Friday at ALA

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Yesterday, the multi-talented members of the Margaret A. Edwards Committee (BSP, since I am one along with Eliza Dresang, Mary Hastler {chair}, Terry Young and Ruth)met to deliberate on the 2007 winner. Consensus was reached early and easily and the winner was notified via phone. I cannot tell you who the recipient will be, but tune in to the live web cast Monday morning and be prepared to be delighted.

Last night I attended the USBBY session with Terry Trueman who had the audience laughing so hard at such a late hour. He regaled us with stories and read from his forthcoming novel, SEVEN DAYS AT THE HOT CORNER. It debuts in Spring from HarperCollins who was nice enough to bring him to ALA in Seattle to share his passion with us.

Today is a day of meetings. Off to meet colleagues and make plans for annual.

Posted by Teri Lesesne

Seattle, finally

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It took most of the day what with delays at the airport and head winds slowing us down, but there are now hundreds more of us roaming through the streets of downtown Seattle for ALA.

How nice to see some library luminaries on the flight up from Houston (or is it over?). Bonnie Kunzel, past president of YALSA, Jane Claes, on the Notable Children’s Recordings Committee, and Victor Schill, past BBYA and QP Committee member were all on board. There were many others all heading to ALA. We were a quiet group on the flight mostly because all of us (duh!) were reading. However, by now many have made their way to various eateries and are enjoying the wonderful city of Seattle.

No meetings for me until tomorrow afternoon. That gives me time to get my ALA materials and then head off to the first of many meetings, the Margaret Edwards Committee. With any luck, the committee will settle on the 2007 recipient tomorrow. After that, it is off to the USBBY session with Terry Trueman.

Keep up with all the fun and work as we bloggers let those of you who could not come to the lovely Seattle what you are all missing.

Posted by Teri Lesesne

Teaching YA Literature Discussion Group

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Well, the sun sets (at least I think it did behind the clouds) on the ALA conference. The day began with rain but the weather did not dampen the spirits of the thousands in attendance. More than 30 people joined in the conversation this morning for the Teaching YA Literature Discussion Group chaired by Shannon Sword. The discussion centered around several issues such as how to manage classes that are online versus ones that are hybrid and/or FTF. Following the meeting, I hurtled myself through exhibits quickly to scoop up some ARCs and then headed off to the second Quick Picks Committee meeting.

Tomorrow dawns early with the Press Conference set for 7:55. Stay tuned to see if your favorites win any awards.

Teri Lesesne