‘The Last Cuentista’ wins the Newbery (This week in books)

This week! Books!

The ALA Awards were handed out this week, and congrats to the winners!

• John Newbery Medal: The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
• Randolph Caldecott Medal: Watercress – illustrated by Jason Chin and written by Andrea Wang
• Coretta Scott King illustrator and author awards: Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Floyd Cooper
• Michael L. Printz Award: Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
• The Stonewall Book Awards: Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo and Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

Meanwhile, Sara L. Schwebel and Jocelyn Van Tuyl took a look at some of the problematic and racist Newbery winners from yesteryear, whose long shelf life raise questions on how best to handle their subject matter.

Is old music killing new music? The market for new music is as small as it’s ever been, which is also a very interesting analog for book publishing, which is gaining a lot of its increased sales by juicing the backlist.

In the ultimate supply chain issue, a highly anticipated cookbook, Mason Hereford’s Turkey and the Wolf, has had its publication date pushed back because, well, the books are probably at the bottom of the ocean.

In writing advice news, agent Jessica Faust talks about how exclusives harm authors. And author Lincoln Michel tackles whether you need to be well-read in order to write. You obviously do (or at least, it should be obvious), but he takes the post a step further and talks about how if you’re only getting your storytelling cues from TV and film, you’re not utilizing the unique strengths of prose (I made a similar point in an interview a while back).

This week in bestsellers

Here are the top five NY Times bestsellers in a few key categories. (All links are affiliate links):

Adult print and e-book fiction:

1. It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
2. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
3. Verity by Colleen Hoover
4. One Step Too Far by Lisa Gardner
5. Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Adult print and e-book nonfiction:

1. Enough Already by Valerie Bertinelli
2. The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
3. The Betrayal of Anne Frank by Rosemary Sullivan
4. The 1619 Project edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman and Jake Silverstein
5. Unthinkable by Jamie Raskin

Young adult hardcover:

1. Anatomy by Dana Schwartz
2. One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
3. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
4. Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
5. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Middle grade hardcover:

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio
2. Little Leaders by Vashti Harrison
3. Little Legends by Vashti Harrison
4. Refugee by Alan Gratz
5. Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan

This week on the blog

In case you missed them, here are this week’s posts:

• Are you an athlete or an artist?
• Immerse us in the protagonist’s story (query critique)

Don’t forget that you can nominate your first page and query for a free critique on the blog:

• Nominate Your First Page for a Critique on the Blog
• Nominate Your Query for a Critique on the Blog

And keep up with the discussion in all the places!

• Follow me on Twitter
• Follow my page on Facebook
• Join the Facebook Group
• Check out the Bransforums

And finally, sorry Greg, but you’re a page turner now.

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Have a great weekend!

Need help with your book? I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!

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