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ALAN Online News: September 2011
Welcome to the First Edition of ALAN Online News

You're receiving this newsletter because you are a member of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents, an assembly of the National Council of Teachers of English. Look for updates on what's happening at ALAN, reminders about upcoming deadlines, and news from the world of young adult literature.

 

We welcome your comments and ideas for the newsletter. If you choose to unsubscribe, just follow the directions at the bottom of the page. But we really hope you'll stick around.

 

Anne McLeod, Editor
ALAN Online News

 

In This Issue
Election Deadline
ALAN in Chicago
Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award 2011
Banned Books Week
YALSA's Readers' Choice List

ALAN Workshop

November 21-22, 2011

Chicago Hilton

 

Register through

 NCTE.org 

 


October 1 Deadline for ALAN Ballots
Vote for President-Elect and Board of Directors
The deadline is fast approaching for voting members' ballots to be returned. Candidates for ALAN's president-elect are Jeffrey Kaplan and Daria Plumb. Those running for board of directors are: Kelly Byrne Bull, Jeffrey Harr, Karen Hildebrand, Kaa Hinton-Johnson, Sean Kottke, and Barbara Ward. Voters will choose three of these candidates for seats on the board.

 

Ballots should be returned by mail to Angela Beumer Johnson whose address was on the ballot mailing from NCTE.

 

Flash Back, Forge Ahead with ALAN in Chicago
Ready to mingle with authors, catch up with colleagues, peruse exhibits, and listen to some blues? Registration is open for NCTE's Annual Convention and the ALAN Workshop in Chicago.  

 

Events for ALAN members begin November 19 with a Saturday morning breakfast meeting at which Sharon Draper will receive the 2011 ALAN Award for outstanding contributions in the field of adolescent literature. Ms. Draper is a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Award and has been recognized as National Teacher of the Year. Her bestselling titles include: Copper Sun, Tears of a Tiger, Forged by Fire, Darkness before Dawn, Romiette and Julio, Double Dutch, The Battle of Jericho, November Blues, and Just Another Hero.  

 

Keynote speaker at the breakfast will be Jacqueline Woodson, whose books include Hush, The House You Pass on the Way, and After Tupac and D Foster. The title of her address is  "You Don't Miss Your Water . . . Remembering the Past to Write in the Present."   

 

At the Sunday evening reception on November 20th, ALAN attendees can enjoy drinks and light snacks while chatting with many of the YA authors who will present on Monday and Tuesday. The two-day workshop will open with a keynote address by M.T. Anderson, winner of the 2006 National Book Award for The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume One: The Pox Party. Monday closes with the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award reception. The excitement continues through Tuesday with more plenary and breakout sessions, along with book signings. 

 

Don't miss out on one of the most engaging professional learning opportunities you'll ever experience. Register in advance to make sure you receive the box of free books provided by publishers. 

 

 

 

 


Does TAR Know Where You Are?
The ALAN Review will be mailed out next month, and bulk mail is not forwarded. Don't miss an issue. If you've moved recently, pleased make sure Membership Secretary Joan Kaywell  has your current address before September 30th.

Stork Storm Warriors
Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award 2011
Reception Honors Winner and Finalists
 
The Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award for 2011 goes to Francis X. Stork for his novel, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors (Arthur A. Levine). He and the finalists for the AEW Award, Kristen Chandler, Matt de la Pe�a, Matthew Quick, and Jordan Sonnenblick, will be recognized on Monday, November 21, at a reception at the Chicago Hilton. All are presenting at the ALAN Workshop. Attendees are invited to attend the event immediately after the end of the first day of sessions.

 

The award was created in 2008 to honor the wishes of young adult author Amelia Elizabeth Walden whose career spanned four decades from the 1940s through the late 1970s. Walden, the author of more than forty young adult novels, died in 2002 and had requested that an award be created that would recognize "the title of the year most relevant to adolescents and having enjoyed a wide and appreciative teenage audience."

 

Nominated books should 1) be a work of fiction; 2) be published within one year prior to the call for titles; 3) be published in the United States but may have been published elsewhere prior; and 4) possess a positive approach to life, widespread teen appeal, and literary merit. Previous winners have been Fire by Kristin Cashore (2010) and My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park by Steven Kluger (2009).    


Banned Books Week September 24-October 1
Celebrate your right to read during Banned Books Week with a Virtual Read-Out. This year organizers of Banned Books Week are inviting readers to share their favorite challenged book through YouTube, which is itself blocked in many school districts.

Create a  video of yourself either reading from a challenged book (2 minutes or less) or, if you have firsthand experience with a book challenge, describe that experience (3 minutes). Upload the video to YouTube, using the tag "virtualreadout." To have your video linked to the Virtual Readout YouTube channel, see detailed instructions at Banned Books Week.

The National Council of Teachers of English is among the sponsors of this annual event aimed at protecting intellectual freedom.

 

Library
YALSA Seeks Nominations for Readers' Choice List

 The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Readers' Choice task force would like to invite ALAN members to join the nomination process to recognize their favorites in young adult fiction and non-fiction from this year. YALSA has established this brand new list to recognize the best in young adult literature, as selected by readers.

The Readers' Choice list seeks to engage a wide audience of librarians, educators, teens and young adult literature enthusiasts in choosing the most popular teen titles in a given year, organized by broad genres.    

 

Nominations will be posted monthly, with a final vote taking place each November.  Any individual, provided he/she is not the author or an employee of the publisher, or a current member of the Readers' Choice List committee may nominate a title via an online form. Only YALSA members are eligible to vote for the final ballot.

 

For more information, visit Readers' Choice List.                   

 

 Photo Licensing Creative Commons  


Calls for Manuscripts
The ALAN Review

Summer 2012 Theme:  Exploring Identity & Identities in YA Literature - Deadline: November 1, 2011. Contact TAR Editors Steven Bickmore, Jacqueline Bach, & Melanie Hundley at alanreview@lsu.edu for more information.

 


Signal

Spring/Summer 2012 Theme:  On the Cutting Edge: Pushing the Boundaries of Genre - Deadline: February 1, 2012. Contact signal@kennesaw.edu for more information.