YALSA has selected five books as finalists for the 2011 William C. Morris Award, which honors a book written for young adults by a previously unpublished author. YALSA will name the 2011 award winner at the Youth Media Awards on Jan. 10, at ALA's Midwinter Meeting in San Diego.
The 2011 finalists are:
- Hush by Eishes Chayil, published by Walker Publishing Company, a division of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.
- Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, published by Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Book Group
- Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride, published by Henry Holt
- Crossing the Tracks by Barbara Stuber, published by Margaret McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division
- The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston, published by Carolrhoda Lab, an imprint of Carolrhoda Books, a division of Lerner Publishing Group
“The 2011 Morris finalists illustrate a wealth of new authors writing for teens, making the selection of this year's titles particularly difficult,†said Summer Hayes, chair of the 2011 William C. Morris Award committee. “From contemporary coming-of-age stories to fantasy to historical fiction, these stories resonated with our committee. They represent not only the strongest debut authors, but some of the best fiction written for teens this year.â€
More information on the finalists and the award can be found at www.ala.org/morris. On Wednesday, Dec. 8, YALSA will host a chat in Adobe Connect on the Morris and Nonfiction shortlists at 8 p.m. Eastern, hosted by Rob Bittner.
YALSA sells finalist seals to librarians and publishers to place on books at www.alastore.ala.org. YALSA will host a reception honoring the shortlist authors and the winner, as well as YALSA's Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award winners, at a free reception, 8–10 p.m. on Jan. 10 in Room 24 A-C at the San Diego Convention Center.
The award is named for William C. Morris, an influential innovator in the publishing world and an advocate for marketing books for children and young adults. William “Bill†Morris left an impressive mark on the field of children's and young adult literature. He was beloved in the publishing field and the library profession for his generosity and marvelous enthusiasm for promoting literature for children and teens.
Members of the 2011 William C. Morris Award are: Chair Summer Hayes, King County Library System, Tukwila, Wash.; Karen E. Brooks-Reese, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; Carol Edwards, Denver Public Library; Alison M. Hendon, Brooklyn (N.Y.) Public Library; Diana Tixier Herald, Mesa County Valley School District #51, Grand Junction, Colo.; RoseMary Honnold, Voice of Youth Advocates, Coshocton, Ohio; Kathleen Taylor Isaacs, Pasadena, Md.; Angie Manfredi, Los Alamos County (N.M.) Library System; Adela Peskorz, Metropolitan State University Library and Learning Center, St. Paul, Minn.; and Amy Anderson, administrative assistant, Bellevue (Wash.) Regional Library.