The Alex Award

I know this post is a little informational for a Tuesday/Thursday; it's more like a Monday post. But I wanted to tell you guys about the Alex Award because it's really awesome, and I had to jump at the opportunity, because The Night Circus was one of the 2012 winners.

No, friends, the Alex Award isn't something I made up to give to books I like. It's a real literary award that was started in 1998, named after a librarian from Baltimore, and have been bestowed by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Assocation, a division of the ALA or American Library Association) since 2002.

The Alex Award is given to ten books each year. These are books that were published with adults as the intended audience, but have been found to have "special appeal" to young adults (readers between 12 and 18 years old).

It should come as no surprise that I am a huge fan of the award, not because they share my name, and not just because they are for adult books enjoyed by a YA audience, but also because my favorite author, Neil Gaiman, is the only author so far to have won two Alex Awards.

For a complete list of winners, go here. (I know, it's a Wikipedia link, but the ALA page requires member access.)