New ALA Audio Prize

by Shannon Maughan -- Publishers Weekly, 6/28/2006

Joining the prestigious line-up that includes the Newbery and Caldecott Medals, the American Library Association has created a new award. The Odyssey Award will be given to an outstanding audiobook produced for children up to 18 years old, beginning in 2008. The announcement of the new award was made during the ALA's annual meeting in New Orleans.

The Odyssey, so named for the storytelling aspect of audio, is a joint award sponsored by ALA's publication Booklist and selected by two divisions of ALA: Association for Library Service to Children (which bestows the Newbery and Caldecott, among others) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (which gives the Printz Award and others to YA books).

The Odyssey will be given annually, with one winner selected and the possibility of honor titles being chosen as well. The first Odyssey will be decided next year, for 2007 titles, and will be presented at the 2008 ALA Midwinter Conference in Philadelphia.