School Library Journal (SLJ) has garnered two Eddie Awards, one for a cover story addressing the state of publishing for tweens, the second a staff-wide effort to inform and serve readers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bestowed annually by FOLIO: magazine, the Eddie Awards honor editorial excellence in magazine media.

“COVID-19 and the pivot to distance learning was the story of the year. To meet the needs of educators, librarians, and students, editors devised a May cover story package addressing multiple facets of the transition and created an ongoing stream of COVID-19 coverage,” wrote SLJ news & features editor Sarah Bayliss in an editorial statement.

SLJ’s coverage, which won for best series of articles in the B2B Education category, encompassed a survey deployed to librarians at the start of the pandemic, an online publishing directory with updated policies for sharing content virtually, and video tutorials on using tech tools for teaching.

Among the stories: “How To Run a Virtual Book Club for Middle Schoolers” by Laura Gardner, addressing the particular challenges of virtual group discussion and access to reading materials. “Social-Emotional Support and Distance Learning” by Alex Shevrin Venet, and “We’re All Struggling” by SLJ news editor Kara Yorio, addressed the traumatic aspects of COVID-19 and specific recommendations from SEL experts and psychologists.

Writers of the submitted COVID coverage were Brigid Alverson, Lauren Barack, Child-Mind Institute, Wayne D’Orio, Kimberly Olson Fakih, Karissa Fast, Laura Gardner, Abby Johnson, Kathy Ishizuka, Cicely Lewis, Kristen Mattson, Lisa Peet, Alex Shevrin Venet, and Kara Yorio. The editors: Sarah Bayliss, Kathy Ishizuka, SLJ staff, and Kara Yorio.

Going the distance

“Betwixt,” our November 2019 cover story written by Katy Hershberger and edited by Bayliss, examined how librarians and publishers are responding to a demand for tween-centric reads and why this age group is overlooked in publishing.

Most middle grade books are designated by publishers for ages eight to 12, while middle school students range from 10 to 15. Meanwhile, as YA fiction has exploded in the past 20 years, the category has focused more on older teen characters and young adults, reads the statement. Where does that leave tweens, who, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, made up 6.4 percent of the population in 2018?

SLJ also garnered an Ozzie Award honorable mention for cover design of the May 2020 issue, which was the first created entirely by staff all working remotely.

“We realized that this cover would capture a historic moment and we deliberated over the message and the tone,” wrote Mark Tuchman, SLJ’s creative director. Illustrator James Yang (winner of the 2020 Geisel Award) was tapped for the assignment. 

 With a cover line “Going the Distance,” suggesting “distance learning” and “social distancing,” the art, which depicts two young readers in their apartment windows, “was no doubt inspired by life in Brooklyn, NY, where James lives," according to Tuchman. “The feeling of stillness, and addition of a single face mask on a clothesline, firmly places the illustration within our tumultuous times.”