2021 Nonfiction Award Finalists Selection Process

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With the recent release of the 2021 Nonfiction Award Finalists, we want to be transparent (while respecting confidentiality) about the award’s criteria and selection process. The process for the Nonfiction Award selection is a rigorous task.  The Nonfiction Award Committee is charged with recognizing the best in the field of nonfiction books. With that in mind, each meeting is conducted with a thorough review of the purpose and eligibility requirements, with a particular emphasis on excellent writing, research, presentation, and readability for young adults. All finalists are vetted through a year-long process following YALSA’s protocol.

For the past several years, YALSA has been utilizing an EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) lens to transform the foundation upon which YALSA’s policies and procedures are built. As part of the year-round virtual work undertaken by the board, they recently identified the need to re-evaluate all volunteer groups’ charge, including all book awards’ and selection lists’ evaluation criteria for nominated titles according to YALSA’s EDI Statement and EDI Plan, which is embedded within YALSA’s current interim strategic plan. The YALSA Board’s interim strategic plan’s goal is that “100% of all programs, products, events, and education will support YALSA’s statement on EDI.”

On YALSA Award Winners and Ebooks

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In the spring issue of YALS, you’ll find an easy-to-reference listing of all the YALSA award winners and book and media lists announced at the ALA Midwinter Meeting. Since ebooks are on the rise, I thought I’d take a look at which of the winners are currently available as ebooks and which are available for libraries on OverDrive.

Counting the winners and honors of the awards (except for Odyssey) and the top ten books on the Best Fiction, Quick Picks, and Popular Paperback lists, we end up with 50 unique titles. Of those, 37 are available as ebooks that can be purchased through the usual channels including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and Google Books. The only titles that aren’t available electronically are non-fiction titles, graphic novels, and older fiction titles. Of the 37 ebooks, 20 are available for libraries to lend in OverDrive, according to their search engine.

As the ebook market continues to grow, I expect we will see more backlist titles become available, while full-color ereaders and tablet computers will allow graphic-intensive books to be offered electronically. Whether or not more ebooks will be available for library lending, however, remains to be seen. I hope that next year, more of the award-winning and noteworthy books honored by YALSA will be available to as many readers as possible in their desired reading format. Read More →

Join the Youth Media Awards LIVE!

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Join YALSA with LIVE streaming video of all the YMA announcement, presented jointly by the YALSA Blog and The Hub. Along with the video, we’ll also be offering quick polls and pulling Twitter hashtags like #printz and #alexawards. You can log in to the live session with your Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or OpenID username (which will include your avatar), or just jump right in.

YALSA Blog manager mk Eagle (username pandanose) will be offering transcriptions of all the announcements, with live video from The Hub blogger Jessica Pryde. Coverage begins at 7:30 central on Monday, January 23.

YALSA announces 2011 Nonfiction Shortlist!

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YALSA has chosen five books as finalists for the 2011 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults, which honors the best nonfiction books written for young adults between Nov. 1, 2009 and Oct. 31, 2010. YALSA will name the 2011 award winner at the Youth Media Awards on Jan. 10, during the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting in San Diego.

The 2011 finalists are:

  • “Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing” by Ann Angel, published by Amulet/Abrams
  • “They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  • “Spies of Mississippi:’  The True Story of the Spy Network that Tried to Destroy the Civil Rights Movement” by Rick Bowers, published by National Geographic Society
  • “The Dark Game: True Spy Stories” by Paul Janeczko, published by Candlewick Press
  • “Every Bone Tells a Story: Hominin Discoveries, Deductions, and Debates” by Jill Rubalcaba and Peter Robertshaw, published by Charlesbridge

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Morris and Nonfiction Awards Live Blog

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If you can’t be at the Westin Copley Plaza for the Morris and Nonfiction Awards, you can join the live blog by clicking in the viewer window below. We’ll have live streaming video, commentary from those of us in the room, and selected tweets about the awards.

You have the option to sign in using your Twitter, Facebook or MySpace ID, which will include your avatar. We’ll be automatically publishing tweets that use hashtags #MorrisAward, #yalsanf and #yalsa. A replay of the live event will be available as soon as we close the session.

Join YALSA in Boston–or Your Living Room

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Those of you who aren’t with us in Boston or find yourself double (or triple!) booked can participate in several YALSA events via live coverage at the YALSA blog. Once again we’ll be using CoverItLive, with some exciting changes: live streaming video and social networking logins.

When you join the live blog session by clicking in the viewer window (see last year’s BBYA live blog to see the interface) you’ll have the option to log in using your Facebook, Twitter or MySpace login. Your comments will then appear with your avatar from that account. You’ll also be able to view our streaming video from the session thanks to integration with Qik.

The schedule of YALSA live blogs:

Best Books for Young Adults Teen Session: Sunday, January 17 1:30-3:30 PM

Youth Media Awards: Monday, January 18 7:30-9:00 AM

Morris and Nonfiction Awards: Monday, January 18 8:00-10:00 PM

Nonfiction Award: Interview with Phillip Hoose

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At Midwinter 2010 in Boston, the winner of the inaugural YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults will be announced.’  To celebrate this award, the YALSA blog will be publishing interviews with some of the shortlisted authors.’  Our last interview is with Phillip Hoose, author of Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice.’  Don’t forget to tune in on Monday, January 18th to see who wins the first-ever YALSA Nonfiction Award!

Claudette Colvin

Claudette Colvin

The Nonfiction Committee on Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice:’  “Hoose recounts the largely untold story of Claudette Colvin, who was arrested and jailed at the age of 15 after refusing to relinquish her seat on a bus to a white woman. Interviews with Colvin create a vivid picture not only of the Montgomery bus boycott but also the Browder v. Gayle case, in which she was a key defendant.”

YALSA Blog:’  Congratulations on being included on the shortlist for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults!’  What was your reaction to being included on the shortlist for this first-ever award?

Phillip Hoose:’  First, I’m thrilled that at last there is such an award.’  It’s long overdue’  recognition of those who have been telling true stories artfully.’ ‘  Of course I feel honored to be’  a finalist, especially in the first group.
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Nonfiction Award: Interview with Tanya Lee Stone

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At Midwinter 2010 in Boston, the winner of the inaugural YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults will be announced.’  To celebrate this award, the YALSA blog will be publishing interviews with some of the shortlisted authors.’  Our next interview is with Tanya Lee Stone, author of Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream.

Almost Astronauts

Almost Astronauts

The Nonfiction Committee on Almost Astronauts:’  “In the early 1960s, the doctor in charge of testing NASA’s astronauts decided to find out if female pilots were capable of passing the grueling qualification tests required of male pilots. Feasible? Yes. Allowed? No. All testing of women’s potential for the Mercury program was done outside NASA’s purview and without their permission. The reasons why will stun readers.”

YALSA Blog: Congratulations on being included on the shortlist for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults!’  What was your reaction to being included on the shortlist for this first-ever award?

Tanya Lee Stone:’  I was ecstatic! It’s such an honor to be included, and so exciting to be part of the first year’s celebration.
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YALSA announces Nonfiction Award shortlist

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YALSA chose five books as finalists for its brand-new 2010 Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults, which honors the best nonfiction books written for young adults between Nov. 1, 2008 and Oct. 31, 2009. YALSA will name the 2010 winner at the Youth Media Awards on Jan. 18, during Midwinter Meeting.

The 2010 finalists are:

  • “Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream” by Tanya Lee Stone, published by Candlewick
  • “Charles and Emma: The Darwins’ Leap of Faith” by Deborah Heiligman, published by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
  • “Claudette Colvin: Twice toward Justice” by Phillip Hoose, published by Melanie Kroupa Books/ Farrar Straus Giroux, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
  • “The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous and Stupendous Life of the Showman P. T. Barnum” by Candace Fleming, published by Schwartz & Wade Books/Random House
  • “Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland” by Sally M. Walker, published by Carolrhoda/Lerner

More information on the finalists and the award can be found at www.ala.org/yalsa/nonfiction. YALSA plans to sell 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 Morris Award winners, at a free reception from 8-10 p.m. on Jan. 18 at the Westin Copley Place Essex Center South.

Members of the 2010 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults award committee are: Chair Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York; Sallie H. Barringer, Walnut Hills High School, Cincinnati; Betsy J. Fraser, Calgary (Alb.) Public Library, Canada; Joyce K. Giuliani, Hayfield Secondary School, Alexandria, Va.; Andy Howe, Albuquerque (N.M.) Academy Simms Library; Dr. Jami L. Jones, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.; Tena Litherland, Webb School of Knoxville, Tenn.; Stephen L. Matthews, Foxcroft School, Middleburg, Va.; Jody Sharp, Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, Md.; Judy Sasges, administrative assistant, Sno-Isle Libraries, Marysville, Wash.; and Daniel Kraus, Booklist consultant, Chicago.

The YALSA Update: Shortlists, Midwinter Registration & More

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Promote the Morris Award shortlist @ your library‘® The Morris shortlist is out! You can promote it to teens in your library with a downloadable bookmark (PDF) that allows you to put each book’s location at your library and customize the back with your logo and contact information. Congrats to this year’s five nominees!

Nonfiction Award shortlist next week Watch YALSA’s website and this blog to see the shortlist for YALSA’s 2010 Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award! The shortlist will be announced next week. This new award honors the best fiction written for young adults in a Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 publishing year. Learn more at www.ala.org/yalsa/nonfiction.

Register for YALSA’s Midwinter events Even though today is the last day to receive the advanced registration discount, prices won’t change for either of YALSA’s pre-Midwinter ticketed events:’  Libraries 3.0: Teen Edition and Games, Gadgets and Gurus. You don’t need to register for Midwinter to attend either one.’  Details and how to register for them after the jump (you can read about everything we have planned for Midwinter Meeting, including a free program and reception honoring the 2010 Morris and Nonfiction Award honorees, at the YALSA Midwinter Wiki).

Read on for details on YALSA’s pre-Midwinter events, the Young Adult Literature Symposium Stipend, Teen Tech Week registration, and YALSA’s winter online courses.

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