Happy International Women’s Day!
I’m in denial that the Public Library Association conference is this week, as it doesn’t feel like March yet around here. If you’re going to be in Indianapolis for the event, you can come hear me speak on either “new adult” fiction or about effective, dynamic teen programming. I’m only sticking around for Thursday, so I hope if you’re going, I get the chance to bump into you.
Here’s a serving of links from the last couple of weeks. If you’ve read anything great lately, let me know in the comments:
- Speaking of PLA presentations, in preparation, Sophie updated the resources page we have at the reader’s advisory chat blog. So if you want to know anything about “new adult” fiction, you’re covered here.
- Liz Burns talks about the Rachel Canning case, and in doing so, she highlights YA books where teens have moved out of their homes.
- A lot of recent talk about likability lately (and oh so much more to come) lead Jenny Arch to writing about the topic herself.
- Have you been following the sexual violence in young adult project from Teen Librarian Toolbox? You should check it out. This week, there were two excellent posts from authors Christa Desir and Carrie Mesrobian on the topic of consent in YA that are well-worth reading. TLT’s Karen also wrote about consent in YA lit.
- Are you a fan of the backlist? Simon & Schuster’s begun a new project all about backlist — and it’s not limited to their own titles. Check it out.
- I have been really looking forward to reading danah boyd’s It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens and lucky me, it’s available as a free download. If you work with teens or care about their lives and interactions in the digital world, I suspect it’s a title you’ll want to check out, too.
- Publishers Weekly last week wrote about the shifting and changing children’s book market, and it’s fascinating (and complex and a little conflated). The piece that fascinated me the most was that 78% of those who purchase YA are 18 and older — aside from the fact that it shows adults are buying YA books, it doesn’t tease out a lot of the factors here. Credit cards aren’t things teens have easy access to, and if they do, it’s a parent’s card. It doesn’t pull out the adults buying for teens. Take the numbers with a grain of salt, rather than as signifiers of something significant.
- Dahlia Adler put together a compendium to QUILTBAG young adult and new adult. The first half leans a little more toward those who are seeking representation for their work, but the second half is a really worthwhile reading list of recent and forthcoming LGBTQ titles.
- The seasonal children’s book preview is up for Fall 2014 at Publishers Weekly, if you want to jam your to-read lists a little more.
- My friend Anne recently put together an unconference for children’s librarians in Michigan, and I love how she talks about coming up with the idea and putting the entire show together.
Here’s where else I’ve been lately:
- At Book Riot, I talked about why the VIDA count matters and how women have always written great books . . . they just haven’t been recognized for it.
- Also at Book Riot, it was my turn for book fetish, and I found not only an amazing $1600 “Archie” clutch, but I also found some really neat (and affordable) book luminaries.
Coming up:
Starting Monday and running through the end of next week is a series I’m so excited to put together and share. In honor of women’s history month, as well as in light of ongoing discussions of gender, representation, likability, and more, I thought it would be great to ask a host of female YA authors to weigh in on their favorite female YA authors, their favorite female YA characters, or any other topic relating to girls and YA.
We have 10 excellent, thoughtful, fun, and interesting guest posts lined up from Jennifer Brown, Elizabeth Scott, Sarah Stevenson, Morgan Matson, Sarah McCarry, Sarah Ockler, Corey Ann Haydu, Kirstin Cronn-Mills, Justina Ireland, and Jessica Spotswood. Prepare to walk away with massive reading lists, as well as opportunities to dig in and talk more about girls and girl reading in YA.