Call for Judges

Judging Process
Final Award Panel Judges Position Overview
Application Form

Judging Process
Selection of the Minnesota Book Awards finalists and winners is done by panels of volunteer judges. Great care is given to ensure diversity of background and experience on the panels. To be considered for a judge assignment, applicants must be well qualified to evaluate books within the category they wish to judge.

The Book Awards judging process has two parts:

1. Selection of the finalists, culminating at the end of January.  The panels for this preliminary round of judging are composed of Minnesota librarians and booksellers.  Each of the eight award categories has a panel of three judges.  The judges on these panels will meet on Saturday, January 26, 2008 to select the four finalists within their award category.
   
   
2. Selection of category winners, in early March.  Candidates for the final award panels may include, but are not limited to booksellers, librarians, publishers, reviewers, scholars, teachers, and writers.  Each of the eight award categories has a panel of three judges.  The judges on these panels will meet on Saturday, March 1, 2008 to select the winner within their award category.

For detailed information about the final award judge volunteer position, please review the position overview (click here).  Individuals interested in volunteering to be a judge are invited to complete the judge application form (click here).  The deadline for applying is 5 p.m. on Friday, November 30, 2007.  The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library will acknowledge the receipt of all applications.  Once the selection of judges has occurred, all applicants will receive a communication confirming whether or not they have received a judge assignment.

Detailed guidelines and criteria for evaluation of the nominated books and for the panel process are provided by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library, as are facilitators for the January and March panel sessions.  Both panel sessions will take place at Open Book, home of The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.

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Summary of Assignment:  The final round judges read the four books selected as finalists in their category, and then engage in thoughtful deliberation with the other two judges on the panel to select one award winner.  Final round judges need to be comfortable evaluating and considering books as the potential award winner that may not be books they themselves would have selected as finalists had they been part of the preliminary round panel.

The Minnesota Book Awards is committed to having a broad base of experience on the panels including diversity of professional experience, educational background, ethnicity, age, sex, and location of residency in the state.  Qualified candidates who have judged before are welcome to apply as are qualified candidates new to judging.  This is a volunteer assignment, although mileage/travel to the judging session is reimbursable.

Support Provided to the Volunteer Judges:

• The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library provides judges with returnable copies of the books that have been selected as finalists.   
• A detailed handout, including the criteria for evaluating books, is provided to all judges at the time they receive their set of finalist books.
• Each panel of judges at the March 1, 2008 winner selection meeting is assigned a facilitator who will be present throughout deliberation.  The facilitator does not participate in the deliberation or selection process, but is there to ensure the discussion adheres to the Minnesota Book Awards criteria and guidelines, and that a decision is made in a timely manner.

Eligibility to Be a Volunteer Judge:

• To be considered for assignment as a volunteer judge, applicants must have professional or volunteer experience, or interests, which qualify them to be a sound evaluator of books in the award category they are interested in judging.
• Judges must be available to attend the selection meeting the afternoon of Saturday, March 1, 2008.  This meeting will be held at Open Book, the home of The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.  Each panel of three judges will meet at this time to select the category winner.  Judges need to be well prepared, having thoroughly reviewed and taken notes on all of the finalist books in advance of this session.  (Please note:  notes should NOT be made directly in the copies of the books provided by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library as books are to be returned the day of the panel session for use in Book Awards outreach activities.)
• Writers who have a book nominated for the Minnesota Book Awards in a given year may not serve as judges in that same year.  Employees of publishers may only serve as judges for categories in which the publisher in question is not submitting a book that year.  Any other potential conflict of interest situations should be immediately brought to the attention of The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library.
• Judges must have the ability to respect a policy of confidentiality (books under consideration are not to be discussed with anyone other than the other judges on the panel), keep the Minnesota Book Award criteria in mind at all times (literary merit, audience appeal, and originality), read beyond their own preferences and personal tastes, and engage in respectful deliberation.

Recognition of Volunteer Judges:

• Award winners will be announced at the Minnesota Book Awards gala on April 12, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel – Saint Paul Riverfront.  Each judge will receive two complimentary tickets to this event.  
• Judges will be acknowledged in the Minnesota Book Awards gala program.

Click here for a printable PDF of the Judge's Position Description.

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Download the Minnesota Book Awards Final Round Judge Application Form. (click here for a PDF) Click here to download a Word document to your computer. A pop-up window will ask you whether you want to open the file or save it to your computer. Select the option that will save the document to your computer. Open your saved document and fill it out. (NOTE: For some unknown reason, the form responses are converting to ALL CAPS on some computers. Please go ahead and continue to fill out the form. We'll know you're not "shouting".) Save the completed form to your computer. Send us the form by email, selecting and attaching your saved file. Return the completed application form no later than Friday, November 30, 2007 to:     The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library     325 Cedar Street, Suite 555     Saint Paul, MN 55101-1055

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The Minnesota Book Awards is a Capital City project, led by The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library,
in consortium with the Saint Paul Public Library and the Mayor’s office in the City of Saint Paul. 
Outreach partners for the Book Awards include the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA), the
Minnesota Library Association (MLA), and the Minnesota Department of Education - State Library Services.