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.