Booklist's June Issue is the Spotlight on Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror (And Becky wins the Stoker)

I returned from StokerCon late last night. And well, I won a Stoker Award for Long Nonfiction and Tananarive Due won for her essay in the book. You can see al the nominees and winners here. You can watch me accept for Tananarive and myself on the video of the live stream here. Short Nonfiction was the first award of the night, after the keynote and Long Nonfiction was only a few awards later. 

Also, here is the link to my acceptance speech.

Now I have to go hide and send a million emails (only a slight exaggeration)

While I get back to it, I wanted to make sure you all know that Booklist Spotlight's SF/F/H every June and there is a lot of great information available for free-- more than just the Top 10 lists. The issue table of contents is here. I have posted the adult links below and added backlist access.

Spotlight on SF/Fantasy & Horror

• Essentials: Body Horror
• Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror 2026: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022
• Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror Debuts 2026: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022
• Writers & Readers: Reviewing Books Made Me a Better Novelist
• Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror on Audio 2026: 2025, 2024, 2023,

Features

• Essentials: AI and Its Potential for Good and Bad
• The Booklist Carnegie Interview Yiyun Li
• The Booklist Carnegie Interview Megha Majumdar
• Talking with Tillie Walden
• Trade Secrets: Updates on the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Disabled
• High-Demand Hot List

RA for All Off for the Memorial Day Weekend But First....

Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start of Summer here in America, so before I head off to spend some time with the family, here is great, diverse Summer Reading list of 15 books that will satisfy just about every reader via the NPR Books We Love Team of staffers and critics.

Hope you have a good book to read this weekend. I am very lucky to have the upcoming Alma Katsu and Rachel Harrison both on deck with reviews due to Booklist next week.

Back Tuesday with new posts.

RA for All is Off for College Pick Up

I am taking a break today and tomorrow to focus on helping my younger kid move out of his Junior year of college in Nashville. Since I am also working on the deadline for my Horror Genre Preview in the July issue of Library Journal, something has to give, and this blog is it.

But don't worry, I still have the giveaway over on the Horror blog today and you have 9 years of archives to dig through here on RA for All.

Back Monday with MANY reviews from the May 2026 issue of Booklist.

RA for All Is On A Mini-Break

I am off today and tomorrow to spend some time with the whole family. 

Use the archives to poke around for "new to you" info until I return on Monday.

What I'm Reading: January 2026 Library Journal Horror Review Column

      

My January 2026 Horror Review Column is now live on the LJ site and in the current issue of the print magazine! 

In this post I have gathered the titles with my three words and links to my full draft reviews on Goodreads. Click on the titles for readalikes and more appeal information. 

I am also giving away 2 of these books to 2 winners on the Horror blog today. Click here to see that post with the rules on how to enter.  

Back to the January 2026 reviews. First this month's 2 STARS: 

• Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker (two time frames, dreamlike/nightmarish, strong sense of place)
• My interview with the author also appears in this issue here.
• Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher (Bug-Body Horror combo, Gothic with teeth, strong sense of place)

And the other 6 excellent titles: 

• Trad Wife by 
  Saratoga Schaefer (
  conversational narration, influencer horror, disquieting)
• The Glowing Hours by Leila Siddiqui (Gothic, retelling, menacing)
• The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore (menacing, political intrigue, historical) 
• Dead First by Johnny Compton (Supernatural Detective Horror, Emotionally Charged, Original Monster story)
• The Midnight Muse by Jo Kaplan (cursed bands, liberal use of ephemera/foreshadowing and flashbacks, monster in the woods)
• The Body by Bethany C. Morrow (religious cult horror, secrets and trauma, supernatural thriller)
  

Via Chicago Tribune-- Chicagoan of the Year in Books: If you’re into horror, thank the librarian Becky Spratford

I mean, knew this was coming, but it still feels odd. I am the person behind the curtain always, but at the same time, all of us who hep readers in public libraries are.

I am proud to stand here to promote all of us and the work we do.

I was honored to be chosen for this and even more honored to take the pictures in the adult stacks at the La Grange Public Library-- a building a literally was a part of building in my time on the library board. I was there for 24 years, from when we passed the referendum to build the library until it opened, and now after those 20 years of binds have been paid off. 

I have an account for the Tribune and am sharing this gift link here. It will be in the print paper on 12/21.

Thank you to all of the authors who provided quotes to Chris Borelli. Thanks also to Chris who is a huge supporter of books in general and Horror specifically. We are lucky to have him on the beat here in Chicago when so many other cities just ignore books coverage. 

I will leave the article here for posterity but then, I am going back behind the curtain.

Chicagoan of the Year in Books: If you’re into horror, thank the librarian Becky Spratford

Click the image to read the article
(gift link)

Revisiting My Most Popular Guest Post of 2025: Library Staff Are Not Superheroes: by Robin Bradford

As we creep closer to the end of the year, I like to look back on the most popular posts on the blog, highlighting what you found the most connect with.

Before I share a specific post, I want to thank you all for staying with me all these years. I had over 1.41 million views in 2025 (still counting). 

Today I have 2025's most popular post written by someone other than me. Itt was by Robin Bradford, originally posted on January 13, 2025 here and below.

Library Staff Are Not Superheroes: a Guest Post by Robin Bradford

Just before the new year, Robin and I were chatting and she sent me this text: "Can I come to a guest post on our blog that libraries are NOT heroes?!?." I immediately wrote back "YES," with the full knowledge that she was only half joking and the understanding that if I told her I wanted it, she would actually do it. 

And as you can see, I was correct. So I present, "Library Staff Are Not Superheroes" by Robin Bradford with a meme created by her as well. This post is important. Please read, but also pass on. It needs to spread further than RA and Collection Development circles. Thanks in advance from Robin and me.

Meme by Robin Bradford

Library staff are not superheroes. They’re not magical, or extraordinary, or phenomenal. It’s flattering to be thought of this way, to be sure. Who doesn’t want to be seen as fighting for truth, justice, and the American way? A book for every reader, and every reader its book! There are 2 problems with hanging this burden on library staff

First problem, library staff are not superhuman. They are people who work for money. Money that pays the rent or mortgage. It pays for the utilities, and food, and transportation. If they’re lucky it pays for holiday gifts, and childcare, and evenings out, and conferences, and (ironically) books, and other things that bring joy to everyday life. No one is getting rich off of library work, but, like any other full-time job, it should pay a living wage at every level. Library work is underpaid across the country, and probably beyond, and that isn’t helped by insinuating that library staff are working for things like “the love of the work” or that they are “superheroes.” It is possible that library staff DO love their work. Many do, but not all. But what they all want is to be paid a wage that supports their life. And that’s before we get into the security issues, or the mission expansion without the accompanying staff expansion. “Do more with less” has been a library motto for years, and eventually people burn out. Do you know why? Because they are not superheroes. Library staff often perform superhuman *feats* that don’t quite equate to the mother getting a surge of adrenaline to lift a car off her child, but even in urban legends, that mother lifts the car off her kid just the one time. It isn’t something she has to do every single day! And it’s only her own kid that gives her that boost of adrenaline, not every kid in the neighborhood. Library staff certainly aren’t the only group of workers who do work that is socially, but not monetarily, applauded. So let’s applaud by recognizing that the work they do is damn hard, as well as damn important, and they don’t have the benefit of superpowers to get them through the workweek. 

Second problem: not all library staff are created equal. Not all library staff believe in the intellectual freedom espoused by the profession. Not all library staff believe people should be able to see themselves on the shelves. Not all library staff believe in promoting books by authors, or featuring characters, that look, act, think, worship, or love differently than what the library staff member is familiar and/or comfortable with. You think this is inherent in the profession and it comes with the job, but it does not. There are plenty of library staff who would prefer to limit availability to some books. There may even be some joining or advising those groups you hear about so they know just how to go about making inroads in the community. There are library staff members who are removing books from certain sections of the library, or from the library altogether, because they are afraid of objections from community members. There are library staff members who are refusing to buy books uplifting marginalized communities at all. Library staff are not all the same. 

So painting us all with the broad superhero brush is flattering, but unhelpful because we need to be held to account. When libraries have books and/or programs that promote a diverse and progressive world, it can’t be written off as expected. It is, often, extraordinary. Send off a quick email to the library about how glad you are to see such books on the shelves and how you want more of it. Make a big deal out of it because it might, in fact, be a big deal! You never know the fight that had to happen for that book to be purchased or displayed. And if you are not seeing those things, send an email asking where they are. Let it be known that you expect the library to reflect the world and you notice how narrow the worldview is on the shelves. 

Libraries are a wonderful community resource, but they are not mythical entities. They are real, they require real money to provide the services people enjoy, and the people who work in them both deserve to be fairly compensated for the jobs they do. And when they fall behind in providing services that represent a diversity of voices, the community must insist they change course and hold them to it.  

After all, we’re only human.   

RA for All is Off Today

 Back Monday.

Reminder: Library Journal's Day of Dialog Is Tomorrow and Not Only Will I Be There....So Will ARCs of My Book!

 

The next LJ DoD is coming up soon and it is going to be the first official step on my book promotion journey.

Join us April 17 for our Library Journal Day of Dialog virtual event! Spanning a variety of genres, this day-long program will offer an in-depth look at the biggest forthcoming books for summer/fall 2025. 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 representatives.

EVENT HOURS: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET 

As Library Journal's Horror Review Columnist, I am often called upon to help with panels; however, this time they wanted me as an author! When thinking about which author to pair myself with for this event, I knew it had to be Alma Katsu. First, I am already reading her next book, FIEND, for my June 2025 column (review due 4/14). Second, at this moment in history, with her background working for our governments intelligence agencies, she knows real life horror. And third, check out the title of her essay in my book, "What You Can Learn from Horror: Don’t run from darkness; it’s trying to teach you a lesson."

Once we paired up, I was asked to come up with a title/theme of our 30 minute chat, and this is what I decided upon:

3:45 – 4:15 PM ET | Why We Need Horror
Join Award winning author Alma Katsu and Library Journal's Horror Review Columnist Becky Spratford as they discuss the importance of reading horror during the darkest times.

Alma and I are doing this live and with no concurrent panel. We will be talking about her upcoming book, FIEND and her essay in my upcoming book, WHY I LOVE HORROR. Both books will be available for download in the publisher's booths of the virtual exhibit hall. (PRH for her, S&S for me).

You read that correctly! You will be able to read my book. After finishing it I know you will be buying a copy for every building in your systems. LOL. Well, only a little. One of the best things about my book is that the cover (coming soon) is awesome (drawn by a talented horror artist) and between the cover and the title-- Why I Love Horror-- you simple put it out as the sign for all of your horror displays and fill in any and all horror books around it. (This also means you probably need more than one copy as well because people will grab it).

Okay enough shameless promotion. Here is more good news. Right before our conversation is the Horror panel:

2:25 – 3:15 PM ET | Nightmares Unleashed
From personal peril to historical hauntings, these horror novels will keep you up and keep you guessing.

Isabel Canas, The Possession of Alba Diaz (Berkley: Penguin Random House)
Jenny Kiefer, Crafting for Sinners (Quirk Books)
Leigh Radford, One Yellow Eye (Gallery Books: Simon & Schuster)
Sam Rebelein, Galloway's Gospel (William Morrow: HarperCollins)
Markus Redmond, Blood Slaves (Dafina: Kensington)
Moderator: Janee Jackson-Doering, Youth Services Consultant, State Library of Iowa

A big thank you to Janee and her panel for getting everyone primed and ready for me and Alma.

But this day is not just about me or even horror. There is a full day of free events as well as a virtual exhibit hall. Click here to explore the program and use the tabes at the top of the page for more information.

Again all of this, everything that day, is FREE from April 17-July 17 for everyone who registers. Click here to get your spot reserved now. You can join us live or watch the recording for 3 full months.

COVER REVEAL: Why I Love Horror Edited by Me with an Excerpt from Grady Hendrix

 

Pre-Order now

Today CrimeReads has the cover reveal of my upcoming book. Out 9/23/25.

Click below to read the excerpt. I picked Hendrix's essay for the excerpt because it is right in the middle of the book and it is one of the best in the book. It leaves you on a cliff hanger and let me tell you, the rest of the essay is totally worth it. Early readers agree. I have received MANY comments as they finish this essay.

You can pre-order WHY I LOVE HORROR anywhere books are sold. Here is the Bookshop.org link. Digital ARCs will be available at Library Journal's Day of Dialog on 4/17 where Alma Katsu and I will be there to discuss her essay and her upcoming book FIEND and soon on NetGalley and Edelweiss. Paper ARCs will be at StokerCon and ALA Annual.

Thank you to CrimeReads for hosting the cover reveal.

Here is the link.

Library Journal's Day of Dialog Is Coming April 17th and Not Only Will I Be There....So Will ARCs of My Book!

The next LJ DoD is coming up soon and it is going to be the first official step on my book promotion journey.

Join us April 17 for our Library Journal Day of Dialog virtual event! Spanning a variety of genres, this day-long program will offer an in-depth look at the biggest forthcoming books for summer/fall 2025. 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 representatives.

EVENT HOURS: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET 

As Library Journal's Horror Review Columnist, I am often called upon to help with panels; however, this time they wanted me as an author! When thinking about which author to pair myself with for this event, I knew it had to be Alma Katsu. First, I am already reading her next book, FIEND, for my June 2025 column (review due 4/14). Second, at this moment in history, with her background working for our governments intelligence agencies, she knows real life horror. And third, check out the title of her essay in my book, "What You Can Learn from Horror: Don’t run from darkness; it’s trying to teach you a lesson."

Once we paired up, I was asked to come up with a title/theme of our 30 minute chat, and this is what I decided upon:

3:45 – 4:15 PM ET | Why We Need Horror
Join Award winning author Alma Katsu and Library Journal's Horror Review Columnist Becky Spratford as they discuss the importance of reading horror during the darkest times.

Alma and I are doing this live and with no concurrent panel. We will be talking about her upcoming book, FIEND and her essay in my upcoming book, WHY I LOVE HORROR. Both books will be available for download in the publisher's booths of the virtual exhibit hall. (PRH for her, S&S for me).

You read that correctly! You will be able to read my book. After finishing it I know you will be buying a copy for every building in your systems. LOL. Well, only a little. One of the best things about my book is that the cover (coming soon) is awesome (drawn by a talented horror artist) and between the cover and the title-- Why I Love Horror-- you simple put it out as the sign for all of your horror displays and fill in any and all horror books around it. (This also means you probably need more than one copy as well because people will grab it).

Okay enough shameless promotion. Here is more good news. Right before our conversation is the Horror panel:

2:25 – 3:15 PM ET | Nightmares Unleashed
From personal peril to historical hauntings, these horror novels will keep you up and keep you guessing.

Isabel Canas, The Possession of Alba Diaz (Berkley: Penguin Random House)
Jenny Kiefer, Crafting for Sinners (Quirk Books)
Leigh Radford, One Yellow Eye (Gallery Books: Simon & Schuster)
Sam Rebelein, Galloway's Gospel (William Morrow: HarperCollins)
Markus Redmond, Blood Slaves (Dafina: Kensington)
Moderator: Janee Jackson-Doering, Youth Services Consultant, State Library of Iowa

A big thank you to Janee and her panel for getting everyone primed and ready for me and Alma.

But this day is not just about me or even horror. There is a full day of free events as well as a virtual exhibit hall. Click here to explore the program and use the tabes at the top of the page for more information.

Again all of this, everything that day, is FREE from April 17-July 17 for everyone who registers. Click here to get your spot reserved now. You can join us live or watch the recording for 3 full months.

RA for All Top Posts of the Year

Today and tomorrow I am looking back on my year of reading and blogging beginning with my top 5 posts of the year, and I think taken together, they reflect what I am trying to do with this blog, today and every day since August of 2007 when I started this RA training site.

In 5th place: "Promote Yourself and All You Do For Your Community Today" which came out in April of 2024 and interestingly pairs nicely with this post from December 23rd entitled "We are Terrible at Communicating Who We Are, What We Do, and Why-- Make a Commitment to Do Better in 2025." And I didn't link to that April one in the December post. But what I like about noticing this, is that it reminds me that this is topic a topic I return to frequently-- reminding us to tell our story better.

In 4th place: My post with my Conversation Starters to Display handout originally posted in April of 2023. This one is satisfying as I spent the entire year doubling down on this handout and concept throughout all of my posts and training programs. I also made this switch from RA as transactional to RA as focused on conversations a goal for 2023. I'm glad you are all coming on the journey with me. I realize for many it is a huge shift in thinking for many library workers and while I have faced some resistance, for the most part, most of you have trusted me to lead you somewhere new.

In 3rd place: "What I'm Reading: Mr & Mrs American Pie" a post from August of 2018. Okay this one surprised me but then I realized something. This novel is based on the Apple TV show-- Palm Royale which came out in March and very clearly noted that it was based on the novel. The largest spike in my views of this post were March-April. I not only reviewed this book, but there is quote from me on the cover of the book as well. Click through to my post to see more about that. While it all makes sense, this is also a reminder of something I always say on this post-- the backlist matters. My backlist of reviews included. Again, I am glad to see that you are all listening to me. You can access every book I have read and reviewed here. Or use the "What I'm Reading" tag.

The top 2 were close and have significantly more views (by over a thousand) than the previous three.

In 2nd place: My review of Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay from April 2024. That was a few months before it came out and this post saw a spike then, throughout the Spring and early Summer and then another spike when it came out in July. But it got traction all year. While this was not surprising because the book was a NYT bestseller in it's first week of release and I am one of the top reviewers of Horror in America, I was still surprised to see how popular my review was. I think this says a lot about how mainstream Horror is becoming. This book is abbot tame in anyway. It is terrifying and devastating but also an amazing feat of literature. Click on the post for yourself to see. Also, boiler alert.....it will be featured tomorrow here on the blog as well.

And in 1st place, something I already divulged in this post last week, "Why Libraries Need to Stop Saying “More Than Books”: a Guest Post by Misha Stone." Like the 5th place post, it is all about how we are terrible at communicating who we are and what we do, bringing us full circle. This entire blog exists to explain, train, and provide resources about and for library workers who help leisure readers. Stone's post is an important part of that larger conversation.

Further down for the year there were multiple posts from 2015, one of the many times I have posted about libraries being prepaid, not free, and even a post from 2021 that was actually a flash back to 2019.

All of it is validating to me as I know in theory that the database of post I have created are a vital resource in the field of RA, but to see it in practice, well that helps me feel ready to tackle anther year doing it for you all again.

Back tomorrow with what is always my final post of the year, my person best things I read post. 

RA for All Off All Week But There is Still Time to Join Me at ARRTCon on 12/6.

I have been very conscientious about taking more blogging breaks this year and when I am not writing the blog, I also stay off social media. 

This week, I am taking off everything except working on my book-- getting the edits back to my authors. I will be spending time with my son (home from college) and sister-in-law and husband-- the eldest is making the exciting leap to having Thanksgiving with the partner's family.

But I know many of you are working all week. So if you are seeing this and live within driving distance of  Naperville, IL you should come to ARRTCon, an all day RA conference featuring me moderating a Horror panel, Robin as the virtual keynote and more. Registration is here.  Breakfast and lunch are included.

When I come back on 12/2 it is the final push to the end of the year and it will start right away with LJ's Best Books. I was part of the Horror team and I can't wait to share all the lists with all of you.

For my American readers, I hope you all have a restful week and take the time to really think about what you are thankful for. I know many people are struggling right now, especially with the unknown future ahead, but I truly hope you find time to focus on the positive this week, for your own health. 

I am taking my own advice and along with family time, next week I have set up a phone call with a favorite library person who lives far away just to catch up and have lunch with another favorite human during the week as well.

I hope you can find time for those who are important to you and make sure they know you are thankful for them. No matter what is going on in the world, there is nothing more important than this. 

I'll be back on 12/2.

RA for All Off All Week

For the first time ever, I have scheduled vacation for the week after October ends. After a month of nonstop appearances and double blog posting, it is time for me to rest. And, not having school children at home anymore makes this possible.

RA for All will be off all this week and will return on 11/11. 

This being election week in America, there will be a lot going on. Take care of yourself and your readers with reading distractions. Make some displays for books to allow people to escape the news. And use my tags and pages all int he right gutter to fine suggestions, resources, and display ideas.

Stay safe, take care of each other, be kind, suggest lots of books to their best reader, and see you all soon.

RA for All at the Illinois Library Association Annual Conference Through Thursday

The Illinois Library Association's Annual Conference is this week in Peoria. I am on the Executive Board and am presenting on Tuesday and Thursday. RA for All is a sponsor and will be providing coffee on Tuesday.

You can see more about our state conference here, including using this link to not only see all of the programs but also to get access to the handouts without a log-in. 

As a result, I will only be posting on the Horror blog from today through Thursday. I will be back here Friday with a new post-- probably a wrap up of the conference. 

But do go visit 31Days of Horror in the meantime because it running every day, rain or shine, conference or no conference, and  I have 6 books to giveaway this Thursday! And there are some big names in the stack.

RA for All Off for Family Weekend

I am spending he weekend with my kid at college. Yes, they just went back 3 weeks ago and it is already Family Weekend. I just go where they tell me.

I'll be back Monday with an exciting announcement. If you cannot wait go here for a preview. 

One More Day Off and a Teaser

 I am still recovering from all of the fun and emotions of the graduation. Taking one more day off-- thank you to my boss (who is me).

Back tomorrow though. I have a column in LJ about to go live with 8 review and a new issue of Booklist with reviews as well.

Also later this week some BIG news will finally be dropped to the world, just in time for StokerCon later this week.

How's that for a teaser.

RA for All is Off Celebrating College Graduation for the Older Child

I will be focused on our family's celebration of this momentous event-- especially because this kid was a 2020 high school graduate-- so RA for All is not publishing from today through Memorial Day.

See you back here on Tuesday 5/28.

RA for All is Off For Yom Kippur

 Back Tuesday.

RA for All Off to College

The blog is on a break while I move the youngest into college. Back Monday.

In the meantime, you can enter the #HorrorForLibraries giveaway. This week is it for a copy of The Dead Take the A Train by Richard Kadrey and Cassandra Khaw.