From June 27th to July 2nd the San Diego Convention Center bustled with librarians, authors, and publishers from around the world as they attended the 2024 ALA Annual Conference. As soon as the Library Marketplace opened on Friday, the exhibit hall flooded with eager attendees, and we were ready to greet them! Over the next few days, we met hundreds of librarians and had fantastic conversations about what their communities are reading. Overall, Lerner authors gave three presentations on exhibit hall stages, one spoke on a special nonfiction panel, and the Lerner booth hosted seven signings.
The Booth
The first order of events was to set up our robust and colorful booth! The display included books from all our imprints and several of our LPS partners. Librarians had the opportunity to browse these quality fiction and nonfiction titles at their leisure. And browse they did! Among the most popular were space books, Spanish/bilingual, middle grade, and—of course—graphic novels. Thank you to all who stopped by to say hello and talk about our new and upcoming titles!
Unite Against Book Bans Rally for the Right to Read
Lerner unequivocally supports the freedom to read for readers of all ages. When we heard that Unite Against Book Bans was holding a Rally for the Right to Read, we showed up with our books, stickers, and resumes to speak with the librarians on the front lines. Everyone who stopped by the Lerner table at the reception had a story to tell. Some librarians had just received their first challenge while others had been fighting bans for years, but everyone was there to support one another and to share their experiences.
The discussions had and the questions posed by the rally attendees lifted our spirits and will help direct our future efforts to support libraries across the U.S.
YALSA Award Ceremony
YALSA held their award ceremony on Sunday morning and Nearer My Freedom: The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano by Himself was recognized as a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist. Amidst applause and cheers, Lesley Younge accepted the award on behalf of herself and co-author Monica Edinger.
“Monica and I are incredibly grateful to Lerner for their support as we celebrate Nearer My Freedom being a 2024 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalist,” said Lesley. “Attending ALA San Diego in person to accept our award was, for me, a pinnacle of our journey. I loved meeting the librarians and media specialists who are stocking our book in libraries, school districts, and classrooms around the country. They are on the front lines of making sure our young people have access to liberating stories and factual history. We must tell and teach the truth to our children. Monica and I are excited to continue lifting up Olaudah Equiano’s story to all it may inspire.”
Author Presentations
Three Lerner authors presented their books and the concepts behind them on the Library Marketplace stages. Each had excellent attendance and enthusiastic participants.
In the mid-afternoon on Saturday, June 29th, Lee Wind took to the Diversity in Publishing Stage to present the upcoming book The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie: Infinite Identities around the World from the Queer History Project series. He discussed the importance of representation in young adult literature and new ways to discuss gender including the Gender Unicorn and the Gender Wheel.
At the same time, Emily Barth Isler stood on Chapter One Stage to share her latest middle grade novel. Upon reflection, Emily said, “I was honored to get the opportunity to not only sign copies of The Color of Sound at my first ALA, but to also, thanks to Lerner, get the chance to present at the Chapter One stage. There I was able to share with the audience a little about my books, and also to show a version of the presentations I do for school visits, including the writing exercise I lead to help students imagine that they, like The Color of Sound‘s main character, Rosie, have synesthesia. I played a brief, 3-minute piece of classical music and invited all of the audience members to listen to it as if they have synesthesia– to look for colors, shapes, and images within the music. I am always thrilled to hear the different answers students, educators, and readers give to this exercise, and then to explain how it demonstrates a larger lesson about empathy: we never know how the person next to us is experiencing the world, and by learning about neurodivergence, we are taking steps towards understanding how our differences can be our greatest strengths. This can apply to the larger cultural contexts through which our peers and community members are experiencing the world, and give everyone a concrete example of how perspective shapes perception.”
After the presentation, Emily passed out bookmarks and stickers to thank the audience.
Christopher Stewart presented his upcoming series Becoming Ari on the Diversity in Publishing Stage the following day. The stories in this series follow nine-year-old Ari who is a part of the Secret Kindness Society. Ari and his friends try to make the world a better place every day, one act of kindness at a time. Christopher emphasized the importance of creating empathetic world leaders by introducing characters and meaningful content into the lives of the earliest readers.
Earlier that morning, Patricia Newman, award-winning author of nonfiction such as Sea Otter Heroes, presented on the panel “Kids Love Nonfiction! Let’s Give Them What They Want.” Patricia recalled an outpouring of interest and support for nonfiction saying, “More than 100 librarians attended as I spoke, together with my co-presenters Danielle Sachdeva (professor at University of North Georgia) and Claire Covington (former librarian and current lecturer at Old Dominion University), about the intersection between the pivotal role of engagement in the Science of Reading, research that indicates children love nonfiction, the types and formats available in today’s nonfiction market, and how to reorganize libraries to capitalize on this engagement. Based on the audience’s level of engagement and the overwhelmingly positive reception of our material, I’m happy to share that strong interest exists for more nonfiction at future ALA conferences.”
Authors Signings
One of the best parts of ALA Annual is meeting the authors of amazing books! This year librarians had the opportunity to meet seven Lerner authors and get their books signed in person.
Author Noa Nimrodi opened the booth early Saturday morning with the first signing. Her book Not So Shy follows twelve-year-old Shai who hates having to move to America and is determined to find a way to get back home to Israel until she starts opening up to new experiences and friends.
“As luck would have it, this year, AJL and ALA both took place in San Diego, where I reside,” Noa said. “It also happened to be the very same year I received the Sydney Taylor Book Award Honor for my debut middle-grade novel, Not So Shy. Entering ALA as a first-time attendee, I felt sucked into a boundless multiverse of books, but within this overwhelming space, I found the one place that felt like home—the Lerner booth. Signing books and getting to meet the Lerner crew were the highlights of my ALA experience.”
Penny Warner signed books from The Code Busters Club as the second author appearance on Saturday. This series follows super sleuths Cody, Quinn, Luke, Mika, and M.E. as they decipher mind-boggling problems and crack the toughest of codes to solve mysteries.
After a break for lunch, author Kerry O’Malley Cerra arrived to sign copies of her upcoming middle grade Make a Little Wave. On and off the exhibit floor, Kerry spoke to librarians about their work and loved her first ALA conference. She said, ““ALA was a true whirlwind of a weekend. Seeing and meeting like-minded book people felt like rays of sunshine warming my soul. As a former school librarian, I’d never attended a conference of this magnitude, but what joy there was in meeting people doing hard work across the globe. Thank you, librarians! You are the very best people, and I’m honored to have been a small part of such an incredible event.”
Emly Barth Isler arrived shortly afterwards to sign copies of The Color of Sound, creating a rich outpouring of support for middle grade literature in the Lerner booth! Many of the attendees from her Chapter One Stage presentation followed her directly to the signing to receive a copy.
The final signing on Saturday featured author Lee Wind. He loved meeting so many librarians and signing copies of his latest nonfiction for readers ages 11 and up, The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie, which received a starred Kirkus review. In a thank you note to us he wrote that an ALA highlight for him was a librarian’s teen saying, “I’m so excited about this book because I’ll finally have a source to prove people wrong with.” Lee invites everyone to visit his author website to learn more and stay connected: leewind.org
Sunday held more amazing signings, the first of which featured Ashley Granillo and her recently released middle grade Cruzita and the Mariacheros. “I met many wonderful librarians and young readers,” Ashley said. “One librarian expressed how she is Cruzita, while another said she has a daughter who is just like her. How beautiful to hear that my story represents the lived experiences of Latine folks and their children. The copies of Cruzita books are traveling far and wide—including Istanbul!—and I couldn’t be more proud and thrilled.”
Lesley Younge found her way to the Lerner booth to sign Nearer My Freedom, still smiling from the YALSA award ceremony. This award-winning title is the first of its kind as it explores Olaudah Equiano’s life story through “found verse” in a creative approach to primary source analysis.
After present at the Diversity in Publishing Stage, Christopher Stewart signed the first book in the Becoming Ari series called Shelter Pet Block Party. In a lovely coincidence a few of the people in line were fostering several shelter dogs!
Author Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic concluded the day’s signings with the joyful and encouraging picture book Touch the Sky. Both heartfelt and hilarious, this picture book captures the unforgettable moment when a child learns how to pump on a swing. It’s a story for every kid on the cusp of learning something new.
Building Connections
Lerner hosted a dinner for our authors to enjoy good food and good company on Saturday evening. In the cozy upstairs of Il Sogno Italiano, everyone met new friends, ate their fill, and talked about their shared passion for books. Ashley Granillo expressed it best when she said, “It was so wonderful connecting with fellow Lerner authors, exchanging the stories behind our stories, and meeting the wonderful team that help our dreams come to fruition.”
On Monday after all the speeches were given and all the panels were presented, the Library Marketplace closed its doors. The booths were swept clean, and boxes were packed. Librarians and publishers alike traveled home exhausted, but satisfied.
Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic remembers her ALA experience as fondly as we do. She said, “For a first-ever trip to ALA, 2024 ALAAC in San Diego will be a highlight in my career and one that other potential years will have a tough time overcoming. I was so delighted and warmed by the generosity of the Lerner team who hosted a book signing for Touch the Sky at their booth, invited me to an intimate dinner with their team and other authors, and made sure I felt welcome and included. I was incredibly happy to connect with librarians across the country who were excited to come to our signing, take selfies, and tell me how excited they were about this amazing book our team made happen.”
We can’t wait to see you for and equally amazing ALA Annual 2025!