Award shows crop up now and again, and they’re presented by both small and large organizations. Sometimes it is the big players, including those who advertise most heavily with the organization in question who have the best chance at winning (trust me, I’ve seen this in action in industries other than the publication one). However, every once in awhile, you’ll see a new set of awards, and you can tell that the company really did select the best of the best to represent each of the categories. Indigo’s Teen Read Awards is one such award show that is one of the latter.
One of the things that I like about this particular YA novel award show is that Indigo hasn’t just selected a list of nominees for the short list and selected the winner behind closed doors. Rather, they have created TeenReadAwards.ca where Canadians between the ages of 11 and 18 from all across Canada, except for Quebec, can vote up to 10 times daily for their favorite books in each category. If you’re under 18, you’ll have to jump through a few hoops before you can register, namely get a parent or guardian to given you permission. It might be a bit of a drag, but it’s actually the law for non-moderated websites in Canada, so don’t blame Indigo! (I’m sure that they would have planned it otherwise if they could).
Once you register, then you can start voting. But what can you vote for? Well, for the first annual Teen Read Awards, Indigo has come up with the following 10 categories: Best Read, Best All-Time Fave, Best Teen Series, Best Book-To-Flick, Best New Writer, Best Hero, Best Villain, Best Hottie, Best Lip Lock, and Best Canadian Read. Go to TeenReadAwards.ca and check out which of your favorite books made the cut and get your votes in to make sure they win.
Voting has already begun, but you still have till July 25, 2010 to get your voice heard. At the same time, voting gives you the chance to win any of their daily prizes, including Indigo giftcards, Cineplex movie ticket, and Kobo eReaders, as well as an undisclosed grand prize. Once the voting is over, there is still something to look forward to, The Teen Read Awards Night in Toronto on September 25, 2010!
Melissa Montovani is the founder of YABookShelf.com, where she has been writing content about YA authors and books since 2010. She has over five years of online marketing experience, active followers on Twitter and Facebook and writes freelance reviews for Canadian Children's Book News. She has an M.A. in English Literature and lives and works in Toronto, Canada.
