91´«Ã½

CHICAGO — The announcement and presentation of the second ever , 91´«Ã½’s new single-book awards for adult trade fiction and nonfiction, will take place during the from 8 - 10 p.m. on Sunday, June 30. The event — standing-room only in 2012 — takes place at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, Atlantic Ballroom. Attendees will be among the first to hear which two books were chosen as winners (each receiving a medal and $5,000) from the shortlist of six announced in May and will hear from finalists Richard Ford, David Quammen, Timothy Egan and other authors to be announced, as well as from selection committee chair Nancy Pearl and 91´«Ã½ leaders. The program is immediately followed by a chance to meet, mingle and celebrate over dessert and drinks with book-loving colleagues.

All event attendees will be entered for a drawing, and five lucky winners (who must be present) will receive signed copies of all six 2013 finalist titles. Following the reception, all attendees will receive a giveaway bag with a mix of titles generously donated by the finalists’ publishers.

The shortlisted titles for the 2013 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction are: “The Mansion of Happiness: A History of Life and Death,” by Jill Lepore (Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc); “Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis,” by Timothy Egan (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt); and “Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic,” by David Quammen (W. W. Norton & Company). The shortlisted titles in fiction are: “Canada,” by Richard Ford (Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers); “The Round House,” by Louise Erdrich (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers); and “This Is How You Lose Her,” by Junot Díaz (Riverhead Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc.). Annotations and more information on the finalists can be found at .

Tickets will be available in the McCormick Place Convention Center registration area (at the “Ticketed Events Counter”), or online ahead of time — and add the ticket(s), (event code RUS2). Tickets are $30 ($25 for RUSA members). You can get on the Annual Conference website.

The awards, established in 2012, recognize the best of the best in fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. the previous year and serve as a guide to help adults select quality reading material. They are the first single-book awards for adult books given by 91´«Ã½ and reflect the expert judgment and insight of library professionals who work closely with adult readers. The awards are made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York in recognition of Andrew Carnegie’s deep belief in the power of books and learning to change the world and are co-sponsored by Publications and the Reference and User Services Association (). More information about the awards is at .

now for 2013 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference & Exhibition. Ways to get updates and join the conversations include ; Twitter: #ala2013; the ; the ; the page; and the .

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