A few weeks ago a new round of book awards were announced. You can find the announcements of the 2018 Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) Book and Media Award Winners at this link. This organization is a division of The American Library Association (ALA). This organization hosts a number of book awards for children and adolescents. On March 7, 2018 Dr. Bickmore’s YA Wednesday hosted a blog post about the ALA Book Awards. Today, Melanie Koss provides us an insider view of working as a member (and chair) of the 2017 Michael L. Printz Award Committee.
Here are the Printz winners for 2018, with We Are Okay as the Winner.
The Michael L. Printz Award, a View from the Inside by Melanie Koss
It’s early Monday morning, the Michael L. Printz Award committee is gathered bright and early, all wearing smiles and matching baseball t-shirts. They’re ready for their group photo, but more importantly, they’re ready for the world to hear their winner and honor books announced at the American Library Association (ALA) Youth Media Award announcements, the Oscars of the children’s literature world. They’ve worked hard all year and this announcement is the culmination of their efforts. But who are the people behind the award, and how do they make their decisions?
It all starts over a year before, when committee members are elected and appointed, and the chair is determined. Committee members are librarians and educators across America. They come from different places, span different ages, and all have different backgrounds. Introductions are made. Initial phone calls are had. A group Google Hangout takes place. The committee gets to know one another and plans are made. The excitement and fear is palpable, but the committee members are ready to go!
It all starts over a year before, when committee members are elected and appointed, and the chair is determined. Committee members are librarians and educators across America. They come from different places, span different ages, and all have different backgrounds. Introductions are made. Initial phone calls are had. A group Google Hangout takes place. The committee gets to know one another and plans are made. The excitement and fear is palpable, but the committee members are ready to go!
2017 Printz Award Winner
I was honored to be appointed chair of the 2017 Michael L. Printz Award Committee, yet also overwhelmed at the magnitude of the task ahead of me. I was so excited to meet my committee and get started. First things first, an introductory email was sent out and links to the handbook, policies and procedures. and ALA/YALSA policies were provided. Next, I called each committee member and the process was started. Finally, February 1, 2016, arrived and it was time for the first meeting.
At the first meeting, after introductions and housekeeping was taken care of, the nitty gritty began. How would we manage ALL THE BOOKS? What procedures would we all follow? How does a committee of nine select the “best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit”? What does that even mean, “best book”? That was something we needed to come together to find out.
But you’re asking, how does it really work? How do you read all of the books? How do you decide? Obviously, every committee member could not possibly read all the books? While each committee has a different work flow and procedures, here’s what my committee did.
At the first meeting, after introductions and housekeeping was taken care of, the nitty gritty began. How would we manage ALL THE BOOKS? What procedures would we all follow? How does a committee of nine select the “best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit”? What does that even mean, “best book”? That was something we needed to come together to find out.
But you’re asking, how does it really work? How do you read all of the books? How do you decide? Obviously, every committee member could not possibly read all the books? While each committee has a different work flow and procedures, here’s what my committee did.
2017 Printz Honor Book
First, it sounds silly, but we each identified a place to store the books. We had to prepare for anywhere between 400-700 books and to come up with a system for organizing those books. Look at your bookshelves. Count out 400-700 books, and picture receiving all of those books in the space of one year and keeping them organized. Personally, I cleared out all of the bookshelves in my home office and prepared to organize my books alphabetically with a color-coded system. I had an intake area for new books received, a to-read section holding books I was responsible for reading, a NO section (pink sticker), a MAYBE section (yellow sticker), and a YES section (green sticker).
Next, finding the books. Yes, many publishers choose to send committee members books they believe have literary merit to make sure that the committee sees them. But we couldn’t sit back and wait for the books to come to us. We actively searched bookstores and publisher catalogs, asked friends for recommendations, and kept an eye and ear out for any likely titles. The Printz Award targets books from ages 12-18, and the guidelines are that the book must be published in America in English for the first time. An eligible title might have originally come out in another country or another language in a previous calendar year, but it was eligible for the Printz only when it was first published in the U.S. We had to find those books!
Next, finding the books. Yes, many publishers choose to send committee members books they believe have literary merit to make sure that the committee sees them. But we couldn’t sit back and wait for the books to come to us. We actively searched bookstores and publisher catalogs, asked friends for recommendations, and kept an eye and ear out for any likely titles. The Printz Award targets books from ages 12-18, and the guidelines are that the book must be published in America in English for the first time. An eligible title might have originally come out in another country or another language in a previous calendar year, but it was eligible for the Printz only when it was first published in the U.S. We had to find those books!
2017 Printz Honor Book
Next, books received were entered into a database and books were assigned to committee members. Every title was assigned a reader, who determined if the book was a yes, no, or maybe. Any maybe book was assigned a second reader. Any book that received 3+ starred reviews was automatically assigned a second reader. If a book received two maybes or a maybe and a no, a third reader was assigned. What do yes, no, and maybe mean? A no is a book that is deemed not to have the literary merit as required by the Printz. That does not mean the book is not a quality book or one that will have a great readership, but that it doesn’t meet the guidelines the committee established using their rubric of literary elements. A maybe means the read thinks the book has potential but has to ponder it for a bit or would like to discuss it with others. A yes means a book was officially nominated.
Nominations. Any committee member can read and nominate any title, regardless of whether or not they were the assigned reader. If a book is nominated, every committee member must read it and it must be on the table for deliberation.
Nominations. Any committee member can read and nominate any title, regardless of whether or not they were the assigned reader. If a book is nominated, every committee member must read it and it must be on the table for deliberation.
2017 Printz Honor Book
We met in person twice over the course of the year and had several virtual meetings and conversations. Each month we had an official Google Hangout, we had a private Facebook group where we posted thoughts on titles read and any questions we had, and emails were exchanged. We first met in person at the ALA Annual Conference and had practice deliberations. We selected eleven books that we wished to discuss. The selected books were chosen for many different reasons, including books at each end of the age spectrum, books with obvious flaws, books with cultural components that must be verified, and books we thought were strong contenders. During closed-door meetings, we discussed each book in turn, debating its merits. A book marketed as young adult (YA) by publishers was easy. The tricky part were books designated ages 10-14 or grades 5+. We didn’t want to leave out books for twelve-year-olds and we recognized how carefully we had to consider each title. Through these practice deliberations, we determined our strategy for our official deliberations.
Prior to ALA Midwinter, the second time we met in person and the conference at which the winners were determined, we held straw polls to get a sense of the books people were feeling very strongly about. Books were read and reread, notes were compiled, rubrics were filled out, and thoughts were gathered. Finally, it was time to enter the deliberation room and make our decisions.
Prior to ALA Midwinter, the second time we met in person and the conference at which the winners were determined, we held straw polls to get a sense of the books people were feeling very strongly about. Books were read and reread, notes were compiled, rubrics were filled out, and thoughts were gathered. Finally, it was time to enter the deliberation room and make our decisions.
2017 Printz Honor Book
This was serious business! Although we all came into the room with our favorites, we also agreed to come in with open minds and be prepared to be persuaded and to persuade others. Our motto was “Trust the Process.” Every book nominated was discussed and much chocolate was consumed. Around and around the room we went, with every committee member sharing their thoughts about each book. First, all nominated books were discussed and an informal vote was held. Any book with fewer than five votes was eliminated from contention and the process started again with all remaining books. However, ever committee member had one veto, which they could use to save one book during every informal vote. The it was up to them to convince the rest of us of the book’s merits.
Eventually, after many hours of debate, the pool was small enough that we were ready to take a paper ballot to choose our winner. The Printz policies and procedures guide has specific voting guidelines. We vote for our top three choices, and each is assigned a point value. A book must receive five first place votes and earn at least five more points than the second-place title. Discussion and balloting continues until a winner is chosen. Much rejoicing is had! But our work was not yet done. We had to decide, as a committee, if we wished to select any honor books. We could select up to four honor books, and any book nominated was eligible to receive an honor medal. Every book was back on the table! Books we might have eliminated as not having the qualities to be our official winner might have the merit to win an honor. The process began again. A straw vote was conducted of all nominated titles. Any title receiving no votes was removed from contention. Then, a formal, weighted paper ballot was conducted, and the honor books were decided upon based on the result of this ballot. We had four honors, and looking across our titles we were thrilled to see we had a mix of genres, cultures, and genders represented in our winning titles and authors. Not intentional on our parts, but exciting to see nonetheless.
Our work was not yet done, but the next part was fun part. We got to put the stickers on the winning books! We all cheered as I placed the shiny gold sticker on our winning title, March: Book Three. The cheers continued as I placed a shiny silver sticker on our honor books, Asking for It, The Passion of Dolssa, Scythe, and The Sun is Also a Star. Finally, with the help of committee members, I filled out the forms and wrote annotations for our winners. It was time to sleep and celebrate.
Eventually, after many hours of debate, the pool was small enough that we were ready to take a paper ballot to choose our winner. The Printz policies and procedures guide has specific voting guidelines. We vote for our top three choices, and each is assigned a point value. A book must receive five first place votes and earn at least five more points than the second-place title. Discussion and balloting continues until a winner is chosen. Much rejoicing is had! But our work was not yet done. We had to decide, as a committee, if we wished to select any honor books. We could select up to four honor books, and any book nominated was eligible to receive an honor medal. Every book was back on the table! Books we might have eliminated as not having the qualities to be our official winner might have the merit to win an honor. The process began again. A straw vote was conducted of all nominated titles. Any title receiving no votes was removed from contention. Then, a formal, weighted paper ballot was conducted, and the honor books were decided upon based on the result of this ballot. We had four honors, and looking across our titles we were thrilled to see we had a mix of genres, cultures, and genders represented in our winning titles and authors. Not intentional on our parts, but exciting to see nonetheless.
Our work was not yet done, but the next part was fun part. We got to put the stickers on the winning books! We all cheered as I placed the shiny gold sticker on our winning title, March: Book Three. The cheers continued as I placed a shiny silver sticker on our honor books, Asking for It, The Passion of Dolssa, Scythe, and The Sun is Also a Star. Finally, with the help of committee members, I filled out the forms and wrote annotations for our winners. It was time to sleep and celebrate.
On Sunday afternoon, the day before the awards were officially announced, we got to call the winners and let them know the grand news. We gathered again behind a closed door and cheered each and every winner, when they answered the phone that is. It took quite a few tries to reach some of our winners, but we were determined. With smiles on our faces, and mouths zipped shut, we reentered the world, waiting patiently for Monday morning when the awards were announced. When we heard the gasps and cheers from the conference attendees filling the large room, we knew we had succeeded in a job well done.
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