Mock Printz Awards

The Youth Media Awards, the collection of awards handed out by the American Library Association, will be presented in just over a month, on Monday, January 18. For young adult literature, the Michael L. Printz award is considered the highest achievement. Awarded annually since 2000, it honors the best book (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or anthology) in terms of literary merit and up to four honor books that were published in the United States during the award year. A committee of nine YALSA members discuss the eligible titles at the Annual and Midwinter ALA meetings and choose the winner and honor books in a closed door session.

To promote the reading and discussion of quality YA books, many library systems and regional library groups organize Mock Printz events. Typically, librarians will choose a list of 10-15 titles that they think merit inclusion on the Printz list. They then meet to discuss the books and choose their own winner and honor books before the official ceremony.

I was curious to see what books look like contenders for the award this year, so I compiled several Mock Printz lists and winners that I could find online. So far, I have seven lists. Several titles appear on multiple lists, but there are a lot that only appear on one list. A total of 39 individual books were listed. While the commonly listed books have a good chance at receiving the award or an honor, it’s definitely likely that a little-read book will show up on the official list. It all depends on the committee members and what books they read and connect with.

Of the seven lists I looked at, here are the books that appeared on more than one list and the number of lists they appeared on:

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (7)
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork (7)
If I Stay by Gayle Forman (5)
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley (3)
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (2) (also appears on Mock Newbery lists)
The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim (2)
Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan (2)
Liar by Justine Larbalestier (2)
Fire by Kristin Cashore (2)
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (2)

Please let me know if your local library group has a Mock Printz! I’ll add it to my compiled list and post an updated version before January 18.

The full lists from each library or library system appear below.

King County Library System (3 winners)
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Color of Earth by Dong Hwa Kim

Fort Vancouver Regional Library District
Andromeda Klein by Frank Portman
Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn
Punkzilla by Adam Rapp
The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
If I Stay by Gayle Foreman
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

North Suburban Library District (IL)
Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan
If I Stay by Gayle Foreman
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor
Orange Houses by Paul Griffin
Solace of the Road by Siobhan Dowd
The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd
Fire by Kristin Cashore
The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim

Maricopa County Library
If I Stay by Gayle Foreman
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Fire by Kristin Cashore
Liar by Justine Larbalestier
Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Gentlemen by Michael Northrup
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Purple Heart by Patricia McCormick
Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
The Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd
Year of the Bomb by Ronald Kidd
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Oregon Library Association/Oregon Young Adult Network (OYAN) and Multnomah County Library
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Crazy Beautiful by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes
All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud
The Eternal Smile by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim

Ocean County Library
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Going Bovine by Libba Bray
All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
Everything is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis
The Devil’s Paintbox by Victoria Mckernan
SLOB by Ellen Potter
Flygirl by Sherri Smith
When you Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

GoodReads
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
If I Stay by Gayle Foreman
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork

December 14th, 2009  ♥  Books  ♥  No Comments »