Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind

* This is my second guest blog post for PaperTigers . Please read it to find out about some new Philippine young adult literature. =D * Click here to read about a possible international book bloggers meetup. If it happens, I'll definitely be there! * Fantastic news! Tu Books has announced the first annual New Visions Award . The New Visions Award will be given for a middle grade or young adult fantasy, science fiction, or mystery novel by a writer of color. The winner receives a cash grant of $1000 and a standard publication contract with Tu Books. An honor winner will receive a cash grant of $500. Click here for more details. I look forward to reading the winning novels!

Congratulations to the finalists of the 2011 Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (the Cybils)! For this blog, I would like to highlight the following finalists. =D Middle Grade Fiction The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson (Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers) The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang (Scholastic) Warp Speed by Lisa Yee (Arthur A. Levine) Words in the Dust by Trent Reedy (Arthur A. Levine) Fantasy & Science Fiction (Middle Grade) The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty (Harcourt) Poetry Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto by Paul B. Janeczko (Candlewick Press) Graphic Novels Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch (Amulet) Sidekicks by Dan Santat (Arthur A. Levine) Level Up by Gene Luen Yang and Thien Pham (First Second Books) Fantasy & Science Fiction (Young Adult) Angelfall by Susan Ee (Feral Dream) Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake (Tor Teen) The winners will be announced on Valentine...

Tu Books publishes speculative fiction for children and young adults featuring diverse characters and settings. Our focus is on well-told, exciting, adventurous fantasy, science fiction, and mystery novels featuring people of color set in worlds inspired by non-Western folklore or culture. We welcome Western settings if the main character is a person of color. We are looking specifically for stories for both middle grade (ages 8-12) and young adult (ages 12-18) readers. (We are not looking for picture books, chapter books, or short stories. Please do not send submissions in these formats.) For more information on how to submit, please see our submission guidelines . We are not accepting unagented email submissions at this time. What we’re particularly interested in seeing lately: Asian steampunk, any African culture, contemporary African-American stories, Latino/a stories, First Nations/Native American/Aboriginal fantasy or science fiction written by tribal members, original postapoca...