Book Expo America 2009: Awards Abound

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Bill Konigsberg's Out of Pocket won the Lambda in the children/YA category.

Besides books, authors, and parties, a few literary awards were doled out during this year's Book Expo America (BEA). The Lambda Literary Foundation recognized excellence in the field of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender literature and the Association of Booksellers for Children gave out its E.B. White Read Aloud Awards.

In the Lambda’s children /young adult category, the award went to first-time novelist Bill Konigsberg for Out of the Pocket (Dutton, 2008), a story about a 17-year-old football player who struggles with coming out and wonders if he’ll still be accepted by his teammates.

A School Library Journal review calls the book, “A thought-provoking, funny, and ultimately uplifting story of self-actualization that masterfully defies stereotypes about both coming out and team sports.”

Accepting his award before an audience of more than 300, Konigsberg, a former sports writer and editor for the Associated Press (AP), thanked his mother and partner, both of whom accompanied him to the ceremony.

“I was floored. I thought for sure Martin Wilson would win for his great novel, or one of my idols, Ellen Wittlinger or David Levithan,” says Konigsberg who covered the New York Mets and had a weekly baseball column while at AP. “I'm just hoping that this helps get the novel in the hands of kids who could really be helped by reading it."

Meanwhile, the Association of Booksellers for Children presented the E.B. White Read Aloud Awards to a picture book and a book for older readers for their universal appeal as “terrific” read alouds.

The winner in the picture book category was A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Bear (Candlewick, 2008) by Bonnie Becker and illustrated by Kady Macdonald Denton, a story of a grumpy bear who’s constantly disturbed by a persistent mouse.

And Elise Broach, who won the 2008 award in this category for When Dinosaurs Came With Everything (S&S, 2007) won this year’s ward in the older reader category for Masterpiece (Henry Holt, 2008), a tale that involves an artistic beetle named Marvin, Albrecht Dürer drawings, and a mystery.

The event concluded with a silent auction of 150 pieces of artwork donated by book illustrators. The association raised over $45,000 from the event.