Reflections from Charleston: Highlights and Insights from the 2024 Conference By Ellie Burnage When thinking of how to best sum up this year’s Charleston Conference, held November 11–15 and available to view online December 9–13 (along with exclusive “online only” sessions), one word sprung to mind: collaboration. As a first-time attendee from a publishing technology background, it was wonderful to see so many professionals from the worlds of libraries and publishing come together to tackle challenges that are affecting the entire information industry. | Strength in Numbers: How Donors, Friends, and Volunteers Drive Library Advocacy | Fundraisers Forum By Jonna Ward As libraries face increasingly challenging funding landscapes, a key to securing public support lies in mobilizing a coalition of foundation donors, Friends members, and board volunteers. Successful advocacy campaigns happen when these key stakeholders unite behind the library’s mission, reinforcing its value and amplifying its message to decision-makers. To that end, library directors can use several types of advocacy to strengthen their budget campaigns, including community-driven advocacy, public-private partnerships, and the concept of advocacy through fundraising. | Best Young Adult Books 2024 | SLJ Best Books By Ashley Leffel, Amanda Mastrull, Emmy Neal, Allie Stevens, Emily Walker From moving tales in verse to romantic romps to stories of monsters both real and fantastical, these 25 YA novels represent the best of teens living, loving, surviving, and thriving in worlds and times that do not always accept them. | Best Books Countdown 2024 | Week Three By Jill Cox-Cordova and Liz French Best Books is almost here! On December 2 we announce our winning titles. To celebrate we are counting down to our big reveal by highlighting some of our 2023 picks, titles we still treasure, reread, and suggest widely. This week, in advance of Thanksgiving, we offer two choices, a van life adventure and a cozy-adjacent crime fiction debut. | Washington Post’s 10 Best Books of 2024 | Book Pulse By Sarah Wolberg Washington Post shares its 10 best books of 2024. Alice Loxton’s Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives is Blackwell’s Book of the Year. Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo is named Foyles Book of the Year. The Racket: On Tour with Tennis’s Golden Generation—and the Other 99% by Conor Niland wins the William Hill Sports Book Award. Lexington: The Extraordinary Life and Turbulent Times of America’s Legendary Racehorse by Kim Wickens wins the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award. Winners of the James Berry Poetry Prize and the shortlist for the Diagram Prize for Oddest Book Title of the Year are also announced. Plus, Page to Screen. | Richard Flanagan Wins Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction, Refuses Cash Award | Book Pulse By Kate Merlene Richard Flanagan wins the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction for his memoir Question 7 but refuses the £50,000 cash award over the sponsor’s ties to fossil fuel. Colm Tóibín’s Long Island is named Waterstones Irish Book of the Year. The Christy Award winners are announced. LibraryReads and LJ offer read-alikes for Now or Never by Janet Evanovich, the top holds title of the week. Agents and authors react to Harper Collins’s AI deal. Microsoft launches a new publishing imprint. Plus, the winners of the 75th Annual National Book Awards will be announced tonight. | Percival Everett’s James Wins National Book Award | Book Pulse By Sarah Wolberg The National Book Awards winners are announced: Percival Everett’s James in fiction, Yáng Shuāng-zi’s Taiwan Travelogue in translated literature, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha’s Something About Living in poetry, and Jason De León’s Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling in nonfiction. Washington Post publishes its lists of the best books of 2024. Plus, new title bestsellers and interviews with Sergio de la Pava, Glory Edim, and Ruben Reyes Jr. | Anne Michaels Wins Giller Prize for Held | Book Pulse By Kate Merlene Anne Michaels wins the Giller Prize for her novel Held. Agustín Fernández Mallo wins the Cercador Prize for The Book of All Loves. The Salam Award winners are announced, along with the Aspen Words Literary Prize longlist. Earlyword’s November Galleychat spreadsheet is out now. National Book Network announces its closure next year. B&N sells Union Square Publishing to Hachette, and PGW will distribute McNally Editions starting January 1. Stephen King previews his forthcoming novel, Never Flinch, due out May 27, and Ruth Ware announces a sequel to The Woman in Cabin 10. Legendary guidebook publisher Arthur Frommer has died at the age of 95. | From the Pages of infoDOCKET... | WEB-FIRST REVIEWS OF BOOKS AND MEDIA | One Thousand Vines: A New Way To Understand Wine, by Pascaline Lepeltier, is a starred cooking & food selection. "While encyclopedic in structure, this is a readable work that adds to readers’ knowledge of viticulture and the processes that make wine what it is. The book has an excellent, well-cited index and an extensive bibliography too. Aspiring or current wine connoisseurs will want this on their shelves." A Thousand Threads: A Memoir, by Neneh Cherry, is a starred performing arts selection. "Cherry weaves a tapestry of memories into her vibrant debut." And in sports & recreation, Unitas to Unitas: Life’s Lessons Passed Down from Father to Son is a starred selection. "The narrative appeals to sports enthusiasts and readers interested in personal growth stories, a distinctive perspective of a football star’s life, a heartfelt exploration of father-son relationships, and the human side of sports heroes. It makes an excellent companion to more traditional biographies." See All Reviews››› | Job Zone utilizes unique job matching technology to help you find the perfect job (and employers find the perfect candidate), whether you’re actively seeking or just keeping an eye out for your possibilities. Log on today and check out our newest features, including automated job and candidate matches, and email alerts. JOB OF THE WEEK The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District is seeking an Access Services Manager in the Library operations Department. | |