Guidelines

THE PROCESS

A longlist of 10 Australian books and 10 International books will be selected by the Centre for Youth Literature. This longlist will then be read by a panel of six judges, who will whittle the list down to six books (3 Australian, 3 International). Then, on 12 September, voting will open on insideadog and via SMS. The winners will be announced on Thursday 6 November. The winning Australian book will receive the Golden Inky and a cash prize, and the International winner will receive the Silver Inky.

LONGLIST & SHORTLIST SELECTION

The longlist will reflect the quality and diversity of current Young Adult Literature.

Books will be selected on the basis of their originality, quality, readability, voice, character, age-appropriateness and something else that you can’t put your finger on, but you know it when you see it.

Books will not be selected either by their popularity or their “message”.

Whilst sequels are eligible for inclusion in the Inkys, a book needs to stand up on its own

The Inkys are for fiction, poetry or anthology, and can be a work of joint authorship or editorship.

All works must be in English. Bilingual editions where one of the languages used is English are also eligible.

In all cases not covered by these conditions and guidelines, or where there may be scope for interpretation, the nominator should seek clarification from the Awards Coordinator on 03 8664 7556 or lwilkinson@slv.vic.gov.au

ELIGIBILITY

The Inkys are for books first made available to the Australian public during the eligibility period (the financial year just gone).
This includes publication in Australia and imports (for the Silver Inky).

Self-published titles are only eligible if they are readily available to Australian teenagers, in schools, bookshops and public libraries.

To be eligible for the GOLDEN INKY, authors must be Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia.

To be eligible for the SILVER INKY, authors must not be Australian citizens or permanent residents of Australia.

VOTING

Young people can vote either by SMS or online at www.insideadog.com.au.

You don’t need to register or ‘join’ in order to vote, but you do need to submit a valid email address.

You can only vote twice – once for the Golden Inky and once for the Silver Inky. Every attempt will be made to prevent multiple votes.

The INKYS are a choice award for teenagers (12-18 year olds). Whilst we cannot control who votes for the awards (as to do so would make the voting process unappealingly restrictive), we do ask that you only vote if you are between 12 and 18 years of age.

The Australian and International books with the most votes will be the winners. In the case of a tie, voting will be extended for a further seven days.