15 Ways to be a Great Literary Citizen

 

Literary citizenship goes beyond just wanting a literary career. It’s about being an active, supportive participant in the writing community.

Don’t worry! You don’t have to have a big budget to be a great literary citizen. In fact, most of us cannot run to our favorite bookstores every week (or every month!) to buy the latest book we're excited about. Fortunately, there are many free ways to partake in serving as a stellar literary citizen. That's right! No matter your background or socioeconomic situation ★ you belong to this community ★ and you can engage. Here is a list of both big-budget, budget-crunching, and free ways to participate. Find what fits for you!

1.       Check out and review books from your library

2.      Read, read, read!

3.      Request that your library purchase a book for their collection. Most libraries have a “purchase request” or “suggest a purchase” form for members to fill out. All you need to do is google is your library’s name along with the words, “suggest a purchase.” Here’s more advice from EverydayReading.

4.      Shop indie! Indie bookstores and your local Barnes and Noble are packed with employees who love reading and will guide you to your next great book. Frommers created this fun list of indiebookstores across America. Bookstores I particularly love include TheWandering Jellyfish in Niwot, Colorado; Boulder Bookstore in Boulder, Colorado, BookBar Denver, Tattered Cover, and Second Star to the Right in Denver, Colorado, and Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona. Please support indies by telling me about your favorite bookstore in the comment section below!

5.     
Attend a book launch party, reading, or signing! Your bookstore probably has a monthly list featuring author events. Even if you can’t buy a book, please consider attending the launch party. You’d be surprised how often I’ve seen award-winning, best-selling authors speak to a room of only five people. Please fill those seats, say hello to the author, and then go to your library and request the book!
 

   6.      Celebrate authors and illustrators on their awards, lists, launches, book-birthdays and/or good news! If you have Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or any other social media account please help celebrate and spread the word!

   7.      Subscribe to free blog sites. In September 2021, Writer’s Digest published their 101 Best Websites for Writers

8.     Talk to event organizers about hosting inclusive events with diverse representation, perhaps even serve as an event volunteer! 

9.      Ask your local school and library to host an author or illustrator presentation. There are public and private funds for such purposes—don’t let them go unused!

10.  Subscribe to literary magazines such as Writer’s Digest , The Horn Book, or Poets & Writers

11.   Share articles or Op-eds written by your favorite authors. For example, last Sunday Meg Medina had an Op-ed in The Los Angeles Times titled: Want to shape your bicultural child’s sense of self before society does?  Lead them to books

12.  Join a critiquing group

13.  Write a Goodreads review

14.  Give Books as Gifts!

15.  Post an Amazon review

And remember to stay informed, stay active, and READ READ READ!

 

 

SCBWI Crystal Kite Winners 2016

THE SOCIETY OF CHILDREN'S BOOK WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS Announces the winners of the annual  

CRYSTAL KITE MEMBER CHOICE AWARDS 

The SCBWI is excited to announce the winners of the 2016 Crystal Kite Member Choice Awards for the fifteen regional divisions:

Atlantic (Pennsylvania/Delaware/New Jersey/Wash DC/Virginia/West Virginia/Maryland)

Laurie Wallmark, illustrated by April Chu - Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine (Creston Books)

Australia/New Zealand

Frané Lessac - A is for Australia (Walker Books Australia) and

Peter Carnavas -

Blue Whale Blues (NewFrontier Publishing/Scholastic Australia)

California/Hawaii

Stacey Lee – Under a Painted Sky (Penguin BFYR)

Canada

Margriet Ruurs - A Brush Full of Colour (Pajama Press)

International Other

Angela Cerrito – The Safest Lie (Holiday House)

(Kansas/Louisiana/Arkansas/Tennessee/Kentucky/Missouri/Mississippi)

StephanieBearce --Top secretFiles of History – WWII (Prufrock Press) and also at:  buy book here, too.

Middle East/India/Asia

Melanie Lee, illustrated by DavidLiew – The Adventuresof Squirky the Alien #3: Who is the Red Commander? (MPH Group Publishing)

Midwest: (Minnesota/Iowa/Nebraska/Wisconsin/Illinois/Michigan/Indiana/Ohio)

Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler – Wherever You Go (Little, Brown)

New England (Maine/Vermont/New Hampshire/Connecticut/Massachusetts/Rhode Island)

Lynda Mullaly Hunt – Fish in a Tree (Nancy Paulsen Books)

New York

Kat Yeh – The Truth About Twinkie Pie (Little, Brown)

Southeast (Florida/Georgia/South Carolina/North Carolina/Alabama)

Rob Sanders, illustrated by Brian Won - Outer Space Bedtime Race (Random House)

Southwest (Nevada/Arizona/Utah/Colorado/Wyoming/New Mexico)

Melanie Crowder – Audacity (Philomel Books)

(Side note from blogger...take a look at the starred review from Kirkus regarding Melanie Crowder's AUDACITY:

KIRKUS REVIEW
A novel in verse featuring the real-life Clara Lemlich, a courageous, tenacious warrior for workers’ rights in turn-of-the-20th-century New York City.
Newly arrived in New York from Russia, she finds employment in a sweatshop, where young immigrant girls toil in dangerous conditions, cheated and harassed by bosses, earning pennies for long hours of work. Sacrificing her dream of an education and in spite of her family’s dire economic straits, she devotes her energy to supporting these girls, fighting for the inclusion of women in the all-male garment union and winning them their own local. She organizes strikes against individual sweatshops and leads the Uprising of the 20,000, during which she and the other young women strikers are repeatedly beaten by police and hired thugs, arrested and jailed. From her constricted life in a Russian shtetl and difficult journey to America to the choices she makes in her new life, readers hear Clara’s strong, clear voice in action-packed verses that convey with intense emotion her conflicts and conviction, her deepest thoughts, and her doubts and triumphs. Crowder breathes life into a world long past and provides insight into the achievements of one determined woman who knows she will “give / without the thought / of ever getting back, / to ease the suffering of others. / That, / I think, / I will be doing / the rest of my life.”Compelling, powerful and unforgettable. (historical note, interview, glossary, sources) (Historical fiction/poetry. 12-18)

Texas/Oklahoma

Don Tate –Poet:The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton (Peachtree Publishers)

UK/Ireland

TeriTerry – Mind Games (Orchard Books)

West (Washington/Oregon/Alaska/Idaho/Montana/North Dakota/South Dakota)

Elise Parsley – If You Ever Want to Bring anAlligator to School, DON’T! (Little, Brown)

The SCBWI would also like to thank Christopher Cheng, the International Awards Coordinator for all his help and hard work with the Crystal Kite Awards.

About the Crystal Kite Awards

The Crystal Kite Awards are given by the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators to recognize great books from the seventy SCBWI regions around the world.  Along with the SCBWI Golden Kite Awards, the Crystal Kite Awards are chosen by other children’s book writers and illustrators, making them the only peer-given awards in publishing for young readers.

About SCBWI

Founded in 1971, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is one of the largest existing writers’ and illustrators’ organizations, with over 22,000 members worldwide. It is the only organization specifically for those working in the fields of children’s literature, magazines, film, television, and multimedia. The organization was founded by Stephen Mooser (President) and Lin Oliver (Executive Director), both of whom are well-published children’s book authors and leaders in the world of children’s literature.  For more information about the Crystal Kite Award, please visit www.scbwi.org, and click “Awards & Grants.”