Support Teen Lit Giveaway WINNERS!

I apologize profusely for the time it took to finally put this post up. Let's just say that, in between it being a busy time of the year for me, the entries were also INCREDIBLE and PLENTIFUL, and required a lot of sorting, listing, and deciding.

Random winners first. After taking the nonrandom winning entries out of the lot, there were 428 entries. Random.org has decided that the first winner, who will get their choice of two of the "new" and three of the "old," is:

#275 - Brooke Reviews!

Congratulations, B!

The second winner, who will get their choice of one of the remaining "new" and two of the remaining "old," is:

#332 - Shooting Stars Mag!

Congrats, Lauren, and you fully deserve it for having referred so many people over!

And finally, the third winner, who will receive the last remaining "new" and their choice of one of the remaining "old," is:

#369 - Llehn!

Congratulations to all, and I will be emailing you in order if you've left me your email address.

And now, before I announce the winner of the special award, who will receive THREE 2009 YA book releases of his/her choice, as well as be featured as a Friday Featured Blogger on my site, let me just say that I was absolutely staggered--staggered--by things that people were writing about. It literally made me tear up to hear of so many teachers, librarians, consumers, readers, bloggers, authors, and just book lovers in general, all doing everything they can to support teen literature, whether it be using YA lit in the classroom, starting book clubs, volunteering, donating their old and beloved books, or spending all their pocket money on YA books. And this is happening ALL OVER THE WORLD. Can I just say that I am absolutely honored to be part of such a loving and supportive community? You have all inspired me to do even more to support teen lit in the future, and I hope that all of our dreams and goals can come true, because everyone deserves them.

Like I said, I had numerous amazing entries and thus had difficulty selecting the winners. There were so many touching stories, stories that made me smile and cry and nod my head in empathy. I wish I could buy books for all of you; honestly, I do.

In the end, however, I couldn't manage to pick just one winner, so there are TWO, both of whom will receive three 2009 releases of their choice.

Tiqa Khairi said...

Great contest!

So how have I been and/or plan on supporting teen literature in the present and future?

Well, I cant say what I'm doing so far is great (but I like to think that it is). I've only started book blog review (although its been neglected for a while now, so BUSY!) which I think really expands my knowledge on teen literature and also help me make new friends. Woot! :p

I've been supporting teen literature even before I realize that ohmigod, I love teen literature!! Other than the obvious, 'duh I read', I go and tell most of my friends about these books and occasionally, they are forced to listen about some new book I found out about. I guess after having to listen to everything I tell them about books, they went out and buy books too. Now, I share books with my friends (thus saving my pocket money lol)

I'm not entirely sure what I plan to do in the future to support teen literature but I'm thinking of hosting an imaginary teen library where anyone can borrow anything. My idea was ; I'd post a list of books available on the web, and if anyone is interested in borrowing the books, they have to pay a certain amount of fee for unlimited books borrowed in a year. After that, I will mail the book to them, with the due date. After the due date is up, that said person will have to return the book back to my address. I know this sounds too good to be true(a girl can dream, can't she?) but the library in Malaysia is so sad, trust me. Seriously, its terribly sad. Also, after I finish school, I'm so gonna work at a bookstore and actually interact(maybe even stalk, lol) with the customers who goes to the teen literature section because I've always wanted someone who shares with me their opinions and suggestions about books every time I enter the bookstore but everyone just minds their own business, so I'd like to change that.

And of course, I will continue follow teen book bloggers/authors and support them!

my ideas mostly are to increase the interest on teen literature here on Malaysia. You'd be sad to know how outdated most of them are even when there are really good promising books available here.

Tiqa Khairi's entry made me both smile and cry. I wish I had a group of book-loving friends when I was a teenager, but what struck me most was her dream of starting a "virtual" library, which is something that I can relate to, something I've always wanted to do.

dissectingperfection said...

My family moves a lot, and by moving, I don't mean down the street, or across the state, or even around the country. We've officially lived on every continent except Africa and Antarctica for an extended period of time (and the former doesn't look too far off, either). Most places I end up in have poor reading programs, and the teens aren't quite well-versed in the concept of Teen Literature. There aren't any libraries that stock good books for them to read, and even the bookstores have limited options. So what do I do? I import as much as I can via friends and family in the States, or elsewhere in the world, and become my own library! Right now I'm reaching out to about 20 teens who love reading as much as I do, and we have informal book discussions whenever we can. It's like having a library and a book club, and it makes for some great debates and topics to discuss. And that's how I support teen literature! (Even though it makes it a pain to move to a new place with all my book collection!)

I have trouble just keeping my book collection straight between college and home, which are only one state away from each other, let alone all over the world! I was impressed with Mya's determination to keep reading, to keep building her collection of books, even as she traveled internationally.

Congratulations, the two of you; you both deserve it. If you've left me your email, I'll be emailing you soon.