From: Ginny Moore Kruse <gmkruse>
Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 13:56:31 -0600

On Tuesday afternoon I returned from the American Library Association's Midwinter Conference in Washington, D.C. If only Katy and I had each kept lists naming the individuals from the CCBC-Net community who introduced themselves to us throughout the past several days. We didn't, so I can't acknowledge each of you by name. I wish I could. We were each so pleased to meet you in person and receive your personal feedback! Thanks for taking the time to meet and talk with one of us.

Now to everyone else - and that's most of you - you're always welcome to greet us individually and to provide feedback. Just send us "behind the scenes" messages at any time. Katy Horning can be reached at horning at education.wisc.edu ; Megan Schliesman is at schliesman at education.wisc.edu ; and I'm at gmkruse at facstaff.wisc.edu

Rumors always abound during the days prior to the ALA/ALSC press conference at which the awards are announced. It always takes place on the Monday morning of each ALA Midwinter Conference. Lots of people apparently thought Olivia by Ian Falconer might win the Caldecott Award. An editor told me that some in the NYC publishing community were certain that Madlenka by Peter Sis would win the Big C. As various folks talked informally about possible Newbery Award contenders, I overheard speculation concerning Janet Taylor Lisle's The Art of Keeping Cool and E.L. Konigsburg's Silent to the Bone.

The press conference itself was held in a ballroom-sized space in the convention center. Some of us guessed that more people came to this popular event than ever before, including a group of children, probably a class. The press conference is a great opportunity for people watching. Which publishers and editors look happy enough to almost glow in the dark? Who appears to be serious, even sad? Usually the "winning" publishers are phoned or contacted only an hour or so before the press conference.

Many of the award announcements were greeted with applause and cheers, and none with groans. Someone who is not an editor, publisher, or critic or librarian observed, "Cheers, from a group of people who typically don't shout and cheer at meetings!" Well, maybe he just doesn't know us all that well.

There were huge surprises and delights as usual, and plenty about which to cheer. It was a delight for Katy and me to hear that the New York Times journalist & Y.A. novelist Robert Lipsyte named the winner of the Margaret Edwards Award for several of his consistently fine novels concerning sports, athletes, and the jock culture. (Stay tuned for information about Bob Lipsyte's public lecture on the UW-Madison campus in October. He'll give the 2001 Charlotte Zolotow Lecture.) He'll accept the ALA/YALSA Edwards Award on Saturday noon, June 16, in San Francisco.

It was a surprise to hear that long-time nonfiction author Milton Meltzer has won the 2001 Wilder Award winner for the body of his work
- a substantial body of substantial work. He'll give one of the acceptance speeches at the Newbery/Caldecott/Wilder Awards Banquet on Sunday evening, June 17.

It was wonderful to hear that Jacqueline Woodson who has frequently been named a Coretta Scott King Honor Book winner is the 2001 CSK Author Winner for her novel Miracle's Boys. She and other CSK Award and Honor Book winners will all speak in acceptance at the CSK Awards Breakfast on Tuesday morning, June 19.

Information about each of these ALA events will be posted on the ALA web site. It's possible for anyone to purchase tickets or to use an observor chair at no charge.

Maybe someone else will add an anecdote about a rumor or people watching during the press conference. Perhaps some of you will see it for yourself on C-Span, though I don't know for certain that C-Span was there to tape it as they were a year or two ago.

Did any of you see the Today Show on Tuesday morning? Caldecott Award Winner David Small (illustrator of So You Want to Be President?) and Newbery Award Winner Richard Peck (author of A Year Down Yonder) were guests that morning. Richard Peck responded by Katie Couric's question about his novel by first saying that "it's not a children's book"
(ohmygosh!), and describing it as being for readers age 10 and up. He elaborated with a great comment by saying that he understands his novel as being for readers in more than one generation. He hopes grandparents will also read it and then talk with their older children about it. He commented that suburbs have segregated the generations, making it difficult for the generations to communicate with each other. Or words to that effect. Something else to think about regarding A Year Down Yonder.

It's great to be back, even though all I seemed to notice when my e-mail messages popped onto the screen were the words Severed Hands. Thank goodness that I already knew what these messages might be all about! Cheers, Ginny Ginny Moore Kruse gmkruse at facstaff.wisc.edu Cooperative Children's Book Center www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ A Library of the School of Education, University of Wisconsin Madison
Received on Wed 17 Jan 2001 01:56:31 PM CST