Category: Conferences & Events

Posted in Conferences & Events, gaming

Conferencing!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Hi all, it’s been a busy Fall, between Nana fun, work, and conference season. I just got back from my state library conference (and brought con crud with me), where I gave one presentation and guested on two additional panels. It was exciting and so much fun, and I’m reminded yet again how lucky I am do be doing things I love for a living.

I gave a presentation on Tabletop Games to Try Before You Buy for the second year running. It’s part presentation, part gaming speed dating: after a quick presentation on suggested games, resources, and where to find games for libraries, we play! The panel took place in a large ballroom, so we were able to put games on multiple tables and teach folks a quick game; they moved on after a round or two. Here I am, teaching folks to play a round of King of Tokyo. (Photo credit: Clarisa Rosario-DeGroat)

The breakout success for this year was Mantis, from The Oatmeal! Everyone enjoyed the quick gameplay and easy-to-learn mechanics. Sushi Go received a lot of praise, as did Villainous.

I was part of a panel called Gone Clubbin’, where we talked about game clubs at the library. My colleague Barron Angell talked about his video game club; colleague Clarisa Rosario-DeGroat talked about her Pokemon club (and great extension activities), and I talked up Magic: The Gathering. Folks seemed really engaged and excited, and since Pokemon and Magic have been around for a while, that was great to see!

Finally, I spoke on a panel with Dr. Rajesh Singh called Beyond Cultural Competence: Actionable Advocacy for Inclusive Library Services. I met some wonderful librarians who are giving their all for their library communities, and made some good connections. All in all, it was another great year for our state library convention. I’m happy to share slides if anyone would like.

And now, back to books! (And games!)

Posted in Conferences & Events, Graphic Novels, professional development

I went to the Scholastic Graphix Party!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Hi all, I know I’ve been posting pretty spottily this year, and it’s not out of a desire to fade away. It’s been a heck of a year, and life and work have been conspiring against me when it comes to having the time I want to devote to Mom Read It. That said, I am NOT going anywhere. I’m still here, still reading, and honestly, the life changes are largely good. Just wanted to let you know that I’ve got stuff to read and talk about, and I’ll be getting more up shortly. Thanks for sticking with me. 🙂

That said… I went to an actual library-type event! It was great to be out and about after what feels like forever. (BookExpo, I miss you!) I attended the Scholastic Graphix 20th Anniversary Party at the Scholastic offices in downtown NYC, and I had the best time! How can anything be less than awesome when your evening starts off with meeting Dog Man?

The Dog Man, the Myth, the Legend

 

Up next, a Graphix panel with some of the biggest names in graphic novels: Samuel Sattin, who’s brought the manga series Unico to the U.S. (and I have an ARC just waiting for me to read it); Jamar Nicholas, who’s releasing a new Leon adventure; Gale Galligan, who my library kids mainly know from the Babysitters Club (but I keep begging them to read Freestyle so I can form a yo-yo club); Raina Telgemeier – THE Raina Telgemeier – who’s writing a book on making comics with Scott McCloud, whose Understanding Comics is the bible of reading and writing comics and graphic novels; and surprise guest Jeff Smith, the creator of Bone! I couldn’t believe this lineup, and that I was there to see it!

 

The authors/illustrators discussed their upcoming books, gave us a peek at some of the art (WOW!), and talked about the state of graphic novels today, and how incredible it is to have been on the journey with Graphix over the last 20 years. A sneak peek at some of the graphic novels we can expect in the new year, and we were off to the party, with a mac and cheese bar, candy tables, and Dog Man and Unico cotton candy.

 

I screwed my courage to the sticking place and talked comics with Samuel Sattin, Raina Telgemeier, and Scott McCloud, and Mr. McCloud was kind enough to take a picture with me.

Smile cupcakes! There were Dog Man cupcakes, too.

At home, a delighted Kiddo enjoys his Dog Man cotton candy.

 

All in all, a great way to spend an evening. I hope to go to more!

Posted in Conferences & Events

The 2021 Miami Book Fair starts streaming on Nov. 14!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The annual Miami Book Fair is happening both in-person and online this year, and starts streaming in just two days!

There are programs in Spanish and English, for kids all the way up through adults. The search function is incredibly helpful in focusing your content by age group, livestream, in-person, and On Demand. Plus, the online conference is FREE! Get your Readers’ Advisory and Collection Development hats on and attend if you can!
Posted in Conferences & Events

Upcoming: Latinx KidLit Book Festival

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Latinx KidLit Book Festival is free and virtual again this year, and it’s happening on is free, virtual, and takes place on December 9th and 10th!

Go here to download the Festival program and see the speakers: there are some exciting panels this year and a concert for kids! The Education link on the website leads you to some great educator guides in English and Spanish, and a link to a Latinx KidLit Book database, so be sure to click your way over there. Authors are on FlipGrid, so share that with your readers and your education contacts.

 

Posted in Conferences & Events, Librarianing, professional development

Signal Boost: Submit a Proposal to Host Jason Reynolds in Spring 2022

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Today’s a big news day, huh? Just on the heels of my post about the Kids’ Book Awards Finalists, Every Child a Reader announced that not only is Jason Reynolds extending his term as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for an additional year, but that they are accepting proposal submissions from schools interesting in hosting an event with Mr. Reynolds! Events are likely to be held in April/May 2022, as Mr. Reynolds will be holding in-person events. The press release is here and you can read full details on the Every Child a Reader website.

If you’re not a school library, please consider getting in touch with schools nearby and collaborate with them on submitting a proposal. Other criteria, from Every Child a Reader, are as follows:

  • Audience for events should be in the 5th-12th grade range.
  • The location should have a system in place for how they will select two student interviewees in advance of the event.
  • Jason’s goal for the Ambassadorship is to visit small, underserved communities that don’t often have the opportunity to host authors.
  • Events must be private/available to students only.
  • Please complete this google form with your event proposal no later than December 1, 2021.

Good luck!

Posted in Conferences & Events

The Library of Congress National Book Festival starts THIS FRIDAY!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Library of Congress’s National Book Festival starts in two days! Are you ready? This year, the LOC invited blog subscribers to be Festival Ambassadors, so here I am, talking to you, about attending.

What’s good this year, you ask? SO MUCH, I answer. The expanded Festival has videos on demand, author conversations in real time, and live Q&A sessions. There’s a new NPR podcast series, live virtual events with the Washington Post, and a PBS special hosted by LeVar Burton (with Librarian of Congress rock star Carla Hayden)! Featured authors this year? How do Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Angie Thomas, Michael J. Fox, Jason Reynolds, Martha Wells sound for a start?

I can’t wait for the Spider-Man Origin Story in Art and Comic Books, happening online on 9/23 and the live Q&A with The Magic Fish author and illustrator, Trung Le Nguyen on the 25th. Derrick Barnes is going to be talking about I Am Every Good Thing, and Dan Gutman will be chatting about Houdini and Me on the 26th. There’s something for everyone over the next 10 days!

Check out the Schedule At A Glance right here, and print out a copy of this little game to play online with the LOC and your friends.

 

 

Handy-dandy links to bookmark and follow:

National Book Festival Website: loc.gov/bookfest

National Book Festival blog: https://blogs.loc.gov/national-book-festival/

Library of Congress Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/librarycongress/

Library of Congress Twitter: https://twitter.com/librarycongress

Events at the Library of Congress Twitter: https://twitter.com/events_loc

Carla Hayden’s Librarian of Congress Twitter: https://twitter.com/libnofcongress

Library of Congress Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/libraryofcongress

Library of Congress on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/loc

Start planning!

Posted in Conferences & Events

Summer Scares update!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Any horror fans out there? I am psyched, because Summer Scares is back this year! The Summer Scares Reading Program is a program through the Horror Writers Association, in a partnership with United for Libraries, Book Riot, and BookList, to promote horror titles to adult, teen (YA), and middle grade readers. I’ve been aware of the program in the past, but this year, I am determined to do something about it. Big thanks to RA for All’s Becky Spratford – also one of this year’s committee members – for her blog entry that gave me the heads-up. Programming will be virtual, and is a nice extension of summer reading programs for those kids and teens who may be more interested in horror or the spookier side of life than the usual Summer Reading themes.

This year’s middle grade picks are:

Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods by Hal Johnson.. (Aug. 2015, Workman), $22.75, ISBN: 9780761184614
Whichwood by Tahereh Mafi, (Nov. 2017, Dutton Books for Young Readers), $17.99, ISBN: 9781101994795
Ollie’s Odyssey by William Joyce, (Apr. 2016, Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books), $12.99, ISBN: 9781442473553

 

YA picks are:

The Diviners by Libba Bray, (Sept. 2012, Little Brown Books for Young Readers), $11.99, ISBN: 978-0316126106 (This is for the paperback copy, which came out in 2013.)
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline, (May 2017, Dancing Cat Books), $13.45, ISBN: 978-1770864863
Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson, (May 2018, Razorbill), $17.99, ISBN: 978-045147823

 

To learn more about Summer Scares and the Horror Writers Association, visit their website. To read Becky Spratford’s full blog entry on Summer Scares 2021, visit her blog, RA for All. If you have successful horror program, virtual or in-person, that you want to shout about, please let me know! My Library Kiddos are big on spooky stuff, and I’d love to get some ideas to have in my back pocket.

Posted in ALA Midwinter, Conferences & Events

Youth Media Awards Winners!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I was voluntarily #ALALeftBehind yesterday (online conference fatigue is real), but you know I was pinned to social media during the Youth Media Award announcements. I’m so happy with all the Medalists and Honorees!

Image source: AmericanLibrariesmagazine.org

This is a great chance to put together virtual and in-person Award Winner displays – those always get attention – and add these to your Readers Advisory toolkit. Make bookmarks with this year’s winners and honorees, update your current lists, and spread the word.

Lists of the winners are available via the ALA press release, American Libraries magazine, Book Riot,  and watch the streaming replay on ALA’s Midwinter website (you don’t need to be registered for the conference to view).

 

Posted in Conferences & Events, professional development

Upcoming: Latinx KidLit Book Festival

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

There’s a great professional development/learning opportunity coming up in December: The Latinx KidLit Book Festival is free, virtual, and takes place on December 4th and 5th!

 

The author list is a dream: Elizabeth Acevedo, Eric Velasquez, Francisco Stork, Gabby Rivera, Raúl the Third, and SO MANY MORE. My head is spinning. Zoraida Cordova is also attending, so I’ll be sitting here, in front of my computer, clutching my Brooklyn Brujas books and squealing.

Fill out the Librarian/Educator information form and get on this mailing list. There are also links to Educator Resources for a variety of children’s books by Latinx authors and illustrators further down on the Educator Resources pages – don’t miss these.

The panels look fantastic. I particularly want to see the one on Picture Books in the Age of Activism, and the Fantasy, Myths, and Legends also looks amazing.

Made for readers and educators alike, try to catch this festival. We need to support these authors, illustrators, and publishers!