Event Recording
Members Only
March 22, 2024
In young adult literature, a great review can help get the attention of readers, parents, librarians, teachers, and booksellers. How do review outlets choose what to cover, and what should authors know about submitting and pitching their work?
In this panel, we will look at reviews for YA books through the lens of authors and their publicity campaigns. Insiders will explain the process and timeline for professional book reviews and how authors can use reviews to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Laura Reiko Simeon is a Young Readers’ Editor at Kirkus Reviews, and a former librarian and diversity coordinator at a K-8 school. Laura has served on book list and award committees including the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated YA Book Prize, the Kirkus Prize, and Rise: A Feminist Book Project. Thanks to a grant from the Swedish Institute, Laura was able to do research in Stockholm on diversity in contemporary Swedish picture books. She’s a former co-chair for the U.S. National Committee of the UWCs, a secondary school program seeking to make “education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.”
K. Imani Tennyson is a both a writer and an 8th Grade ELA teacher. She holds an MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles and is a regular contributor for Rich in Color, a blog focusing on promoting & reviewing diverse YA literature, in which her essays on using diverse books in the classroom have also been featured on the PEN America blog, The Children’s Book Council blog, and more. She is a VONA/Voices Fellow and an invitee to the ALA’s Day of Diversity conference that gathered authors, bloggers, teachers, and librarians to promote diverse voices in Children’s and YA literature. She serves on ALAN Board of Directors and is currently serving on the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award committee.
Cassie Malmo, moderator, has over a decade of PR experience working in-house at Penguin Random House, Simon and Schuster, Disney Publishing, and is currently the Associate Publicity Director at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. She has worked on numerous breakout campaigns along with New York Times bestselling and award winning authors and illustrators, and notably launched the Rick Riordan Presents imprint. Her specialty is children’s, young adult, and crossover novels. Cassie grew up on the shores of Lake Tahoe and lives in the PNW with her family.
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