Booklist announces prestigious 2009 Top of the List selections

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Contact:
Mary Frances Wilkens
312-280-5715
mwilkens@ala.org

NEWS
For Immediate Release
December 22, 2009

CHICAGO — Booklist magazine, the review journal of the American Library Association, has announced its 20th annual Top of the List winners. The eight winning titles were chosen from the annual Editors’ Choice selections as the best books and media of 2009.

“We're pleased to honor two short story masters in this year's Booklist Top of the List awards, Alice Munro for her collection “Too Much Happiness,” winner for Adult Fiction, and John Cheever, as the subject of Blake Bailey's landmark biography “Cheever,” winner for Adult Nonfiction,” said Booklist Editor and Publisher Bill Ott. “Other winners reflect both hot genres (Matt Phelan's graphic novel “The Storm in the Barn,” winner for Youth Fiction) and artistic innovation (André Carrilho's digitally enhanced graphite artwork in our Youth Nonfiction winner, Jonah Winter's “You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?!”).”

The 2009 Booklist Top of the List winners are:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

· Adult Fiction: “Too Much Happiness,” by Alice Munro (Knopf)

· Adult Nonfiction: “Cheever,” by Blake Bailey (Knopf )

· Youth Fiction: “The Storm in the Barn,” by Matt Phelan, illustrated by the author (Candlewick)

· Youth Nonfiction: “You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?!” by Jonah Winter, illustrated by André Carrilho (Random/Schwartz & Wade)

· Youth Picture Book: “It’s a Secret!” by John Burningham, illustrated by the author (Candlewick)

· Reference Source: “Grzimek’s Animal Life” (Gale: www.gale.com)

· Video & DVD: “Louisa May Alcott: The Woman behind Little Women” (Nancy Porter Productions, DVD)

· Audio: “Marcelo in the Real World,” by Francisco Stork, read by Lincoln Hoppe (Listening Library, CD)

The Top of the List picks are featured in the special combined Jan. 1 and 15 issue of Booklist, which includes the complete annotated Editors’ Choice lists for adult books, adult books for youngadults, books for youth, reference sources and media. The winners—including the longer Editors’ Choice list from which the Top of the List titles are selected—are also announced on Booklist Online at www.BooklistOnline.com, where subscribers to the database can read the original full-length Booklist reviews of the selected titles.

Individual copies of the Booklist Editors’ Choice issue may be purchased for $9 (prepaid) by writing to Booklist Back Issues, 50. E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611.