So, you’ve just been appointed or voted on to a fabulous ALSC or YALSA book award committee. Congrats! You have many (many, many) hours of reading, evaluating, and discussion ahead of you. It will surely be one of the most educational and joyful experiences of your professional life. But can you still review titles for […]
On the “perils” of worldbuilding in speculative fiction
Check out this video by Nerdwriter. Around the six-minute mark, he starts making an interesting argument about worldbuilding–specifically about the relative effectiveness of intricate worldbuilding a la George R.R. Martin and J.K. Rowling (generally considered a strength by most readers/reviewers) and the more ambiguous, sparse descriptions that force readers to engage in a more active/interactive […]
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Who’s my editor?
Since becoming a reviewer for SLJ, chances are you’ve emailed with a few different staff members—Kent Turner, Ashleigh Williams, me, and perhaps a few others. But who is the person who’s actually editing your reviews?
How (& why) does a book receive a star?
Perhaps you’ve loved a title, given it a glowing review, and checked the little box marked “Star.” But it didn’t get a star when the magazine came out. Or maybe you reviewed a title for SLJ, didn’t mark the box, but the book wound up getting an SLJ star all the same. What gives? A […]
