Han Nolan
2002 Young People's Literature Panel Chair

L to R: Bob Shacochis, Fiction Panel Chair; Han Nolan, Young People's Literature Panel Chair; Dave Smith, Poetry Panel Chair; Christopher Merrill, Nonfiction Panel Chair. Photo credit: Robin Platzer/Twin Images.

Good Evening. I'd like to thank all the publishers who sent me all the presents over the past several months. The only thing more delightful than finding the boxes of books on my doorstep almost daily was having the opportunity to read all those books and discovering so many gems among them.

My fellow judges and I received more than one hundred and sixty books of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry ranging from the picture book to the young adult novel, which this year perhaps more than any other year obliterated
any boundaries left between the young adult and adult novel. I do believe there are no taboos left, however next year's books may prove me wrong.

In fiction we saw a continued growth in the number of novels written in the poetic form or as lyrical prose monologues. We read a great number of historical novels, many set in foreign countries, and many were stories of war or civil unrest.

The Science Fiction and Fantasy novels also continued to grow in number and in number of pages with this year's page average of 400.

In the middle grade and even more so in the young adult novel we saw an interesting trend in the way teens themselves were portrayed. There were fewer stories of teen rebellion and many more stories where the adults in these young people's lives have let them down either because of their own weaknesses and inability to set boundaries and guidelines for themselves, let alone the young people in their charge, or through neglect or abuse, and it is the teen who must become the adult or who is left to try to clean up the messes left behind.

Given the great diversity of both subject matter and genre of this year's group of books, I am especially indebted to the panel of judges for making my job both easier and enjoyable. Many times over the months I was grateful to know that I was not alone in the daunting task of reducing the list of favorites to just five. Their passion, good humor and intelligence made it an honor to work with them. Their names are: Christopher Paul Curtis, Sandra Jordan, Gregory Maguire, and Rita Williams-Garcia.

As a panel we come from varied backgrounds and our opinions were certainly varied as well. And if you believe a book you championed should have been here among the five Finalists, believe me, it almost was. However, despite the challenge we had of choosing from among the rubies and diamonds and emeralds, we all heartily agree that the five Finalists here tonight deserve to be honored for their books. We agree as well that the National Book Award should go to The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. Congratulations. Read Nancy Farmer's acceptance speech.