“I was just getting used to calling myself a novelist,” Alexander told SLJ during the star-studded 63rd NBA ceremony, held at Cipriani’s on Wall Street in New York.

The award caps a whirlwind month for Alexander that began with the October 9 announcement of his selection as an NBA finalist, followed by the birth of his daughter, Iris Octavia, on October 29.

Alexander was joined by fellow finalists Carrie Arcos (Out of Reach, S & S, 2012), Patricia McCormick (Never Fall Down, HarperCollins, 2012), Eliot Schrefer (Endangered, Scholastic, 2012), and Steve Sheinkin (Bomb: The Race to Build―and Steal―the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon, Roaring Brook/Flash Point, 2012).

Hosted by political commentator Faith Saile, the event, which some call the “Oscars of the book world,” was attended by author Stephen King and National Public Radio host Terry Gross, among other luminaries.

Gary D. Schmidt, who himself was a National Book Award finalist last year for his novel OK for Now (Clarion, 2011) presented Alexander with the award. Schmidt was chair of the judging panel that included Susan Cooper (Magic Maker, Candlewick, 2011), Daniel Ehrenhaft (Americapedia, Walker, 2011) Judith Ortiz Cofer (The Poet Upstairs, Piñata Books, 2012) and Marly Youmans (The Curse of the Raven Mocker, Farrar, 2003)

Alexander noted that Goblin Secrets is one of just a few fantasy titles to have won the Young People’s Literature prize, along with The Farthest Shore (Atheneum, 1972) by Ursula K. LeGuin in 1973, The Court of the Stone Children (Dutton, 1973) by Eleanor Cameron in 1974 and Westmark (Dutton, 1981) by Lloyd Alexander in 1982.

“We now have proof that other universes exist,” said Alexander, who received a $10,000 cash prize and a bronze sculpture.

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National Book Award winner William Alexander.

At teen press conference, kids grilled finalists on their research, their inspirations, and their editors

First time author William Alexander took home the National Book Award (NBA) for Young People last night for his book Goblin Secrets (S&S, 2012), about a boy who joins a theatrical group of goblins.

The day prior to the award ceremony, 200 secondary school students had the opportunity to grill Alexander, along with the four other finalists in his category, at the NBA Teen Press Conference, probing them on topics ranging from character development to their relationships with their editors.

Finalists William Alexander, Carrie Arcos, Patricia McCormick, Eliot Schrefer and Steve Sheinkin at the NBA Teen Press Conference at the Brooklyn Public Library.

Now in its 15th year, the press conference, which was held at the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, is a key event leading up to the NBA ceremony.  Alexander, along with Carrie Arcos, Patricia McCormick, Eliot Schrefer, and Steve Sheinkin, took center stage to face their young audience, which had prepped for the event by reading all of the finalists’ books. The event was moderated by Coe Booth, author of Tyrell (2006) and Bronxwood (2011, both Scholastic).

Students from New York City area schools had done their homework before the conference. High schoolers from Brooklyn’s Kamit Preparatory Institute had read Arcos’s debut novel Out of Reach (S&S, 2012), a story of addiction and self-discovery, along with McCormick’s Never Fall Down (HarperCollins 2012), a harrowing tale of the reign of terror in Cambodia by the Khmer Rouge.

Moderator Coe Booth at the Press Conference.

Kids from Tompkins Square Middle School were versed in other titles including Sheinkin’s Bomb: The Race to Build―and Steal―the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon (Flash Point/Roaring Brook, 2012) and Schrefer’s Endangered (Scholastic, 2012), a story set in the Congo.

After reading selections from their books aloud, the panel fielded questions. Kids asked Alexander if his drama school experience helped him as a writer. Yes, he said, because actors, like goblins, are superstitious. Responding to the question about how long it takes to write a book, Sheinkin described the amount of research that goes into a nonfiction study such as his.

The inquiry that received the most chuckles from the panel was whether they ever get annoyed with their editors, many of whom were in the audience. The authors, unsurprisingly, danced around the topic.

Schrefer, whose book tells the story of a girl who must save a group of bonobos—pygmy chimpanzees—and herself from a violent coup in the Congo, was impressed by how engaged the students were. McCormick was struck by the depth of the students’ questions, and Arcos was generally thrilled to be in a room of young adult readers.

Steve Sheinkin signs a copy of his book for a student.

Each participating student received a press kit featuring biographical information on each author, book summaries, and materials related to the National Book Awards. Following the conference, the finalists autographed books for audience.