LibraryThing: State of the Thing - September

LibraryThing: State of the Thing Dear {NAME}, Welcome to the September State of the Thing! In this issue we announce LibraryThing’s newly redesigned Award page, give a shout out to all of our wonderful helpers, introduce Lauren, our new developer, interview the author Jarret Keene, and shine a spotlight on our most recent TinyCat Library of the Month. We also serve up lots and lots of book world news, all of our regular columns, and 4,205 free Early Reviewer books! You can like LibraryThing on [Facebook]( and follow [@LibraryThing]( on Twitter, [librarythingofficial]( on Instagram, and [librarythingofficial](librarythingofficial) on Threads for news and updates. Awards and Honors LibraryThing is pleased to announce that we have made a major update to our [Awards and Honors]( feature. We have removed it from Common Knowledge and given it its own, dedicated system, allowing for greater complexity and much better organization. The new system now includes “stages”—winners, shortlists, longlists—as well as “categories”—fiction, nonfiction, biography, children’s, etc.—bringing together what used to be separate pages. Members can examine a specific stage of an award, such as the [Booker Prize Longlist](, or look at a particular category, such as the [Davitt Awards Adult Fiction Category](. New features of our improved Awards and Honors system include: - Redesigned Awards and Honors pages, with loads of necessary and interesting information. - Charts and graphs at the bottom of each award, showing genres, year counts and gender trends. - The division of awards into three basic categories: Awards, Distinctions, and Notable Lists. - Columns in "Your Books" for showing Awards, Distinctions, Notable Lists or all Awards and Honors. - Dedicated fields for Stages ("Longlist," "Shortlist"), Categories ("Biographies," "Nonfiction") and Years—with dedicated pages for each, and each combination. - A [personal charts and graphs page](, showing you the awards for your library. - The ability to "follow" awards, if you want to keep up with the latest developments. - A [main award page](, showing recently-announced awards and the awards you follow. - Awards can adhere to award Organizations, like the [Guardian]( or [American Library Association](. Organizations can have sub-organizations with their own awards. - Quick access to the relevant books in your library on the award pages themselves, similar to what we have for Genres, DDC, Series. - Various ties throughout the system, such as awards lists on genre pages (e.g., [LGBTQ+](2B)). - A new [Zeitgeist page]( and extensive "Helpers" resources for members who want to clean up their awards—theirs or everyone's. LibraryThing Helpers What is LibraryThing without its members? LibraryThing has some of the best people around, helping to improve the site for themselves and for the larger community—making us the best bookish site out there. From dedicated helper groups like [Combiners!]( and [Spam Fighters!](, to the guidance provided by long-time members when newcomers have questions in [Talk About LibraryThing](, [Frequently Asked Questions]( or [Bug Collectors](, our members are always helping out. They add an enormous amount of valuable information to the site, filling out Common Knowledge fields on author and book work pages, adding cover images and author photographs, and improving features such as [Series](Nseries_controller), [Recommendations]( and [Awards](. Since Tim first started handing out [Helper Badges](, almost 150,000 have been awarded to our members, and more than 55 million helper actions have been taken. 25% of members with more than 400 books and 40% of members with more than 1,000 books have helped the site in some way. Roll of Honor. Each month we're going to call out some of the top contributors from the last month. So… special thanks this month to [Seelentaucher]( (Work Combiners/Edition Separators), [IPCCLibrary]( (Cover Uploading), [smithli]( (Work Relationships), [pjlambert]( (Author Combinations), [geophile]( (Tag Combiners/Uncombiners), [kmmsb459]( (Series), [matedon]( (Publisher Series), [gilroy](, [davidgn](, [Carmen.et.Error](, [InfoQuest]( and [Aquila]( (Awards Edits), [GwynethM]( (Common Knowledge), [owlgirlvaughan]( (Helper Voting), [JMK2020]( (Adding Links), [Heather39]( (Rating Recommendations), [cipeciop]( (Translations into Italian), [Nicole_VanK]( (Cover Flagging), [2wonderY]( (User Spam Flagging), [rybie2]( (Work Spam). Award Helpers. We’ve just launched our new and improved [Awards and Honors]( page (introduced above), and it includes plenty of new editing/helping features. From the ability to add "Announcement" dates so that an award can be marked/shown as recently announced, to a new "Organize" page for awards, including a "Power Edit" feature that lets you work on many items at once, we’re providing better tools for our helpers. We are also launching five new Helper Badges to recognize those who have been working to improve Awards, including: adding to awards, creating and combining awards, adding award images, adding award organizations and a catch-all badge for award work. Thank you for all of your hard work, whether on awards or any other part of the site—we appreciate it! Welcome Lauren! We are delighted to welcome Lauren ([Lauren-at-LT](), who joined the LibraryThing team at the end of August as our new librarian and developer. Lauren comes to us with over ten years experience in libraries and technology. She has worked in public, school and academic libraries, and recently completed her training to become a Software Development Engineer in Test. She will be working on [LibraryThing.com](, as well as our library products: [Syndetics Unbound](, [Talpa.ai](, and [TinyCat](. Lauren lives with her husband, daughter, and two dogs. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, yoga, and painting. If you want to learn more about Lauren, you can view her profiles [on LibraryThing]( and [Litsy](. You can also read the full announcement on [the blog]( and say [hello on Talk](. The Talk of LibraryThing What conversations are going on in our groups? - A discussion of [Fiction Set in Schools]( is being undertaken by the members of the [Reading Through Time]( group. - [General Strategies]( for participation in LibraryThing’s periodic treasure hunts are being shared by the co-moderator of [LT Treasure Hunts](. - Members are sharing their [Paired Reading](, in which a fictional read leads them to a non-fictional one, over in the [Science Fiction Fans]( group. - The 3rd round of the [Telephone]( game—ongoing since 2019—is underway amongst members of [Playing Games and Solving Puzzles](. Speaking of Groups, if you’re new to LibraryThing, there’s a group for that: [Welcome to LibraryThing](21)! List of the Month Come join LibraryThing’s List of the Month project, as we create a new thematic book list each month. Like all of our [Lists](, the List of the Month draws upon the knowledge of the LibraryThing community, while also aiming to provoke discussion around each theme. See our [wiki page]( for a complete List of the Month list, and join us over in our [Talk group](, for further discussion of the project. September List of the Month. Stranded on a desert island, acting out our own little Robinsonade, what books would we want by our side? Something comforting? Something uplifting? Something useful? Our List of the Month this September is devoted to the [Books We'd Want on a Desert Island](. Head over to our [Books We’d Want on a Desert Island]( list to add your top five choices. Check out other recent Lists of the Month: - August [Books With the Most Memorable Titles]( - July [Smorgasbord of Culinary Fiction]( - June [Books With Our Favorite First Lines]( - May [Best Graphic Novel Nonfiction]( - April [Best Gardening Books]( Author Interview: Jarret Keene LibraryThing is pleased to sit down this month with author [Jarret Keene](, who is an assistant professor in the Department of English at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he teaches American literature and the graphic novel. His publications range across a number of genres, from his rock band biography, [The Killers: Destiny Is Calling Me](, to his travel guide, [The Underground Guide to Las Vegas](. He has co-edited a number of short story collections, including [Las Vegas Noir]( and [Dead Neon: Tales of Near-Future Las Vegas](. His latest offering, [Hammer of the Dogs](, is a dystopian adventure set in an apocalyptic Las Vegas, and was published earlier this month by the University of Nevada Press. See an excerpt below, and the full interview [here](. Q. [Hammer of the Dogs]( has been compared by reviewers to such works as [The Hunger Games]( and [Divergent](—both very popular works of dystopian fiction. Were these books an influence on your story? What were some other influences? Jarret. Yes, of course [The Hunger Games]( and [Divergent]( were an influence on [Hammer of the Dogs](: the books are so fun! But I went back into the past to study the darker, violent influences on these books: Koushon Takami’s [Battle Royale](, Stephen King’s [The Long Walk](, Orson Scott Card’s [Ender’s Game](, Frank Herbert’s [Dune](, Jack Kirby’s [X-Men]( comics. The best dystopian YA stories tend to explore an intriguing premise: savage yet gifted kids under extreme pressure from corrupt government forces, forced to fight each other and survive lethal threats. [Hammer of the Dogs]( picks up the conceit and cranks it to eleven, with the protagonist, Lash, armed to the teeth and ready to smash the world in order to save her friends and rescue her father. Visit the blog to [read the whole conversation](. Hot on LibraryThing Here are some titles that have been particularly hot on LibraryThing in the last month: - [Holly]( by [Stephen King]( - [Tom Lake]( by [Ann Patchett]( - [Assistant to the Villain]( by [Hannah Nicole Maehrer]( - [The River We Remember]( by [William Kent Krueger]( - [The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store]( by [James McBride]( - [The Fraud]( by [Zadie Smith]( - [Things We Left Behind]( by [Lucy Score]( - [Payback in Death]( by [J. D. Robb]( - [Dead Mountain]( by [Douglas Preston]( - [The Brothers Hawthorne]( by [Jennifer Lynn Barnes]( - [The Coworker]( by [Freida McFadden]( - [None of This Is True]( by [Lisa Jewell]( - [The Breakaway]( by [Jennifer Weiner]( - [The Stranger Upstairs]( by [Lisa M. Matlin]( - [The Raging Storm]( by [Ann Cleeves]( - [The Long Game]( by [Elena Armas]( - [Foxglove]( by [Adalyn Grace]( - [Elon Musk]( by [Walter Isaacson]( - [Learned by Heart]( by [Emma Donoghue]( - [The Invisible Hour]( by [Alice Hoffman]( Hot in Libraries Here's what's hot across [thousands of public libraries]( in the United States: - [Fourth Wing]( by [Rebecca Yarros]( - [Tom Lake]( by [Ann Patchett]( - [Lessons in Chemistry]( by [Bonnie Garmus]( - [None of This Is True]( by [Lisa Jewell]( - [The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store]( by [James McBride]( - [The Covenant of Water]( by [Abraham Verghese]( - [Happy Place]( by [Emily Henry]( - [Out of Nowhere]( by [Sandra Brown]( - [Demon Copperhead]( by [Barbara Kingsolver]( - [The Summer I Turned Pretty]( by [Jenny Han]( - [Everyone Here Is Lying]( by [Shari Lapeña]( - [The Five-Star Weekend]( by [Elin Hilderbrand]( - [The Collector]( by [Daniel Silva]( - [Hello Beautiful]( by [Ann Napolitano]( - [It Ends with Us]( by [Colleen Hoover]( - [Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow]( by [Gabrielle Zevin]( - [Lion & Lamb]( by [James Patterson]( - [Remarkably Bright Creatures]( by [Shelby Van Pelt]( - [A Court of Thorns and Roses]( by [Sarah J. Maas]( - [The Housemaid]( by [Freida McFadden]( This data was collected by Syndetics Unbound, a LibraryThing/ProQuest project to enrich the library catalog. The search data is fully anonymized the day it is collected. For more information about Syndetics Unbound, please visit [Syndetics.com](?utm_source=LT&utm_medium=sott&utm_id=main). Free Books from Early Reviewers! Our Early Reviewers program pairs publishers and authors looking for reviews and book buzz with readers looking for their next great read. This month we’re pleased to feature [Joie Davidow’s]( historical novel, [Anything But Yes: A Novel of Anna Del Monte, Jewish Citizen of Rome, 1749](, offered by [Consortium Book Sales and Distribution](; [Scott Eyman’s]( new biography, [Charlie Chaplin vs. America: When Art, Sex, and Politics Collided](, from [Simon & Schuster](; and our very first offering from the [University of New Orleans Press](—[Tales from a Teaching Life: Vignettes in Verse]( by [Patricia Austin](. Explore the full list and [sign up to request books](. [The Warsaw Sisters]( [Anything But Yes: A Novel of Anna Del Monte, Jewish Citizen of Rome, 1749]( [Pocket Full of Poseys]( [Charlie Chaplin vs. America: When Art, Sex, and Politics Collided]( [Narwhal and Jelly: Super Pod Party Pack!](21) [Tales from a Teaching Life: Vignettes in Verse]( [Coyote Stories]( [The Last Immortal]( [The Prophets of Gentilly Terrace]( [Queens of Moirai]( [Crowned with Glory: How Proclaiming the Truth of Black Dignity Has Shaped American History]( [Falling from Disgrace]( [Troubling the Water: The Urgent Work of Radical Belonging]( [House of Ash and Bone]( [To Spark a Match]( [Summer of Hamn: Hollowpointlessness Aiding Mass Nihilism]( [Boleyn Time]( [Chasing Giants: In Search of the World's Largest Freshwater Fish]( [Hans Christian Andersen Lives Next Door]( [Crown of Salt and Bone]( Our September batch of Early Reviewers has 4,210 copies of 208 books. The deadline to request a book is September 25th, 6pm Eastern time. Did you win a book recently? When you receive your book, make sure you head over to your [Books You've Won]( page to mark it received. After you've read your book, add your review to LibraryThing. First, add the book to your LibraryThing catalog. Then click the pencil-shaped "edit" icon next to the book, or click "edit book" from the work page. Type your review into the Review box, and click "submit" to save it. Reviewing your books gives you a greater chance of winning books in the future, while neglecting to review lowers your odds. For more information, visit the [Early Reviewers Help Page](. Book World News: In Memoriam Celebrated American translator [Edith Grossman](, who was particularly noted for her work translating Latin American and Spanish literature into English, [has died at 87](. Grossman made her debut as a translator in 1972, when she translated a short story from Argentine writer [Macedonio Fernández](, going on to translate the work of many other Latin American authors, including Nobel Laureates [Mario Vargas Llosa]( and [Gabriel García Márquez](, who called her his “voice in English.” Her translation of [Miguel de Cervantes’]( classic, [Don Quixote](, is considered by many to be one of the finest available in English. Grossman was the recipient of many honors, including the [PEN/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation]( in 2006 and the [Thornton Wilder Prize for Translation]( in 2022. She was one of the first translators to insist that her name appear on the cover of books she translated. Indian-American journalist, author and documentary filmmaker [Gita Mehta](, who is particularly remembered for her coverage of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, [has died at 80](. Mehta created fourteen television documentaries for various British, European and American networks. Her first book, [Karma Cola: Marketing the Mystic East](, was published in 1979, and offered a critique of westerners seeking enlightenment in India. Her first fictional work, [Raj](, was published 1989, and others followed, many of them bestsellers. Other recent losses in the book world: - [Paul Brodeur](, American investigative science writer, [has died at 92](. - [Jimmy Buffett](, American singer, songwriter and author, [has died at 76](. - [Tobias Hill](, British poet, essayist and fiction writer, [has died at 53](. - [Yoel Hoffman](, Israeli author, editor and translator, [has died at 86](. - [Tina Howe](, American playwright and translator, [has died at 85](. - [Dermot Keogh](, Irish historian, author and university professor, [has died at 78](. - [Ed Ochester](, American poet, editor and writing instructor, [has died at 83](. - [Colin Spencer](, British novelist, food writer and artist, [has died at 89](. - [Sarah Young](, American Christian missionary and author, [has died at 77](. Book World News: Freedom of Expression In the [July issue]( of State of the Thing we reported on the [American Library Association’s]( efforts [to convince the larger book world]( to commit to a reaffirmation of the [Freedom to Read Statement](, which was first issued on June 25, 1953 by the ALA and the American Book Publishers Council. The organization is now [looking for input]( on possible revisions to the statement, and [has announced]( a series of five “listening sessions,” devoted to the following themes: First Amendment, Disinformation and Misinformation, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Challenges to Materials and Authors, and Youth Access to Materials. In other ALA-related news, it has been reported that state libraries in Montana, Missouri and Texas have [left the organization](, citing concerns over the promotion of sexually explicit material to children. Legislators in nine other states are urging their state libraries to disaffiliate with the national organization as well. The recent Texas book-rating law, HB 900, which would have required book vendors to rate the titles that they sell for sexual content, with those being marked as explicit to be excluded from school libraries, [has been blocked]( by judge Alan D. Albright. In his statement, the judge conceded that the state had an interest in protecting children from “obscene content,” but that the law imposed “unconstitutionally vague” requirements on private individuals and corporations, in violation of the First Amendment. State officials have filed notice that they will appeal the decision. The debate over book bans and library curation has been raised at the federal level, in the meantime, as the Senate Judiciary Committee [held a hearing on the issue](. Opinions on the matter were split largely on partisan lines. [PEN America]( has [released a new report]( on the recent surge of state educational bills targeting librarians, teachers and other school officials. The report, [Educational Intimidation: How ‘Parental Rights’ Legislation Undermines the Freedom to Learn](, attempts to highlight how these measures lead to censorship through indirect means, by creating a culture of fear. Book World News: Awards [National Book Award Longlist Logo]This year’s [National Book Award Longlists]( have [been announced]( by the [National Book Foundation](. In the Fiction category, the list includes: [Chain-Gang All-Stars]( by [Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah](, [Temple Folk]( by [Aaliyah Bilal](, [Ponyboy]( by [Eliot Duncan](, [This Other Eden]( by [Paul Harding](, [Loot]( by [Tania James](, [Night Watch]( by [Jayne Anne Phillips](, [A Council of Dolls]( by [Mona Susan Power](, [The End of Drum-Time]( by [Hanna Pylväinen](, [Blackouts]( by [Justin Torres](, and [Holler, Child]( by [LaToya Watkins](. The Nonfiction category longlist includes: [The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History]( by [Ned Blackhawk](, [King: A Life]( by [Jonathan Eig](, [A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial]( by [Viet Thanh Nguyen](, [The Slip: The New York City Street That Changed American Art Forever]( by [Prudence Peiffer](, [When Crack Was King: A People's History of a Misunderstood Era]( by [Donovan X. Ramsey](, [Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice]( by [Cristina Rivera Garza](, [Ordinary Notes]( by [Christina Sharpe](, [We Could Have Been Friends, My Father and I: A Palestinian Memoir]( by [Raja Shehadeh](, [Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World]( by [John Vaillant](, [I Saw Death Coming: A History of Terror and Survival in the War Against Reconstruction]( by [Kidada E. Williams](. The longlists for the other three categories recognized by the foundation are available as well: [Poetry](, [Translated Literature](, and [Young People’s Literature](. The [National Book Foundation]( has also announced the 2023 winners of their [Lifetime Achievement Awards](~:text=The%20National%20Book%20Foundation's%20Medal,writing%20and%20serving%20readers%2C%20respectively.). The [Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters]( will go to [Rita Dove](, whose poetry, according to NBF Board of Directors chair David Steinberger, “has served as a guiding light for readers and writers alike, and has made an indelible impact on our literary and cultural heritage.” The [Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community]( will go to Paul Yamazaki, principal buyer at City Lights Booksellers & Publishers in San Francisco. David Steinberger praised Yamazaki for bringing “exceptional national and global literature to readers in San Francisco and beyond,” and for demonstrating “the power of connecting the right book to the right reader at the right time, both to move book sales and to center voices that better reflect the country’s diversity of readers.” [The Poetry Foundation](—literary organization and publisher of [Poetry]( magazine—has announced the winners of their 2023 awards, with [Kimiko Hahn]( taking home the prestigious [Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize](. The winner of the [Pegasus Award for Poetry Criticism]( this year was [Douglas Kearney]( for his [Optic Subwoof](, while the two winners of the inaugural [Pegasus Award for Service in Poetry]( were [Toi Derricotte]( and [Cornelius Eady](. The [Academy of American Poets]( has [announced the recipients]( of their 2023 American Poets Prizes. [Afaa Michael Weaver]( has won the [Wallace Stevens Award](, recognizing “outstanding and proven mastery in the art of poetry,” while [Major Jackson]( has received the [Academy of American Poets Fellowship](. The [Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize](, which “recognizes the most outstanding book of poetry published in the United States in the previous year,” has gone to [Ama Codjoe]( for her [Bluest Nude: Poems](, while the [James Laughlin Award](, set up to support a second poetry collection forthcoming in the following year, has gone to [Cyrée Jarelle Johnson]( for his [WATCHNIGHT](. [Margarita Pintado Burgos]( and translator [Alejandra Quintana Arocho]( have won the [Ambroggio Prize](, given to a book-length poetry manuscript originally written in Spanish with an English translation, for their forthcoming [Ojo en Celo / Eye in Heat](, while [Stephanie McCarter]( has won the [Harold Morton Landon Translation Award]( for her work on [Ovid’s]( [Metamorphoses](. Please see [this announcement]( for the complete list of winners. The 2023 winners of the [Wainwright Prizes]( have [been announced in three categories](. Named for British nature writer [Alfred Wainwright](, the prizes honor the best UK books featuring “a celebration of nature and our natural environment or a warning of the dangers to it across the globe.” [Amy-Jane Beer]( has won in the Nature Writing category for her [The Flow: Rivers, Water and Wildness](, and [Guy Shrubsole]( has won in the Conservation Writing category for [The Lost Rainforest of Britain](. The winners in the Children’s Writing category were author [Kiran Millwood Hargrave]( and illustrator [Tom De Freston]( for their [Leila and the Blue Fox](. English PEN has [announced the recipients]( of its latest round of PEN Translates Awards, which provide funding for the translation of many award-winning books. Thirteen titles from twelve countries and nine languages were selected this time around, including the first books from Rwanda and Kazakhstan to win the award, as well as the first novel by a Comorian woman to be translated into English. Titles selected include “The Fire Within” by [Touhfat Mouhtare](, to be translated from the French by [Rachael McGill](; and “A Dictator Calls” by [Ismaîl Kadaré](, to be translated from the Albanian by [John Hodgson](. For a complete list of winners, [see this announcement](. In Australia, the winners of this year’s [NSW Premier’s History Awards](, given out by the State Library of NSW, [have been announced](. The winner of the Australian History Prize is [Alan Atkinson]( for his [Elizabeth and John: The Macarthurs of Elizabeth Farm](, while the winner of the General History Prize is [Michael Francis Laffan]( for [Under Empire: Muslim Lives and Loyalties Across the Indian Ocean World, 1775–1945](. The winner of the NSW Regional and Community History Prize is [Ian Hodges]( for [He Belonged to Wagga: The Great War, the AIF and Returned Soldiers in an Australian Country Town](, while the winner of the Young People’s History Prize is [Emily Gale]( for [The Goodbye Year](. Please see [this announcement]( for the full list of winners. The winners of the 2023 [Ned Kelly Awards](, given out by the [Australian Crime Writers Association](, have [been announced](. The winner in the Best Crime Fiction category is [Jane Harper]( for [Exiles](. [Sandi Logan]( has won in the Best True Crime category for her [Betrayed: The Incredible Untold Inside Story of the Two Most Unlikely Drug-Running Grannies in Australian History](. The Best Debut Crime Fiction category has gone to [Shelley Burr](, for [Wake](. Finally, the winner in the Best International Crime Fiction category is [Keith Bruton]( for [The Lemon Man](. This year’s [Davitt Awards](, given by [Sisters in Crime Australia]( to the best crime books written by Australian women, [have now been announced]( in multiple categories. The winner in the Adult Novel category is [Tracey Lien]( for [All That’s Left Unsaid](, while the winner in the Debut Novel category is [Hayley Scrivenor]( for [Dirt Town](. [Megan Norris]( has won in the Non-Fiction category for her [Out of the Ashes: The Mothers Love That Healed the Scars of the Bali Bombings](, while [Vikki Petraitis]( has won in the Readers’ Choice category for [The Unbelieved](. The winner in the Children’s Novel category is [Charlie Archbold]( for [The Sugarcane Kids and the Red-Bottomed Boat](, and the winner in the Young Adult Novel category is [Fleur Ferris]( for [Seven Days](. The 2023 [CBCA (Children’s Book Council of Australia) Book of the Year Awards]( have [also been announced](. The winner in the Older Readers category is [Neverlanders]( by [Tom Taylor](, while in the Younger Readers category the winner is [Runt]( by [Craig Silvey](. The winner in the Early Childhood category is [Where the Lyrebird Lives]( by [Vikki Conley](, illustrated by [Max Hamilton](, while Picture Book of the Year went to [My Strange Shrinking Parents](, illustrated and written by [Sworder Zeno](. The winner of the Eve Pownall Award, given to creative nonfiction, was [Deep: Delve Into Hidden Worlds]( by [Jess McGeachin](, while the CBCA Award for New Illustrator went to [Sally Soweol Han]( for her work on [Tiny Wonders](, which she also wrote. Additional Award News This Month (now on their new LibraryThing award pages!): Winners. [The Alice Award]( | [The Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award]( [[Sandra Cisneros](] | [The Arab American Book Awards]( | [The Australian Christian Book of the Year]( | [The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize]( | [The CBCA Shadow Judging Book of the Year Awards]( | [The Creative Australia Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature]( [[Alexis Wright](] | [The Environment Award for Children’s Literature](E2%80%99s-Literature) | [The Hawthornden Prize for Literature]( | [The Karajia Award for First Nations]( | [The Kelpies Prize for Writing]( [[Kelpies Prize](] | [The Klaus Flugge Prize]( | [The KYD Creative Nonfiction Essay Prize]( | [The Leacock Medal for Humour]( [[Wayne Johnston](] | [The MacDowell Fellowships]( | [The McIlvanney Prize]( | [The Nevada Writers Hall of Fame]( [[Susan Palwick]( and [Megan Edwards](] | [The New York State Author & Poet]( [[Jacqueline Woodson]( and [Patricia Spears Jones](] | [The Queensland Literary Awards]( | [The Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award]( | [The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize]( | [The Whiting Literary Magazine Prizes]( | [The Writers Over 50 Award]( | [The YA Book Prize]( Shortlists / Finalists. [The Ackerley Prize]( | [The American Library in Paris Book Award]( | [The BBC Short Story Award]( | [The BBC Young Writers’ Award]( | [The British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding]( | [The Crook’s Corner Book Prize]( | [The Danger Awards]( | [The Deutscher Buch Preis]( | [The Kirkus Prize]( | [The Laurel Prize]( | [The Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize]( | [The Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award]( | [The Maya Angelou Book Award]( | [The Nib Literary Award]( | [The Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year]( | [The Readings New Australian Fiction Prize](, [Young Adult Prize]( and [Children's Prize]( | [The Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing]( | [The Wolfson History Prize]( Longlists. [The ARA Historical Novel Prize]( | [The Baillie Gifford Prize]( | [The CBC Nonfiction Prize]( | [The National Translation Awards]( | [The Richell Prize]( | [The Scotiabank Giller Prize]( TinyCat [TinyCat]( is the online catalog for small libraries, created by LibraryThing. It turns your existing LibraryThing account into a simple, professional, web-based catalog. Follow [@TinyCat_Lib]( on Twitter and [tinycat_lib](tinycat_lib) on Threads for the latest TinyCat news, and be sure to check out [LibraryThing’s Youtube channel]( for a range of TinyCat tutorials. of the Month. TinyCat’s featured library this past month was the [Monell Chemical Senses Center Library](, supporting the research done at the [Monell Chemical Senses Center](. Associate Member and Library Committee Chair Danielle Reed sat down with Kristi this past month to answer her questions about [the library]( and their work. Q. Who are you, and what is your mission—your “raison d’être”?: Our library supports a non-profit research institution called the [Monell Chemical Senses Center](. To unpack what our name means, Monell refers to the family that contributed to our institution’s founding and continues to support us through the [Monell Foundation](. The ‘chemical senses’ part of our name refers to taste and smell, which allow us to sense chemicals in our environment, on our tongue (taste) and noses (smell). We are a Center because we are the only institution in the world devoted solely to studying taste and smell. Our mission is basic research, which you can learn when you open a textbook, and clinical research, which has immediate practical benefits, such as testing a new way to treat smell loss. Our mission is important because while taste and smell do not get the same attention as vision and hearing, the loss of these senses with COVID-19 made many people more aware of their value. Many people regain these senses as they recover, but some people have not. You can find the [full interview on our blog](. TinyCat Webinars. To learn more about TinyCat, join Kristi for a live demo Wednesdays at 1pm Eastern. Webinars are now on Zoom, so make sure to use our new [link to attend](. You can also check out our playlists of Tiny Tutorials on [LibraryThing's YouTube channel](, where Kristi walks you through various features of TinyCat in 30 seconds or less. If you'd like to schedule a webinar at another time or if you have other questions about TinyCat, you can reach Kristi at tinycat@librarything.com. Wait, That's It? That's all I have for the Thing this month! If you have any suggestions, or ideas for improving State of the Thing, please reach out to me at abigailadams@librarything.com. Past issues of State of the Thing are available in our [SOTT Archive](. Happy reading, Abigail PS: If you'd rather receive a plain-text version, [edit your email preferences](. You can also read it [online](. This message was sent to {NAME}. Click to [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from future emails](.