There’s still more news from the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting, where Jeff Lemire’s Essex County, Vol. 1: Tales From the Farm has received an Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association honoring adult books with specific teen appeal.
On his blog, Lemire says this is the first time a graphic novel has won the award.
January 14th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
The Alex Awards, given out by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) every year, honors the top 10 books published for adults that the committee thinks teens will like. They get teen feedback on a lot of different books, then choose the 10 best. Tales from the Farm is one of 10 titles, but considering how many books for adults were published in 2007, this is a great honor. And, looking back at the Alex Awards over the years, I can’t see other graphic novels on the lists. So, this is even better. Of the 10 titles on the Alex Awards list this year, Lemire’s book is the only one I’ve read. But then again, I read more than 2,000 graphic novels in 2007. Yeah, I’m crazy.