Reviews, Prizes and Awards

Looking at: Literature reviews, literary journals, literature promotion organisations, literature awards

Unfortunately I missed class this week, so I'm working from the notes on Moodle.

Where to find literature reviews?

I like to use goodreads.com to see what other people say about something I'm considering reading. I also look at my local library catalogue to see if anyone has submitted a review - although they usually haven't. I click through to the 'more about this book on googlesearch or librarything - that's my favourite method. But that is only useful if I have the name of an author/book, goodreads is better for a quick browse. I've also recently discovered (from researching for school) that a number of bookstores and libraries make recommendations about recently released books. I notice on Terri's powerpoint that there are a number of magazines available, which I wasn't aware of. Good Reading Magazine - what a great idea.

Literary journals for adults and children.

I really love the fact that doing this course continues to educate me in ways I hadn't thought about before - such as finding out about all these great things. Here are a couple of the magazines I found, all Australian.

• Overland (Motto = Temper Democratic; Bias, Australian)
• Meanjin (journal of ideas, buil around books, to encourage free expression and intelligent criticism, to put forward 'advance guard' material, develop contacts abroad - a Literary Lend-lease.)  
• Quadrant (a conservative publication, aligning itself with right-wing politics)
• buzzwords (an emagazine dedicated to childrens books)
• Reading Time Online (from the Australian Children's Book Council)
• Viewpoint (Australia's major Young Adult review journal)

Regular literature promotional activities in the English speaking world.

• Bookweek (still searching to see if this is the same everywhere) began in the Netherlands as an annual festival which ran for 10 days to highlight Dutch literature.
• Writers week (different in each major city of Australia).
• There are a number of Literary Festivals around, which are predominantly held in October, although different weeks.

Two well known 'book towns' - Victoria & UK.

1. Sedbergh is one of Englands 'Booktowns'. It is officially recognised as one of the 4 Booktowns in the UK. It has brought together a number of small businesses based on reading, writing, publishing etc. and promotes their town to attract booklovers as a source of income. Sedbergh looked to this after the foot and mouth disease outbreak in 2001, and was officially elected into the International Organisation of BookTowns in 2006. A lot of visitors enjoy the beautiful countryside, and to browse in the many second-hand bookstores, looking for that rare piece to add to their collection.
2. Clunes in Victoria is the only booktown in the Southern Hemisphere! I had no idea - I will definitely have to get there at some point. Clunes is famous for it's bookshops, and was elected into the International Organisation of BookTowns in 2012. Again, it is rural, with delightful countryside, making it particularly attractive to wander around and enjoy the scenery after browsing through the bookstores.

Well known Literature Promotion organisations in Australia & the English speaking world.

• 4imprint is in the USA and provides a variety of promotional material.
• Janway is one I've come across before, and promotes itself as the librarians best friend.
• Boost promotional products come under the banner of Public Libraries Australia, and are located in Queensland. They produce a variety of items, including bookmarks, mugs & uniforms.
• Library Display Design Systems.American based, begun by a librarian in 1987 who wanted good merchandise.

Literary Awards: Australia, US & UK, Children / Adult fiction / Poetry

Miles Franklin Award - for the best Australian published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases.

Aurealis Award - for Australian science fiction, fantasy & horror fiction (annual)

Victorian Premier's Literary Award - for contemporary creative writing

Blake Poetry Prize - for dialogue regarding religion, spirituality and poetry

Childrens book of the year Award - (various, issued by the Childrens Book Council of Australia)

Arthur Rense Prize - given triennially to an exceptional poet by the American Academy of Arts & Letters

Bancroft Prize - given by the trustees of Columbia University for books about diplomacy and the history of the Americas (a very prestigious award)

Edgar Allen Poe Award - presented each year by The Mystery Writers of America to the best mystery fiction written in the previous year

Hugo Award - A set of awards given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works of the previous year. Named after the author of 'Amazing Stories' , a pioneering science fiction magazine

Pulitzer Prize - possibly the most prestigious of them all, there are several categories, including fiction, history, poetry & drama

Carnegie Medal - a British annual award for an outstanding book for young adults or children

Lord Ruthven Award - an International award presented by the Lord Ruthven Assembly, a group of young scholars for the best fiction on vampires and vampire culture

Bram Stoker Award - presented by the Horror Writers Association for superior achievement in dark fantasy and horror writing. Who would have thunk it!

Agatha Christie Award - from Japan! In honour of Agatha Christie's 120th Anniversary, presented by Hayakawa Publishing Company in association with the Agatha Christie Association. It is the literary award for unpublished mystery novels.

Well this has all been extremely interesting, but that's enough for tonight.

Till next time,

Displays and Promotional Material

Today we discussed different types of displays which libraries and / or bookstores construct, and why.
The main point for a display in these organisations is to encourage people to read but with different reasons behind them:
The library wants patrons to borrow their books and use their services, which keeps them alive and a vital part of the community.
The bookstore wants their customers to purchase their books - which also keeps them alive!
There are so many different types of material produced, it's hard to know where to start....looking on pinterest there was an incredible array of images. What a great excuse to spend some time on pinterest!

Some of the most common items which bookstores and libraries produce as promotional material are :

• personalised bookmarks
• flyers
• posters
• newsletters
• stickers
• book bags / totes
• key chains

I found a company (based in America I think) called JanWay who are 'Librarians' #1 Choice Custom Printed Fundraising and Promotional Items'. They produce all of those items, plus more.

Websites:
Winnipeg Public Library http://wpl.winnipeg.ca/library/.The home page is FULL of links. Links to search their catalogue; to look up current events; facebook; blogs; twitter; dvd's; movies; when I clicked on the 'events' link, there is a calendar with details of all the events they hold, and there are a lot! The minimum on a weekday was 6! With the ability to search by age group, type of event, presenter, I can see that it is a very interactive site.

Canberra Public Library http://www.library.act.gov.au/ . This was an interesting page - when I reduced the size of the screen, the menu automatically changed to read down instead of across - as if I was on a smaller device (ipad, phone, etc.). The links on the home page were very  helpful, with the ability to do everything from reading the latest newsletter; book a computer; check the catalogue to looking up how to join the library, make a payment or of course, 'how do I'. Always useful. You can also look at the latest survey from book clubs, COOL Awards (Canberra's Own Outstanding List Awards) - for Aussie Childrens books. They also recommend books for purchase.You can follow the library online, with news and information posted regularly via Facebook, or via RSS feed. They have regular programs and special events, all posted on the website, with a variety of holiday activities, story time, guest presenters, etc.

Southwater Library http://www.telford.gov.uk/libraries . This library website is not a stand-alone site, it is part of the council website. There are (again) many links to enable patrons to see what is going on in the community, the library catalogue, opening hours, different services offered - at the library itself but also from the council. There is a lot of community information links on this page, and also the ability to vote on the page itself - a great idea. You can download forms, look at the news, renew/reserve items. It is about the library, but it is more than that too. If I lived locally, I would definitely use this site.

Dymocks www.dymocks.com.au has a scrolling tab at the top of their site, which I imagine would change according to the season - at the moment it has 1. 25% off our best 50 biographies 2. YA suggestions 3. Gifts for Dad for Fathers Day and 4. Get your kids on the path to reading. Gets you thinking - then you can click to find your local store; meet the staff; read about their past. And then come the books.... from the new releases, to the bestsellers, to the favourites, after which you can see the most popular searches - using clever images as links. Then you have the 'News' where you can join up to gain rewards. Overall, this is a commercial site, created to gain book sales. It's not like looking at a library website.

Abe Books www.abebooks.com is an International bookseller. The top quarter of their website looks like a library catalogue, where you can enter the Author, Title, Keyword or ISBN and click the red 'Find Book' button, or there is also an advanced 'More Search Options' where you have more refinements. Other than that, they offer a 30 day refund policy, which will always make people buy with more confidence. They have a sidebar where you can choose from the ten most popular subjects (or browse all subjects).  There are many options to choose from - you can click on brand new books, cheap textbooks, etc. And for interested collectors, you can look at what were the most expensive books sold in July - rare book sales. Great for an insight into what it's like to have enough money to splurge! They do also have discount books for us mere mortals. The bottom tab is full of great links too - and of course there are links to social media too.

The Book Depository www.bookdepository.com . I have to admit, I am a regular customer here. The website is well organised, and you can have fun with the interactive map on the right-hand side, where the latest sales show. And of course, the best selling point - NO delivery charges. With a 'bargain shop' (up to 50% off) to entice you in, the bestsellers listed front and centre, a side bar with the most common categories making it easy to look for what you want, or just to browse if you're not looking for something specific. If you want award winning noves, they have a category for that too. New releases, and 'in the news' to keep up to date with the latest trends. And the top picks are always worth a look.

Task 2 - Three examples of each genre and MORE !

Genres and sub-genres

Fiction

                The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

                To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

                Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

Poetry

                The Complete Poems by Emily Dickinson

                Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

                The Waste Land and Other Poems by T.S. Eliot

Childrens

                Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

                Charlotte’s Web by E.B. Whie

                A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Young Adult

                Just One Day by Gayle Forman

                Splintered by A.G. Howard

    The Shadowhunter’s Codex by Cassandra Clare

Drama (mainly intended to be performed in a play)

                Hamlet by William Shakespeare

                Macbeth by William Shakespeare

                Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Crime

                In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

                The Godfather by Mario Puzo

                And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Mystery /Thriller

                Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow

                The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

                Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

Romance

                Effortless by S.C. Stephens

                Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

                Slammed by Colleen Hoover

History

                A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

                The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

                Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Fantasy

                Dune by Frank Herbert

                Enders Game by Orson Scott Card

                Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Adventure

                King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard

                Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

                The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss

Supernatural / Paranormal

                Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

                Illusive by Emily Lloyd-Jones

                Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Horror

                Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice

                Salems Lot by Stephen King

                Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Western

                True Grit by Charles Portis

                Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey

                The Virginian by Owen Wister

Literary Fiction (eg Salmon Rushdie, Margaret Atwood)

                Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

                To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

                The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Humour/Comic

                Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams

                The Zombie survival guide by Max Brooks

                Your still hot to me by Jean Kittson

Science fiction

                The Long Mars by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

                The Dark Between the Stars by Kevin J. Anderson

                Divergent by Veronica Roth

Hybrid – a combination of 2 or more genres

                The Invisible Man by Herbert George Wells (Sci-Fi & Romance)

                World without End by Ken Follett (Historical & Adventure)

                The Mosaic of Shadows by Tom Harper (Adventure & Romance)        

      

Erotica

                The Mammoth Book of Erotic Romance and Domination by Maxim Jakubowski

                Shadow’s Stand by Sarah McCarty

                A Girl Walks into a Wedding by Helena S Paige

Short story

                Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell

                The Burial of the Guns by Thomas Nelson Page

                Bellflower by Guy de Maupassant

Novella

                The Third Man by Graham Greene

                Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote

                Three Blind Mice by Agatha Christie

Graphic Novels

                The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill

                Hellboy: Library Edition Volume 1: Seed of Destruction/Wake the Devil by Mike Mignola

                Marvels (New Printing) by Kurt Busiek

Abridged or condensed novels (Readers Digest)

                Crossfire by Dick Francis

                Letters from Home by Kristina McMorris

                Sweet Misfortune by Kevin Alan Milne

Translated Fiction

                Horses of God by Mahi Binebine (from French)

                Blinding by Mircea Cartarescu (from Romanian)

                Tirza by Arnon Grunberg (from Dutch)

Non-Fiction

                The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

                Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell

                Freakonomics: A rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything by Steven D. Levitt

Biography

                John Adams by David McCullough

                The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

                Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Autobiography

                Angelas Ashes by Frank McCourt

                The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

                Night by Ellie Wiesel

Memoirs

                Eat, pray, love by Elizabeth Gilbert

                Running with scissors by Augusten Burroughs

                Naked by David Sedaris

Titles of 3 well-respected scholarly books on literature that you would find on the reference shelves of a university library

The Collected Letters of W.B.Yeats: Volume IV 1905-1907 by John Kelly, Ronald Schuchard

Adonis to Zorro. Oxford Dictionary of reference and allusion Third Edition by Andrew Delahunty, Sheila Dignen

Cervantes in Seventeenth-Century England / The Tapestry Turned by Dale B.J. Randall, Jackson C. Boswell

Other useful reference books (at least 5) on literature and/or fiction and/or reading as a cultural activity

On writing: A memoir of the craft by Stephen King
The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol 1: The Middle Ages through the Restoration & the  Eighteenth Century by M.H. Abrams
The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory by J.A. Cuddon
The Reader's Companion to World Literature by Lillian Herlands Hornstein
On Literature by Umberto Eco
How Fiction Works by James Wood
A Reader's Manifesto: An Attack on the Growing Pretentiousness in American Literary Prose by B.R.  Myers
New Maps of Hell: A Survey of Science Fiction by Kingsley Amis
Terrors of Uncertainty: The Cultural Contexts of Horror Fiction

Readers advisor - give a description (reasonably current) - what do they do and what skills and knowledge do they need?
Doing a bit of research about readers advisory gives me the impression that it is more a service rather than a  person - a service which a lot of libraries try to offer in one form or another. It is something that a lot of people who work in a library will face - the request to recommend a book. A reading adviser needs to understand that they cannot just recommend their own favourite books, as that would not be a broad enough base. One of the databases which can help is the Ebsco Novelist database, where you can find the 'Adult Popular Fiction Checklist, which contains many genres, and nearly 300 different authors. Discussing with friends, too, can be helpful. It is vital to keep up-to-date with the latest authors, as well as not losing track of the classics. Using resources such as goodreads and librarything can certainly be helpful as well. The right questions must be asked of the patron, but sometimes they may not be prepared to answer a lot of questions, just looking for something which they can pick up quickly.
It would probably be beneficial to keep some sort of list for yourself - which can be easy to check if someone requests a specific genre. 
With the advent of these databases, it can be a very simple matter to offer this service, particularly as many of them also offer the opportunity to leave a personal review. 

http://www.librariesalive.com.au/RA_sites.htm

As per the instructions from last weeks class, here is the basic information for this course :

Promotions 2 

CULINL501A Promote Literature and Reading 

Skills and knowledge to be acquired as per the training.gov.au website : 

Required skills 

• communication skills to: 
• conduct interviews in a reader advisory role 
• provide customer assistance 
• share information with colleagues 
• use social networking to promote literature 
• information literacy skills to: 
• process information from a range of sources 
• recognise different types of literature and how to access them 
• initiative and enterprise skills to develop and implement strategies to promote literature and reading in ways that take account of different reading levels and tastes 
• learning skills to improve own knowledge about literature and reading 
• planning and organising skills to: 
• implement strategies to promote literature collections and reading 
• systematically organise information in a collection to promote access and encourage  
• reading 
• research skills to: 
• identify current or emerging technologies 

• locate literary works and information to meet customer needs 
• self-management skills to: 

• follow workplace procedures 
• prioritise work tasks and meet deadlines 
• technology skills to search electronic databases, the internet and online catalogues. 

Required knowledge 

• concept of literacy and the role organisations play in promoting reading 
• scope and arrangement of literature collections in libraries and related organisations 
• literature information sources, such as: 
• blogs 
• catalogues 
• databases 
• websites 
• methods for arranging literature collections 
• frequently asked literature requests and strategies for answering such requests 
• literature reference resources and their applications 
• categories and genres into which literature is divided. 

A working definition of literature : 

On About.com the definition of literature is ‘a term used to describe written or spoken material. Used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction.’ 

Reading other definitions gives me the impression the term literature is generally used when describing books or other written works (essays, plays, etc.) which are considered to be of merit – written well, reflecting values and cultures of the times, using excellent language. 

Find a working definition of literature and compile an annotated list of websites for yourself which deal with the promotion of literature and reading with special emphasis on Australian websites.  

http://www.childrenslaureate.org.au/about/ 

Australian Childrens Literature Alliance 

Their mission :  

 Promote the value, importance and transformational nature of reading •          Influence the reading habits of Australian families •          Raise the profile of books in the lives of children and young adults •          Champion the cause of young Australians reading. 

ACLA are the instigators of the Childrens’ Laureate  initiative in Australia. The Laureate is appointed to promote the power of reading, creativity and story-telling in the lives of young Australians. They act as a national and international ambassadors for Australian childrens literature. 

www.insideadog.com.au 

State Library of Victoria / Inside a dog is ‘a place for teen readers and the home of Inky, the reading wonderdog.’  

This site has reviews done by teen readers on recently published books. There are forums, book clubs, awards and more. The News section contains a lot of interesting articles on a wide variety of subjects. 

www.thelitcentre.org.au 

The Literature Centre 

Slogan : Nurturing excellence in children’s and young adult literature 

Their blurb  

The Literature Centre provides quality student workshops and writing programmes across Western Australia, inspires teachers through professional development, and supports Australia’s talented Authors and Illustrators of literature for children and young adults. 

Looking at this site it is aimed at schools, running programmes and workshops, and involving teachers through professional development days. It is funded and sponsored by several government departments as well as some large corporations.