Every January the American Library Association hosts its annual Youth Media Awards Press Conference. At this time, authors of children’s and young adult literature are recognized for the amazing works they have published in the last year. We as YA lit lovers consider this the Academy Awards of teen books. And this year’s winners are…
Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults.
- Award Winner: “In Darkness” by Nick Lake
- Honor Book: “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
- Honor Book: “Code Name Verity” by Elizabeth Wein
- Honor Book: “Dodger” by Terry Pratchett
- Honor Book: “The White Bicycle” by Beverley Brenna
William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens.
- Award Winner: “Seraphina” by Rachel Hartman
- Honor Book: “Wonder Show” by Hannah Barnaby
- Honor Book: “Love and Other Perishable Items” by Laura Buzo
- Honor Book: “After the Snow” by S. D. Crockett
- Honor Book: “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” by Emily M. Danforth
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults.
Award Winner: “Bomb: The Race to Build-and Steal-the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon” by Steve Sheinkin- Honor Book: “Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different” by Karen Blumenthal
- Honor Book: “Moonbird: A Year on the Wind with the Great Survivor B95” by Phillip Hoose
- Honor Book: “Titanic: Voices From the Disaster” by Deborah Hopkinson
- Honor Book: “We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March” by Cynthia Levinson
Alex Award Winners are the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences.
- “Caring Is Creepy” by David Zimmerman
- “Girlchild” by Tupelo Hassman
- “Juvenile in Justice” by Richard Ross
- “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore” by Robin Sloan
- “My Friend Dahmer” by Derf Backderf
- “One Shot at Forever” by Chris Ballard
- “Pure” by Julianna Baggott
- “The Round House” by Louise Erdrich
- “Tell the Wolves I’m Home” by Carol Rifka Brunt
- “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” by Maria Semple
Odyssey Award for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adult.
Award Winner: “The Fault in Our Stars” written by John Green and narrated by Kate Rudd- Honor Book: “Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian” written by Eoin Colfer and narrated by Nathaniel Parker
- Honor Book: “Ghost Knight” written by Cornelia Funke and narrated by Elliot Hill
- Honor Book: “Monstrous Beauty” written by Elizabeth Fama and narrated by Katherine Kellgren
Pura Belpré (Author) Award honors a Latino writer whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience:
- Award Winner: “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
- Honor Book: “The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano” by Sonia Manzano
Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Award is given annually to children’s and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered experience.
Award Winner: “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin Alire Sáenz- Honor Book: “Drama” by Raina Telgemeier
- Honor Book: “Gone, Gone, Gone” by Hannah Moskowitz
- Honor Book: “October Mourning: A Song for Matthew Shepard” by Lesléa Newman
- Honor Book: “Sparks: The Epic, Completely True Blue, (Almost) Holy Quest of Debbie” by S. J. Adams
Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience.
- Middle School Award Winner: “A Dog Called Homeless” by Sarah Lean
- High School Award Winner: “Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am” by Harry Mazer and Peter Lerangis
Mildred L. Batchelder Award for an outstanding children’s book originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States.
- Award Winner: “My Family for the War” by Anne C. Voorhoeve, translated by Tammi Reichel. Originally published in Germany in 2007 as “Liverpool Street.”
- Honor Book: “A Game for Swallows: To Die, to Leave, to Return” written and illustrated by Zeina Abirached, translated by Edward Gauvin
- Honor Book: “Son of a Gun” written and translated by Anne de Graaf
Margaret A. Edwards Award honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature. Tamora Pierce is the 2013 Edwards Award winner. Pierce was born in rural Western Pennsylvania in 1954. She knew from a young age she liked stories and writing, and in 1983, she published her first series, Song of the Lioness. She continues to write and even record her own audiobooks. She currently lives with her husband (spouse-creature) and a myriad of animals in Syracuse, New York.
