The 2010 Michael L. Printz Award Committee is charged to select from the previous year’s publications the best young adult book (“best” being defined solely in terms of literary merit). Now is your chance to meet the hard working folks who want to spend the next year reading, and rereading, and rereading, and taking extensive notes on hundreds of titles competing for this prestigious award.
Running on the spring ballot for the 2010 Printz Committee are:
Priscille Dando, Teri Lesesne, Jack Martin, Richie Partington, Sheila Schofer, Ann Theis, Cheryl Karp Ward, and Carlie Webber.
Candidates:
1. Please tell us a little about yourself.
2. Tell us how you define “literary quality.”
3. The books will be coming at you fast and furious – what’s your reading plan for the year?
4. How do you promote the Printz winners in your library?
Thanks, and have fun introducing yourselves to the membership!
Erin Downey Howerton
2008 Margaret A. Edwards Award Committee Member
1. Please tell us a little about yourself.
I am the Young Adult Services Librarian for the Bergen County Cooperative Library System (BCCLS), a 75-member cooperative in northern New Jersey. Outside the office, I serve on the Garden State Teen Book Awards Committee. Within YALSA I chair the Publishers’ Liaison Committee and serve on Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults. I also review YA books for Kirkus, VOYA, and Teenreads.com. I keep a work blog and contribute to the websites Pop Goes the Library and A Chair, a Fireplace & a Tea Cozy. When not working I’m interested in running, kickboxing, fan culture, writing, classic rock, and watching more trashy TV than could possibly be good for one person.
2. Tell us how you define “literary quality.”
A book of literary quality makes us reconsider what we know about humanity, and it does so by building a world where daily thoughts and activities take on extraordinary meaning, either for the reader or the characters. A literary book might use unusual word choices or settings, or it might be simple in its language, but it always serves to make us think in new ways about the people and events that affect us. Even though raw emotional reaction is something you have to set aside when reading for the Printz, literary books should elicit both an intellectual and an emotional response from a reader. A strong sense of time, place, and zeitgeist is intrinsic to the success of any literary novel.
3. The books will be coming at you fast and furious – what’s your reading plan for the year?
Because BCCLS holds a Mock Printz every year, I am already in the habit of keeping an index of starred reviews and nominations to BBYA. Books with starred reviews get top reading priority. I also read multiple professional journals, YA lit listservs, and blogs so I can see what books my colleagues are discussing. I always have a book on hand in case I’m stuck in one line or another; I read on my lunch break and on car trips, and overall I’m a pretty fast reader. Reading fast and reading for particular aspects of a book is a skill I’ve honed through my serving on various book awards committees for the past five years. To keep track of books, I keep a private blog (entries are not visible to anyone but me) and use tags to organize my entries.
4. How do you promote the Printz winners in your library?
Every year I try to choose at least one Printz winner or honor book as one of the books read in our countywide summer teen book discussion program. Because my job is to serve other librarians, I ask them to think about the Printz books as works of art, and to host discussions and make displays that emphasize the artistic achievements of the winner and honor books. With the BCCLS Mock Printz, which is geared toward librarians, I emphasize that the point of the award is literary quality, not popularity or emotional reaction, and encourage participants to use YALSA’s criteria to look at books in a different way. I blog from the awards ceremony when I attend Midwinter and usually host electronic chats both before and after the Printz is announced so librarians can discuss their thoughts on the winner and honor books.
1. Please tell us a little about yourself.
I am the head librarian at Robert E. Lee High School in Fairfax County, Virginia about 10 miles south of D.C., and have served as a public school librarian at the middle school and high school level for more than a decade. Currently I am the chair of the Alex Awards Committee; I served as a member of the committee for the 2005 and 2006 lists, and was the administrative assistant to last year’s committee. I’m also a nominator for H.W. Wilson’s Senior High collection. I sponsor a dynamic and popular book club for students who enjoy discussing an eclectic variety of YA books, and who are never shy about sharing their insights. On a personal note, if I don’t have a book in my hands, I’m usually cycling or heading to the movies.
2. Tell us how you define “literary quality.”
Literary quality involves understanding how all the elements of a book–character, plot, setting, voice, theme, authenticity, language, and format–are woven together to create an experience that is both unique and recognizable to the reader. Whether fiction or nonfiction, these elements are seamless and consistent throughout the work, and resonate as a whole.
3. The books will be coming at you fast and furious – what’s your reading plan for the year?
With my experience on the Alex Committee, I understand the challenge of reading an insane number of books in a limited amount of time. I prioritize my reading based on word-of-mouth and reviews that indicate to me a title has potential as an award-winner. I listen closely to my colleagues on the committee and their impressions of titles I have not yet read, then read as much as possible. I keep an Excel spreadsheet detailing my thoughts on each book and have developed a color-coded system to help me rank them. Because literary quality is the criteria for selection, I anticipate having to read top contenders more than once to truly make an informed decision.
4. How do you promote the Printz winners in your library?
Every year I promote the Printz winners by giving them a high profile through displays, booktalks, book club discussions, newsletters, and recommendations to students and teachers. I have given presentations about award-winners at district and regional library meetings and conferences.
1, A little about myself…
I am a former middle school English teacher. I have taught YA literature at the university level for 20 years now. I coordinate an annual literature festival for my LS department, write YA reviews for SIGNAL, VOYA, and ALAN. Currently I write the audiobook review column for VOYA as well. I have been a member of the Quick Picks Committee, the Margaret A. Edwards Committee, and the first ever Odyssey Committee. I have also taught online classes for YALSA and served on Publications, Professional Development, and TAGS Committees. I am a past recipient of a YALSA/VOYA/Henne research grant. In my spare time, I am rearing three granddaughters and two cats. You can catch me on my blog: http://www.professornana.livejournal.com.
2. Defining literary quality is tough to do briefly as there are so many different aspects of a book that need to be considered. Overall, I think the books that rise to the top are the ones which are best at creating such a memorable reading experience that a reader not only pauses to reflect during the reading but comes away from the reading somehow changed. That takes well developed characters who take on a life off the pages of the story, a plot that is tight and, more than likely, surprises the reader, and language that sings. Generally, it is also a book that demands to be read more than once. I do not mean to omit nonfiction from this discussion. The best nonfiction employs many of the same techniques, something that is terriby hard to do because it also has to deal with the facts as well. Ultimately, literary quality is about the basics: words, sentences, paragraphs–but these basic building blocks create a structure that is greater than the sum of its parts.
3. I have quite a bit of experience with reading books that come at me fast and furiously thanks to serving on plenty of other committees including Quick Picks. I have also served on Children’s Choices and Teacher’s Choices for the International Reading Association where it was necessary to read tons of books in a short period of time. My job hours entail mostly Saturdays for teaching leaving me time during the week for reading. I have no doubt that I will feel overwhelmed at times, but what a wonderful problem: to have tons of books and have to find the time to read them all.
4. I promote the Printz in every presentation I do for teachers and librarians around the country. I present workshops year round and speak to thousands of educators each year. I always include not only the current winners but the books that have won in the past as well. In my YA literature courses, I do the same. Many Printz winners are required reading for my students who wish to become school librarians. I want them to not only know about the award but to know the incredible array of books that have won.
1. Please tell us a little about yourself.
I am originally from the Midwest (Iowa) but have worked my way east – getting my MLS at Kent State University in Ohio and then settling in Brooklyn, New York where I am currently the Coordinator of Young Adult Services at the Brooklyn Public Library. Living and working in one of the most diverse communities and being both a member and leader of inter-departmental library committees and inter-agency city committees, I have had numerous opportunities to work collaboratively and have incorporated these experiences and viewpoints into my planning and decision making- something I think will be helpful if I am elected to the Printz Committee
I read a wide range of YA materials, and have assisted in creating various booklists for teens and have served on many young adult book selection committees, both at BPL and with other organizations such as the New York Women’s Agenda NY Reads Together program. I participate in an after-work book discussion group, belong to several book related list servs, regularly read YA lit blogs, and feel comfortable discussing books and trends in literature. I attend ALA, PLA, and local and state library association conferences, as well as other events, like NY Comicon, Animefest, and IG Trend Central’s Trend School to stay informed of the best practices and emerging trends in youth services. I am a YALSA SUS trainer and often do presentations on youth services for youth-serving agencies in the NYC metro area, and I presented as part of a panel at the YALSA 2006 President’s Program on the topic of “How Adult is Young Adult” discussing YA/Adult crossover in literature.
On a personal note, I enjoy traveling, shopping the local flea markets, and watching my share of trash TV.
2. Tell us how you define “literary quality.”
While there is no one set criteria for literary quality there are often key elements that arise. A work of literary quality uses language, characterization, setting or style in a way that transcends mere plot progression. It often evokes emotion or insight that leads us to reflect or re-examine ourselves, our views and the world around us, leaving us feeling that we have not just read a book but truly experienced it. This may be through layers of complexity or with a more subtle simplicity. A personal sign for me is when I find myself thinking back to a book regularly as I go through my day to day life, and feel its impact long after I‘ve read it.
3. The books will be coming at you fast and furious– what’s your reading plan for the year?
Duck? Just kidding. My plan is: Be organized. Keep reading relevant review journals, listservs and blogs. Clear off lots of space on my personal bookshelves. Take notes. Deck out my favorite reading spots and plan t o spend plenty of time there.
4. How do you promote the Printz winners in your library?
One of my key responsibilities involves staff development, so I am always looking for new and creative ways to keep staff engaged and open to the latest, most popular, and best in young adult literature. Luckily I work with some fabulous Young Adult Librarians who are enthusiastic about reading YA books and connecting teens and others with them, so we work collaboratively to promote the Printz Award winners and other great titles. One example of this is our annual BPL Mock Printz. Our program has been one of the most popular among staff, and the process includes encouraging staff to share suggested titles for discussion, working with a committee to create a reading list from the staff suggestions, and organizing a final discussion program where staff work in groups to discuss each title and vote for their favorites. While not an exact replica of the official Printz Award Committee process, this Mock Printz program has been a great opportunity for staff to think critically and thoughtfully about contemporary young adult literature. This past year we incorporated a Mock Printz blog to further encourage discussion and are currently building up a goodreads.com group to discuss our favorite titles. We also promote the Printz Award winners in booklists, displays, booktalks and on our website and MySpace page. We sometimes get opportunities to highlight new books on our local news shows, and try to work in the award winners whenever we can.
1. Please tell us a little about yourself.
I’m overbooked, and loving it… Seriously, I;m Collection Management Administrator for the Chesterfield County Public Library (metro Richmond). I’ve worked a variety of jobs, (including Youth Services Supervisor) in Libraryland and in assorted bookstores – almost all my gainful employment (ignoring the waitress portion) since I was 15 has been book related. I’ve been an active member of YALSA since I received by MLS in 1988. I’m a generalist at heart but believe that it is best to know something of everything and everything of something – Lord Henry P. Brougham. I’m married and have too many animals. If I’m not reading then I’m listening to music, watching selected TV shows (Torchwood comes to mind), working on Overbooked – or all of the above. I like to spend time underwater and enjoy traveling with family.
2. Tell us how you define “literary quality.”
There are very well thought-out criteria for defining literary quality in relation to the Printz… Working with the task force to set up the Bill Morris Debut Author Award helped me to see how carefully considered award criteria is developed. think Priscille has done a good job of delineating some of the criteria in her post. There is still always a level of subjective judgment that comes into play – how does the book resonate as a whole. The great thing about committee work is that you have the structure of criteria and a wealth of other diverse subjective judgment arising from the committee’s members. The passion, professionalism, and thoughtfulness of award committee members generally coalesces so that the selection or selections that emerge from an award committee are usually transcendent and worthy of the honor.
3. The books will be coming at you fast and furious – what’s your reading plan for the year?
Fortunately I am a fast and furious reader – I really do read like a fiend. I am always overwhelmed with books, thanks to my job and thanks to running the overbooked.org web site. I’ve also had the pleasure of serving on the Alex Awards committee so I’ve contended with vast quantities of suggested titles, nominations, etc. I’m good at prioritizing my reading time and organized about note taking, etc. to assist in my committee work. I’m also good at absorbing books and thinking about them in various contexts – for RA purposes, for promotion in the library or online, for a committee…
4. How do you promote the Printz winners in your library?
We have an ongoing RA training program and make sure major award winners are included for staff awareness. We also add special bibliographic tags into records to promote key awards like the Printz. Booklists (printed and online) are also employed to promote award winners. The Library newsletter also notes award winners. I’d like to be able to promote even more YA titles on Overbooked.
1. Please tell us a little about yourself.
I’m originally from Georgia, where I worked for two public library systems since the age of thirteen. From there, I headed north to the Providence Public Library in Rhode Island where I first worked in their Art & Music department but later on became a children’s specialist. In 2001 I moved to New York City to work at The New York Public Library as a young adult librarian, first in the branch libraries, then to Teen Central. Now, as the Assistant Coordinator of Young Adult Services, I help head up teen services for 89 locations across the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island. Materials, programming, training, mentoring and technology for teens are my life every day. Last year I published a book called Serving LGBTQ Teens: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians. We just wrapped up the 2008 edition of Books for the Teen Age at The New York Public Library – I primarily work on the teen fiction sections. Finally, I’m hoping to see my first teen review in New York Times Book Review published this month!
I live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with my partner James and two nutty cats. My music cut-off date is usually 1971, and I prefer it in original format: vinyl records. You can find me on Twitter and Facebook under the name Jacksondevious. My MySpace URL is http://www.myspace.com/hillias.
2. Tell us how you define "literary quality."
In its rawest form, I think literary quality comes from successfully melding the different elements of writing and storytelling: plot, atmosphere, voice, characterization and setting. However, I think these elements apply uniquely to different books and different audiences, particularly since the today’s technological environment has bred such an interesting mix of experiences for “readers” both in literature on the printed page and on a screen.
That said, I think that literary quality has evolved: we can no longer look at reading and all of its aspects strictly as words on paper. While Printz is an award for a literary work we call a book, in making our considerations, I think we can’t ignore the impact that other literary contributions and incarnations have on the minds of the teens we serve: the online world, the real world, the fanfiction world. While I’m not sure these worlds hold a place in the Printz canon (it would be totally awesome if they did), I think we have to keep them in mind when we make our decisions, because these works are the gateways into understanding and serving the teens we see every day in our libraries.
3. The books will be coming at you fast and furious – what’s your reading plan for the year?
After serving on Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers for three years (including chairing the 2008 committee) and reviewing for The New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age, School Library Journal and Kirkus all at the same time, I think it’s safe to say I’m prepared for the reading.
4. How do you promote the Printz winners in your library?
The libraries of The New York Public Library promote Printz winners in a variety of ways. They create special displays when the winners are announced. They have mock Printz book discussions. They showcase and book talk award winners in class visits. Whereas we always include the Printz winners in Books for the Teen Age, often we feature the author in an interview with one of our Teen Advisory Groups along with a highlight of the book. We’ve hosted many Printz award winning authors in our branches, including Markus Zusak, Garret Freymann-Weyr, John Green, Walter Dean Myers, Gene Yang, Carolyn Mackler, Jack Gantos, Elizabeth Partridge, Marilyn Nelson and more!
Jack Martin,
2010 Michael Printz Award Candidate
hilliasj@earthlink.net
1. Please tell us a little about yourself.
I spend a significant chunk of every day reading books. (That means I typically spend very little time watching TV, going to movies, or sleeping.) I write about my favorite books on Richie’s Picks http://richiespicks.com and booktalk them in presentations all over the San Francisco Bay area. I spend my “free time” trying to change the world and believe that promoting literacy and great literature — particularly among young adults — is one of the most productive ways to accomplish this. I am also an instructor in the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University.
2. Tell us how you define “literary quality.”
Rather than citing textbook definitions, I rely on my experience as a life-long reader and a librarian who reads every day. I would borrow the words of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart who wrote back in 1964 in Jacobellis v. Ohio, “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it…
3. The books will be coming at you fast and furious – what’s your reading plan for the year?
(See #1 above.)
When in sixth grade we were required to keep a reading log, I finished the year with 124 books read; the next person had read 55. That is when I recognized that, despite seeing myself at the time as a math geek, I was also a reader. Fast and furious is a challenge I relish.
4. How do you promote the Printz winners in your library?
Each of the students in my Picture Books for Older Readers class this semester has to read and do various tasks with 50 books. There is only one book that every single student is required to read: American Born Chinese.