Category Archives: News

ALAN 2012 Workshop Break-out Session Proposal Form

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The theme for the 2012 ALAN workshop is “Reaching Them All, ALAN Has Books for Everyone”–books for boys, books for girls, for challenged readers, brilliant readers, for fantasy readers, for science-fiction readers, reality lovers, LGBTQ teens, teens in other countries, teens from other countries who now live here, Christian kids, Jewish kids, Muslim kids, non-believing kids, kids with problems at home–alcoholism, illnesses, incest, divorce–as well as kids from happy, fun-loving homes, from family units with one mom or one dad or both or grandparents or two moms or two dads, teens who live in cyberspace, teens who can’t afford a computer–YOUNG ADULTS, ALL YOUNG ADULTS.

The 2012 ALAN Workshop will present a different format. All Educator Break-outs will occur on Monday afternoon. All Author Break-outs will be on Tuesday afternoon. (Note: Authors, please indicate your publisher’s name and whether or not your publisher has agreed to support your participation if you are selected.) Preference will be given to those who did not present in 2011. All applicants must be ALAN members.

Proposals must include:
Session Title:
Description and Purpose of Break-out Session (including proposed target audience if not in title). Submit proposal on separate sheet–250 words or fewer.

Name of Session Chair:
Street Address, Email Address, Telephone Number, Institutional Affiliation and position or publisher.
Presenter(s) for Session, plus their affiliations/publisher

Electronic submissions should be sent to cjbott627 [at] gmail [dot] com Please use ALAN Breakout in the subject line. Proposals are due no later than midnight of Friday, JANUARY 6, 2012. If proposals are not submitted electronically, please mail your proposal to cj bott, 34540 Sherbrook Park Drive, Solon, Ohio 44139, no later than Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

ALAN Mission Statement

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ALAN Mission Statement

The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English:
• Defines young adult literature as works in a wide variety of genres and forms, including multi-media formats, with topics relevant to the interests and needs of young people in middle and high school.
• Promotes the inclusion of young adult literature as a bridge to other curricular works and as a stand-alone curricular selection in both the English language arts program and across the curriculum.
• Supports educators and librarians in their use of the literature, advocates the right to read the literature, and defends freedom of choice for independent reading, inclusion in classrooms, presence in library collections, and in book clubs.
• Provides opportunities for teachers, librarians, teacher educators, and others involved in the use of young adult literature to enhance their practice and teaches the educational community and general public about the value of this literature.
• Celebrates the ever-changing nature of the field and welcomes artistic innovation, experimentation, and risk-taking by authors, publishers, and others involved in the creation of young adult literature.
• Evaluates young adult literature on its individual merits and in the context of larger bodies of literature as appropriate and engages in ongoing rethinking of the literary canon.
• Cooperates with other organizations that advocate similar goals and objectives.

March 8, 2011

Under the Radar Nov 2011

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Under the Radar: Cinco Puntos Press’s The Blood Lie and This Thing Called the Future
 presented for your enjoyment by James Bucky Carter, CJ Bott, and Ricki Ginsberg

Introduction:
Bucky: When CJ Bott asked Ricki and me to be part of Under the Radar, I knew I wanted to accomplish two things. I wanted to eventually talk about some graphic novels, and I wanted to spotlight the small press publisher in my current home city. Herein, and with the help of my fellow UTR-ers, I am pleased to offer evidence of meeting the latter goal. Cinco Puntos press is an independent publisher of multicultural literature for all audiences. The press, located in downtown El Paso, welcomes student visitors to its location and often comes to the local university, The University of Texas at El Paso (where I am employed), to give students an insider’s look at publishing. Among their current young adult authors are Benjamin Alire Seanz, author of books like Last Night I Sang to the Monster, a staple in my YA courses, and Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood; Luis Alberto Urrea, who, along with Christopher Cardinale, crafted the magical graphic novel Mr. Mendoza’s Paintbrush, a story with appeal to children’s and young adult literature readers; and Claudia Guadalupe Martinez, whose The Smell of Old Lady Perfume  features a young girl dealing with the border issues of adolescence and adulthood and the literal border of El Paso, TX, and Ciudad Juarez, MX, which just happens to be near where Cinco Puntos is located as well. Continue reading →

ALAN Review Call for Submissions

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TAR Fall 2012 Theme: Poetry and Young Adult Literature
Billy Collins says that he wants to “walk inside the poem’s room.” Marianne Moore wants “imaginary gardens with real toads in them.” Poetry in all its varied forms is used in a myriad of ways in young adult literature. Some authors (Karen Hesse, Ellen Hopkins, Virginia Euwer Wolff, Mel Glenn) create novels in verse while other authors (Jacqueline Woodson, Nikki Grimes, Sharon Flake) weave poetry into their prose. Other authors write collections of poems for adolescents (Gary Soto, Rita Dove, Paul Janeczko). Adolescent readers can take many, many paths to poetry in YAL. The theme of this issue invites us to consider the ways in which we can walk inside a poem’s room or find that imaginary garden with adolescents. What is it about poetry that grabs adolescent readers? Many young adult authors are experimenting with the ways in which they use poetry to tell their stories; how does this help adolescent readers and writers? How does the way in which authors use poetry to tell complex narratives push adolescents to be stronger readers? This theme is meant to be open to interpretation, and we welcome manuscripts addressing pedagogy as well as theoretical concerns. General submissions are also welcome. March 1 submission deadline.

TAR Winter 2013 Theme: Flash Back-Forge Ahead: Dynamism and Transformation in Young Adult Literature
In her Fall 2011 President’s Column, Wendy Glenn reflects that our field manages to “successfully shift and sway with time and changing elements, while maintaining a core commitment to young people and the books written for them.” For this call, we wonder, like Glenn, what topics, voices, and forms have shaped our field and what we anticipate those future ones will be. What titles endure and why? Which ones are poised to become readers’ favorites? As we pursue the next trend in young adult literature, what should we be careful not to lose? What will our future roles as young adult literature advocates be and with whom should we be forging relationships? This theme is meant to be open to interpretation, and we welcome manuscripts addressing pedagogy as well as theoretical concerns. General submissions are also welcome. July 1 submission deadline.

TAR Summer 2013 Theme: 40th Anniversary Issue. While we will be soliciting articles from past ALAN presidents and editors as well as influential young adult authors, we welcome submissions which reflect on the past forty years of ALAN. November 1 deadline.

TAR Fall 2013 Theme: Reading and Using Nonfiction Young Adult Literature
So often our schools tend to privilege the reading of fiction over the reading of nonfiction. But what about those kids who want to read something other than the novels we assign? What about the students who crave nonfiction? The theme of this issue asks us to consider the role of nonfiction in the classroom and in the personal choice reading of adolescents. What is it about nonfiction that grabs students? What role can/should nonfiction ply in classrooms? What nonfiction have you used that empowered adolescents? What is it that we must consider or celebrate when teach/use/recommend nonfiction? This theme is meant to be open to interpretation, and we welcome manuscripts addressing pedagogy as well as theoretical concerns. General submissions are also welcome. March 1 submission deadline.

ALAN Workshop Handouts

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ALAN breakout session handouts will be participants to download as desired. If you are an ALAN speaker, please email handouts to the address provided by Wendy Glenn.

Select handouts for breakout sessions are available here: