Operation Teen Book Drop Is April 15th...


If you associate April 15th with (ick) filing your taxes, here's a better alternative--think of it as a fantastic day for teen lit. On April 15th Operation Teen Book Drop will deliver 10,000 new books to teens on Native Reservations and Tribal Lands, more than 100 top young adult authors will leave their books in public places for young readers to discover, and members of the public can buy books online and have them shipped to tribal libraries.

For this event, which coordinates with YALSA's Support Teen Literature Day, publishers donated the books, valued at more than $175,000.

“These publishers have shown astounding vision and generosity by supporting Operation Teen Book Drop,” says readergirlz co-founder and award-winning novelist Dia Calhoun. “Now underserved teens can benefit from the current explosion of high quality YA books. These teens can see their own experience, their tragedies and their triumphs in these books, books that become shining doorways to the young human spirit.”

The donations are especially significant to Native teens. “In their lives, they really don’t have new books,” says Mary Nickless, the librarian at Ojo Encino Day School, one of 44 institutions that will benefit from Operation TBD.

In its third year, Operation TBD is part of a massive effort by librarians, young adult authors, and avid readers to spur reading on a nationwide scale. The day aims to encourage teens to read for the fun of it.

The effort is coordinated by readergirlz, the Young Adult Library Services Association, GuysLitWire, and a new partner, If I Can Read, I Can Do Anything, a national reading club for Native children.

Kudos to participating publishers! They include: Abrams Books; Bloomsbury/Walker Books/Candlewick Press; Chronicle Books; Hachette Book Group; Boyds Mills Press; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Milkweed; Mirrorstone Books; Orca Book Publishers; Scholastic; Simon & Shuster Children's Publishing; Tor/Forge/Starscape/Tor Teen/ Roaring Brook Press, an Imprint of the Macmillans Children's Publishing Group; and Better World Books.

For more information, visit www.readergirlz.com and http://readergirlz.blogspot.com, or contact readergirlzdivas@gmail.com

Readergirlz Teen Read Week Blog Bash...

The Readergirlz are fab hostesses, so don't miss their week-long blog party celebrating YALSA's Teen Read Week.

Starting today on the Readergirlz blog and continuing through October 23rd, the divas will host nine YA authors and end the week with "an online gala celebration where Sylvia Engdahl, a pioneer in young-adult science fiction, will be hosted and honored for her contributions to the literary landscape."

Here's the Readergirlz Teen Read Week lineup. (Events start at 6 PM Pacific/9 PM Eastern each day):

Monday, October 19th: Beyond Imagination
rgz diva Justina Chen Headley (NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL)
Alyson Noël (EVERMORE)
Zoe Marriott (DAUGHTER OF THE FLAMES)

Tuesday, October 20th: Beyond Hardship
rgz diva Lorie Ann Grover (HOLD ME TIGHT)
Elizabeth Scott (LIVING DEAD GIRL)
Lynn Weingarten (WHEREVER NINA LIES)

Wednesday, October 21st: Beyond Daily Life
rgz diva Holly Cupala (TELL ME A SECRET)
Lisa McMann (WAKE)
Cynthia Leitich Smith (ETERNAL)

Thursday, October 22nd: Beyond Our World
rgz diva Melissa Walker (LOVESTRUCK SUMMER)
Cassandra Clare (CITY OF ASHES)
Patrick Ness (THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO)

Friday, October 23rd: Into Our Beyond
rgz diva Dia Calhoun (AVIELLE OF RHIA)
Sylvia Engdahl (ENCHANTRESS FROM THE STARS)

And if you celebrate Teen Read Week, the divas want to hear from you.

Do you love YALSA's Teen Read Week? Post blog or vlog (video blog), then send the link to readergirlz@gmail.com with the subject line set up like this: Your name, TRW Tribute. Tell us about your recent release, or a book you love dearly, and then give a shoutout for Teen Read Week. We'll collect all the contributions and post them at the rgz blog in a 24 hour time span on October 23rd, 2009.

Tips on Facebook on the YALSA blog...

This post on YALSA's blog called "The Amazing Power of Facebook" is directed toward teen librarians who are looking to connect with teen readers through the social networking site. I think a lot of the tips could apply to writers looking to connect with young readers through facebook, however.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

YALSA YA Lit Symposium Podcasts...

YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) has been posting podcasts from their first ever YA Lit Symposium. Here's a link to YALSA's blog where you can listen and also subscribe to YALSA podcasts.

Mark Your Calendar for readergirlz "Night Bites"...

Next week, in celebration of YALSA's Teen Read Week™, the fabulous readergirlz are presenting “Night Bites,” five online themed author chats featuring more than a dozen published authors. The readergirlz event plays off YALSA’s theme of “Books with Bite,” and will take place at the readergirlz forum at 6 p.m. (Pacific)/9 p.m. (Eastern), October 13-17.

Here's their lineup:

• Monday, October 13: Multicultural Bites with authors Coe Booth (Tyrell); An Na (The Fold); and rgz diva Mitali Perkins (Secret Keeper)

• Tuesday, October 14: Verse Bites with rgz diva Lorie Ann Grover (On Pointe); Stephanie Hemphill (Your Own Sylvia); and Lisa Ann Sandell (Song of the Sparrow)

• Wednesday, October 15: Contemporary Bites with Ally Carter (Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy); rgz diva Justina Chen Headley (North of Beautiful); and Maureen Johnson (Suite Scarlett)

• Thursday, October 16: Fantasy Bites with Holly Black and Ted Naifeh (The Good Neighbors); rgz diva Dia Calhoun (Avielle of Rhia), and Tamora Pierce (Melting Stones)

• Friday, October 17: Gothic Bites with Holly Cupala (A Light That Never Goes Out), Christopher Golden (Soulless), Annette Curtis Klause (Blood and Chocolate), and Mari Mancusi (Boys That Bite).

Here's their cool trailer for the event.

readergirlz and YALSA's Operation Teen Book Drop...


If you' don't get readergirlz newslettter, you may not have heard about Operation Teen Book Drop. readergirlz (YA authors Dia Calhoun, Lorie Ann Grover, Justina Chen Headley and Mitali Perkinshave) have teamed with YALSA "to build awareness for April 17, 2008, Support Teen Literature Day" and organized Operation TBD: "a massive, coordinated release of 10,000 publisher-donated YA books into the top pediatric hospitals across the country."

readergirlz invites others to celebrate Support Teen Lit Day with them. Here are their suggestions:

• Download a readergirlz/YALSA bookplate for Operation TBD found on the readergirlz website.
• Blog and bulletin about Operation TBD and your upcoming participation, and place the "I Rock the Drop" icon on your site.
• Announce your participation by joining the readergirlz MySpace group forum and posting on the TBD threads.
• On April 17th, leave one copy of a YA novel in a teen gathering spot in your community. Place it where the book will be found, taken, and read (i.e. a coffee shop, the park, a community center, a bus stop.) And make sure you've placed an Operation TBD bookplate inside!
• Party with the readergirlz and YA authors on their online two-hour book bash hosted at the readergirlz MySpace forum on April 17th from 6-8pm PDT/9-11pm EDT. You can win books and prizes, chat with other book lovers, and celebrate literacy.