Where I've Been: The National Book Awards!

I hope everyone had a delicious Thanksgiving.  I know I have plenty to be grateful for this year. Spending time with friends and family was a good reminder of the bounty in my life.

One of the things I'm grateful for is my time as a judge in the National Book Awards.  A couple of weeks ago, I flew to New York to meet my fellow judges in the Young People's Literature category face to face.

We had a fantastic lunch at Gramercy Tavern, and a lively discussion about all of the books we read. By the end of the meal, we had our winner in hand.  We adjourned to dress for the awards ceremony and the big announcement!

Me, David Shallenberger, Sharon Draper, Starr LaTronica and Rebecca Stead.
I think I'm the only pop of color in all of Manhattan.

I have to say, it was incredibly exciting.  I felt like I was getting ready for the Ultimate Prom in the Land of Books!  Everyone at the ceremony was a lit lover, like myself.  I felt the same sense of camaraderie I get at Comic Con, albeit better dressed and colder.  It was 32 degrees when I stepped out in my sleeveless silver dress.  Funny thing is, I wasn't cold at all.  (And not just because of my coat.  Excitement does amazing things-- it keeps you warm, and enables you to walk in high heels on hard pavement.)

Note the wrist corsage.  Judges get flowers-- just like a prom!

Ursula Le Guin blew minds with her fiery speech (As evidenced around 3:57, I love that woman! ). Neil Gaiman hugged me-- twice!  (I'm a big nerdy fan, so that's more awesome than I can say.)  And then our gracious chairperson, Sharon Draper, mounted the stage and spoke eloquently of our experience, our process, and our final decision.

The divine Ms. Sharon Draper with finalist Eliot Schrefer,
author of the fabulous short-listed Threatened.

As you likely know by now, the winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature went to Jacqueline Woodson for her moving, deeply felt memoir in verse Brown Girl Dreaming.  You can see her acceptance speech here.



I heartily recommend you pick up a copy.  Regardless of your background, you will find yourself somewhere in those pages.  It's just that good.

Me and Jacqueline Woodson.  Shining with joy!

You may have also heard about some controversial comments made at the event.  Jacqueline has addressed them eloquently in an Op Ed in the New York Times.  I won't try to add to what she has to say.  What I will do is tell you we had a wonderful evening, my fellow judges, my wonderful editor (the perfect date!) and I.  The finalists seemed to have a good time, too.  And rumor has it Jacqueline danced the night away knowing she had earned her place of honor with hard work, honesty of voice, and achingly beautiful prose.

Thank you to the National Book Foundation for an amazing experience.  It was a honor, a struggle (there were a lot of books), a pleasure and the start of some new friendship.  In the Land of Books, that means great things are coming, for writer and reader alike.

The Home Stretch and What's Next

The National Book Awards Longlists have been announced!



This signals a slowdown in the crazy that has been the past few months for me. Plenty of other things have been happening, but I hardly looked up from my stack of reading to pay much notice.  Now, with the bulk of the work done (I'll be hashing out the short list with my fellow judges very soon!), I can take a moment to share some nice things.

First of all, I'd like to say thank you to the fine folks that chose ORLEANS as a:

2016 Louisiana Young Readers Choice Nominee

2015 Magnolia Book Awards Nominee (which I might have mentioned already.. the mind, these days, really!)

ORLEANS was written for the people down South, my own mother included.  I'm happy to know my love letter has reached them!

I've also learned Flygirl is a 2014 ALA Popular Paperback Selection in the category of Conflicted: Life During Wartime.  It's sad to think there's a special category for this, but I am honored to be a part of the literary conversation.

I've also got a few events coming up:

Sun, 10/12/14, 2:00 pm – Teen Read Week:  Meet the Author

Central Library, 630 W. Fifth St., Los Angeles, CA 90071

Celebrate Teen Read Week by meeting great teen authors, enjoying snacks, and entering to win free books! Author appearances by Cam Baity and Benny Zelkowicz (The First Book of Ore: The Foundry's Edge), Cherry Chevapravatdumrong (Open Mic: Riffs on Life Between Cultures in Ten Voices), Simmone Howell (Girl Defective), Jessica Love (Push Girl), Kathryn Rose (Camelot Burning), and Sherri L Smith (Orleans).

Thurs., 10/23/14, 8:00 pm – Book’d In Burbank

Theatre Banshee, 3435 W. Magnolia, Burbank, CA 91505

Join the season finale of Book’d in Burbank with a selection of Mystery, YA, Horror, Romance and Humor readings from by Steph Cha (Beware, Beware), Sherri L. Smith (Orleans), Devan Sagliani (Zombie Attack:  Army of the Dead), Zoe Archer (Wicked Temptation), Melissa Cutler (Risky Business) and Diane Haithman (Dark Lady of Hollywood).  Tickets available through Eventbrite or at the door.  General admission:  $10.

Fri. 10/31 – Sun. 11/2/14 – Comikaze Expo – Details TBA

Wed., 11/18/14 – National Book Awards, NYC

If you are in the LA area, I hope you'll swing by and say hello.  If you're in New York, maybe I'll run into you at the Strand Bookstore.  When I was an undergrad at NYU, they claimed to have 8 miles of books.  It's gone up to 18 in the intervening years.  I think I could run a marathon in book miles.  (I think I already have!  Here's a great article on judging the National Book Awards).