Printz Award 2011

2011 Printz Winner

Ship Breaker

by Paolo Bacigalupi

published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group

In Ship Breaker, near a drowned New Orleans ravaged by hurricanes and global warming, Nailer and his young crew eke out a meager existence by scavenging materials on the ship-littered coast.

“This taut, suspenseful novel is a relentless adventure story featuring nuanced characters in thought-provoking conflicts. Bacigalupi artfully intertwines themes of loyalty, family, friendship, trust and love,” said Printz Award Committee Chair Erin Downey Howerton.

2011 Printz Honor Books

The committee also named four Printz Honor Books:

Stolen by Lucy Christopher, published by Chicken House, an imprint of Scholastic Inc.

The rugged Australian outback becomes Gemma’s prison after she is drugged and abducted by a handsome, obsessed stranger in a first novel filled with searing imagery and archetypal characters.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King, published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

Vera Dietz wants to be ignored, but the ghost of her ex-best friend won’t leave her alone in this dark comedy that examines relationships, identity, grief and flowcharts.

Revolver written by Marcus Sedgwick, published by Roaring Book Press, an imprint of the Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group.

In Sedgwick’s grim, chilling story set in the Arctic Circle, Sig finds his father’s frozen corpse as human predator Wolff arrives seeking retribution and a hidden Gold Rush treasure.



Nothing written by Janne Teller, published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.

Pierre Anthon’s nihilism causes his classmates to begin a search for life’s meaning in this bold, unsettling parable translated from Danish.

Speeches

Read speeches from the 2011 Printz Award Program and Reception:

Paolo Bacigalupi (PDF)

Lucy Christopher (PDF)

A. S. King (PDF)

Marcus Sedgwick (PDF)

2011 Printz Committee

Members of the 2011 Printz Award Committee are: Chair Erin Downey Howerton, Johnson County Library, Overland Park, Kan.; Jan L. Chapman, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Strongsville, Ohio; Sarah Couri, New York Public Library; Melissa S. Rabey, Frederick County (Md.) Public Library; Janet P. Sarratt, Gaffney. S.C.; Brenna Shanks, King County Library System, Issaquah, Wash.; Eva Volin, Alameda (Calif.) Free Library; Jamie Watson, Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, Md.; Rollie Welch, Cleveland Public Library; Sophie Brookover, administrative assistant, Infolink: The Eastern New Jersey Regional Library Cooperative, Piscataway, N.J.; and Gillian Engberg, Booklist consultant, Chicago.

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