Teens choose the winners with YALSA this Teen Read Week
Contact: Stephanie Kuenn
Communications Specialist
312-280-2128
skuenn@ala.org
For Immediate Release
October 16, 2007
Teens choose the winners with YALSA this Teen Read Week
CHICAGO - The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest-growing division of the American Library Association (ALA), invites all teens to get out the vote for Teen Read Week™, October 14–20, 2007. Teens can vote for their favorite books in the annual Teens’ Top Ten poll at
www.ala.org/teenstopten or visit
www.ala.org/teenread to vote for next year’s Teen Read Week theme.
Teens’ Top Ten, an initiative of YALSA’s Young Adult (YA) Galley project, is a “teen choice” list—the only reading list with titles nominated and voted on by teens. Voting takes place through October 20 at
www.ala.org/teenstopten. This year, twenty-five titles from this year and last made the list, which can be viewed at
www.ala.org/teenstopten. The final 2007 Teens’ Top Ten list will be posted in November.
“YALSA has many great book lists developed by trained librarians, professionals who have expertise in evaluating and selecting books,” said Paula Brehm-Heeger, YALSA president. “But what makes the Teens’ Top Ten so unique is that it is our only teen choice list! The final list is created by teens and offers a chance for teens to make their voice and opinions heard loud and clear about which titles are their favorites.”
Teens can also participate by voting for the 2008 theme at the Teen Read Week Web site,
www.ala.org/teenread. The 2008 options are: Your Quest Begins @ your library®, Books that Bite @ your library, or Find Magic @ your library.
Brehm-Heeger notes that teen participation is crucial to Teen Read Week’s success—and there’s one important way teens can make an impact this week: “Teens can read! They can visit the library and find a book that appeals to their interests or ask the librarian for suggestions,” she said. “And, remember the Teen Read Week celebration doesn’t stop after October. Teens can also participate in the WrestleMania Reading Challenge, sponsored by YALSA with support from World Wrestling Entertainment. A trip to Wrestlemania 24 in Miami in March is on the line!”
For 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos and audio books for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to
www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists, or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail:
yalsa@ala.org.
