Adaptations in Young Adult Literature

The 34th Annual Fantastic in the Arts Conference in its planning stages now.  The theme of the year for 2013 is all about adaptations.  Adaptations of previous works ( Pride, Prejudice and Zombies, Android Karenina, etc.), historical adapatations such as Steampunk and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and the issues of fidelity that surround these adaptations.

I myself have previously attended the conference and presented on my Master's thesis on the Steampunk subculture, and I can say with confidence that this conference is an excellent one.  The head of the Children's and Young Adult Literature division is headed by Alaine Martaus of my own University, The University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign.  The conference does not limit itself to only accepting presentation from those with university affiliations.  If you can write it, you can present it.

Whether you are an aspiring young adult author, librarian, or even a teen yourself, you can avail yourself of this excellent opportunity.  This year's guests of honors are Neil Gaiman and Kij Johnson.  The 500 word proposal is due by October 31 and those that are accepted will be notified by November 15, so get to writing!

Sources
http://call-for-papers.sas.upenn.edu/node/47576

What Great Big Teeth You Have: Paranormal Romance in a Nutshell

If you follow teen book trends at all you have to have noticed the recent blow-up of paranormal romance out there, especially since the advent of Twilight. Why, you may ask. Kiersten White, author of NY Times best selling Paranormalcy and Supernaturally offers her opinion:: all you need is love (in the timeless words of the Beatles.)

Ms. White believes that paranormal romance is the ultimate metaphor for teen romance.  Everyone who has ever yearned for someone with rosy cheeked bloom of young love understands how the object of your desire can often seem alien and a from a completely different world than you. Most teen love is that of idolization, you don't deserve the affection of your desired "other", let alone possess the ability to get them to even notice you.

Paranormal romance takes the inherent struggles of young love and  blows them up into crazy/dramatic proportions.  Whether it's the broody guy you sit behind in Calculus who seems "oh so mysterious," or a vampire who has to restrain himself from sucking your blood, you know the struggles of the young heart.

I can understand that, most everyone can understand that (unless you somehow were lucky enough to skip those painfully awkward teenage years and skipped straight to Cassanova status.) And who doesn't like to read a good book or two that they can relate to?
Paranormal romance just happens to be particularly relate-able to our
lovelorn younger selves.

Sources
http://kierstenwrites.blogspot.com/2010/07/you-cant-kill-undead-or-paranormal.html

YALSA Teen's Top Ten

It's not to too late to head over to the YALSA website and vote for your favorite books of 2012! You have until September 15, only a few days away.  Remember though, teens only.  The results will be announced October 14-20 during ALA's Teen Read Week.

Interested in participating in the project next year?  Fifteen libraries are chosen to receive free galleys of recent publications from 30+ publishers and the teen readers of those libraries help nominate books for the voting list. You can contact Nichole Gilbert to find out more about the participants and how you might become a nomination library.

Why is the Teen Top Ten important?  It's always important knowing what your patrons want to read and how we can get those books for them.  The Teen Top Ten allows that information to be gathered on a national level to help inform librarians about current trends that might not have reached their area yet, and this type of data helps us to understand our patrons better.  There are infinite possibilities for the use of information, so get out there and vote!

Sources:
http://www.ala.org/news/pr?id=11224
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/teenstopten
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/yagalley

Grant Opportunity for Learning Labs in Libraries and Museums

It's too late to apply for this year but it has recently come to my attention that the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Association of Technology Centers (IMLS and ATC) announced in the Spring that they would be providing grants to give funds for up to 30 Learning Labs at Museums and Libraries throughout the US.  The goal of these Labs will be used to engage middle and high school aged youth in collaborative learning using digital and traditional media.

The institutions that receive these grants will be required to participate in cross-project networking and learning and will be based on current research in youth studies and digital media.  This would be a great opportunity for your library to keep their youth involved in current learning trends and be able to participate in interdisciplinary learning and sharing.  The proposal deadlines for 2012 were in June, but it would be something to keep in mind for next year if they are found to be successful.  Below you will find links with information about the proposal process and the project itself.

More information:
http://www.imls.gov/about/learning_labs.aspx

Proposal guidelines:
http://www.imls.gov/applicants/learning_labs_guidelines.aspx