2019 ALA Awards
The American Library Association (ALA) announced the winners of several awards during their Midwinter Meeting at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle WA, January 25-29, 2019.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (HarperTeen) won the Michael L. Printz Award for “excellence in literature written for young adults” and the Pura Belpré Author Award for a Latinx writer whose “books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience.” Damsel by Elana K. Arnold (Balzer + Bray) was named a Printz Award Honor Book.
The Collectors by Jacqueline West (Greenwillow) was named a Schneider Family Award Honor Book for “books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience.”
Several books of genre interest won Alex Awards, given to “the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences”:
- The Black God’s Drums, P. Djèlí Clark (Tor.com Publishing)
- How Long ’til Black Future Month?, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit)
- Circe, Madeline Miller (Little, Brown)
- Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik (Del Rey)
Walter Dean Myers received the Children’s Literature Legacy Award given for “a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children’s lives and experiences.”
M.T. Anderson won the Margaret A. Edwards Award “for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults.”
The 2020 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award “recognizing an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children’s literature” was given to Neil Gaiman.
Esquivel! Space-Age Sound Artist by Susan Wood (Live Oak) and The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo (Harper Audio) were named as Odyssey Honor Audiobooks.
Spooked!: How a Radio Broadcast and The War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America by Gail Jarrow was named a Robert F. Sibert Award Honor Book “for most distinguished informational book for children.”
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (Henry Holt) is a William C. Morris Award Honor Book “for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens.”
Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier won the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Older Readers category for “outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience.”
For a full list of winners and honor books, see the ALA website.
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