Librarian plays key role in choosing Edward’s Award recipient

Numerous authors, countless books, months of reading, judging, contemplating. Such was the task for librarian and author Amy Alessio as she served on the Margaret A. Edwards Award committee.

Members of the committee are responsible for choosing an author whose work has been popular over a period of time. The winner is announced at the annual American Library Association conference. When longtime author Terry Pratchett was announced, the crowd went wild.

“Out of all the awards announced that morning — Newbery, Caldecott, Printz and more — the announcement of Sir Pratchett was the show stopper,” Amy said. “Clapping, cheers and yells filled the room. He is clearly a favorite of many readers.”

Amy explained that the Margaret A. Edwards Award recognizes the author’s work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and the world. Many great choices made the decision a tough one, she added.

“For the past year, we whittled down a list of choices and read as many books as we could,” Amy said. “We all polled teens to see how they felt about some of the authors. Sir Terry Pratchett’s name came up over and over. Several teens tell me Pratchett turned them on to reading, that he was an all-time-favorite or that they liked anything he wrote. There are other authors who have had a great impact, but Pratchett resonated with our committee because of his great plots and wonderful humor.”

Amy has served as the teen librarian at the Schaumburg Township District Library for more than a decade and says she respects and admires this year’s award-winner.

Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was 15, which earned him enough money to buy a secondhand typewriter. His first novel, “The Carpet People,” was a humorous fantasy published in 1971. His popular Discworld series began in 1983 with “The Color of Magic.”

There are now 36 books in the Discworld series, of which four (so far) are written for children. The first of these children’s books, “The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents,” won the Carnegie Medal.

Terry’s latest book, “Nation,” a non-Discworld teen novel, was published in October 2008 and was an instant New York Times and London Times best-seller. Regarded as one of the most significant contemporary English-language satirists, Pratchett has won numerous literary awards, was named an Officer of the British Empire “for services to literature” in 1998, and has received four honorary doctorates.

If you would like to read books by this award-winning author, visit the Schaumburg Township District Library. Come and discover the many worlds of Sir Terry Pratchett.