ALA Cognotes Anaheim Highlights - June 2012 - (Page 1)

2012 ANNUAL CONFERENCE Cognotes ALA Martinez Tells His Story Of Survival and Strength At Closing General Session ANNUAL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS 2012 ANAHEIM J.R. Martinez keynotes the Closing General Session. By Sara Zettervall St. Catherine University (Minn.) Martinez was proud to offer his own story and ask listeners to take what they can from it. “Treat it like loose change,” he said, explaining that you may not need what you carry away with you today, but when you find it in your pocket in the future, it just might help you get through the day. The most compelling aspect of Martinez’s presentation was his unflinching recounting of the explosion that changed his life forever. He took the audience step-by-step of driving his Humvee into a land mine. He said, “You can’t be afraid to show your scars,” whether physical or emotional, recognizing that his honesty is what allows him to connect with so many different types of people. » see page 4 Slide 1 – (left) Robert K. Massie’s Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman received the first Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in non-fiction. (right) Anne Enright’s The Forgotten Waltz received the medal for fiction. Slide 2 – The ALA/ERT Exhibits Opening Reception draws a large crowd to the Exhibits floor. Slide 3 – Mother-daughter author team Jodi Picoult (left) and Samantha Van Leer, keynote the ALA President’s Program June 24. J .R. Martinez treated conference participants at the Tuesday, June 26 Closing General Session, to a rousing talk. Best known as the 2011 winner of “Dancing with the Stars,” Martinez was severely burned during a 2003 tour of duty as an Army infantryman in Iraq. Before delving into his experience in Iraq and rise to fame, Martinez told of his childhood and young adult years as a series of challenges to be overcome, making him the person he is today. He credits his single mother, an immigrant from El Salvador, who was by his side throughout his recovery, with giving him the strength to bounce back. Outgoing ALA President Molly Raphael (from left) turns over the podium to ALA President Maureen Sullivan with President-Elect Barbara Stripling looking on during the Inaugural Banquet at the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim. A conversation with Sapphire... Enright, Massie Awarded First Carnegie Medals he American Library Association (ALA) announced the first recipients of the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, funded through a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. Anne Enright’s The Forgotten Waltz received the medal for fiction and Robert K. Massie’s Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman received the nonfiction prize. The medals recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published the previous year in the United States. T This is the first time that the ALA, which sponsors the prestigious Youth Media Awards, including the John Newbery and Randolph Caldecott » see page 6 Click here to see our ad on page 3. http://www.alaannual.org/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5AuIy9WEVc&list=UUPYD2rmKEiWxJ6DaKAtZn-w&index=21&feature=plpp_video

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ALA Cognotes Anaheim Highlights - June 2012

ALA Cognotes Anaheim Highlights - June 2012