Lists and Changes

Gobs and gobs of end of the year lists are coming out these days: books of the year, YA books of the year, picture books of the year, no doubt even lists of the year. There are a whole bunch of great books, like all years, so that's not the change I'm noticing. Instead, I'm noticing how many of the authors on these lists I interact with: at SCBWI conferences, on Facebook, on blogs, or on Twitter.

There are some authors on these lists who I know solely from social media (Mike Mullin, author of Ashfall, comes to mind). There are some I know from conferences or other children's lit related events. Many are a combination of the two.

When I flash back to 2006, when I started blogging here at GottaBook, I see this as a huge change - both for me personally but also for how our community has continued to connect via social media.

I think it's important for authors and illustrators to be building a platform for so many reasons (not, by the way, so that I get to know them, but so that thousands of "I's" get to know them!), so I'm excited to see folks being visible. And personally? Well, I admit I'm excited seeing people I know get recognized for their achievements.

And here's to more of the same in 2012 and beyond!