“Flash Burnout” wins 2010 William C. Morris Award
Contacts: Macey Morales/Jennifer Petersen
ALA Media Relations
312 280-4393/5043
mmorales@ala.org /
jpetersen@ala.org
NEWS
For Immediate Release
January 18, 2010
BOSTON – “Flash Burnout” written by L.K. Madigan and published by Houghton Mifflin, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, has been named the 2010 winner of the William C. Morris Award, which honors a book written for young adults by a previously unpublished author. The award was presented by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) at the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting held Jan.15 – 19 in Boston.
Blake’s life is way too complicated. He’s a sophomore with a girlfriend and a friend who is a girl. One loves him. One needs him. Can he please them both? The voices of the characters are accurate, evocative and humorous capturing the everyday adolescent stresses and misunderstandings that are so hard to live through.
“Hold Still! The Beautiful Creatures of the Morris committee have made their decision. Rising from the Ash of competition, we expect “Flash Burnout” to be remembered Everafter,” said Morris Award Chair Judy Nelson.
The award is named for William C. Morris, an influential innovator in the publishing world and an advocate for marketing books for children and young adults. William “Bill” Morris left an impressive mark on the field of children’s and young adult literature. He was beloved in the publishing field and the library profession for his generosity and marvelous enthusiasm for promoting literature for children and teens. The Morris Award is awarded annually at ALA’s Midwinter Youth Media Awards and will be presented at a reception in Boston on Jan. 18
Morris Award finalists include: “Ash” by Malinda Lo, by published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; “Beautiful Creatures” by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; “The Everafter” by Amy Huntley, published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers; and “hold still” by Nina LaCour, published by Dutton Children’s Books, a Division of Penguin Young Readers Group.
Members of the 2010 William C. Morris Award are: Chair Judy Nelson, Pierce County Library System, Tacoma, Wash.; Jeana Actkinson, Bridgeport (Texas) High School; Dr. Joni Richards Bodart, School of Library and Information Science-San Jose (Calif.) State University; Susan Fichtelberg, Public Library of Woodbridge, N.J.; Angela Frederick, Nashville (Tenn.) Public Library; Clio Hathaway, Martin Memorial Library, York, Pa.; Melanie Koss, Northern Illinois University DeKalb, Ill.; Anne Leon, Alvin Sherman Library-Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Gail Zachariah, Keene (N.H.) Public Library; David Durante, administrative assistant, Pierce County Library System, Graham, Wash.; and Booklist Consultant, Ilene Cooper, Chicago.
For more than 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.
For more information on the William C. Morris Award and other ALA Youth Media Awards, please visit www.ala.org/yma.
