Year in Reading alum Jacqueline Woodson has been named the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Gene Luen Yang was the previous ambassador. The program is sponsored by the Library of Congress and the official ceremony is January 9th. Congratulations Jacqueline!
Jacqueline Woodson, Ambassador
How to Research
David Nicholls wonders: When researching a novel, is Google maps enough?
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More BEA coverage
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Barack’s Book Club
George Pelecanos is the latest worthy writer to get the Obama bump.
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On Bookends
We’ve covered The New York Times Bookends column before. This week, James Parker and Liesl Schillinger discuss why we should read books considered “obscene.” Our own Matt Seidel reveals the rejected questions for the Bookends column.
Lupita Nyong’o + Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie + ‘Americanah’
In book-to-film news, Lupita Nyong'o has signed on to produce and star in an adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel Americanah, and we couldn't be more excited. For more from Adichie, be sure to check out her "Year in Reading" piece for The Millions.
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The Ideal Essay
"An ideal essay is hard to define, but easy to point to. An ideal essay mines the “I” in efforts of high exposition. It is driven by a need to testify or witness, and demands the same of its reader. It is a glimpse of something uncomfortably recognizable, a requiem for the quotidian, a look over the newly-gilded edge." Samantha Tucker Iacovetto writes about "Defining the Ideal Essay" for Brevity's Nonfiction Blog
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Bud Powell Says “Goodbye”
Recommended Reading: Jessica Contrera’s mesmerizing account of a shuttered Waffle House in Bloomington, Indiana. I promise you. This is worth your time.