The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents celebrates Young Adult Literature through a number of awards and recognitions every year. ALAN’s newest award, The Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award, is presented annually to the author of a title selected by the AEWA Committee comprised of ALAN members. More information about this award as well as submission guidelines can be found below.
Amelia Elizabeth Walden’s Biography
Amelia Elizabeth Walden was born in New York City on January 15, 1909. She graduated from Columbia University in 1934 and attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. From 1935 to 1945, she taught English and Dramatics at Norwalk High School in Connecticut. She married John William Harmon in 1946.
Her first novel, Gateway, was published in 1946. Walden told her editor that she intended the novel for young people who lived at the gateway, on that middle ground between adolescence and adulthood. Walden claimed, “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.”
Walden wrote over 40 young adult novels, including:
Heartbreak Tennis. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1977.
Escape on Skis. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975.
Play Ball. McGill! Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1972.
Valerie Valentine Is Missing. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971.
Where Was Everyone When Sabrina Screamed? Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1971.
Basketball Girl of the Year. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970.
A Name for Himself. New York: J. B. Lippincott Co., 1967.
In Search of Ophelia. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1966.
My World’s the Stage. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964.
So Near the Heart. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1962.
When Love Speaks. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961.
My Sister Mike. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1956.
Three Loves Has Sandy. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1955.
Walden passed away in 2002 in Westport, Connecticut. A collection of some of her literary manuscripts and correspondence with McGraw-Hill between 1954 and 1977 relating to book production is available for review in the Special Collections and University Archives of the University of Oregon Libraries. Materials include inter-office memoranda, cost estimates, check disbursement forms, and book production information. For more information, please see http://nwdadb.wsulibs.wsu.edu/findaid/ark:/80444/xv06514.
Context and Criteria
Established in 2008 to honor the wishes of Amelia Elizabeth Walden, the award allows for the sum of $5,000 to be presented annually to the author of a book selected by the ALAN Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Committee as “the title of the year most relevant to adolescents and having enjoyed a wide and appreciative teenage audience.”
Per Walden’s request, the selected title must:
1) be a work of fiction, ideally a novel (stand-alone or part of a series);
2) be published within one year prior to the call for titles;
3) be published in the United States but may have been published elsewhere prior; and
4) possess a positive approach to life, widespread teen appeal, and literary merit (please see below for additional guidance).
A 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
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
Literary Merit
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
2010 Submission Information for Publishers and Authors
Publishers should submit all titles (published in 2009) for consideration by Feb. 1, 2010. Please send copies of all titles to each member of the selection committee (names and addresses below). Please include a note signifying that the title is intended for AEWA review.
Finalists will be invited to speak at the 2010 ALAN Workshop in Orlando, Florida, during a reception sponsored by the finalists’ publishers. To allow time for publishers to make author travel arrangements, finalists will be named prior to July 15, 2010.
The 2010 Review committee has yet to be named. Contact information for the 2010 award will be available soon.
Award Committee
Daria Plumb, Chair
Classroom Teacher
Dundee Alternative High School, Dundee, MI
Erica Berg
Classroom Teacher
Rockville High School, Vernon, CT
Jean Boreen
Professor
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff
C.J. Bott
Retired Classroom Teacher, Educational Consultant
Solon, OH
Jennifer Buehler
Assistant Professor
Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO
Bonnie Kunzel
Retired Youth Services Consultant, Youth Services Consultant
New Jersey
Teri Lesesne
Professor
Sam Houston State University Department of Library Science, Huntsville, TX
Barbara Ward
Assistant Professor
Washington State University, Tri-Cities
Lois Buckman
Librarian
Caney Creek High School, Conroe, TX
Jeff Harr
High School Teacher
Theodore Roosevelt High School, Kent, OH
Jeff Kaplan
Professor
University of Central Florida, College of Education, Orlando, FL
Winners:
2009
My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins, and Fenway Park, by Steve Kluger