THE 2021 RAINBOW BOOK (OF KELL) LIST

I am so excited and honored that the American Library Association's 2021 Rainbow Book List includes THE BOOK OF KELL!
 

That's right, the people behind the famous Newberry Awards and the Caldecott Medal also put out a list each year to showcase "quality LGBTQIA+ literature intended for readers from birth to age 18."  The latest edition features 130 "of the best LGBTQIA+ titles published in the USA & Canada."  Categories include board and picture books (fiction and non-fiction), juvenile, middle grade and young adult fiction and non-fiction, and graphic fiction and manga.

So many great books on this list!  Nestled among sixty other YA novels is THE BOOK OF KELL, my post-apocalyptic YA thriller.  To put this in perspective, let's think about how many YA novels were published between July 2019 and December 2020... hundreds, I'm guessing?  From small queer publishers like Bella all the way up to the Big Five.  (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster)  However many there were, just sixty-one made it onto the Rainbow Book List and I am thrilled that THE BOOK OF KELL is one of them.

 It's great when friends and family love your book, amazing when readers do, but LIBRARIANS?!  That's a whole 'nother level, people.  Particularly for those of us who whiled away so many happy hours in the library during our formative years.

 Today, ALA's Twitter account for the list (@RainbowBookList) tweeted, "THE BOOK OF KELL blew our minds!!" 

Best.  Tweet.  Ever.

I officially heart the American Library Association now.  : -)

It's funny, but one of the first thoughts I had when I heard the news that I'd made the list was, "I'm so happy for Kell!"  And I meant Kell, the (fictional) person, not KELL, the book.  I can't help it, my protagonists are very real to me.  Imaginary friends are the best, am I right? 

Want to know more about THE BOOK OF KELL?  Here you go:
- BOOK TRAILER http://youtube.com/watch?v=y5YC_npgKsY
- EXCERPT http://amybriant.com/EXCERPT_chapter_1.pdf
- INTERVIEWS http://amybriant.com/testimonials.html
- PRAISE http://netgalley.com/book/184340/reviews
- BUY http://bellabooks.com/product/9781642471045e/