Mock Newbery 2026 discussion

Hi folks! I got to be on the 2019 Newbery committee, and haven't been too active on Goodreads since. (I could not say anything while I was on the committee.)

I'm doing a virtual program for my library system about the whole experience of being on the Newbery committee (without giving away any secrets!). Since it's virtual, anyone anywhere can attend -- and I thought this group might have people who are interested.

It's happening Tuesday, May 25, at 6:30 PM EDT. Sign up at least 24 hours in advance, and you'll automatically be sent the zoom link. Here's the sign-up page: https://librarycalendar.fairfaxcounty...

I hope some of you can come! -- Sondy Eklund

Thanks for sharing! I hope to attend.

Yay!

It says only 46 seats, but this looks awesome-Hope to register as it gets closer- what a great honor!

I would be ecstatic if we get anywhere near that number. I put the limit at 50, but could raise it (this is virtual). There's a niche of people who are interested in the Newbery -- I'm hoping I found you on this page!

Thanks! It is very thoughtful of you to invite us

Wow-so glad you posted. It would be great to see members of this group there!!

I was afraid no one would come! When I got a notice about this group -- I realized you're the perfect people to mention it to! :)

You definitely found the right group! I’m sending this to my colleague -if we can work out the timing, we might be able to do it!

Will we be able to view this after the program?

No, I'm afraid it's not going to be recorded.

I'm honestly so happy to find people interested. Only 3 were signed up! I did a Newbery Book Club while I was on the committee -- and very few people came. But that was local. Now that programs are virtual -- I'm so glad we can reach out!

Looks great! Excited to attend. Thank you!

Yes, please!!!

By the way, good job! The 2019 committee made solid picks.

Smile! Thanks, everybody! Again, I'm glad I found people who want to hear about it. As for the decision -- it was very much a group decision, and yes, I'm happy with our picks!

Just to verify- you are on Eastern time?

Yes! Eastern time under Daylight Savings Time. Virginia.

It’s right at the end of my work day-I hope to catch the whole
webinar! Thanks for this opportunity- and as someone else
said- great choice in Merci!

Thanks for sharing, Sondra. I signed up and am excited for it.

Hi Sondy! Thank you for this opportunity! How do you feel about middle schoolers attending? I’m an advisor of a club that (usually) holds a Mock Newbery. Is it only for adults, or all interested parties?

Let me know- I would give up my spot for a middle grader!

Middle schoolers are more than welcome!

It's a long time of me talking -- but if you're interested in the topic, I think it's really interesting to hear about what it was like. I don't get tired of talking about it, anyway! :) A plus to a zoom program -- if they get bored, I won't know it and won't get offended.

And since it's zoom, there's plenty of room. No giving up spots needed!

Great! I will see if there is interest. About how long do you expect the program to run?

About an hour.

Thanks for the invite. I wish I could join, but the time zone difference is brutal. Will you be recording the meeting?

I'm afraid not. It's been nice we didn't have to go completely local, though.

Haven’t received an email with a zoom link

Here it is!

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87915333494... Password: 947767

Perfect, thank you and enjoy!

I tried quite a few ways, and it wouldn’t give me access. I’ve tried to report this as an issue to your library page, and couldn’t

There are quite a few of us now- I’m in- do you want to send me your email?

rstutzma@nioga.org

Sent!

I am so sorry I wasn't able to attend. I scheduled to take my lunch break at that time, by I had a client unexpectedly come in right before I was going to leave so I wasn't able to go. I am so bummed. I was really looking forward to attending.

Thank you so much for giving us all this opportunity. Please let us know if you do something like this again.

People had so much fun meeting others from this group -- I thought my library will be happy to host a virtual discussion sometime before the voting for this group. When it gets closer, remind me!

I'm sorry you couldn't make it though.

I have a follow-up comment I thought of this morning, so I'm going to post it here. I said that every committee will pick different books, but that I did get a feel for which books will be nominated. I suspect the overlap between books that different committees would nominate (remember, that's around 50 books) is a lot bigger than the overlap of books that different committees would choose to win (though even there, there would be overlap).

Amber and Clay, for example, I believe would be nominated by 99% of Newbery committees! (Though I'll never know if I'm right or not.) Though I also think every committee will nominate a few quirky choices that no other committee would nominate.

As for which book will win -- it's very much a committee process, and impossible to predict even if you're on the committee. Though you sure know what's in the running. But you've got 14 other people going over and over the books, and they inevitably notice things, good and bad, that you overlooked.

For those who weren't at the talk, I'm not giving anything away. The number of books nominated is mathematically between 7 and 98. At all stages of the process it was somewhere around half of the highest possible number, so 50 is a good ballpark approximation of how many books get nominated. I won't tell if our committee was over or under that.

Becky wrote: "I tried quite a few ways, and it wouldn’t give me access. I’ve tried to report this as an issue to your library page, and couldn’t"

So sorry Becky! (I wonder if goodreads condensing the link was a problem.) And I was off goodreads by then. Thanks for fixing it, Shella!

Thank you!

Hello Sonde, Any chance to connect with you via Zoom about the Newbery selection process? We are going to start our Mock Newbery soon and it would be great to hear about the real deal!

I am also hosting a Mock Newbery and would love to connect virtually for my students! I am working with several schools in NY and NH. Please let me know if you decide to host another zoom meeting!