FYI, here’s the site for the list — when the nominations open, this is where you’ll nominate titles for consideration:
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/greatgraphicnovelsforteens/gn.htm

Also, on Antique Bakery, I forgot to say this yesterday, but AB is not BL or yaoi. I heard this through the grapevine from the creator herself — she does not consider it BL, and I also can see why: it’s not a romance, but more a comedy about creating a family from friends.

Of course, I think it appeals to BL readers, but I think she’s correct in not categorizing it as BL, as I think it might disappoint someone looking more for romance.

As other’s guessed — the reason Antique Bakery volume 1 wasn’t eligible is that it was published before September 2005 — we could only consider titles between September 2005 and December 2006. Some of the hardest decisions about the list came from not having the complete story because we could only consider volume from within that time frame.

Also, just to say — if you’d like to see more manga considered for the list, please remember anyone can nominate titles for consideration! The current year’s committee will be acccepting nominations starting March 1st, so let us know what you think deserves to be on there (manga or otherwise!). We all work hard to try to keep track of what’s out there, but we can always use the help from fans.

Speaking for myself, I tend to consider manga-style comics, or American manga, or whatever you want to call them, on their own terms. I try to ignore the “manga” label for these and concentrate on whether it’s good story. The manga-style comics I’ve seen marketed that way always feel a bit more like independent comics with manga influence rather than really fitting neatly in with what manga is. That’s my take on it — so, for example, I didn’t really think of Inverloch or even Sorcerers and Secretaries as manga — more of a manga-inspired hybrid.

That said, DN, Monster, and Nana are all really good too. Can’t say I’ve read the others.