Jack Gantos, the 2010 ALAN award winner for his outstanding contributions to the field of adolescent literature, is the author of numerous books including the Rotten Ralph picture books illustrated by Nicole Rubel, the Jack Henry story collections, and the Joey Pigza series. The first Joey Pigza book, Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, was a finalist for the National Book Award. The next, Joey Pigza Loses Control, was chosen as a Newbery Honor book. And Hole in My Life, Jack’s memoir for young adults, was chosen as both a Printz Honor book and a Sibert Honor book. Jack is on the road six months of the year, speaking at schools, libraries, and conferences around the world, and otherwise lives with his family and not-so-rotten cats in Boston, Massachusetts. His most recent books are the fourth Joey book, I Am Not Joey Pigza (FSG 2007); a Rotten Ralph picture book, The Nine Lives of Rotten Ralph (Houghton 2009), and the fifth in the Rotten Ralph Rotten Reader series, Three Strikes for Rotten Ralph (FSG 2011). A paperback reissue of the Joey Pigza series is forthcoming in the summer of 2011 from Square Fish Paperbacks, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.

Those interested in serving on the ALAN Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee may self-nominate by completing a self-nomination form.  Members of the selection committee must be: 1) ALAN members and 2) classroom teachers, university professors, or librarians.  To avoid potential conflicts of interest, authors and publishers are not eligible to apply.

To participate in the selection of the 2011 winner, please send completed self-nomination forms to Teri Lesesne (ProfessorNana [at] yahoo [dot] com)  the 2011 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee Chair, by September 15, 2010.  For more information about the award and to download the self-nomination form, follow this document link: 2010-11 Walden Award Committee Self-Nomination Form

Service on the committee requires a commitment to reading a wide range of YA fiction and consulting with other committee members.  All of the committee work is done in an online forum.  Access to the internet is essential.  Ability to read critically is also important.   It is expected that deadlines be met and that all committee members are active discussants during the process.

The Committee Chair, striving for wide representation of members in terms of professional position, grade level of population served, and geographic diversity, will extend an invitation to potential committee members who show an interest in serving.  Those selected will serve for one year with the possibility of reappointment.

The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is pleased and proud to announce the winner of the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award for Young Adult Fiction.  Established in 2008 to honor the wishes of young adult author, Amelia Elizabeth Walden, the award allows for the sum of $5,000 to be presented annually to the author of a young adult title selected by the ALAN Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Committee as demonstrating a positive approach to life, widespread teen appeal, and literary merit.

The winner of the 2010 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award is:

Fire by Kristin Cashore
(Dial)

The 2010 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award finalists are:

Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco X. Stork
(Arthur A. Levine)

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
(Simon and Schuster)

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
(Little, Brown and Company)

The Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill S. Alexander
(Feiwel and Friends)

All Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award titles will be identified by an award sticker—gold for the winner and silver for the four finalists.  This year’s winning title and finalists will be honored at an open reception on Monday, November 22, immediately following the 2010 ALAN Workshop in Orlando, Florida.

The 2010 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee would like to thank: the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Foundation; the ALAN Executive Council; the ALAN Board of Directors; past AEWA chair Dr. Wendy Glenn; NCTE; and last, but not least, the more than twenty publishers who submitted titles for consideration.

The 2010 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee considered 202 young adult titles throughout the process.  The committee was comprised of ten members representing the university, K-12 school, and library communities.  They are:

Daria Plumb, Committee Chair
Classroom Teacher
Riverside Academy, Dundee, MI

Erica Berg
Classroom Teacher
Rockville High School, Vernon, CT

Jean Boreen
Professor
Northern Arizona University
Department of English, Flagstaff, AZ

C.J. Bott
Retired Classroom Teacher and Consultant
Solon, OH

Lois Buckman
Librarian
Caney Creek High School, Conroe, TX

Jeff Harr
Classroom Teacher
Theodore Roosevelt High School, Kent, OH

Jeff Kaplan
Professor
University of Central Florida
College of Education, Orlando, FL

Bonnie Kunzel
Youth Services and Adolescent Literacy Consultant
Germantown, TN

Teri Lesesne
Professor
Sam Houston State University
Department of Library Science, Huntsville, TX

Barbara Ward
Assistant Professor
Washington State University
Department of Teaching and Learning, Richland, WA

For more information on the award, please visit ALAN Online: The Official Site of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents http://www.alan-ya.org/ .

The ALAN Executive Committee is pleased and proud to announce Christopher Crowe as the 2010 recipient of the Ted Hipple Service Award.

The award is given each year to an individual who has offered significant contributions to the ALAN organization. It is named in honor of Ted Hipple, the first and long-time ALAN Executive Secretary, who passed away on November 25, 2004. Ted shaped ALAN through decades of unwavering service and support. He was a Professor of Education at the University of Tennessee, where he was a former chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Previously, he was a Professor of Education at the University of Florida. He received his doctorate from the University of Illinois and was a high school English teacher at Homewood-Flossmoor High School.  Famous for his flamboyant sweaters, neckties, and suspenders, Ted was a brilliant teacher, scholar, and servant to the profession. His work influenced—and continues to influence—generations of teachers and their students. Continue reading →