The Absolutely True Story of A YALSA Nominating Form: A Chat Transcript

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What follows is a word-for-word transcript of a chat between Michael L. Printz Award Committee 2011 Chair Erin Downey Howerton and her Administrative Assistant, Sophie Brookover.
Erin: Oh Sophie, good thing I caught you today.’  I just read a marvelous book, and I am dying to nominate it for the Printz Award! It’s called The Most Amazing Book…EVER, by Fantastic Author.’  We surely must discuss this book amongst ourselves!
Sophie: Oh, I love Fantastic Author! I read that book too, and it is indeed amazing, but I’m pretty sure it was published for the adult market, so sadly, it would not be eligible for the Michael L. Printz Award.
Erin: <wails, gnashes teeth>’  You have to be kidding me… I am so disappointed!’  But I feel so strongly about this book.’  Surely, there has to be something we can do to make sure it gets considered for a YALSA award (even if it’s not eligible for ours).’  Can’t we find the right award or selection list?
Sophie: I bet we can — YALSA has a wide variety of distinguished awards and selection lists.’  Let me look at the eligibility requirements and see what your options are.’  [. . . ] Hey, looks like The Most Amazing Book…EVER is a suitable nomination for the Alex Awards, which, as you know, honor “ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.” You can nominate it for Alex!
Erin: Great idea, Sophie! I’m so glad I asked you. You know, I’m looking at the nomination forms online and it looks like YALSA has totally revamped these.’  The updates make the forms even easier to use.
Sophie: No, I hadn’t! Wow, what a great improvement! It’s so handy to have all of the nomination forms available in one spot! This is going to make it so easy for readers to nominate their favorite books for the appropriate award or selection list!
Erin: Right you are! It’s a good thing we talked today – I feel like spreading the word so everyone knows about this.
Sophie: Me, too! I’m going to go nominate a bunch of great books right now! Which I can do, because I am not an author, editor or publisher!
The Most Amazing Book…EVER, by Fantastic Author, published by Awesomeness Press, an imprint of Rampant Excellence, is available at major imaginary bookstores nationwide.

Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults – One Month In

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The Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults committee has just finished up our first month of nominations, and we’ve got some great titles on our list of possibilities! You can see the February nominations here.

I would very much like to encourage all you amazing teen librarians (and any teens who might be reading this) to submit field nominations for PPYA. We want our lists to be as useful in the field as possible, and we can only do that with input from the people who use them! You can submit a field nomination here. Please fill the form out completely!

We’re looking for titles that fit one of four themes:

Dead, Dying & the Undead: Death can be an adventure, but not everyone lives to tell about it. Join us in exploring the often mysterious world of death and those who experience it . . . and those who come back.

Fame & Fortune: Stardom! Wealth! Notoriety! Read all about teens aspiring to make it big.

Journey>Destination: Take a journey of your own by reading about authentic and imagined road trips and journeys by any and all means of transport in the world.

Spies & Intrigue: Political intrigue, daring deeds, great escapes, and more in this thrilling list of fiction and nonfiction about those who operate within the world of shadow.

A few things to keep in mind when considering titles to nominate:

* Title must be in-print and in paperback
* Young Adult and Adult titles with teen appeal will be considered
* Fiction and nonfiction will be considered
* Copyright dates are not a consideration
* Publishers and authors may not nominate their own books

* It’s all about the popular!

All field nominations do need to be seconded by a committee member, but we truly appreciate your input! Help us out — nominate something good. And popular.

Karen Brooks-Reese
Chair, PPYA 2009

Top 10 Audiobooks

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Greetings … inspired by the Best of 2007 lists that have recently come out from a bunch of publications (Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and the New York Times are what I’ve seen [My computer has forgotten my SLJ password and so have I, so I haven’t seen its list, but according to Fuse#8 it’s out too]), here is my highly personalized list of favorites from this year’s listening:

  • Before I Die by Jenny Downham, narrated by Charlotte Parry
  • Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer, narrated by Katherine Kellgren
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling, narrated by Jim Dale
  • Larklight by Philip Reeve, narrated by Greg Steinbruner
  • Mimus by Lili Thal, narrated by Maxwell Caulfield
  • The Off Season by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, narrated by Natalie Moore
  • Soul Eater by Michelle Paver, narrated by Ian McKellen
  • Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, narrated by Joel Johnstone and Debra Wiseman
  • The Wednesday Wars by Gary L. Schmidt, narrated by Joel Johnstone
  • What is the What by Dave Eggers, narrated by Dion Graham

(Bear in mind, of course, that I’m not done listening, there may be other gems awaiting me.)

Our nomination deadline is December 1 (that’s next Saturday!). If there’s an audiobook that you’ve enjoyed — published this year or last — and you don’t see it on our most recent list of nominations, be sure to nominate it yourself. We might have already listened and decided not to nominate it, but your vote might change our minds!

Keep on listening!