GalleyChat Roundup, May, 2022
This month’s GalleyChat opened with the wonderful news that one of our founding Chatters, mystery maven Lesa Holstine had just returned from New York, where she accepted the Mystery Writers of America’s Raven Award, recognizing “outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing.”
In presenting the award, Alafair Burke, mastery writer and President of MWA, admitted, with apologies to fellow writers, that it’s her favorite category, because it recognizes “true champions…fueled by their passion for the genre,” She noted that, as speaker in a bookstore, “there is no better feeling” than to spot Lesa’s smiling face in the audience. In the event program, Louise Penny wrote, “Lesa has helped elevate crime writing, making it clear to all …that it is as legitimate, as exciting, as creative and bold a literary form as any other” and goes on to say, she is “the sort of person you want in your life. In your lifeboat.”
Since it began 1953, the Raven Award has gone to a wide range of people. Lesa joins previous winners Angela Lansbury (1988), Alfred Hitchcock (1960), the Muppet Show (1980) and just one other librarian, Dr. Paul LeClerc, President of NYPL (1995).
Live the excitement vicariously, via Lesa’s post on Lesa’s Book Critiques.
GalleyChat Title Roundups
Roundups are below. To read the full chat, search Twitter by #ewgc.
— EarlyWord GalleyChat, May, 2022 — link to spreadsheet of the titles on Google Docs. Includes quotes from tweets, notes on debuts, diversity titles, those mentioned for the first time, LibraryReads deadlines and DRC availability. NOTE: If you have any trouble downloading the spreadsheet, please let us know.
— Edelweiss catalog — includes covers, publisher marketing information, and links to Edelweiss DRCs.
Our next chat is Thursday 6/2/22, 4 to 5 pm ET (3:30 for virtual cocktails). Click here for the schedule of upcoming GalleyChats.
The next LibraryReads deadline is June 1, for titles publishing in July. Please give special attention to our list of upcoming diversity titles.
Virtual Author Events
May a big month for online author events. LJ’s virtual Day of Dialog was Thursday. View the replay by registering at the link. HarperCollins announced the next title in their influential Galleyclub series. All That’s Left Unsaid by Tracey Lien, described as an “unflinching debut following a young Vietnamese-Australian woman who returns home to her family in the wake of her brother’s shocking murder.”
Friday, May 13th from 1-2:30PM ET brings ReadingGroupGuides.com 11th Annual Book Group Speed Dating session.
The following Friday, May 20 is the Booklist Authors & ARCs webinar, followed the next week, May 23 to 26 by PW’s virtual U.S. Book Show (taking up where Book Expo left off). Registration is free to librarians.
Next month’s chat will be full of more discoveries.