The San José Public Library invites teens to create a book trailer for our Summer Reading Celebration during the months of June and July. Upload a short clip, no longer than 4 minutes, to YouTube. Be creative! The contest is open to all participants in the Teen Summer Reading Celebration.

How to enter:

Think of a favorite book you read for Summer Reading and envision it as a short video, one that will capture the interest of your audience. Create your own book trailer, reviewing the book. You can submit more than one video, but each video has to be for a separate book.

• Sign up for Summer Reading starting on June 1, 2013.
• Post the video on YouTube using the tag: SJPL2013SRC
• Submit the YouTube link to your book trailer along with your name, age, contact information (either a phone number or email) and your library branch to: 2013SJPLBookTrailerContest@gmail.com
• All entries must be submitted by July 31, 2013
• Book trailers may not be longer than four minutes in length
• Story being reviewed should be a young adult or adult fiction or non-fiction book.
• Cite all images, video and audio that you did not create

A panel of judges (staff at San José Public Library) will review all entries and select the top three winners, to be announced in August 2013. The panel of judges will use the following criteria when reviewing book trailer entries:

• Content: Clear introduction; strong hook; summary without dominating narration; fresh and interesting commentary with strong conclusion
• Voice/Sound: Interesting; well-rehearsed; smooth delivery; holds audience attention; easy to hear narration over soundtrack; voice sounds natural and helps convey meaning; soundtrack adds to tone/feel of presentation
• Images: Crisp, clear, engaging, enriching, extending details and meaning; appropriately cited.
• Presentation: All elements (color and graphics) work together seamlessly to create an interesting book trailer

Need some examples? Check out the winning entry from last year's Book Trailer Contest, created by K. Rai.

Here are links to some professional book trailers:

• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
• Legend and Prodigy by Marie Lu

Teens who submit links to their Book Trailer will automatically be entered in the contest. The top 3 winners will receive:

• 1st place: iPad Mini
• 2nd place: $50 gift card for iTunes
• 3rd place: $25 gift card for Jamba Juice