I had a great time at the American Library Association's midwinter conference in Boston this year. I saw old friends and new, talked to lots of editors and librarians and authors, and scoped out all the amazing books that are soon-to-be published. Now, not a lot of authors come to Midwinter, but luckily, I even got to meet three of my very cool clients for the very first time! [*waves to Emilie Boon, Raul the Third and Stephanie Oakes* -- Love you, gang!]

The most exciting part of Midwinter for me is the ALA Youth Media Awards announcements. This is like the Kids Book Oscars. I have been obsessed with the ALA awards (the most famous of which are the Newbery and Caldecott) since I was a kid; I remember loving a certain homework assignment where we had a poster on which we had to check off a certain number of Newbery books, because I smoked everyone else in my class. ["Oh, really Johnny? You only read five? AMATEUR!"] Now, I am happily part of the nerdy book crew that gets to the convention center at 6:30 am to be in the front of the line. Even in years where I know for a fact that I have nothing that is eligible for one of these awards, just being in the room where they are announced is a positively electrifying experience. [Well, if you are me, it's kind of a damp experience because you are crying most of the time from over-excitement, but hey. I mean, I love these books! I have friends who wrote and edited and repped these books! OF COURSE I'M CRYING! DON'T JUDGE ME!] 

ANYWAY, I can now confirm that if you are an agent who has clients who win awards, it's EVEN MORE exciting.

Warmest congratulations to my authors Alex Gino, Stephanie Oakes and Don Brown. Now go buy these books, they are phenomenal -- and it's not just me saying it! THANK YOU, LIBRARIANS!