“Thank you for being our community anchors. Thank you for being our explorers, protectors, and curators of information. Thank you for being our defenders in the struggle against censorship,” Kaepernick told attendees at the start of “Voices of Change,” the closing session of the American Library Association’s inaugural LibLearnX virtual conference on January 24. “And … Continue reading Representation ‘Is Only a Start’
“None of us saw this coming,” said Woodson. “One day we walked into our classrooms, we walked into our libraries, we walked into our jobs, and the next day we didn’t.” This abrupt and significant change exposed what we’ve taken for granted. “We had just expected the next day to be there—just as the previous … Continue reading Making Sense of Our Collective Grief
The American Library Association (ALA) has selected The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu (Little, Brown and Company) by Tom Lin as the winner of the 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and A Little Devil in America: Notes in Praise of Black Performance (Random House) by Hanif Abdurraqib as the winner of the … Continue reading 2022 Andrew Carnegie Medal Winners Announced
“I have so much respect for what you do and for writers in general,” Shannon told Sweeney. “I think it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, ever. Way harder than performing.” The hardest chapter to write, she said, was the one detailing the tragic car accident that defined her childhood, claiming the lives … Continue reading Molly Shannon: Superstar
At “Supporting Indie Authors,” an educational session at the American Library Association’s LibLearnX conference on January 22, Desai and Jarecki discussed how libraries can be a lifeline for independent and self-published authors and their readers—especially those who live in the communities they serve. “We’re firmly committed to the idea that everyone has a story,” said … Continue reading Giving Indie Authors a Voice
Boulley, who is 56, first got the idea for her young adult novel Firekeeper’s Daughter (Henry Holt and Co., 2021), about an 18-year-old Ojibwe girl who helps an undercover FBI investigation, when she was a senior in high school. But she didn’t start writing her debut until she was 44—and the book wasn’t published until … Continue reading ‘We Are Not Relics of the Past’
Both women represent important firsts for the organizations they represent. Hirono is the first female senator to represent Hawaii and the only first-generation immigrant to serve in the Senate; she was born in Japan and came to the US with her mother when she was 8 years old. Wong is the first Asian American president … Continue reading Mazie K. Hirono Opens Inaugural LibLearnX
That planning comes to fruition when LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience debuts as an online event January 21–24. (ALA’s Executive Board voted in September to cancel the planned in-person component in San Antonio because of the ongoing pandemic and surge of COVID-19 variants, as well as the size, scope, and location of the event.) LibLearnX … Continue reading Introducing LibLearnX
He spoke with American Libraries about his librarian mother, what he’s learned from playwriting, and his recent $2.5 million gift to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts campus at Lincoln Center, which will fund a new laboratory space. How did your mother become a school librarian? My mother had a great love … Continue reading Newsmaker: Harvey Fierstein
Featured in this installment are never-before-released clips from conversations with Fox Sports analyst and former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho, acclaimed writer Isabel Allende, reggae musician and philanthropist Ziggy Marley, TV host and producer Padma Lakshmi, bestselling horror author Max Brooks, Dance Theatre of Harlem alumni Judy Tyrus and Paul Novosel, and lawyer and speaker Savala … Continue reading Call Number Podcast: Year-End Author Chats
You’ve authored two cookbooks, a food encyclopedia, and a memoir. What made you want to write the children’s book Tomatoes for Neela? This book is based on a story I would often tell my daughter, who is now 11, as I was putting her to sleep in earlier years. I think one of the best … Continue reading Newsmaker: Padma Lakshmi
Will the experience of having The Underground Railroad turned into a 10-episode miniseries for Amazon affect your writing? No, I don’t think it will affect my writing. It felt very separate. They optioned it five years ago, so it was always on the backburner, and occasionally I would talk to Barry Jenkins, the director, but … Continue reading Newsmaker: Colson Whitehead
