YALSA celebrates contemporary authors at LIVE @ your library Reading Stage
Contact: Stephanie Kuenn
Communications Specialist
312-280-2128
skuenn@ala.org
For Immediate Release
June 13, 2007
YALSA and PPO celebrate contemporary authors at LIVE @ your library Reading Stage
CHICAGO - Join the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest-growing division of the American Library Association (ALA), on Monday, June 25, for an afternoon featuring contemporary young adult authors at the 13th Annual LIVE! @ your library Reading Stage at the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. The LIVE! @ your library Reading Stage is presented annually by ALA’s Public Programs Office (PPO).
Twenty-four award winning authors and poets from across the country will read from their works at the Washington Convention Center on Saturday, June 23, Sunday, June 24 and Monday June 25, from noon to 4 p.m. Monday’s stage will feature new and favorite young adult authors, in celebration of YALSA’s 50th anniversary. The LIVE! Stage will be located in aisle 2600 of the exhibition hall.
Emceed by former YALSA President Pam Spencer Holley, Monday’s LIVE! stage will feature:
* Carolyn Mackler, 2004 Michael L. Printz Honor book recipient for “The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things,” and the author of “Vegan Virgin Valentine,” a 2005 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, and “Love and Other Four Letter Words,” a 2001 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers;
* Nick Hornby, a New York Times bestselling author who will publish his first novel for young adults, “Slam,” in October;
* Cecil Castellucci, author of “Boy Proof,” a YALSA 2006 Best Book for Young Adults and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, and a 2008 Best Book For Young Adults nominee for “Beige”;
* Tiffany Trent, author of the forthcoming “In the Serpent’s Coils,” the first novel in the Hallowmere series;
* Barry Lyga, author of the upcoming “Boy Toy” and “The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl,” the latter a 2008 Best Books for Young Adults nominee;
* Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of “Dairy Queen,” one of YALSA’s 2007 Best Books for Young Adults;
* Gene Luen Yang, winner of the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award for “American Born Chinese”; and
* Patrick Jones, author of three teen novels, including “Chasing Tail Lights,” a 2008 Best Books for Young Adults nominee, and “Things Change,” a 2005 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.
On Saturday, June 23, award winning author Sherman Alexie will kick off the LIVE! Stage at noon with a reading from his first young adult novel, the forthcoming “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.” On Sunday, June 24, the LIVE! Stage will open at noon with a reading by Lois Lowry, two-time Newbery Medal winner, YALSA’s 2007 Margaret A. Edwards Award winner, and author of 34 young adult books. Lowry won the 2007 award for lifetime achievement for “The Giver.”
Other authors appearing on the LIVE! Stage include Donna Leon, author of “Suffer the Little Children: A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery”; Dinaw Mengestu, author of the debut novel “The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears”; and Nina Lindsey, librarian in the Children’s Room at the Oakland Public Library and author of the book of poetry “Today’s Special Dish.” For a complete schedule of 2007 LIVE! Stage readings, visit www.ala.org/publicprograms.
For 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos, and audio books for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists, or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.
The ALA Public Programs Office was established in 1992 to provide the expertise, training, funding and resources that America’s libraries need to develop diverse, high-quality cultural programming for public audiences. To date, PPO has raised over $15 million in project funds to support 10,000 libraries as they conduct exemplary programs in the humanities that have reached more than 10 million people. For more information, visit www.ala.org/publicprograms.
