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The Inkys are international awards celebrating teenage literature across the world. Staff of the Centre for Youth Literature read hundreds of books submitted from around the world and reduce them into a long list of 20. Then the six judges (composed of authors and teens) read and confer to create a short list of the main contenders – 3 in each category.

The categories include the Golden Inky- an award for an Australian book, and the Silver Inky- an award for an international book. There is also a creative reading prize for submissions from teens themselves (more about that in another post). The whole project is set up by the Centre for Youth Literature and the Victorian State library to promote reading as an active, fun and essential activity for all. The Inkys promote Australian authors and their works as well as the very best works for teenagers from overseas.

Once the short list is decided then teens can vote for the best in each category. You must be aged between 12 and 18 to vote and can only vote twice – once in each category. Voting is by SMS or from the insideadog website.

And just which books made it to the longlist? Below is a quick view of the 10 Australian contenders for the Golden Inky. The full list of 20 is featured on our blog focus page: The 2009 Inkys Longlist

Have you read any of these books? We would love to hear what you think. (Go to comments below to add yours.)

posted by Curtis and Mrs Thomson

Images from the inky website