Street Literature

10 February 2013

In the Margins Committee Looking for Members

In the Margins Committee

What is it? A group of Librarians under the umbrella of Library Services for Youth in Custody seeking out and highlighting books: preschool through adult fiction and non-fiction titles of high-interest appeal to boys or girls, ages 9-18 who may fit into one or all of the following categories:

multicultural (primarily African American and Latino)
from a street culture
in restrictive custody
reluctant readers

What does it do? The committee will select and review the best books of the year, specifically for the population listed above. Titles of interest may be unusual, possibly unreviewed, have multicultural characters, dealing with difficult situations including (but not limited to) street life, marginalized populations, crime, justice, war, violence, abuse, addiction, etc.

Blog featuring highlighted titles: YA Underground, a School Library Journal (SLJ) column will run reviews every other month or so through-out the year. Please see: http://www.slj.com/2013/01/books-media/collection-development/ya-underground-books-for-teens-you-might-have-missed/ for an example.

The final list will be decided upon by this committee and also run in SLJ. Books will be put on the Library Services for Youth in Custody website.

We have openings for a few positions. If interested, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDZqR1RIQ0FQOGJkVTRJcmZoVWVfN1E6MQ#gid=0

Committee membership and requirements:

research and nominate titles that are self, independently and small press published,
research and nominate titles of interest from all publishers
provide written review of books, and read for special content for detention facilities
read all nominated titles
work with or do outreach to teens in custody and/or from street culture.
get feedback from at least 3-10 teens on each title
actively participate in email discussions
meet 4-6 times a year via video conferencing and/or in person

For more information, contact Amy Cheney at ajcheney@mac.com

06 February 2013

Must-Have NEW READS: Souljah, Antoinette, Blue

Sister Souljah's long-awaited sequel to the classic Coldest Winter Ever is now on sale and has just hit the NYT Bestsellers List. So you are going to want to stock this title for your patrons and students.

Ashley Antoinette's 3rd installment in her new Prada Plan series has also just hit the markets and has also, just hit the NYT Bestsellers List. Urban/Street Lit readers are going to be requesting this title, also, so be sure to stock up!

Treasure Blue is an intensely popular author with a solid fan base. Fly Betty is enjoying a 5-star rating on Amazon.com and is climbing the book sales charts rapidly. Be prepared to have extra copies on hand of this title because you will definitely be getting requests.

StreetLiterature.com will be posting reviews of these titles in the near future!

SLBAM Committee Reconvenes to determine 3rd Street Lit Book Award Medal

Greetings!

StreetLiterature.com is happy to announce that the Street Lit Book Award Medal (SLBAM) Committee has reconvened for the 3rd year in a row, and is busy reading, researching and going through the nomination process to bestow the 2013 Street Lit Book Award Medal for street lit books published in 2012.

We also need YOUR help! If you have a title(s) that have been popular at your library, post a comment below and we will add the title for nomination.

The categories this year are:

-- Non-Fiction / Biography (Adult)

-- Fiction (Adult)

-- Young adult fiction (YA)

-- Emerging Classic (to acknowledge previously published works that continue to be in popular
demand by the reading public)

-- Author(s) of the year

The awards for these categories are scheduled to be announced by March 18, 2013.

For last year's awards, see: http://www.streetliterature.com/2012/03/2012-street-lit-book-award-medal.html

SLBAM Committee Mission:

The Street Lit Book Award Medal Committee comprises of a group of professional librarians and library staffers who volunteer to serve on the committee for a 2-year period, from across the U.S. and beyond, if possible. These professionals invariably work on the front lines of librarianship and work with Street Lit and its readers in public, school, and academic libraries. The Committee collects, researches, discusses, and nominates titles based on library patron popularity, book club interest, and overall reception of the story as a valuable addition to the Street Literature genre. Three rounds of nominations results in winners for the previous year's publications.

20 January 2013

Paul Langan: Librarians Most Needed Now

Image Source: http://nyti.ms/f7yHjW, 03/29/2011.

Bluford Series creator, Paul Langan, is passionate about writing relatable stories for urban youth, and the importance for librarians to support what urban youth read. His message:

"My goal is clear: to write stories urban youth enjoy and want to read. Period. I have bumped up against those who dismiss my work and the work of other writers trying to do what I do--as if BOOKS are more important than THE PEOPLE who read them.

I have seen the destruction and the hubris of those who worship at the altar of "high literature" and think of anything else as unworthy of the classroom. As a result, they deny students an experience with text that those students WANT TO HAVE. And considering many students have limited access to books for myriad reasons, this dismissal may forever discourage young readers from participating in the world of the written word. This is arrogant and harmful and unacceptable--and avoidable.

As educators we must listen to our students. They are the focus of our efforts--and far more important than the literary canon (which has its own historic and cultural biases that smarter minds than my own have documented).

If we want urban students to think reading is relevant, we must show readings that ARE relevant. And if we present youth with books that ignore or discount them, we shouldn't be surprised when youth discount and ignore books. Adults pick and choose the texts that speak to them. Why can't young adults do the same thing?

When scholars and librarians legitimize Street Lit as an art form and literary genre, you increase the likelihood that such books will be taken seriously. And, in turn, you increase the likelihood that students hungry for these books will get them and start reading, thinking, reflecting and perhaps writing their own.

There is much madness among policy makers in school today. Librarians are bearing the

brunt of it--and are endangered at a time they are most needed.

Paul Langan is currently the Young Adult Fiction Editor at Townsend Press, the publisher for the Bluford Series, as well as a host of education materials for K-12 and college.

16 January 2013

VIDEO: Streets Is Hard (Music video)

Hi all. I have been coming across some really interesting and well done videos lately. Please enjoy this hip hop music video, Streets Is Hard. The artist's name is Herricane. She's based in Philadelphia, PA. I wish her the best in her endeavors.