Join RUSA for “Literary Tastes: Celebrating the Best Reading of the Year! A conference tradition that features authors from RUSA’s literary awards.

RUSA will host three award-winning authors — Daniel J. Brown, Tessa Dare and V.E. Schwab – at the 2014 ALA Annual Conference program “Literary Tastes: Celebrating the Best Reading of the Year,  a conference tradition that features authors from RUSA’s literary adult book awards.

Each year expert readers’ advisory librarians from RUSA’s Collection Development and Evaluation Section (CODES) spend hundreds of hours reading and reviewing books written for adults to identify the most outstanding writing published in the areas of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, genre fiction, Jewish literature and audio book narration. “Literary Tastes” is an opportunity to hear from noteworthy authors whose books are among their annual selections and also celebrate the art and craft of writing with fellow book lovers. Review all of RUSA’s adult book awards at the RUSA website.

• Daniel J. Brown, author of 2014 RUSA Notable Book The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics (Viking) which tells the story of Eight oarsman and their coxswain struggle to overcome the choppy waters and the hardships of the Great Depression in their pursuit of glory.
• Tessa Dare, author of Any Duchess Will Do (Avon), the top pick for 2014 The Reading List’s Romance category. A humorous and cleverly told story about how a very desperate, for grandchildren, Duchess of Halford strikes a bargain with her only son, Griff: pick a woman–any woman. If she can transform her son’s choice into duchess material, he must marry the girl. Griff picks the least likely candidate in bluestocking barmaid Pauline, only to quickly realize he has no idea who he is dealing with.
• V.E. Schwab, author of Vicious (Tor Books), the top pick for the 2014 The Reading List’s Fantasy category. Masterfully told, a friendly rivalry turns vicious when college friends Victor and Eli obtain super-human powers and use them for very different purposes. This dark paranormal fantasy, a riveting tale of vengeance and redemption, proves that extraordinary powers don’t necessarily make superheroes.

The program will be held from 8-10 a.m. on Sunday, June 29, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Room N258 in conjunction with the 2014 ALA Annual Conference. Following the formal presentation, authors will be available for book signing.