BooksandBuzz-best independent publisher industry news

The Fallen Architect is a 2019 Nero Award Finalist

6/13/2019

We are thrilled to share that The Fallen Architect by Charles Belfoure is a 2019 Nero Award Finalist!

The Nero Award is sponsored by The Wolfe Pack, the official Nero Wolfe society, named after the fictional character in the mystery series by Rex Stout. The Nero Award is presented annually for the best American mystery. The award is given to those books that are written in the tradition of Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe stories. The award winner will be presented at the Black Orchid Banquet in December in NYC.

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The Pants Project by Cat Clarke is a 2020 Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Awards Nominee

6/12/2019

We are happy to share that The Pants Project by Cat Clarke is a 2020 Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Awards nominee!

The Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Awards are sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Library Association. It is the only international award program for young readers in both the U.S. and Canada. Nominations are collected from students, librarians, teachers, and parents in the Pacific Northwest. Nominated titles are judged on popularity with readers, enjoyment, reading level, interest level, racial diversity, imagination, and more.

The Pants Project appears on the Junior Division (Grades 4-6) list.

Students in grades 4—12 vote on the nominated titles on the YRCA list March 15—April 15 of next year. The winners will be announced April 30, 2020.

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Illegal is the winner of the 2019 Excellence in Graphic Literature Award

6/11/2019

We are thrilled to share that Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illustrated by Giovanni Rigano, is the winner of the 2019 Excellence in Graphic Literature Award winner!

The 2019 Excellence in Graphic Literature (EGL) Awards are sponsored by Pop Culture Classroom and Denver Pop Culture Con. The award honors the best fiction and nonfiction graphics novels with an advisory board and juries composed of experts in graphic literature from publishing, library, and education industries.One of the goals of the EGL Awards is to help educators and librarians identify the best graphic novels to bring into their diverse classroom settings.

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Someone I Used to Know by Patty Blount is a 2019 Athena Finalist

6/11/2019

We are excited to share that Someone I Used to Know by Patty Blount is a 2019 Athena finalist!

The Athena Contest for Excellence in Published Young Adult and New Adult Fiction is sponsored by the Young Adult Special Interest Chapter of the Romance Writers of America (YARWA). The contest is open to both young adult and new adult romance novels with romantic elements.

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Shark Lady by Jess Keating, illus. by Marta Alvarez Miguens, is the winner of the 2019 Utah Beehive Book Award

6/11/2019

We are thrilled to share that Shark Lady by Jess Keating, illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguens, is the winner of the 2019 Utah Beehive Book Award!

The Utah Beehive Book Award is sponsored by the Children’s Literature Association of Utah. The award is the only children’s choice award in the state of Utah, and strives to help motivate young people to read. Children in Utah vote from a small list of nominees in six categories, and the title with the most votes is named the winner. Shark Lady is the winner in the Informational Book category.

Watch students from Upland Terrace Elementary announce the winners!

View Announcement

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The Last 8 by Laura Pohl is a 2019 International Latino Book Award Finalist

6/10/2019

We are thrilled to share that The Last 8 by Laura Pohl is a 2019 International Latino Book Award Finalist!

The 2019 International Latino Book Awards are sponsored by Latino Literacy Now. They are the largest Latino cultural awards in the U.S. with 257 finalists this year in 95 categories. The Last 8 appears in the Best Young Adult Fiction Books – English category.

The awards recognize books by and about Latinos, and strive to honor the growing quality of Latino literature. Judges include “librarians, educators, media professionals, leaders of national organizations, Pulitzer Prize Winners, and even elected officials.”

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Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, I Know Exactly What You Are by Julia Kregenow, illustrated by Carmen Saldaña, is a 2020 Towner Award Nominee

5/22/2019

We are happy to share that Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, I Know Exactly What You Are by Julia Kregenow, illustrated by Carmen Saldaña, is a 2020 Towner Award Nominee!

The Towner Award is sponsored by the Washington Library Media Association, and aims to recognize and promote excellent informational picture books to encourage students to learn more about our world and support teachers’ use of outstanding nonfiction in their classrooms.

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, I Know Exactly What You Are was chosen as one of ten nominated titles, selected by a team of teacher and public librarians among hundreds of nonfiction picture books. In spring 2020, Washington students in grades 2—6 will vote for the winners, to be announced in early May.

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Furyborn by Claire Legrand and Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illus. by Giovanni Rigano, are on the ILA 2019 Young Adults’ Choices Reading List

5/2/2019

We are thrilled to share that Furyborn by Claire Legrand and Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illus. by Giovanni Rigano, are on the ILA 2019 Young Adults’ Choices Reading List!

The Young Adults’ Choices Reading List is an annual list developed by the International Literacy Association (ILA). It aims to give young adults an opportunity to voice their opinions about book written for them by developing an annotated list of book selected by teens themselves. Every year, 12,500 students in grades 7–12 read and select 30 titles from books donated from North American publishers to curate the list. This reading list is a trusted source for book recommendations and is used by teens, their parents, teachers, and librarians.

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Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illus. by Giovanni Rigano, is a 2020 Nutmeg Nominee

5/2/2019

We are thrilled to share that Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illus. by Giovanni Rigano, is a Connecticut Nutmeg Award nominee!

The Nutmeg Book Award encourages children in grades 2-12 to read quality literature and to choose their favorite from a list of nominated titles.

Jointly sponsored by the Connecticut Library Association (CLA) and the Connecticut Association of School Librarians (CASL), the Nutmeg Committee is comprised of children's librarians and school library media specialists who are members of our sponsoring organizations.

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Inky the Octopus by Erin Guendelsberger, illus. by David Leonard, is on the 2019-2020 Florida Sunshine State Jr. list

4/22/2019

We are thrilled to share that Inky the Octopus by Erin Guendelsberger, illus. by David Leonard, is on the 2019-2020 Florida Sunshine State Jr. list.

The Sunshine State Jr. List (SSYRA Jr) is sponsored by the Florida Association for Media in Education. The mission of the program is to “develop student interest in reading for pleasure by exposing them to a wide range of appropriate literature. Sunshine State Jr. books are selected for their wide appeal, literary value, varied genres, curriculum connections, and/or multicultural representation.”