Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, entertainment, excelsior, stan lee, The Stan Lee Excelsior Awards

Here Are The Shortlisted Books For The Stan Lee Excelsior Awards 2016

Published Thu, 28 Jan 2016 10:30:56 -0600

By Olly MacNamee

It's that time of year again when Paul Register and his gang of judges release the shortlist for the Stan Lee Excelsior Awards 2016. The graphic novel awards scheme is voted on by school pupils. And, for a second year, there is also the inclusion of a separate Junior Awards too.

"The books (for the main awards) are chosen for their quality, popularity and variety of genre and artistic styles. The other main criteria for inclusion on the shortlist is that the titles have to be suitable for 11-16 year olds." – Paul Register

My own school has followed these awards for a few years now, having originally started in Sheffield in 2011, and it's a great way of getting reluctant readers involved as well as a springboard from which to start your own Comic Book Club, where pupils can borrow the books from their school library and read and review it. As an English teacher who was a reluctant reader as a teen (damn you, comics!) I cannot help but recommend this to any British schools out there that haven't yet signed up. America? Why not start something similar? Given Register is a school librarian, he is more than aware of the economic constrains put on school budgets, but the cost of all 8 titles is about £75. A bargain for the enjoyment my pupils have gained from these titles. And, don't forget, once they're in your school library, they're there to stay for years to come. Our graphic novel section is looking quite impressive these days and the variety of titles offered can offer something new to even the most grizzled comic book reader such as myself.

Here then are the shortlisted books and their ISBN numbers:

And, the shortlisted titles for the Junior Awards:

The Rating Forms (for voting) can be obtained from the website as can the poster promoting the titles that can be used across your own school. Oh, and there are sticker templates too. And all approved by Stan The Man himself.

'Nuff said and happy reading.

Olly MacNamee teaches English and Media, for his sins, in a school somewhere in Birmingham. Some days, even he doesn't know where it is. Follow him on twitter @ollymacnamee or read about his exploits at olly.macnamee@blogspot.co.uk. Or don't. You can also read his articles fairly frequently at www.bleedingcool.com too.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!