New Year’s Resolutions and Announcements

My only resolution for 2013 is to make it a good year. Anything I can do to help with that I will do.  That said, one way it should be a good year is that my book, Africa is My Home: A Child of the Amistad, illustrated by Robert Byrd will be out in the fall from Candlewick.  My colleagues tease me because I cut out the pdf they sent of the cover design and made a mini book that I carry around for good luck.  The art is gorgeous and the book is shaping up spectacularly.  And working with the folks at Candlewick has been wonderful.

Then there is Jen’s resolution over at Reads for Keeps which warmed my heart big time:

Since it is that time of year, I thought I’d chime in with my own New Year’s resolution. I decided to pick one goal that’s very achievable. In fact, it is meant to be accomplished before spring.

For 2013, my New Year’s resolution is to read all the School Library Journal’s Battle of the Books contenders before the judging start. Last year, I only finished 13 out of the 16 books selected, and I was catching up in between rounds. Still, I failed to get throughChime (yet it triumphed over The Cheshire Cheese Cat, sniff sniff), couldn’t bring myself to begin Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and didn’t remember most of Heart and Soul.

When March Madness rolls around, I’ll probably have to do some last-minute requesting at my local library to fulfill my 2013 resolution, but it’ll make the bracket planning, wagering, and judging process all the more fun.

We’ve got this year’s list of contenders all ready to go and are finalizing our judges even now.  The contenders will be announced right after the ALA Media Awards so that there will be plenty of time for Jen and anyone else to get them all read.

As for announcements right now, the 2012 Nerdy Book Awards, determined by voting,  are being posted and you should head on over there to see the winners as they are announced.

Then there are the Cybil Awards whose short lists were announced today.  I was delighted to see many favorite titles, among them a bunch I managed to nomiate:

• Stefan Bachman’s The Peculiar.
•  Na Liu’s Little White Duck: A Childhood in China.
• Rebecca Stead’s Liar & Spy.
• Steve Sheinkin’s Bomb.
  
• Jason Chin’s Island.