Comments on: Great Graphic Novels for Teens Announced

By: Johanna

Johanna — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:33:05 +0000

Ah. So it sounds like that, while graphic novels are accepted, they’re still considered literature for younger people. One more hurdle to cross.

By: Kat Kan

Kat Kan — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:05:26 +0000

Unfortunately, there’s no such critter as a best gn list for adults. I had to fight hard for a couple of years, along with a fantastic task force, to get the Great Graphic Novels for Teens list. Booklist, the review journal for ALA, covers a lot of graphic novels and the March 15 issue will be the Spotlight issue, and Library Journal has some great articles on graphic novels for adults; Martha Cornog writes about graphic novels for LJ. She and Steve Raiteri just published their list of “LJ Best Graphic Novels 2009″ in the online newsletter called Booksmack (go to http://www.libraryjournal.com).

Hal, don’t get me started on what happened to BBYA this year; I served on BBYA in 1990-92 (when they had 2-year terms), and I hate the move.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:08:15 +0000

Do they have a best graphic novels for adults as well, or just the teens list?

By: Hal Shipman

Hal Shipman — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 04:30:28 +0000

Hmmm. My mother is actually on one of the YALSA committees (Best Books for Young Adults), just ending her term (they’re 3-year appointments).

One kind of unfortunate thing is that YALSA is, as of this ALA, moving all graphic narratives into the Graphic Novels category, which in my (and my mom’s opinion) which segregates them out of the other categories. i.e. a graphic novel now can’t be a best book on its own merits. They didn’t get a lot of GN submissions for best book, but they tended to be pretty damned good (the first of the Louvre series comes to mind). However, the intention is good – they’re pushing it more as a legit category.