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OhMG News!

February 27, 2012: Story Water

Author, teacher, and Mixed-up files member Sayantani DasGupta writes about the “cultural wellsprings of storytelling,” in the current issue of Hunger Mountain, the online literary journal of the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Noting the popularity of contemporary books that draw on older stories—like Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon and Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series—she likens storytelling to “dipping one’s drinking gourd into the eternal stream of stories. The storyteller gives the tale shape and form, but the essential life force comes from somewhere else entirely.”

For more…

February 26, 2012: Hit the Road, Jack…and Christopher…and Dan….

Harper Collins announced this week they’ll be sending nine middle-grade authors on the road next fall to visit schools and bookstores across the country. Authors will travel in pairs with each team going to three cities where they will visit a bookstore and do an emceed school event. Highlight of the school visit will be a “Best in Class” game with students getting a chance to compete to send their designated author to the top of the class.

The nine authors and the books they’ll be promoting are Christopher Krovatin (Gravediggers), Jon Scieszka (Guys Read), Dan Gutman (The Genius Files), Jeramey Kraatz (The Cloak Society), Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson (The Familiars), Nils Johnson-Shelton (Otherworld Chronicles), Tim Green (Unstoppable), and Adam Rex (Cold Cereal).

For tour details…
 

February 23, 2011: All Things Rowling

While some people were thrilled today to hear that J.K. Rowling had secured a book deal for her first adult novel, others pondered the fate of Pottermore, the interactive website for Harry Potter fans, that was slated to go live this past fall. For more…

February 20, 2012: Aloud and Proud!

World Read Aloud Day is right around the corner—March 7. How will you celebrate?

According to Litworld, the nonprofit organization sponsoring the event, 793 million people worldwide remain illiterate today. “World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults around the world to celebrate the power of words, especially those words that are shared from one person to another, and creates a community of readers advocating for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology.”

For more about Litworld and for suggestions on how to participate…

February 16, 2012: Yolen Grant Honors Mid-list Authors

Publishers Weekly reported today that author Jane Yolen and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators have established a new grant honoring mid-list authors.

Says Yolen, "In these difficult book times, well-reviewed and honored authors often find themselves stalled in their writing lives and find they are having trouble selling new work. In our attention to up-and-coming authors, we, the reading public, often ignore these mid-list writers who struggle to remain true to their personal vision and craft. This grant is to say: SCBWI honors you, we recognize you, we are paying attention to your work.”

The first grant was awarded to Mary Whittington, author of Carmina Come Dance, The Patchwork Lady, Troll Games, and Winter's Child. Nominations for the 2013 grant will be taken June 1-November 3.

For more information…

February 4, 2012: Sweet Reads

Check out these February new releases...

January 29, 2012: Tweet Tips 

Coming soon to a Twitter feed near you...

The #MGlitchat team—which includes Mixed-up Files founder Elissa Cruz—will be hosting a series of Twitter chats in February called “Tips from the Pros.” Each week, authors, agents, editors and publicists will share their tips about writing and publishing MG books in today’s market. Want to join the fun? Check the MGlitchat blog for a list of dates, times, and guest experts.

January 26, 2011: Ring! Ring!

What’s it like to win the Newbery? “I picked up the phone, and it was like history changed,” Jack Gantos says of the call informing him he’d just won the Newbery Medal for his novel Dead End in Norvelt. For more about his reaction, check out this article in Publishers Weekly. It was a busy week for Mr. Gantos, who also won the 2012 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction.

January 26, 2012: Jewish-Themed Books Honored

Winners of the Sydney Taylor Book Award were announced January 17. The award is given annually to new books for children and teens that exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience. The award memorializes Sydney Taylor, author of the All-of-a-Kind Family series.

The gold medal in the older readers category went to Susan Goldman Rubin for Music Was It: Young Leonard Bernstein. Honor books were Lily Renee, Escape Artist: from Holocaust Survivor to Comic Book Pioneer by Trina Robbins with illustrations by Anne Timmons and Mo Oh; Hammerin' Hank Greenberg: Baseball Pioneer by Shelley Sommer; and Irena’s Jars of Secrets by Marcia Vaughan.

For more…

January 23, 2012: The Newbery Medal Goes to…

 Jack Gantos for his middle-grade novel Dead End in Norvelt!

According to the publisher, Dead End in Norvelt tells the “entirely true” and “wildly fictional” story of two months in the life of a kid named Jack Gantos, “whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is grounded for life by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets.” 

Newbery Honors went to two books: Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai, which also won the National Book Award last year, and Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin.

Other winners today were:

• Kadir Nelson, who won the Coretta Scott King Book Award for Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans;

• Joan Bauer, author of Close to Famous, and Brian Selznick, author of Wonderstruck, who received The Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience;

• Susan Cooper, author of the classic The Dark Is Rising Sequence, who won The Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults; and

• Guadalupe Garcia McCall, who won the Pura Belpré Author Award for Under the Mesquite.

For a complete list of winners and honorees in all categories, visit the ALA Web site…

January 23, 2012: Mixed-up Files Authors Honored at ALA

A huge shout out to Wendy Shang and Sheela Chari, two of our very own Mixed-up Files members, who were honored at today’s ALA winter meeting. Shang was awarded The Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature for her middle-grade novel The Great Wall of Lucy Wu. Sheela Chari, author of Vanished, a middle-grade mystery, received the honor in the same category. The awards, which are selected by the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association, recognize works of exceptional literary and artistic merit that highlight Asian/Pacific Americans and their heritage.

For more on the awards...

January 22, 2012: Esme’s Picks

Esme Raji Codell, author of Sahara Special and other fine middle-grade titles, discusses her picks for the Newbery medal…

January 19, 2012: The Mystery Revealed

 Finalists for the 2011 Edgar Award have been announced. The award, given annually by the Mystery Writers of America, is widely considered to be the most prestigious in its genre. In the running for best middle-grade mystery are:

• Horton Halfpott by Tom Angleberger

• It Happened on a Train by Mac Barnett

• Vanished by Sheela Chari

• Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby

• The Wizard of Dark Street by Shawn Thomas Odyssey

Special congratulations to finalist and Mixed-up Files member Sheela Chari, who launched Vanished on our blog this summer!

For more on Sheela and Vanished…

For a complete list of Edgar finalists in all categories, including young adult and adult…

January 18, 2012: The OWL Hoots in March

Jill, a 7th grade English teacher and blogger, is looking for authors, readers, and other bloggers to join her in celebrating March Middle-grade Madness on “The O.W.L.” blog (Outrageously Wonderful Literature for the Middle Grades).  Says Jill, “I'm putting together a fun March where I'll do nothing but highlight middle-grade books, but I need a little help.” Visit The OWL to learn more about writing a guest post, posting a review, or hosting a giveaway.

January 16, 2012: The Medals Are Coming! The Medals Are Coming!

Betsy Bird, New York City public librarian and School Library Journal blogger, reveals her predictions for the 2011 Newbery and Caldecott Awards here.... The actual awards will be announced January 23 at the midwinter meeting of the American Library Association. Stay tuned!

January 4, 2012: Narrowing the Field

Finalists for the 2011 CYBIL awards were announced this week. Awards will be given across a wide range of categories including fiction, nonfiction, fantasy and science fiction, graphic novels, and poetry. On the short list for middle-grade fiction is The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by our very own Mixed-up member Wendy Shang.

For the complete list of CYBIL finalists...

For more on Wendy and The Great Wall of Lucy Wu...

January 4, 2012: Blogger Picks Indie Bests 

Children’s author, editor, and “Rogue Librarian” blogger Edward T. Sullivan lists his picks for the best books from independent publishers in 2011…

January 3, 2012: Author and Ambassador: Walter Dean Myers

Walter Dean Myers, five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and two Newbery Honors, has been named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington. Myers, who succeeds author Katherine Paterson, has chosen “Reading Is Not Optional” as the theme of his two-year term of service.

“Walter Dean Myers is one of America’s preeminent authors of books for young people,” says Dr. Billington. “He is a lifelong advocate for reading for young people, and he has practiced what he preaches in schools and detention centers across the country.” 

The National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature is named by the Librarian of Congress based on recommendations from a selection committee representing many segments of the book community. The selection criteria include the candidate’s contribution to young people’s literature and ability to relate to children. The position was created to raise national awareness of the importance of young people’s literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education, and the development and betterment of the lives of young people.

For more about Myers…

For more about the award…

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A Tribute

 In 1968, E. L. Konigsburg’s middle-grade novel, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, won the coveted Newbery Award for Excellence in American Children’s Literature.  This site is named in honor of her beloved book.  We hope you approve, Ms. Konigsburg.  And thank you.  Your book has touched generations of readers, and, if we have anything to say about it, will continue to do so for generations to come.