Letter from Bookbird, Inc., President

Letter from Bookbird, Inc., President Valerie Coghlan (bio) Dear Bookbird Friends, The arrival of a new issue of Bookbird is always a joyful occasion for our readers. While there is plenty to be joyful about in this issue, it also carries a note of sadness as it is the last issue prepared by our editors for the past four years, Janelle Mathis and Petros Panaou. The usual term for Bookbird editors is four years, which is in fact closer to five as, of course, an editor's work begins long before an issue appears. Janelle and Petros have produced sixteen issues packed with articles on a wide range of subjects, most recently the special issue on Malaysian children's literature coinciding with IBBY's World Congress in September 2022, and a special issue on the 2022 Hans Christian Andersen Award winners and short-listed authors and illustrators. They also produced two HCA Award issues, in 2019 and 2021, which is no mean feat as this involves gathering information about all the nominees, writing about their publications, and putting all of this together to produce issues that stand as records of fine writing and illustrating across the globe. During the years of the global COVID-19 pandemic, they continued to produce a high-quality journal, especially welcomed when so many readers were unable to leave home and looked forward to their literary envoy from the outside world. For this the Board of Bookbird, Inc., and Bookbird's many readers are deeply grateful to Janelle and Petros and wish them well with their further ventures. Bookbird, Inc., also bids adieu to Sylvia Vardell, who served on the board for four years. During that time, Sylvia made excellent contributions to promoting Bookbird, not least her colorful banners and publicity material. Thank you, Sylvia, and very best wishes in your future work with IBBY. It's hard to realize that we also have to say goodbye to Liz Page, IBBY's illustrious executive director since 2009. Liz has always been a great friend to Bookbird, offering support and guidance in all sorts of ways. Liz was a presence in most issues of Bookbird as the writer of "Focus IBBY," giving us news and views on events in IBBY sections. Liz knows everyone in IBBY and is known to everyone for her sagacity, patience, and "can-do" attitude, all tempered with a wry sense of humor. We shall miss you, Liz, but it's not quite goodbye as we hope that you will now have more time to enjoy reading Bookbird! Goodbyes also bring hellos, and we greet Liz's successor, Carolina Ballester. We look forward to working with Carolina, and we wish her well in her new role. [End Page 3] For the past nine years, Barbara Lehman collected and edited the "postcard" book recommendations for Bookbird. Barbara is now stepping down and Anamaria Anderson is taking over. A very big thanks is due to Barbara, and a warm welcome is extended to Anamaria. And we say a big hello to our incoming Bookbird editor, Chrysogonus (Chrys) Siddha Malilang. Chrys is from Indonesia and is now a senior lecturer in the Department of Culture, Language and Media at the University of Malmö in Sweden. Chrys is already busy working on his first issues of Bookbird for 2023. With a background in publishing as well as in academia, he brings lots of exciting ideas for the future to Bookbird. With warmest good wishes for the coming year to all our readers, [End Page 4] Valerie Coghlan Valerie Coghlan, president of Bookbird, Inc., on behalf of the Bookbird, Inc., Board members. Copyright © 2022 Bookbird, Inc.