Roughly 8,000 librarians attended the American Library Association’s Midwinter conference in Boston.
HarperCollins had a great show: 11 authors including one unforgettable performance by Adriana Trigiani who won the ALA’s Reading List Awards in the Women’s Fiction category for Very Valentine (now out in paperback!). Watch this:
This video went out everywhere. By the next day it was on every major library site including Library Journal’s and the American Library Association’s.
For you non-librarians, the Midwinter conference is where committees meet to determine winners of various book awards. Harper snagged quite a few this time around.
The Reading List awards outstanding genre fiction in 8 categories. We had winners in 3 of those categories as well as a few runner ups:
Historical Fiction - Winner
Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell
Romance - Winner
What Happens in London by Julia Quinn
Women’s Fiction - Winner
Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani (see crazy video above)
Women’s Fiction Short List
The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil
Shelter Me by Juliette Fay
The Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers selection list suggests books that teens, ages 12-18, will pick up on their own and read for pleasure; it is geared to the teenager who, for whatever reason, does not like to read. We picked up four of these:
Street Art Book: 60 Artists in Their Own Words by Ric Blackshaw and Liz Farrelly
The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful and (HIV) Positive by Marvelyn Brown
Show Me How: 500 Things You Should Know Instructions for Life from the Everyday to the Exotic by Derek Fagerstrom and Lauren Smith
High Voltage Tattoo by Kat Von D.
The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. Two of the ten winning books are ours:
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
Tunneling to the Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson
2010 Sophie Brody Award recognizes outstanding Jewish literature
Clara’s War by Clara Kramer received an Honor Award
All winners are listed on ALA’s site: www.ala.org
Congrats to all!
-Virginia
