May I have the envelope, please?

by

Posted by Teri Lesesne

There was a palpable thrill in the air of Hall C as Pam Spencer Holley opened the first ever live web cast of the awards ceremony known as the Oscars of the juvenile literature world. Librarians and publishers mingled before being called to order with lots of us getting in our last picks for winning titles before the actual announcements.

After viewing footage from the forthcoming Pura Belpre video that celebrates the 10th anniversary of this award, President Michael Gorman opened the ceremonies by announcing the winners of the Schneider Family Award. (for a full list of awards: http://news.ala.org/releases/announce.html). ALEX Awards were announced and then it was time for what all the YALSA folks had been anticipating since the beginning of conference: the winners of the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Printz winners.

Pam Spencer Holley’s announcement of Jacqueline Woodson as the recipient of the 2006 MAE Award we met with much enthusiasm. Printz winners came next, again to thunderous applause. (List of Winners.)

After announcements for all the awards were made, we scurried off to call friends and colleagues. Immediately, the listservs lit up with the post announcement discussion also known as Monday morning quarterbacking. It was an incredibly exciting way to start a day here in San Antonio.

Awards Press Conference Webcast

by

ALA announced today that the awards press conference scheduled for Monday, January 23rd, will be webcast. The press release reads:

ALA to provide live Webcast of top children/teen literary awards announcement January 23

(CHICAGO) For the first time ever, the American Library Association (ALA) will pilot a live Webcast of its national announcement of the top books and video for children and young adults – including the Caldecott, King, Newbery and Printz awards – on January 23 at 7:55 a.m. CST. The award announcements are made as part of the ALA Midwinter Meeting, which will bring together more than 12,000 librarians, publishers, authors and guests in San Antonio from January 20 to 25.

Online visitors will be able to view the live Webcast the morning of the announcements by following the links that will be on the ALA home page and at news.ala.org. High-speed access will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. For ALA Midwinter Meeting participants, the press conference will be held in the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center Ballroom C, and doors open at 7:30 a.m.

This year also marks the premier of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, which honors both the author and illustrator of an outstanding book for beginning readers, and the 10th anniversary of the Pura Belpré Award, which honors Latino writers and illustrators whose work best portrays, affirms and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in a work of literature for youth. In celebration of the anniversary, ALA will show (and Webcast) a clip from a new Belpré video created by Scholastic and Weston Woods before the formal press conference announcement begins. The Alex Awards for the best adult books that appeal to teen audiences also will make their Midwinter Meeting debut. In past years, the 10 book picks were announced during National Library Week.

Awards to be announced January 23 are:

The press release announcing the 2006 award winners will be available online at www.ala.org by 10 a.m. CST. Adult book awards also announced during the conference include: Notable Books for Adults, the Black Caucus of the ALA Literary Awards and the Stonewall Awards. For more information on ALA literary awards, please visit: http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=bookmediaawards