Heavy Medal Committee: Call for Participants
The announcement of the real Newbery winners is just over a month away. Between now and then the Heavy Medal Committee will discuss and vote upon the now finalized Heavy Medal Book List. We’ll end up with a Mock Newbery winner in late January. But first, we need volunteers to participate on the Heavy Medal Committee! Volunteer participants commit to the following:
- Read (and probably re-read) the 15 titles on the Heavy Medal Book List.
- Actively participate in online discussions of these books from January 2nd through January 22nd.
- Participate in the Mock Newbery Ballot between January 23rd and January 25th. This could include voting, re-discussing, and re-voting until we reach a winner.
Have questions? Here are at least some of the answers:
- How many members on the Committee?
We don’t have a set number. We’d love to get at least 15 (the actual Committee number) but more is great and less will work too. Anyone who commits is in. - Can I just read some of the books and post about those?
No. Just like on the real Committee, we expect participants to read all 15 books and be prepared to discuss them online. - Do I have to post at certain times of the day?
No. There are no live chats or anything like that. You can fit posts around your schedule. But you will need to find ways to discuss as many books as you can. - Do I have to post every day?
No. If you can’t post on a given day, it’s fine to go back and catch up. However, we will introduce a new book for discussion on every weekday between the 2nd and 22nd, so it can be hard to keep up without fairly frequent posts. - Can I still participate if I don’t volunteer for the HM Committee?
Yes. We invite all Heavy Medal readers to participate in the book discussion, even if you can’t commit to joining the Committee. Only HM Committee members will participate in the actual balloting, though. We will, however, offer a separate, non-weighted ballot that will be open to anyone at around the same time. - How do I volunteer?
Just fill out this short Heavy Medal Committee Volunteer Form. We’ll just need your name, email address, and a bit about yourself. (We’ll send a request for a photo (optional) separately). You can see what others shared last year, but whatever you want to share is fine.
If you have any more questions, please post them in the comments below or email me directly at sengelfried@yahoo.com.
Filed under: Process
About Steven Engelfried
Steven Engelfried was the Library Services Manager at the Wilsonville Public Library in Oregon until he retired in 2022 after 35 years as a full-time librarian. He served on the 2010 Newbery committee, chaired the 2013 Newbery Committee, and also served on the 2002 Caldecott committee. You can reach him at sengelfried@yahoo.com.
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When is the deadline to volunteer?
We will accept volunteers through December 31st, which is just before book discussion begins (Jan 2). But if you can let us know sooner, that’s better. We’ll share a “not-necessarily-final list of Committee members” early next week, so we hope to have most or all names in by December 22nd (Sunday). But because of holidays and all we will add folks after that if needed.
I’m bummed I can’t play this year (darn RSI), but I’m looking forward to seeing what you all come up with!
We’ve got 9 HM Committee members so far! Looking forward to seeing who else joins the group….
Alas, I too am bummed. I’ve only read 6 of the long list of titles and don’t feel like I could finish the others in time. Got really behind in 2019 reading this year and couldn’t get my hands on some of the books being discussed. Will still be watching the commentary and trying to chime in when appropriate. Good luck everyone!
Check that… 7. I’ve read 7 of the 15. Still don’t think I have enough time to finish the others and participate. Sigh.
I’ve so enjoy participating the past two years and I have read all the book on the final list. However, I do have a lot of other things that need my attention over the next few weeks. I’m sure you won’t have difficulty filling your ranks but drop me a line if you need a last-minute seat-filler.
It is a hard thing to get all the books read and carve out time to participate in the discussions. But Katrina, Mr H, DaNae, and others, we do hope you’ll share thoughts on the books you have read when they come up for discussion, even if you’re not a voting HM Committee member…