Dear friends:

How about them Boston Globe–Horn Book winners? Nothing like good news on a Wednesday to make people happy. Thank you again to our judges Luann Toth (chair), Shoshana Flax, and Nicholl Denice Montgomery; and thank you to our winners’ publishers for hearing the news with such happiness. I broke the news to one winner myself: after successfully keeping mum throughout Rita Williams-Garcia’s recent Talks with Roger interview, I decided to reward myself and take advantage of the fact that her number was still fresh on my phone. Rita was thrilled, thrilled, but then I had to go and tell her that she was gonna have to write a speech. So let me spread the misery around a bit: in case you’re reading, O blessed BGHB recipient, yes, you too will need at some point to prepare remarks. We’ll be in touch.

ALA is upon us. At 2:00 p.m. EDT today Mitali Perkins and I will be answering the question, “Why Read Books by Dead White Authors?” And anytime, go watch Elissa’s new HBTV show which debuted this week! For the pilot episodes she interviews Meg Medina, Sandra Ríos Balderrama, and Lucía M. González about the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Pura Belpré Awards. I hear that in the next episode she’s giving out cars, so tune in.

We will be bringing you the Coretta Scott King, Caldecott, and Newbery speeches on our website next week. Ahem, AFTER they are given. Of course, if you want the print keepsake edition with all the speeches, profiles of the winners, and the gorgeous celebratory cover art by the Caldecott winner, Michaela Goade, you will need to subscribe.

Even though I’ll be attending ALA from home, I feel a need for a good airplane* book this weekend. Bruce and I are reading Rebecca West’s 1930s travelogue of Yugoslavia, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, which is rich and involving but, man, she leaves no tangent unfollowed, and when she got to the tuberculosis clinic I fully expected her to run into Thomas Mann. For my plane reading I need something new and bestsellery and adult, page-turning but not fatuous. Any suggestions? [Note: Elissa recommends The Final Revival of Opal & Nev.]

Love,

Roger

*In honor of this week’s fiftieth anniversary of Blue. Feeling old yet?