Are you going to ALA next week? I’ll be there, and I’d love to see you.

I’m presenting twice this year:

All About ARCs: The Ins and Outs of Requesting, Using, and Abusing Advanced Readers Copies (ARCs)


Saturday, June 28 @ 10:30 – 11:30 a.m., McCormick Place Room S103d


Presenters: Liz Burns, Kristi Chadwick, and myself, with Jen Childs and Victoria Stapleton


This presentation is a straight result of everything relating to ARCGate last summer. You’ll get a chance to hear about the results of the survey we took about ARCs and their use from librarians, teachers, bloggers, and others (we had nearly 500 responses), and you’ll hear straight from two publishing representatives who will talk about why and how they make the choices they do about ARC distribution.

Unfortunately, due to a committee obligation, I won’t be able to linger after the presentation to answer questions or talk further. But I will be happy to field questions or thoughts either on the blog (there will be a post with accompanying information) or in person later.

New Adult Fiction: What is it and is it really happening?


Monday, July 1 @ 9:15 – 10, McCormick Place Room S102D


Presenters: Sophie Brookover, Liz Burns, and myself


Ready to hear about “New Adult” fiction? This is a conversation starter that will be more about talking about the idea of “NA” fiction than it will be trying to define something. That’s the point of a conversation starter. That said, those who come will walk away with ideas about this category of books, what’s being published as “NA” right now, what we consider to be “NA” titles already available, and why serving readers who want these stories is important. When we put together our notes for this presentation, there were charts made. It should be lively.

I’m extremely excited about both of these presentations. It’s not just that they’ve been topics of interest for a while now. But there’s something special about presenting at a convention center that you went to many times as a child — I grew up near Chicago, and I went to a few trade shows at McCormick as a kid. To be able to present there now? It’s really neat.

If you’re around on Friday night at ALA, I highly encourage you to come to the official meetup that is sponsored by STACKED, YA Highway, and the Chicago Kid Lit Drink Night folks. It’s free and casual, but it is 21 and over since it’s at a bar. I should be there for much of the event, though I may duck out early since I have another thing that night, too. But if you see me, introduce yourself!

The rest of my ALA plans involve a lot of committee time, among other obligations. I have a little more flexibility to check out exhibits at this ALA, compared to at Midwinter.