2008 Judges & Evaluation Process

We are proud to continue a multi-stage judging process, which includes three phases of review. After meeting a specified set of criteria in Round 1, the top 20 percent of entries are moved on to Round 2. Round 2 of the process narrows the entrants down to 40-60 finalists in each subcategory by combining the scores from Round 1 and Round 2. Round 3, the final step in the process, determines the winners in each of the three categories by combining the scores of all three judging phases. These finalists are then reviewed and discussed by our judging panel and our final winners are determined.

Bonnie Ammer - Executive Vice President and Publisher at Large, Random House Worldwide
Harold Augenbraum - Executive Director, National Book Foundation
Lauren Culley - Columbia Publishing Course Graduate
Jancee Dunn - Author - Villard Books
Lance Fensterman - Vice President - Book Expo America/New York ComicCon
Elliot Figman - Publisher - Poets & Writers Magazine
Sarah F. Gold - Senior Reviews Editor - Publishers Weekly
Elliot Figman - Publisher - Poets & Writers Magazine
Sarah F. Gold - Senior Reviews Editor - PW
Phyllis Grann - Senior Editor - Doubleday Broadway
Richard Hoehler - Actor, Writer, and Teaching Artist
Ali Kokmen, Manager - Del Rey Manga
Mara Lander - Marketing Associate - Knopf Publishing Group
Elizabeth Lewis - Associate - Random House Publishing Group
Betsy Mitchell - VP, Editor in Chief - Del Rey, Mass Market & Licensing
Christopher Momeene - Editor - Writer's Lifeline, Inc.
Tricia Narwani - Del Rey Manga
Parker Pracjek - Urban Word
Calvin Reid - Co-Editor - PW Comics Week
Mike Romanos - Showcase and Children’s Room Coordinator - Poet’s House
Barbara Rothenberg - NYC Association of Principals Supervising English
Wendy Salinger - Unterberg Poetry Center
Alex Simmons - Educational Outreach Director - New York Museum for Comic and Cartoon Art
Jo Umans - Executive Director - Behind the Book