What do your teen readers think was the best YA in 2009? YALSA wants to know. Send your teen voters over to YALSA and let’s make sure some brown books are represented.
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Blog
New Liar Cover…Same Pub Issues
For those who have followed the Liar cover controversy, Bloomsbury has created a new cover, with this statement to PW: “We regret that our original creative direction for Liar—which was intended to symbolically reflect the narrator’s complex psychological makeup—has been interpreted by some as a calculated decision to mask the character’s ethnicity.” It’s a start. [ Read the full article… ]
Wanted: One Kiddie Lit Ambassador
The Library of Congress is looking for the next National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Here are the criteria: *Author or illustrator of fiction or nonfiction books * U.S. citizen, living in the U.S. * Excellent and facile communicator * Dynamic and engaging personality * Known ability to relate to children; communicates well and regularly [ Read the full article… ]
The Lip Gloss Chronicles
First, let me say, as a teen I would have totally picked up a book called The Lip Gloss Chronicles. Because for reasons unknown to mankind, some girls are mesmerized by lip gloss. I was am one of them. My five-year-old has a terrible addiction to it, already. Whether it’s in the chapstick tube form [ Read the full article… ]
Why Covers Won’t Matter
John Green (who is my author crush, except don’t tell Scott Westerfeld!) has broken down all of this cover madness, for us, in his brutally honest and Nerdfighter way. He says: Designers will be liberated to design the coolest jackets without so many commercial constraints, because the focus will be on the right audience instead [ Read the full article… ]
Be Counted
Over at my blog, I’m calling readers of my series to take action and be counted. I’m asking them to write to my publisher with a very simple: I read this book. I like it. I am here! sort of message. This, as a result of the LIAR cover and ensuing discussion about “black books” [ Read the full article… ]
Thank you, sir. May we have another?
I was so pleased to hear about a new book blog in town. Which may seem weird, because there’s truly no shortage of book blogs. Unless you’re looking for one from the perspective of a Black teen. And I’ll glaldy be proven wrong, here. If you know of book blog sites helmed by an African [ Read the full article… ]