In the opening keynote session, “Who Wants to Be a Jewish Reader? A Discussion on Reviewing Jewish Books,” father-and-son book reviewers Jonathan Kirsch and Adam Kirsch started with the premise that Jewish books are “books that Jews want to read, books that Jews feel speak to them in some way.” Adam Kirsch noted that there … Continue reading Amplifying Diverse Voices in Jewish Librarianship
One of the central themes of Transcendent Kingdom is the tension between science and faith. How did you approach the science aspect? It was really fun for me to do something so outside of my comfort zone. Talking to scientists, many of them conceptualized their work as a series of questions, as trying to get … Continue reading Newsmaker: Yaa Gyasi
“I was interested to see [the show] again as an adult and as a parent because a lot of the things that didn’t stand out to me as a child really stood out to me as an adult, particularly some of the quieter moments,” Cordell said in a June 24 address to ALA Virtual attendees. … Continue reading Won’t You Be Matthew Cordell’s Neighbor?
ALA Executive Director Tracie D. Hall reflected on her first four months as head of the Association, a period marked by the simultaneous struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global uprising against police brutality and racism. “Our resistance in these struggles requires our resilience,” Hall said. In 2026, ALA will turn 150, and Hall … Continue reading Misty Copeland Gets to the “Pointe” of Representation
The following guest column is a reprint from the rereleased May 1 issue of Booklist. This is an opportunity to have substantive conversations about our perceptions, as well as the changing face of the publishing world and the paucity of diverse crime writers. In their desire to be socially conscious, many may have missed that … Continue reading Judged by the Cover
What drove you to write this novel? Why now? Afterlife comes out of a feeling that it’s an elegiac time for our planet, as we watch so many species become extinct, ecosystems in danger, forests burning. It feels like a time of many endings. In our national life—our uncivil society, the divisions, the draconian immigration … Continue reading Newsmaker: Julia Alvarez
In this special bonus episode of the Dewey Decibel podcast, American Libraries Senior Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talks with Moore about his book, socioeconomic conditions in Baltimore, and how Enoch Pratt Free Library was the bedrock of the city during the riots. If you have feedback for the Dewey Decibel team, email deweydecibel@ala.org. Tell us … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Freddie Gray and Baltimore, Five Years Later
Tell us about your new book, Wow, No Thank You. It’s pretty much in the same vein as my other two books, but I have exhausted writing about my mom and dad, and all my pets are still alive, so there are no sad essays. It’s mostly about dealing with this aging body and still … Continue reading Newsmaker: Samantha Irby
“How much pain are we willing to tolerate when we know we don’t have to?” asked opening speaker Wes Moore, CEO of anti-poverty organization Robin Hood, US Army combat veteran, and one of many speakers who addressed race and inequality. His forthcoming book (with Erica L. Green) Five Days: The Fiery Reckoning of an American City … Continue reading 2020 Midwinter Wrap-Up
As “Emily Doe,” she was at the center of a widely publicized sexual assault case at Stanford University, in which members of the media and public fixated on assailant Brock Turner’s swim times and how a guilty verdict—the judge sentenced him to six months in prison when the case wrapped in 2016—would negatively impact his … Continue reading Know Her Name
Brown relayed her “origin story” to attendees in the Auditorium Speaker Series at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits in Philadelphia on January 25. Born during the mid-1980s crack epidemic in one of Cleveland’s poorest neighborhoods to a mother and stepfather with no money and histories of addiction, her first memory is of … Continue reading Miracles and Memoir
“Writing is a way for me to engage these questions profoundly through story,” Alvarez said. “What I love about stories, the best ones, is that they allow for competing truths, for complexity and nuance, for exploring the gray areas of life.” As an author whose work has been challenged by schools and libraries, Alvarez is … Continue reading Migrant Narratives and Gray Areas
