A non-profit and a
grassroots organization of children’s book lovers that advocates
essential changes in the publishing industry to produce and promote
literature that reflects and honors the lives of all young people.
“This week Reynolds will publish his ninth book — his third this year: a novel in verse called “Long Way Down” about a young man coping with the shooting death of his brother. It was longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. At 33, Reynolds is a best-selling author with an array of awards, including multiple Coretta Scott King Book Award honors and an NAACP Image Award. He’s been a National Book Award finalist, shared stages with Ta-Nehisi Coates and Rep. John Lewis and appeared in the pages of People magazine.
All of which asks the question Reynolds posed to his young audience: “How is it that a kid like me, a kid who grew up reading no books, eventually became a man who writes books for y’all?””
If you liked How to Outrun A Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied by Jess Keating, try As Brave As You by Jason Reynolds because both are about characters who must learn to be brave.
The We Need Diverse Books™ Walter Award Judges Committee has confirmed selections for the inaugural Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature – Young Adult Category. One winner and two honors have been named.
The Walter Dean Myers Award, also known as “The Walter,” is named for prolific children’s and young adult author Walter Dean Myers (1937 – 2014). Myers was a National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature as well as a champion of diversity in children’s and YA books.
The winner of the first annual Walter award (2016) is the young adult novel All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. The judges also selected two Walter honor books: Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings by Margarita Engle and X: A Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon.
Head over to Pulseit to read the first 82 pages of Jason Reynolds & Brendan Kiely’s ALL-AMERICAN BOYS for free! http://bit.ly/1NzJwJI
Summary: A bag of chips. That’s all sixteen-year-old Rashad is looking for at the corner bodega. What he finds instead is a fist-happy cop, Paul Galluzzo, who mistakes Rashad for a shoplifter, mistakes Rashad’s pleadings that he’s stolen nothing for belligerence, mistakes Rashad’s resistance to leave the bodega as resisting arrest, mistakes Rashad’s every flinch at every punch the cop throws as further resistance and refusal to STAY STILL as ordered. But how can you stay still when someone is pounding your face into the concrete pavement?
But there were witnesses: Quinn Collins—a varsity basketball player and Rashad’s classmate who has been raised by Paul since his own father died in Afghanistan—and a video camera. Soon the beating is all over the news and Paul is getting threatened with accusations of prejudice and racial brutality. Quinn refuses to believe that the man who has basically been his savior could possibly be guilty. But then Rashad is absent. And absent again. And again. And the basketball team—half of whom are Rashad’s best friends—start to take sides. As does the school. And the town. Simmering tensions threaten to explode as Rashad and Quinn are forced to face decisions and consequences they had never considered before.
Written in tandem by two award-winning authors, this tour de force shares the alternating perspectives of Rashad and Quinn as the complications from that single violent moment, the type taken from the headlines, unfold and reverberate to highlight an unwelcome truth.
If you’ll be at the BookCon in New York City this week(end) do stop by the following panels/signings to meet these amazing authors on the WNDB team and celebrated by the WNDB team!
Bears repeating and hope to see you at BookCon this weekend!
THE BOOKCON SIGNINGS & PANELS
*BookCon signings are in-booth or autographing area as noted
Saturday, May 30th
Nicola Yoon – 10am (Penguin Random House)
Shannon Hale – 10:30am (Candlewick Press booth)
We Need Diverse Books Panel: Science Fiction/Fantasy with Kameron Hurley, Ken Liu, Joe Monti, Nnedi Okorafor, Daniel Jose Older – 11am in Room 1A21.
Daniel Jose Older & Nnedi Okorafor – 12:30pm (Autographing area)
Ken Liu – 12:30pm (Autographing area)
Kameron Hurley - 12:30pm (Autographing area)
Lamar Giles - 12:45pm (Mystery Writers of America booth)
Jason Reynolds & Ellen Hopkins – 5pm (Autographing area)
Sunday, May 31st
Melissa de la Cruz - 11am (Autographing area)
We Need Diverse Books Panel: Luminaries of Children’s Literature with Libba Bray, Soman Chainani, David Levithan, Meg Medina, and Jacqueline Woodson – 11:15am in Room 1A10.
If you’ll be at Book Expo and/or the BookCon in New York City this week do stop by the following panels/signings to meet these amazing authors on the WNDB team and celebrated by the WNDB team!
BOOK EXPO SIGNINGS & PANELS
*unless otherwise noted BEA signings are in autographing area
Wednesday, May 27th
Tim Federle – 2:30pm
R.J. Palacio - 4pm (Penguin Random House booth)
Thursday, May 28th
Anne Ursu – 9:30am
Kwame Alexander – 10am
Kristina Yee – 11am
Sunil Yapa – 11am
Suzan Lori-Parks - 1pm (Theatre Communications Group booth)
Brian Selznick – 1:30pm
Dawn Metcalf - 1pm (Harlequin booth)
Adi Alsaid - 1pm (Harlequin booth)
Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts - 2pm (Abrams booth)
Soman Chainani - 2pm (HarperCollins booth)
Ta-Nehisi Coates - 2:30pm (Penguin Random House booth)
Miranda Paul – 3pm
Libba Bray - 3pm (Hachette Book Group booth)
Vu Tran - 3:30pm (Liveright booth)
Friday, May 29th
Marie Lu - 9:30am (Penguin Random House booth)
Lamar Giles – 9:30am
Salina Yoon – 9:30am
Ilene Gregorio – 10:30am
Tim Federle - 11am (Running Press booth)
Kristy Shen & Bryce Leung - 11am
Don Tate – 11:30am
Shannon Hale – 11:30am
Nicola Yoon - 12:30pm (Penguin Random House booth)
Adi Alsaid - 1pm (Harlequin booth)
We Need Diverse Books Panel – 1pm, Rm. 1E10
Meg Medina - 1:30pm (Candlewick booth)
Celeste Ng - 1:30pm (Penguin Random House booth)
Marieke Nijkamp - 2pm (Sourcebooks booth)
Rita Williams-Garcia – 2pm
Christopher Myers – 2pm
Don Tate - 2:15pm (Peachtree booth)
Alex Gino - 2:30pm
David Levithan - 3pm (Penguin Random House booth)
We Need Diverse Books signing – 7pm at La Casa Azul
Bookstore
THE BOOKCON SIGNINGS & PANELS
*BookCon signings are in-booth or autographing area as noted
Saturday, May 30th
Nicola Yoon – 10am (Penguin Random House)
Shannon Hale – 10:30am (Candlewick Press booth)
We Need Diverse Books Panel: Science Fiction/Fantasy with Kameron Hurley, Ken Liu, Joe Monti, Nnedi Okorafor, Daniel Jose Older –
11am in Room 1A21.
Daniel Jose Older & Nnedi Okorafor – 12:30pm (Autographing area)
Ken Liu – 12:30pm (Autographing area)
Kameron Hurley - 12:30pm (Autographing area)
Lamar Giles - 12:45pm (Mystery Writers of America booth)
Jason Reynolds & Ellen Hopkins – 5pm (Autographing area)
Sunday, May 31st
Melissa de la Cruz - 11am (Autographing area)
We Need Diverse Books Panel: Luminaries of Children’s
Literature with Libba Bray, Soman Chainani, David Levithan, Meg Medina, and Jacqueline Woodson – 11:15am in Room 1A10.
The Work To Be Done event, a celebration of literary icon Walter Dean Myers, was organized by his son Christopher Myers and held at Symphony Space in uptown Manhattan on March 8th. Not only were kind words said about Walter and the inspiration he had on others but how his work extends to a whole community that didn’t see themselves.
“My father told me his voice saved him, that his writing saved him,” said Christopher. And in many ways his work has saved many others. Thank you Walter Dean Myers for all you’ve done and contributed through your writing and presence. And thanks to Christopher and everyone who participated and attended for a wonderful day to remember Walter.
