Life, the Universe and Everything

Well, pretty soon I'm off to a complete geek-fest, a sci-fi/fantasy conference appropriately titled Life, the Universe and Everything. I fully expect the answers to, well, everything! (Wasn't it the white mice who knew that? Or their computer did? I guess it was just the meaning of life. That would be sufficient for me, too.)

Anyway, I will be back blogging next weekend. I may even give you some info from the conference! Can't go wrong with workshop titles like "Lloyd Alexander: High King of Fantasy," "Mary Sue and Gary Stu: Avoiding the Dreadful Downfalls of Bad Fiction" (a panel), "Cryptography 101," "Military in Fantasy," "Space Eldritch," "How to Kill a Zombie," (I thought they were already dead!) and my personal favorite, "Everything I Need to Know about Writing I Learned from the Matrix." That's merely a sampler from the first day.

Best of all, the keynote speaker and and sometimes panel member is Megan Whalen Turner, quite possibly the best writer in MG/YA fantasy today. Yep, be envious. Be very, very envious. And read some good fantasy this week!

I Heart the Cybils Winners

It's Valentine's Day, and you know what that means: a red, heart-shaped box of Cybils winners! Let's hear some book love, folks! Because the Cybils Awards famously attempt what some cynical souls call impossible, selecting the best children's books of the past year in terms of both literary quality and kid appeal. (They also give things like graphic novels and poetry their own categories, which is gratifying.)

Here is the link to the full list of winners. Happily, it's annotated so that you can get a feel for just why these bibliophilic blogger judges chose the books they did.

I should know, since I was a Cybils judge for middle grade sci-fi/fantasy. Take a look at the book jacket for the winner in our category, along with this ever-so-lovely blurb, which I shall not deny having a hand in writing:

Who wouldn't want to explore a house haunted by paintings that won't come off the walls and three colorful talking cats that slink in and out of attics as well as other dimensions? When Olive Dunwoody moves into a strange old house with her absent-minded mathematician parents, she falls headlong into the mysteries of the past and the dangers of the painted worlds. The judges especially liked the clear kid appeal created by The Shadows' humor, pacing and suspense, but they also admired the small-scale world-building and the metaphor-rich, well-crafted language in this fantasy novel from first-time author Jacqueline West. A book any teacher, librarian, or parent could easily sell to reluctant readers and skilled readers alike.

Congratulations to Jacqueline West and to all of the winners! There were two full rounds of judging involved in selecting these books and the final list is a nice little treasure trove, so check out the top picks and see if you've missed something you and your child would really love reading.