Odyssey Awards

So here's some fun news: I've been asked to take part in the 2017 ALA Award Committee for the annual Odyssey Awards.  The award, among the Newbery, Caldecott and Printz Awards given annually, is awarded to the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults in the US. The 2015 winner was H.O.R.S.E. A Game of Basketball and Imagination, written by Christopher Meyers, produced by Live Oak Media (sadly, no libraries in our county own the audioCD).  Past winners include The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, produced by Brilliance Audio (2013) and The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, produced by Recorded Books (2009). The award was born in 2008 and named for Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey as its stories were shared primarily in the oral tradition.  The committee boasts 9 members each year.  I'm one of 4 children's librarians appointed in the whole country!  Wahoo!  At the end of the Mid-Winter American Library Association conference next week, my time will begin and finish at the completion of the 2017 Mid-Winter ALA conference. The Youth Media Awards are announced every January (this year, on 1/11 at 8 AM) so my listening-work will commence at the end of this month. Publishers will send all the committee members pre-pub audiobooks directly - one of the best parts of being on an awards committee!  My background is in writing and education and I'm a greedy reader of books of all kinds, particularly, as you know, picture books and both fiction and nonfiction for children but I love books for grown-ups too - Anne Tyler and Bill Bryson are among my favorites. I just recently finished listening to Mary Poppins In the Park by P.L.Travers (available for free on Hoopla!)