From her humble beginnings in a small town in Texas to her marquee life as a superstar of 60s rock, Janis Joplin remains an icon of music. Despite her short life, she left an indelible impression on the music of an era.

“From the cover art and the interior design to the compelling personal narrative, this is a pearl of a book,” said YALSA Nonfiction Award Chair Don Latham.

The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 publishing year. Award winners are announced annually during the 91��ý Midwinter Meeting’s Youth Media Awards. The award will be presented to Ann Angel at a reception in San Diego on Jan.10.

2011 YALSA Nonfiction Award finalists, which were announced in December, include: “They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group,” by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; “Spies of Mississippi: The True Story of the Spy Network that Tried to Destroy the Civil Rights Movement,” by Rick Bowers, published by National Geographic Society; “The Dark Game: True Spy Stories,” by Paul Janeczko

Published by Candlewick Press; and “Every Bone Tells a Story: Hominin Discoveries, Deductions, and Debates,” by Jill Rubalcaba and Peter Robertshaw, published by Charlesbridge.

The full list of official nominations for the award will be available online at .

Members of the 2010 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults award committee are: Chair Don Latham, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Fla.; Christine Allen, Arlington High School, Riverside, Calif.; Rachel Aronowitz, San Francisco Public Library; Carrie Bryniak, Wadsworth (Ohio) Public Library; Monique Franklin, Texas Women’s University School of Library and Information Science, Denton, Texas; Jeanette Larson, Pflugerville, Texas; Teri Lesesne, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas; Courtney Lewis, Wyoming Seminary Upper School, Kingston, Pa.; Charli Osborne, Oxford (Mich.) Public Library; Judy Sasges, administrative assistant, Sno-Isle Libraries, Marysville, Wash.; and Laura Tillotson, Booklist consultant, Chicago.

For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos and audio books for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to .

For more information on the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults and other 91��ý Youth Media Awards, please visit .

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