conference model. But by focusing on networking at ALA 2023, I found that my colleagues were all craving more time to chat and learn informally from each other. This was the first time in 4 years that I had seen some of these people.

But also, and this is specific to me, all of my goals for 2023 revolve around my next career steps. 2023 has been a year of looking forward and assessing the big picture of my career. As a result, I had some formal meetings planned to discuss my career and my work with a bigger picture focus. 

In order to get the most out of my attendance at ALA Annual this year (remember, I pay for myself to attend), I felt like a focus on networking was the best course of action, and that was my plan going in.

And now, I can tell you on both fronts this focus on networking was 100% successful. Here are two examples.

1. I had discussions with many of the organizations I already work for about what we do together, where we should move forward. Some were very formal and others informal. Two examples, one informal and one formal: meeting my LJ editor, Melissa DeWild, in person and spending some time at panels together and just getting to know each other while chatting future plans vs the meeting I had with my publisher's new Senior Marketing Manager. 
2. A colleague I have known for over 10 years (in real life) was there. We had the multiple chances to talk about more than simply what is going on in our library worlds, but instead we started a higher level discussion about a possible panel for future conferences, one that would be very different than the things we normally present on and one that we think will be helpful to a wider audience.

More news on all of these things will come in due time, but the examples are important. I share hem because I want to remind all of you, conferences, and really any opportunities where library workers comes together to learn, can serve many purposes. There is no right or wrong way to plan attending an event like ALA Annual. The only wrong thing you can do is NOT take the time to think about why you are going and what you hope to get out of it, BEFORE you go. And, I guess there is one more wrong thing you can do, and that is not taking the time to assess how it went AFTER.

Okay, enough esoteric. On to my notes. 

To follow my Tweets from the entire run of the conference in reverse chronological order including this specific thread of my photo highlights, click here. You do not need a Twitter account to read these tweets.

Also I would suggest this thread by my colleague Lila Denning as well. 

I am not going to report a day-by-day recap as in year's past. Today, I will have some of the bigger evens and commentary while tomorrow's post will be more panel focused.

So let's begin.

The Opening Session on Friday was very inspiring but I will admit, it was a bit because we were in my home town. I got to see CPL Commissioner Chris Brown and ILA President Heather Jagman welcome us all. I was so proud to know and work with them. 

There was an appearance by the FCC Chairperson, Jessica Rosenworcel, for the second year in a row. She spoke about the FCC's commitment to modernizing E-Rate through using all they learned as they extended its use with their emergency funds during COVD. An example of something they did with the emergency funds was to do "learning without limits" and get wifi on school buses. Especially in rural areas where broadband access is more spotty, those kids also spend hours school busses. So they gave them "wifi on wheels" to get started on homework with reliable wifi. 

One of their plans to modernize the E-Rate itself is to move from providing high speed internet to school and library buildings toward providing wifi hotspots for them to take from those buildings-- libraries and schools. So, the plan is to make wifi hot spots available for purchase with E-Rate funds so we can check them out to library users. This is a change in the E-Rate as written but is still very focused on the equity of service that underlies this program's existence. 

Tracie Hall, Executive Director of ALA, came on to welcome us next. She also brought on the Stars of NBC Chicago's Chicago Today morning program to talk about their Banned Books Book Club which they do with ALA and Tracie Hall. Click here for video access. They also announced that NBC is looking to expand the segment nationwide. That was exciting.

Then Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias came out to ask about his role in the passage of the nation's first ban on book banning. Please click here to read about about this as I was a that bill signing earlier this month. He read the same speech he gave at our event, which I have no problem with because it was good and more people needed to hear it. But he did announce something new---

BanBookBans.com a website to help other state's pass the same legislation as well as a place for those who want to help or need help can gather. This is action against book bans directly from the government, and it should come as no surprise that it is from a pelican who served on a library board (Giannoulias was on CPL's board) and from someone Tracie Hall, has been able to speak o on these topics personally.

Judy Blume spoke next. Here is PW's recap of her remarks. And then the conference was off and running.

I attended the Carnegie Awards Reception on Saturday and to say it was a highlight of the conference would be understating it. As I have detailed many many times on the blog, I was on the selection committee for this year's winners. Not only was I going to get to meet the authors who won but the members of our committee who were in attendance all had dinner together before hand with Danielle Borasky from NoveList, the longtime sponsors of the reception. 

Here is the thread of the tweets about the ceremony including the speeches. Well worth your time to read what the authors had to say. 

And finally in today's wrap up, I want to acknowledge that the publisher for my book is ALA Editions, which mean I spent some time working on activities devoted to my book and its promotion. I was able to connect with the new Senior Marketing Manager at ALA Editions, Ramon Robinson. We go to know each other bit and also seen time recording promotional videos that you should see shortly. He also was there to help kick off my "Huddle" on Sunday morning where a handful of library workers who are interested in serving horror reader and I met to discuss how best to go about it. Its was nice to have the opportunity to connect with people in a formal way, but through an informal training format.

Back tomorrow, with more specifics about panels and activities.

ALA Annual 2023: Wrap Up Posts Begin

I finished my conferencing last night with the LibraryReads 10th Anniversary party, so that means it is time for the recaps to begin. I will be posting about my specific ALA experience all over the next few days, but I am one person and definitely did not go to everything. So, today, I bring you ALA's American Libraries official daily conference recaps. You can access all of those articles and reflections in reverse chronological order at this link.

Also, reminder, you do not need o have a witter account in order to view people's posts. Many people, including myself, tweeted while we were conferencing. You can click on the hashtags #ALAAC23 and #ALAAC2023 to see quite a bit of coverage.

Then, starting tomorrow, I will spend some time writing about my specific RA Service related experiences for all of you.

Still at ALA Annual

 The blog will be back Wednesday. 

Links Round-Up (with RA Advice) As I Am ALA Annual Bound

Since things will get backed up because of ALA Annual, I had a few links that I had been saving but will not have time to give their own post. I still wanted to share them, so here's a link round up with comments.

• Grady Hendrix and Riley Sager have an interesting conversation about Thrillers, Horror, and what is the difference over on CrimeReads. A great resource to understand why these stories appeal to readers and all of the different entry points as we suggest these popular titles.
• Also from CrimeReads: Latinx Horror and Crime Fiction to Check Out in 2023. 
• Library Journal released a slew of "Shining Stars" lists highlighting the best of the year so far for a slew of genres. Click here to access the Horror list (featuring 9 titles I reviewed) and in the right gutter you can access more lists.
• A reminder that Book Riot has the best Best Seller list you can use since the demise of the USA Today's list. Here's the June 19th report on all the lists.
• For your patrons: The Ripped Bodice's Summer Reading BINGO card is ready for 2023.
• All of Reese Witherspoon's Book Club picks in one place via Pop Sugar.
• Very interesting: Book Riot compiles the most popular books on Goodreads so far this year. Compare it with your check out records. I bet there is a lot of overlap. Also make a display or list of your library's most popular titles this year so far as well. People love to read what other people are reading. 

Now back to ALA Annual. I will be doing reports on my actives but no promises as to when they will get up. I do know you can keep an eye on my Twitter feed here or in the right gutter of the blog (scroll a bit) to see what I am up to. 

Also a reminder, I posted my schedule yesterday here as well. 

More soon. 

Using Award Lists as A RA Tool: Shirley Jackson Awards 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, this Saturday is Shirley Jackson Day. And it is always celebrated with The John G. McCullough Free Library, in partnership with the Shirley Jackson Awards. Click here for details and see below for the announcement. And Shirley Jackson Day also means the announcement of the titles nominated for the Shirley Jackson Awards. But first the details on SJD:

On Saturday, June 24^th at 7:00pm, The John G. McCullough Free Library, in partnership with the Shirley Jackson Awards at The Left Bank in North Bennington, will host its annual celebration of the career of Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) with readings of her work.

 

The Left Bank is hosting an in-person exhibit “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon,” inspired by a quote from “The Lottery.” Gallery reception will be from 3:00-5:00pm. The celebration of readings will begin at 7:00PM.

 

Jackson was a prolific author who lived in North Bennington, Vermont. Her several novels include We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House. She also wrote two popular memoirs, four books for children and hundreds of short stories. Jackson, who favored themes of mystery, psychology, and suspense, may be best known for “The Lottery,” one of the most widely read tales in modern fiction. June 27 is the “Lottery Day” of the original story. Its publication in The New Yorker was on June 26, 1948.

And now, on to the awards themselves.

I am on record, multiple times, saying that  this is my favorite award. If I had to pick only 1 award for fiction, this would be it. And that is saying a lot because I have been on the juries for multiple awards and not this one.

But why this one? A few reasons,

First, the Shirley Jackson Awards are an excellent RA tool not only for the normal reasons I outline with the links to start this post, but also because they are an award that is NOT bound by genre. The entire point of the books that are nominated for and win this award is that they represent the legacy of Jackson, herself. Books that are darkly speculative and/or are intensely psychological; books that defy conventions but are great.  Each and every year titles are honored that are amazing reads but are almost always overlooked by genre awards, not because they aren't great [because they are], but because when push comes to shove, they do not fit as easily into the genre box as the other options.

Second, because books that win the Shirley Jackson Award already live on the fringes, the jurors and the titles they choose are more diverse than your average award.

Third, this award can be used as a "readalike" list on its own. Why? Because the main thing these nominated titles all share is a connection to Jackson and her brand of storytelling; thus, they all have an appeal connection that other awards can not promise in the same way.

Fourth, the entire concept of the cards, being "genreless," means you have a very WIDE audience to handsell these titles to. 

And fifth, this is collection development gold. You want to have the best dark speculative titles, authors, collections, and anthologies for your patrons? Here is a easy purchasing list.

Which reminds me, the Shirley Jackson Awards not only have annual jurors who rotate every year but they also have a board of directors and an advisory board. You can access all of those people and their bios on this one page. Every single one of those authors is also readlaike option.

And new for this year, the Shirley Jackson Awards have added me to the Advisory Board. One of my jobs is to promote the awards far and wide (the other is to suggest titles to the jury for them to consider).

And of course, the super easy backlist access of nominees and winners going back to 2007, all avaiable with 1 easy click. 

You want a display of weird, unsettling, and compelling titles, look no further than these tales, all of which are singled out for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic. Those nominated for this year and all past years. There are so many options you will never run out of a suggestion for your patrons searching out this type of read.

While I have not reviewed every single nominee here, I have read or have read about almost all of them. Many were just up for or won a Bram Stoker Award last weekend, and many of the small presses with nominated titles are from presses I have featured and or appear on my "Best Independent Horror Presses for Libraries" list.

I would like to give a special shout out to Tenebrous Press and Bad Hand Books, two newer presses on the scene who both not only put out a good product but are good people who use their work to fight for equity, diversity, and inclusion.

THE SHIRLEY JACKSON AWARDS

               Press release

                       For Immediate Release

Contact: JoAnn F. Cox Awards Administrator admin@shirleyjacksonawards.org

         Nominees Announced for the
        2022 Shirley Jackson Awards

Boston, MA (June 2023) -- In recognition of the legacy of Shirley Jackson’s writing, and with permission of the author’s estate, The Shirley Jackson Awards, Inc. has been established for outstanding achievement in the literature of psychological suspense, horror, and the dark fantastic.

The Shirley Jackson Awards are voted upon by a jury of professional writers, editors, critics, and academics. The awards are given for the best work published in the preceding calendar year in the following categories: Novel, Novella, Novelette, Short Fiction, Single-Author Collection, and Edited Anthology.

The nominees for the 2022 Shirley Jackson Awards are:

NOVEL

Beulah by Christi Nogle (Cemetery Gates Media)

The Dead Friends Society by Paul Gandersman and Peter Hall (Encyclopocalypse Publications)

The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias (Mulholland Books)

Jackal by Erin E. Adams (Bantam)

Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Tsai (Jaded Ibis Press)

Where I End by Sophie White (Tramp Press)

NOVELLA

The Bone Lantern by Angela Slatter (PS Publishing) Bound Feet by Kelsea Yu (Cemetery Gates Media)

Catastrophe by Deirdre Danklin (Texas Review Press) Lure by Tim McGregor (Tenebrous Press)

Pomegranates by Priya Sharma (PS Publishing)

The Wehrwolf by Alma Katsu (Amazon Original Stories)

NOVELETTE

Azeman or, the Testament of Quincey Morris by Lisa Moore (Black Shuck Books)

"Challawa" by Usman T. Malik (Dark Stars: New Tales of Darkest Horror)

"Sweetbaby" by Thomas Ha (Clarkesworld, October 2022)

"This Place is Best Shunned" by David Erik Nelson (Tor.com) What the Dead Know by Nghi Vo (Amazon Original Stories)

SHORT FICTION

"Brother Maternitas" by Viktor Athelstan (Your Body is Not Your Body)

"The Church of Divine Electricity" by Emily Mitchell (The Southern Review)

"Dick Pig" by Ian Muneshwar (Nightmare Magazine, Issue 112)

"Halogen Sky" by Wendy N. Wagner (VASTARIEN: A Literary Journal, vol. 5, issue 1)

"Pre-Simulation Consultation XF007867" by Kim Fu (Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century)

SINGLE-AUTHOR COLLECTION

And At My Back I Always Hear by Scott Nicolay (Word Horde)

Breakable Things by Cassandra Khaw (Undertow Publications)

Hell Hath No Sorrow Like a Woman Haunted by RJ Joseph (The Seventh Terrace)

Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu (Tin House)

Splendid Anatomies by Allison Wyss (Veliz Books)

We Are Here to Hurt Each Other by Paula D. Ashe (Nictitating Books)

EDITED ANTHOLOGY

Chiral Mad 5, edited by Michael Bailey (Written Backwards)

The Hideous Book of Hidden Horrors, edited by Doug Murano (Bad Hand  Books)

Other Terrors, edited by Vince A. Liaguno and Rena Mason (William Morrow)

Screams From the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous, edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor Nightfire)

Your Body is Not Your Body, edited by Alex Woodroe and Matt Blairstone (Tenebrous Press)

The 2022 Shirley Jackson Awards will be presented in-person on Saturday, July 15 at 8pm at Readercon 32, Conference on Imaginative Literature, in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) wrote such classic novels as The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, as well as one of the most famous short stories in the English language, "The Lottery. " Her work continues to be a major influence on writers of every kind of fiction, from the most traditional genre offerings to the most innovative literary work.

Websites: ShirleyJacksonAwards.org, Readercon.org

______________________________________________________________ 

Media representatives who are seeking further information or interviews should contact JoAnn F. Cox.

Board of Advisors

Ellen Datlow Elizabeth Hand John Langan Sarah Langan Stewart O’Nan Faye Ringel Becky Spratford Paul Tremblay Ann VanderMeer Kaaron Warren

Jurors – 2022 term

Gwendolyn Kiste Will Ludwigsen Tonia Ransom Zin E. Rocklyn Alyssa Wong

Board of Directors

Linda D. Addison F. Brett Cox JoAnn F. Cox Jack M. Haringa Lisa Morton Victor LaValle

Administrator

JoAnn F. Cox 

 

ALA Annual and Becky's Top Picks (Including My Appearances)

I will be at ALA Annual Friday-Monday. I will be driving back and forth each day because 1. I live right off the highway that goes right into the convention center and 2. I already spent 4 night away from home this week and I miss my bed.

Below, I will list the programs and events I am not going to miss.  I do this both to give you my professional opinion on what I think is worth your time, and to let you know where I will be. Come find me, say hello. I have pens and stickers for anyone who wants them, but you have to ask. You are going to know who I am, but I am not going to know who you are. 

Okay, let's start with my public appearances. I don't have anything until Saturday night, but it's a big one!

2023 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction Award Ceremony and Reception

Saturday, June 24, 2023

 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM CT

 Location: Off Site, American Writers Museum, 180 N. Michigan Ave., 2nd Fl

Celebrate the winners of the 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction during a special award ceremony at the American Writers Museum in Chicago. Presented by Booklist and RUSA and generously supported by NoveList and a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, this year's show will honor winners Julie Otsuka and Ed Yong and will feature acclaimed novelist and poet, Chris Abani, as the keynote speaker. The event will kick off with a cocktail hour and close with a reception and book signing.

This is a ticketed event and I heard it might be sold out. 

I may be more excited about the committee's pre-reception dinner  that I organized as I am about the reception itself. Being on the Andrew Carnegie Medals committee was a career highlight. This evening is our closure. A chance to see our winners get their medals and give speeches. A chance for us to spend time with the authors we felt so strongly about. A true celebration.

ALA Connect Huddle: How can libraries support horror fans?

Sunday, June 25, 2023

 9:30 AM – 9:50 AM CT

 Location: McCormick Place, ALA Connect Lounge, Hall F2 Lobby

As Horror is increasing in mainstream popularity and sales (up 79% over the last 2 years), what can libraries do to support Horror fans of all ages? (ALA Editions | Neal-Schuman)

I am not sure what to expect with this "Huddle," but its was organized by my publisher. I am super excited to have a chance to connect with library worker who want to do a better job supporting their horror readers, but I am not sure how many people will come. Hopefully some of you will. I realize it is early on Sunday morning, but when they asked me to schedule a time, it was literally all I had left.

And finally the most fun but hardest event to get to:

ALMA's Library Family Feud Sponsored by LibraryReads

Sunday, June 25, 2023

 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM CT

 Location: Hilton Chicago, Boulevard AB

It is literally a Family Feud show featuring 2 teams, each captained by an author and then 3 local Chicago area librarians on each team and we play for charity. Here are the awesome details (not available on the conference site)

TEAM SHELTON HARRIS

 CAPTAIN:   Terah Shelton Harris, author of One Summer in Savannah 

TEAMMATES:

• Migdalia Jimenez, Chicago Public Library
• Becky Spratford, Readers' Advisory Consultant, RA For All
• Brian Wilson, Evanston Public Library

“Team Shelton Harris” is playing for Chicago Books to Women in Prison, an all-volunteer based non-profit organization that provides used books to educate incarcerated people nationwide, focusing on all women and trans/non-binary people. http://www.chicagobwp.org 

 TEAM JONES

• Captain: Stephen Mack Jones (author of DEUS X)

TEAMMATES:

• Ashley Rayner, NORC
• Magan Szwarek, Schaumburg Public Library
• Rebecca Vnuk, Executive Director, Library Reads

“Team Jones” is playing for Open Books, a nonprofit, full service used bookstore. All proceeds go to providing inspiring reading and writing programs and book giveaways..

http://www.open-books.org

I know all of the librarians appearing; we are a fun bunch. You NEED to come to this. It is not to miss. Please note though, it is at the Hilton on Michigan Ave. It is one of the conference hotels. You will need to take the free ROUTE 5 shuttle from the convention center. I suggest leaving around 11:30 and grabbing lunch near the Hilton after you arrive so you can see us. Seriously, this is NOT TO MISS. Plus, it's good to get away from the convention center and this hotel is in an awesome area. You could even go visit Exile in Bookville while you are there. Side note, Exile in Bookville is in the historic Fine Arts Building.

Okay those are the things I am participating in. Now here are a few panel I know I will attend and I highly suggest you join me:

Booklist Reviewers Meetup

Friday, June 23, 2023

 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM CT

 Location: Hyatt Regency McCormick, Hyde Park B

Do you review for Booklist? Then come meet your fellow reviewers and editors! We'll have light refreshments and update everyone on the latest reviewer guidelines, news, and what's happening at Booklist!

For this one, if you don't review for Booklist, you can't come, but if you want to meet up after, I have some time until my lunch plans.

Friday, from 4-5 I will be at the opening Session with Judy Blume and then I will head to the Exhibit Hall when it opens. I should be there until 6:30 before I have dinner with an out of town client.

Saturday is a long one, mostly because of the Carnegie stuff, but here are a few highlights:

HarperCollins Adult Fall/Winter Preview

Saturday, June 24, 2023  8:30 AM – 10:00 AM CT Location: McCormick Place, W192

BOO! - Horror in Middle Grade & Young Adult Literature.

Saturday, June 24, 2023

 9:30 AM – 10:20 AM CT

 Location: Exhibit Hall – PopTop Stage (End of 1600 Aisle)

• Alex Brown, NIGHT OF THE LIVING QUEERS (Wednesday Books) and DAMNED IF YOU DO (Page Street Kids)
• Daniel Kraus, SCREAM FOR THE CAMERA, Graveyard Girls series, Book #2 (Union Square Kids)
• Ryan La Sala, BEHOLDER, (Scholastic, Inc.)
• Kristen Simmons, FIND HIM WHERE YOU LEFT HIM DEAD, (Tor Teen)

Panel moderated by Jenna Friebel, Oak Park Public Library.

 

Transforming Readers Advisory: Read Beyond

Saturday, June 24, 2023

 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM CT

 Location: McCormick Place, W179b

Readers’ Advisory (RA) is a skill that must be continuously developed. When asked for book recommendations, library staff default to either tried and true authors or the most recent books they themselves have read. Too often, those books and authors are white, able-bodied, cisgender, heterosexual people writing about characters similar to them in some way. However, there is a vast landscape of diverse titles with which library staff can engage and recommend for the stumped reader. In this session, a panel of RA experts will share their views, tips, and tricks for recommending diverse materials. From the trademarks of genre fiction to author readalikes, these experts will engage in a dynamic conversation about book moods and appeals that will spark interest from any potential reader. Hear what our panelists have to say about their approach to RA, how they recommend books they’ve never read, how easy it is to include diverse recommendations, and what to do when a reader says they don’t want something in their suggestions.

While the focus will be on adult titles, we will also have commentary on RA for teens and how to leverage adult books for young adults. To wrap up the presentation, panelists will be asked to share their top five best books of the year so far. Q&A to follow.

 

Mysteries, Thrillers and True Crime- Oh My! Exciting Crime Reads from Independent Publishers featuring Cynthia Pelayo and Zhanna Slor

Saturday, June 24, 2023

 2:30 PM – 3:20 PM CT

 Location: Exhibit Hall – PopTop Stage (End of 1600 Aisle)

There are a lot of great thrillers and chillers outside the big 5 publishers. Come meet exciting new thriller and crime authors from independent publishers! Meet 2 of your new favorite authors, Cynthia Pelayo and Zhanna Slor, from Polis Books.

Author(s) / Speaker(s): Cynthia Pelayo, International Latino Book Award winning and three-time Bram Stoker Awards® nominated author of Children of Chicago, Shoemaker's Magician and Loteria. 

Zhanna Slor, author of Booklist Top Ten Crime Debuts At the End of the World, Turn Left, and Breakfall. 

 

ALMA/LibraryReads Saturday Adult Author Panel

Saturday, June 24, 2023

 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM CT

 Location: McCormick Place, W184a

Moderator:

• Rebecca Vnuk, LibraryReads

  Executive Director
  LibraryReads

Ger ready for Fall's best "Feel-Good Reads" with the annual ALMA/LibraryReads Saturday Adult Authors panel, featuring the following authors: Gabriel Bump, The New Naturals (Hachette Book Group, Algonquin Books); Sophie Diener, Someone Somewhere Maybe (St. Martin's Griffen, Macmillan); Sy Montgomery, Of Time and Turtles (HarperCollins Publishers, Mariner);
Kennedy Ryan, Long Shot (Sourcebooks Casablanca);

Your RSVP will help us make sure we have enough free advance reader copies; thank you for your cooperation! Please RSVP here: https://bit.ly/FeelGoodReadsALA2023

Contact LibraryReads at info@libraryreads.org with questions.

Sunday begins with my Huddle (above). After that I have to head over to the Hilton for the Family Feud (above), but here is one I am not going to miss:

It's a Mystery to Me

Sunday, June 25, 2023

 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM CT

 Location: McCormick Place, W185a

Moderator:

• Susan Maguire (she/her/hers)

  Senior Editor, Collection Management & Library Outreach
  Booklist/ALA

Bestselling authors will discuss their latest mystery titles. Featuring Mindy Mejia (TO CATCH A STORM), Amber and Danielle Brown (PERFECT LITTLE LIVES), Spencer Quinn (MRS. PLANSKY’S REVENGE), James Kennedy (BRIDE OF THE TORNADO), and Lori Rader-Day (THE DEATH OF US). Moderated by Susan Maguire of Booklist. A book signing will follow.

Monday is the last full day of the conference. And it has two of my favorite annual panels BACK TO BACK in rooms right next to each other. These are worth getting up early for.

Your Morning is Booked: ALMA/LibraryReads Adult Author Panel

Monday, June 26, 2023

 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM CT

 Location: McCormick Place, W175ab

Moderator:

• Rebecca Vnuk, LibraryReads

  Executive Director
  LibraryReads

Join the Adult Library Marketing Assoc. and LibraryReads for their annual adult author panel. You'll hear 5 top authors talk about their upcoming releases, get galley access, and more!

Featuring the following authors: Bonnie Jo Campbell, The Waters: A Novel (W. W. Norton & Company); 
Jean Kwok, The Leftover Woman (William Morrow, HarperCollins Publishers); 
Thrity Umrigar, The Museum of Failures (Hachette Book Group, Algonquin Books); 
Anise Vance, Hush Harbor (Harlequin, Hanover Square Press); 
Pam Zhang, Land of Milk and Honey (Riverhead, Penguin Random House).

Your RSVP will help us make sure we have enough free advance reader copies; thank you for your cooperation! Please RSVP heret: https://bit.ly/YourMorningIsBooked2023 

Contact LibraryReads at info@libraryreads.org with questions. 

Booklist and LibraryReads Read 'N' Rave

Monday, June 26, 2023

 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM CT

 Location: McCormick Place, W176ab

Moderator(s)

• Susan Maguire (she/her/hers)

  Senior Editor, Collection Management & Library Outreach
  Booklist/ALA

Presenter(s)

• 
  

  Ashley Rayner (she/her/hers)

  Librarian II
  NORC at the University of Chicago

  
  

• Migdalia Jimenez (she/her/hers)

  Adult Services Librarian
  Chicago Public Library

  RV

• Rebecca Vnuk, LibraryReads

  Executive Director
  LibraryReads

  
  

• Magan Szwarek (she/her/hers)

  Reference Services Director
  Schaumburg Township District Library

  
  

• Annabelle Mortensen

  Access Services Manager
  Skokie Public Library

Collection development specialists from across the country will RAVE about their favorite forthcoming READS in this lively presentation brought to you by LibraryReads and Booklist.

This one is my favorite because I know how hard I is to pull off. I have been on this panel a few times myself. This is a super fun one that you should not miss. Also, I personally know every single librarian and they are all awesome.

I have a few other interesting panels tagged for later in the day Monday, but I am going to see how I feel before I commit.

I have more on my schedule and have plans to visit many exhibitors, including my own publisher, ALA Editions, where I am supposed do record some videos. I have downloaded the app and you can message me on there. Seriously, if you cannot make any of the panels I listed, message me and we can meet up. Again, I have pens and stickers for ALL who ask.

And, if you want advice on where to eat dinner, places to visit, other things to do, I can answer that as well. 

See some of you soon, but for those who are ALA Left Behind, I promise I will have recaps of each day up here at some point. Here is a reminder of how I recapped ALA Annual last year. (scroll down a tiny bit o find the ALA 2022 posts)