Amelia Elizabeth

Walden Book Award

Responsibility Towards Today’s Y.A. Readers and the Art of Young Adult Literature

History

• Established in 2008 by the Assembly of Literature for Adolescents

• Named after Amelia Elizabeth Walden• A pioneer in YA who began publishing books for teens as

early as 1946• She wrote for teens because “I respond to young people

because I remember my own adolescence so vividly – and fondly. It was a period of total involvement, of enjoying life to the hilt.”

Criteria

• Per Walden’s request, honor and winning titles must be • a work of fiction, ideally a novel (stand-alone

or part of a series)• be published within one year prior to the call

for titles• be published in the United States but may have

been published elsewhere prior• possess a positive approach to life, widespread

teen appeal, and literary merit.

Criteria

• Literary Excellence• Submitted titles should:• contain well-developed characters• employ well-constructed forms suitable to

function• include language and literary devices that

enhance the narrative• suggest cogent and richly-realized themes• present an authentic voice

Criteria

• Widespread Teen Appeal• Submitted titles should:• be intended expressly for readers aged 12–18• have universal themes that transcend time and

place• have themes that resonate with a wide variety

of readers, regardless of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation• provide readers with a window to the world

and/or reflect their own experiences

Criteria

• Positive Approach to Life• Submitted titles should:• treat teen readers as capable and thoughtful

young people• offer hope and optimism, even when describing

difficult circumstances• have a credible and appropriate resolution• portray characters involved in shaping their

lives in a positive way, even as they struggle with the harsh realities of life

The Process

• Round 1: Books are split between 3 groups and each group discusses if the book meets the criteria and be moved to round 2. • Each group has 1 librarian, 1 teacher, and 1 professor• The committee also consists of a chair and past chair

• Round 2: All members of the committee read and discuss all round 2 books, and then vote to determine which books should move on.

• Round 3+: Books are reread, discussed, and voted on again until the finalists are revealed.

• Finals: Books are reread and the discussion moves to which book should win. The winner is then voted on.

2009

• My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins & Fenway Park by Steven Kluger (Winner)

• After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson

• Graceling by Kristin Cashore

• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

• Me, the Missing, and the Dead by Jenny Valentine

2010

• Fire by Kristin Cashore (Winner)

• Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

• The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey

• North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

• The Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill S. Alexander

2011

• The Last Summer of the Death Warriors by Francisco X. Stork (Winner)

• After Ever After  by Jordan Sonnenblick

• I Will Save You by Matt de la Peña

• Sorta Like a Rockstar by Matthew Quick

• Wolves, Boys, & Other Things That Might Kill Me by Kristen Chandler

2012

• Shine by Lauren Myracle (Winner)

• The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow

• Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

• Blood Red Road by Moira Young

• Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

2013

• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Winner)

• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secretes of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

• Ask the Passengers by A. S. King

• Endangered by Eliot Shrefer

2014

• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (Winner)

• Jumped In by Patrick Flores-Scott

• The Milk of Birds by Sylvia Whitman

• Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

• Winger by Andrew Smith

2015

• Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A.S. King (Winner)

• Diamond Boy by Michael Williams

• Gabi, A Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero

• The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

• Revolution (The Sixties Trilogy) by Deborah Wiles

More information about the Walden Award

• ALAN Website• http://www.alan-ya.org/awards/walden-award/

• Blog posts• http://tinyurl.com/NerdyWaldenPost • http://www.unleashingreaders.com/?p=4361 • http://tinyurl.com/YAWedWaldenPost

Presentation and handouts available

at:

http://www.slideshare.net/kelleemoye

http://www.slideshare.net/professornana