Are young people's opinions taken into account when the winners are chosen?

It is important to recognise that the Medals are awarded by librarians to writers and artists that they wish to honour for the outstanding books they have created. Naturally the judges do consider children's and young people's responses to the books as a part of their assessment, but the criteria take into account a broad range of other factors, such as construction of the plot, the strength of the characterisation and the quality of the writer's style. Outstanding literary or artistic quality are the most important elements when choosing the winner of these awards; there are several other awards where popularity with children and young people is the main criterion, E.g.The Children's Book Award.  more