I am a 2011 Inky Awards Judge! (Part 2)

Who are the Inky Award judges?

Yesterday, I gave some information on the Inky Awards. Today, I will talk about the judging. There are six judges. One member is always the previous year’s Gold Inky winner, who is currently Lucy Christopher. There are four teenage judges, Stacey, Iain, Stefanie and Jack selected by the Centre for Youth Literature. You can see the excited reactions of Tye Cattanach, Iain's teacher-librarian and at Mentone Grammar (Jack's school). 


Finally, there is one other adult judge, also selected by the Centre for Youth Literature, and is someone who has an interest in young adult literature. This year, that judge is me! You can see I went for what might be politely described as a “corporate look” in my profile photo – I need lots of help just to be halfway photogenic! Previous such judges included Ryan Paine in 2007, an editor of Voiceworks magazine, Andrew Finegan (2008), Adele Walsh (2009), and Andrew McDonald (2010). 

Three weeks ago, when I received the email invitation from Adele Walsh, the Program Co-ordinator at the Centre for Youth Literature, I couldn't quite believe it. Still can't. I thought about it for all of two seconds. I also did a (metaphorical) mad dance of celebration, then graciously and soberly (my interpretation) accepted the invitation.

What does being an Inky Award judge involve?

1. Read the 20 young adult books on the Gold and Silver Inky longlists.
2. Decide with my fellow judges which 5 books from each of the longlists will form the shortlist. These are the books that will be voted on by teenagers.
3. Decide the winners of the Creative Reading Prize.

 How do you become an Inky Awards judge?

The surest way to become an Inky Awards judge is to win the Gold Inky. You will then be guaranteed a spot on next year’s judging panel.

If that sounds too much like hard work, don’t despair. The second way is to be an Australian teenager (which is not all that easy either!), and love reading (which is very easy). There are four spots on the judging panel for teenagers, as the Inky Awards are voted on by teenagers, and so if you are really interested, you should keep an eye out on the Inside a Dog website for when applications open next year (usually around May-June). See this year’s call out for judges as an example. Basically, you should impress the CYL staff with your enthusiasm for reading. Having your school librarian to recommend you wouldn’t hurt your chances either.

Finally, if you are no longer a teenager, and are not in contention for a Gold Inky, then it gets a bit tricky. There is one position for an adult and there is no application process. Since I was appointed without any inkling (ahem) of what was going to happen, it’s a bit hard for me to give tips, but I’ll try.

1. You must love reading young adult literature (obvious).
2. Attend the activities of the Centre for Youth Literature (it's one way for them to know who you are).
3. Be extremely nice to the folk at the Centre for Youth Literature. A sum of money or a donation of many books wouldn’t go astray.
4. Drop subtle hints that you might want to be an Inky Awards judge.

I only did the first two, and I did the second one not because I had some grand schemes of becoming a judge, but because it was fun (what a cunning move!). The last two are of dubious morality, and the Centre for Youth Literature staff have most incorruptible characters. So my tips are utterly useless. Sorry.

So how did I get to be a judge?

The stars aligned and fortune smiled upon me. Oh and I like reading young adult literature too. I have no special qualifications: I have never been an author, publisher, bookseller, teacher, librarian, teacher-librarian, book reviewer etc. I’m not anything really! Truthfully, it wasn’t an “in my wildest dreams, I might be an Inky Awards judge” scenario; it never crossed my mind as a possibility. If I hadn’t been asked, I’d be doing my usual preparation for the Inky Awards i.e. read as much of the longlist as possible and attend the awards ceremony. Now I’m in the thick of it!

The short version is that I’ve attended the Centre for Youth Literature events for some years and I really enjoy it. Also, since my occupation is not anything related to typical attendees at these events, I suppose I am a bit of a novelty.  When I get asked the usual question so what library/school do you work for, I then reply "well actually, I work in...etc.". The longer version of how I encountered the Centre for Youth Literature will be told, but because I want to focus on the Inky Awards in this post, then “that’s another story to be told another time” (as it goes in The Neverending Story).

 How else can I get involved in the Inky Awards?

Being a judge is not the be all and end all. It’s not predominantly about judging; it’s about the authors, their books, and the readers. The Inky Awards are nothing without them. So how can you get involved?

1. If you are between the ages of 12 to 20, vote for your choice of the Gold and Silver Inky once the two shortlists are announced on 1 September.
2. Participate in the Creative Reading Prize. It’s open to anyone (with the exception of the Grand Prize) and can be about any book.
3. If you have the opportunity to interact with young readers in any way (work, parent, friends), raise awareness of these awards, and the Inside a Dog website, and encourage them to vote.
4. Read the books. The books on the lists invariably are of a high quality, and will give you great pleasure – and isn’t enjoyment of reading what it’s all about?
5. Attend the Inky Awards announcement on 25 October. See details here. 

That’s it on the 2011 Inky Awards for now. I won’t publicly review any of the books on the longlist before the awards are over, so as not to prejudice or pre-empt the outcome. Also, I won’t be saying anything about the content of  the discussions with the other judges. However, it is my hope that after the awards are over, I will have time to discuss my views of some of the longlist books.