The New Year always seems to catch me by surprise. It always seems to be NCTE, the ALAN Workshop, Thanksgiving, get ready to end the semester, and then hurry up and getting ready for Christmas. Spend time with friends and family and then all of the sudden it is the New Year.
What Happened Last Year.
Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday had a great year. Page visits for the year were up 19% and unique visits were up 20%. This year the blog hosted 52 posts that were written by academics, teachers, librarians, and graduate students. A total of 42 different people wrote this year. Some of them wrote more than once and a few wrote with a partner. Lesley Roessing and Stacy Graber had several entries. I am especially grateful for the time and effort provided by all of the contributors. You can find their posts on the contributors page. As you plan a project, a YA course, or just want to see what others are thinking, there is a lot of great information among this collection of posts.
This is great news for me and maybe better news for the readers. This increased level of participation means I didn't have to write as many post during 2019.
This is great news for me and maybe better news for the readers. This increased level of participation means I didn't have to write as many post during 2019.
Who can you look forward to Reading in the Future
As many followers of the blog know, I try to write twice a month and pass on the duties to others every other week. It makes for variety and it helps the blog cover books and issues that aren't always on my radar. I try to make room for special topics or for people who have an idea that needs to be shared. I have quite a few ideas on the back burner for 2020.
I also have a variety of contributors line up and ready to go. The following all have assigned dates and and are thinking about their posts: Erinn Bently, Nancy Johnson, Celeste Trimble, Kate Kedley, Briana Asmus, Deb Van Duinen, Gretchen Rumohr, Kelli Sowerbrower, Leilya Pitre, Jeff Buchanan, Jackie Mercer, Sean Kottke, Margaret A Robbins, Anne Bird Cramer, Ashley D Black, Cindy Koudelka, Ashley Boyd, Janine Darragh, Diane Srofano, Anita Dubroc, Lesley Roessing. Those in red are contributing for the first time. The others have contributed before and many of them over several years. There are several other past contributors who I hope will contribute in 2020 as well. We will see.
I also have a variety of contributors line up and ready to go. The following all have assigned dates and and are thinking about their posts: Erinn Bently, Nancy Johnson, Celeste Trimble, Kate Kedley, Briana Asmus, Deb Van Duinen, Gretchen Rumohr, Kelli Sowerbrower, Leilya Pitre, Jeff Buchanan, Jackie Mercer, Sean Kottke, Margaret A Robbins, Anne Bird Cramer, Ashley D Black, Cindy Koudelka, Ashley Boyd, Janine Darragh, Diane Srofano, Anita Dubroc, Lesley Roessing. Those in red are contributing for the first time. The others have contributed before and many of them over several years. There are several other past contributors who I hope will contribute in 2020 as well. We will see.
The UNLV 2020 Summit on the Research and Teaching of YA Literature
I will be spending a lot of time organizing and planning for the 2020 summit. The past two years have been great. It doesn't happen or go forward without the help of a lot of people. Unfortunately, one of the people who helped the most has moved on to greener pastures. Sheila Bray has worked as an administrative assistant in the Dean's office since I arrived at UNLV. Her expertise in organizing meals, creating contact lists, and working through a variety of snags has been hard to calculate. She left just before the break and I am sure it will take awhile to replace her and I have the sneaky suspicion that I will be on my own.
The best news is that many of the moving parts are in place. We have keynote authors scheduled and we have a few others who will be participating and presenting as well. One of the interesting developments is that we will have a "shadow" children's literature day on Thursday that will intertwined with the research focus of the Summit on that same day. Matt will be the featured author on that day. This helps us integrate the elementary school personal in the Las Vegas area.
As you can see below, the all of the authors, Steve, Ashley, and Chris, are interesting and have books worth reading. So, get started. Their pictures link to their website. The information about the summit will be update in Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday on the Summit 2020 page. You can submit a proposal to present at the conference a this link. Registration will be open soon.
The best news is that many of the moving parts are in place. We have keynote authors scheduled and we have a few others who will be participating and presenting as well. One of the interesting developments is that we will have a "shadow" children's literature day on Thursday that will intertwined with the research focus of the Summit on that same day. Matt will be the featured author on that day. This helps us integrate the elementary school personal in the Las Vegas area.
As you can see below, the all of the authors, Steve, Ashley, and Chris, are interesting and have books worth reading. So, get started. Their pictures link to their website. The information about the summit will be update in Dr. Bickmore's YA Wednesday on the Summit 2020 page. You can submit a proposal to present at the conference a this link. Registration will be open soon.
The Keynote Speakers
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Another Keynote for a Children's Literature Day
We have been planning to include more children's literature at the summit. We have finally done it. Matt de la Peña is coming and he is a perfect fit. He has won the Newbery award and has books that fit every possible category from picture books to sophisticated realistic YA fiction. What a treat. You can register for just the Children's literature day. It will be a great day with a keynote from Matt and the opportunity to participate in a writer's workshop with him as well. Of course, I recommend that you register for all three days in order to hear and interact with every author.
Two New Attendees
Fortunately, I have the opportunity to attend a dinner or two hosted by a publisher. This year I was invited to a dinner by Source Books and I was blown away by I'm Not Dying with you Tonight. More to the point, I was totally engaged by Kimberly and Gilly. Their show needs to go on the road. They should be speaking everywhere. They can move you from laughter to tears and back again in a heart beat. I knew they need to be at the summit and speaking to Las Vegas teachers. Their frank discussion of racial tension in person and in their wonderful book needs all of the exposure it can get. I am especially moved move by their spirit of cooperation and collaboration. The friendship comes first as they model how to explore the difficult position we find ourselves in within our country, our communities, and our schools. Kimberly and Gilly, I can't what to host you at UNLV.
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A New Edited Volume Published and Two More on the Way.
Finally, after a long haul Shanetia Clark and I have this book in print. It is available on Amazon at this link. This has been a passion project for both of us and even though we have had some family issues that have slowed us down, it is here and volumes 2 and 3 will soon follow. We hope to be presenting on the content of all three at NCTE 2020. Stay tuned. As many readers of the blog know, diversity is under represented in YA and children's literature. This first book focuses on the four award winning authors who helped pave the way beginning in the 1960 and touching decades until today. Indeed, Mildred D. Taylor's final installment in the Logan family saga, All the Days Past, All the Days to Come, was just published.
Of course, we hope you buy it. At the very least, we hope you request that your school or university library has a copy.
Guess what? It is available from the publisher with a discount! Here is the link to the book on the Rowman and Littlefield site. Here is the link to the discount.
Okay, what are you waiting for click on the link.
Of course, we hope you buy it. At the very least, we hope you request that your school or university library has a copy.
Guess what? It is available from the publisher with a discount! Here is the link to the book on the Rowman and Littlefield site. Here is the link to the discount.
Okay, what are you waiting for click on the link.
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Until next time.
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