The Michael L. Printz Award Committee will consider and vote on books published within its assigned calendar year (January 1 to December 31). Publishers, authors, or editors may not nominate their own titles. Both field and Committee nominations will be accepted for books that meet the published criteria. Field nominations must be seconded by a committee member.
Nominations may be accepted from the field up to December 1, and from Committee members up to December 15.
Final selections are made at the Midwinter Meeting during a series of Committee meetings closed to the public. Only Committee members attending the Midwinter Meeting will be allowed to vote. Members can only vote on books they have read.
Please keep in mind the following criteria guiding the Committee's final selection when you are selecting books to nominate:
The Printz Award is selected annually and recognizes the best book written for young adults, based solely on literary merit. It must have been designated by its publisher as being either a young adult book or one published for the age range that YALSA defines as "young adult;" i.e., 12 through 18, and must have been copyrighted and introduced during the assigned calendar year. It may be written by either an American or foreign author. Single authors or multiple authors are accepted. The book may be fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or anthology.