2013 New Voices Program to Pick Top Debuts

The ABC New Voices program is about to kick off for the 2013 publishing year. Under the direction of a committee of 12 independent booksellers, New Voices highlights the top middle grade and young adult debuts of the year for both the summer and fall seasons.

This year’s committee chair, Becky Quiroga Curtis of Books & Books [1] in Coral Gables, Florida, said that she is looking forward to finding more great debuts and “sharing those books with co-workers and customers.”  Last year, her favorite discoveries included Cinder: Book One in the Lunar Chronicles, by Marissa Meyer (Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan) in the spring and One for the Murphys, by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin Young Readers Group) in the fall.

ABC Group member stores will once again receive special marketing materials for the New Voices Summer Picks, which include the top five middle grade and top five young adult books by debut authors published between January 1 and June 30, 2013.  The materials, including bookmarks and shelf-talkers, will arrive in the May Children’s White Box mailing and will be a great way for independent bookstores to offer fresh choices during the summer reading season. 

In the fall, the New Voices Committee will choose their top five middle grade and top five young adult books by debut authors from titles published between July 1 and December 31, 2013. The Fall Picks will be featured in a two-page spread in the ABC Best Books for Children Catalog, and special promotional materials for the fall New Voices titles will be sent exclusively to members of the ABC Group at ABA.  The ABC Best Books for Children Catalog is available to all ABA member stores.

The 2013 New Voices Committee, composed of booksellers from stores of various sizes from across the nation, will be announced shortly. The 12-person committee will be headed by Quiroga Curtis and chair emeritus Megan Goel of Book People [2] in Austin, Texas.  Each member of the committee devotes hours to reading titles submitted by ABC Group Publisher Subscribers to choose the year’s top debuts. 

Past New Voices committees have consistently chosen books that go on to accrue other honors and significant buzz.  “Indie booksellers eat, sleep, and breathe books,” Curtis said. “It is no surprise that our choices also win other debut awards.” 

Just this week, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) bestowed its William C. Morris YA Debut Award on Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (Random House Books for Young Readers), a title that also graced the New Voices Spring Picks list. “Seraphina … was no surprise,” said Curtis. “It was our committee’s favorite last year, and I’m so glad it went on to win the William C. Morris YA Debut Award as well.  If nothing else, the consistency proves that we know what we’re doing!”

Other New Voices favorites from last year include We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March by Cynthia Levinson (Peachtree Publishers), which went on to become a finalist in the 2013 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, and The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann (Greenwillow Books), which was named a Publisher’s Weekly Best Children’s Book of the Year in 2012.    

ABC Group bookseller members who are interested in joining the committee next year should contact ABC Group Manager Shannon O’Connor via e-mail [3] or at (800) 637-0037, ext. 7551.