Chapter Thirteen - Talking Sequoyah Book Awards with Kirsten Walker and Molly Dettmann

In this chapter of the Okie Bookcast, our focus is on the Sequoyah Book Awards and the Donna Norvell Award. The Sequoyah Awards are sponsored by the Oklahoma Library Association and are one of the oldest child-selected book awards in the country. The awards are presented at the end of March every year, so this is the perfect time to learn more about them and I've got the perfect guests to shed some light.

Kirsten Walker is the Chair for the Sequoyah Administration Team for 2021-2022. She is a librarian at the Southwest Oklahoma City Library which is part of the Pioneer Library System. Kirsten has previously served on the Intermediate Sequoyah Reading Team and was chair of the Children and Teen Services Roundtable.

Molly Dettmann has served on the Intermediate and High School Sequoyah Reading Committees and served as the 2020-2021 Sequoyah Administration Committee Chair. She works as a school librarian at Norman North High School and was named her school's 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year.

In our conversation we talk about the history of the Sequoyah Awards, the selection process for masterlists and winners, and get a peek behind the scenes.

In keeping with the Sequoyah Awards theme, our review is from Mandi MacDonald, who is the librarian and AP English teacher at North Rock Creek High School in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Mandi is also the current chair for the Intermediate Sequoyah masterlist.

She reviews the 2023 Sequoyah Intermediate Masterlist book Alone by Megan E. Freeman.

Mentioned on the show:

The Night Ride - J. Anderson Coats

Love In English - Maria E. Andreu

Legendborn - Tracy Deonn

The Inheritance Games - Jennifer Barnes

The Charm Offensive - Alice Cochrun

Dark Rise - C.S. Pacat

All Systems Red - Martha Wells

Hola Papi: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons - John Paul Brammer

Crying in H Mart: A Memoir - Michelle Zauner

Goosebumps Series - R.L. Stine