NBA Longlist vs. HM Longlist… Battle of the Awards?!
The National Book Foundation announced the longlist for the 2022 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (YPL) last week.
The Award works a bit differently than the Newbery. Publishers pay to submit titles, and a longlist, shortlist and winner is announced. There are separate panel committees for the different age groups.
In 2021, 1,892 titles were considered for the National Book Award. Of these titles, 415 were for Fiction, 679 were for Nonfiction, 290 were for Poetry, 164 were for Translated Literature, and 344 were for Young People’s Literature. This information is confidential in Newbery land.
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The NBA winners tend to skew more young adult- LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB won in 2021 KING AND THE DRAGONFLIES in 2020 and 1919 THE YEAR THAT CHANGED AMERICA In 2019.
Lets take a look at this year’s longlist and see how the titles fare under Newbery Criteria.
THE OGRESS AND THE ORPHANS by Kelly Barnhill- This is a heavy medal front-runner so far and Barnhill is a past Newbery Medalist.
THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF HOODIE ROSEN by Issac Blum- This title was not on my radar and seems to me very young adult realistic fiction with a tale of love and anti semitisim. So, im thinking too old for Newbery.
A THOUSAND STEPS INTO THE NIGHT by Traci Chee. Another title not on my radar, listed on SLJ as grades 8 and up… has anyone read this one?
SWIM TEAM by Johnnie Christmas. This graphic novel received a lot of love on last weeks survey and is listed as gr. 4-6. I put it on hold!
SELF-MADE BOYS A Great Gatsby Remix by Anna-Marie McLemore. This remixed classic was also not on my radar and seems like an older crowd… anyone have thoughts?
THE LESBIANA’S GUIDE TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL bY Sonora Reyes. Another that skews high school and is listed for gr. 8 and up.
VICTORY. STAND! RAISING MY FIST FOR JUSTICE by Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes, Dawud Anyabwile. Totally not on my radar here… is this eligible? @STEEEVEN?!
ALL MY RAGE by Sabaa Tahir. This was on our suggestion list, but due to all the domestic violence I think it’s to old for Newbery.
LOTUS BLOOM AND THE AFRO REVOLUTION by Sherri Winston. Haven’t read this yet, but looks promising… any thoughts?
MAIZY CHEN’S LAST CHANCE by Lisa Yee. This has received a lot of love on Heavy Medal and is one of my top two this year (wait, maybe I should comment on Steven’s post from last week…)
Let us know your thoughts on any of these titles. It’s always helpful (for me) to use different awards as a guide post to see if you’re missing anything.
Filed under: Book Discussion
About Emily Mroczek-Bayci
Emily Mroczek (Bayci) is a freelance children’s librarian in the Chicago suburbs. She served on the 2019 Newbery committee. You can reach her at emilyrmroczek@gmail.com.
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Thanks for the summaries, Emily. Very helpful in sifting through what to read/not read/wait and see. It seems like VICTORY. STAND! should be eligible, though maybe on that older age range. I hadn’t heard of it either and placed my hold as soon as I did. I can’t think of another book for youth about the 1968 Olympics protest, and it was such a big moment for sports and civil rights.
Emily notes that publishers have to pay for each book to be considered. I’ve always wondered how much that influences the lists. Do publishers pass on submitting books for younger readers because they think they won’t have a chance? And then when books for older readers keep winning, possibly because not many younger books are submitted, that would just further reduce the incentive to submit them. I might wish that the NBA’s had a separate list for younger readers, but Newbery pondering is hard enough. I don’t need another award to worry about….
I am excited to read The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen, which was one I didn’t know about until the longlist was announced. I have not read Mazy Chen’s Last Chance yet but hope to do so soon. I think it’s interesting that The Ogress and the Orphans was announced. It will be intriguing to see which books become finalists.
All My Rage is definitely out of the range for Newbery range, but it’s my first choice for the Printz. The others were either on my TBR or have just been added since the announcement.
I loved All My Rage and I really hope it is considered for the Printz.
Maizy Chen’s Last Chance was definitely one of my favorites this year! I also enjoyed The Ogress and the Orphans.
I just recently read Swim Team, and while I thought the story was great, I was really underwhelmed by the art. There didn’t seem to be much care with or differentiation between the facial features of the characters (sometimes noses or mouths were straight up missing.) I found it hard to keep the teenage characters straight because all their faces looked exactly the same. It really brought down my enjoyment of the book as a whole.