Hello, YALSA members and Hub readers! I am Allie Stevens, and this is my second year to serve as coordinator for the YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults blogging team. I have been on selected list blogging teams for several years, including as coordinator of the 2019 Quick Picks team. I work as the Director of the tiny Calhoun County Library in Hampton, AR and live on an 80-acre farm with my partner, our two kids, two dogs (Nala is pictured below), and three cats.
The Best Fiction for Young Adults team selects titles based on literary merit and appeal to young adult readers (ages 12-18), taking into account factors such as relevant themes for teens, realistic language, a well-designed and smoothly paced plot, and deep characterization. We consider only prose or verse fiction titles – no nonfiction or graphic novels. Team members discover and read books all year and suggest them to the rest of the team; each book is read and voted on by a minimum of 3 committee members before it becomes an official BFYA nomination. The blogging process will look a little different this year, with one featured review per week rather than a long-form blog post for every nominated title. After a title becomes an official nomination, every member of the team reads it and it is discussed. After the nominations window closes in early November, the team begins to vote on the titles that will appear on the final Best Fiction for Young Adults list.
Eligible titles for this year’s list will have US publication dates between September 1, 2020 and December 31, 2021, and anyone can nominate titles for committee review by filling out this form. (Please note: publishers and authors cannot nominate their own books, although they are free to submit titles to the committee for evaluation. Email alliestevens020@gmail.com for a list of mailing addresses.)
The rest of the #BFYA2022 team is made up of librarians from all over the country. They are:
- Lindsay Bailey – Belfast, ME
- Heather Christensen – Portales, NM
- Matt Clark – Toronto, ON
- Megan Jackson – Philadelphia, PA
- Stephanie Johnson – Monroe, NC
- Amanda Kordeliski – Norman, OK
- Shelbie Marks – Oklahoma City, OK
- Kali Olson – Minneapolis, MN
- Beth Slade – Hudson, OH
- Andrea Vernola – Kalamazoo, MI
- Courtney Waters – Jefferson City, MO
We are ready to hit the ground running after ALA Midwinter Conference, and are so excited to share our nominations for the #BFYA2022 selected list with you all this year! Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions and share any suggested titles through our field nomination form.
Happy reading!
— Allie Stevens (she/her)
2022 Best Fiction for Young Adults Coordinator