The Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production is an annual award conferred by the American Library Association upon the publisher of "the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States ". It is jointly administered by two ALA divisions ( Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA)) and sponsored by Booklist magazine. It recognizes production quality in all respects, considering such things as narration, sound quality, background music and sound effects. It is named for Homer 's eighth century BCE epic poem Odyssey , which was transmitted orally, to remind us modern people of the ancient roots of storytelling.
7-462: The award was inaugurated in 2008. For many reasons indicated in the 2008 manifesto, "it is essential for ALSC and YALSA to provide the same level of support for this nonprint format that they have historically provided for print materials, by creating an annual award for the best audiobooks in the field." Source: "Eligibility & Criteria" In each of the fifteen cycles to 2022, at least one title has been named an Honor Audiobook with five being
14-677: Is a division of the American Library Association . ALSC has over 4,000 members, including children, experts in children's literature, publishers, faculty members, and other adults. The Association has nearly 60 active committees and task forces, including programs for youth, publishing resources and journals, evaluating and awarding media for children. ALSC sets standards for library services to children through regular updates to its "Competencies for Librarians Serving Children in Public Libraries." The most recent competencies which
21-433: Is the narrator of the most Odyssey-honored titles at five Honor Audiobooks, including three written by L. A. Meyer and produced by Listen & Live Audio — the first, second, and fourth Jacky Faber books . 2009 Sherman Alexie , author and narrator of the 2009 Odyssey Award-winning audiobook, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian , also won the annual National Book Award for Young People's Literature for
28-617: The awards listed below every January at a Monday morning press conference that takes place during the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting. In addition to the above listed awards, ALSC produces three lists of notable annual media titles : ALSC formerly produced the Notable Children's Videos list ALSC also ran Great Websites for Kids , a compilation of exemplary websites geared to children from birth to age 14. Suggested sites were evaluated by
35-471: The greatest number of Honors (2008, 2009, 2018) and one being the fewest (2016). Beginning in the 2022 award-year, two titles may be named Winners, one for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Children, and one for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Young Adults. (Children) (Young Adults) Listening Library has won 5 awards and Live Oak Media and Harper have each won 3. Katherine Kellgren
42-413: The print edition of that book (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, September 2007). 2020 Jarret J. Krosoczka, who wrote, illustrated, and narrated the 2020 Odyssey-winning audiobook Hey, Kiddo , was a National Book Award for Young People's Literature finalist for the print edition. Association for Library Service to Children The Association for Library Service to Children ( ALSC )
49-574: Was adopted in 2015, emphasized seven core areas of competence, including; services, programs, outreach, collection development, and administrative practices. In 2015, the ALSC Board accepted a white paper titled "Media Mentorship in Libraries Serving Youth". This paper outlines the role of librarians and other library staff who serve youth and families with particular regard to materials and practices surrounding digital media. ALSC announces
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