The 2009 Alex Award Winners!

I’ve had the pleasure of being on the American Library Association’s Alex Awards committee for the past two years. The committee of 9 people from across the country select the top ten adult titles for young adults. What does this mean? This means that I receive hundreds of free adult hardback books to read in order to discuss the titles at the ALA conferences. This past weekend I was in Denver with my committee members (and now good friends) and we had a wonderful time discussing the great books we’ve read in the past year. However, we had to vote. And the picture shows the winners! I’ve included links to my reviews for each of the titles. These are awesome books! Here is the official page from ALA.

City of Thieves, by David Benioff

The Dragons of Babel, by Michael Swanwick

Finding Nouf, by Zoë Ferraris

The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti

Just After Sunset: Stories, by Stephen King

Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan

Over and Under, by Todd Tucker

The Oxford Project, by Stephen G. Bloom, photographed by Peter Feldstein

Sharp Teeth, by Toby Barlow

Three Girls and Their Brother, by Theresa Rebeck

I’m honored to be serving as chairperson of the 2010 Alex Award committee and can’t wait to find ten more “not boring” (so says Nick Hornby) books for teens to read!

Sarah Hill, Librarian
Paris High School
ISLMA Treasurer

 

YALSA Announces Morris Award Finalists

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), today announced the five finalists for the inaugural William C. Morris Award, which honors a book written by a first-time author for young adults.
The finalists are:

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce, published by Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic;
Graceling by Kristin Cashore, published by Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt;
Absolute Brightness by James Lecesne, published by HarperTeen/Laura Geringer Books;
Madapple by Christina Meldrum, published by Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books; and
Me, the Missing, and the Dead by Jenny Valentine, published by HarperTeen
“After much discussion, the committee has put together quite a list for this first year of the award,” said Bonnie Kunzel, committee chair. “We hope librarians and teachers all over the country will enjoy these books themselves and share them with their teen readers.”

The award is named for William C. (Bill) Morris, a longtime publishing executive beloved in the library world for his enthusiasm for promoting literature for children and teens.

“Recognizing first time authors’ achievements acknowledges the growth of the field of young adult literature,” said Sarah Cornish Debraski, YALSA president. “With so many new authors writing each year, these finalists will spotlight the most stellar. It is a very special way to remember Bill Morris and his support of young adult literature, authors, and YALSA.

The 2009 Morris Award committee is: Bonnie Kunzel, chair, Germantown, Tenn.; Molly Krichten, Hanover (Pa.) Public Library; Jeanette Larson, Pflugerville, Texas; Cindy Lombardo, Cleveland Public Library; Walter Mays, Girls’ Middle School, Mountainville, Calif.; Susan Riley, Mount Kisco (N.Y.) Public Library; Ian Rosenior, Miami Beach (Fla.) Regional Branch Library; Gail Tobin, Schaumburg Township (Ill.) District Library, Hanover Park Branch; Diane Tucillo, Harmony Library, Fort Collins, Colo.; and Susan Fichtelberg, administrative assistant, Public Library of Woodbridge, N.J.

For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos, and audio books for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists, or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.