Alex Award

[for the ten best adult books that appeal to teen audiences]

• Sonita: My Fight Against Tyranny and My Escape to Freedom by Sonita Alizada (HarperOne/HarperCollins)
• Plum by Andy Anderegg (Hub City)
• Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by Bob the Drag Queen (Gallery/Simon)
• What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown (Random House)
• The Favorites by Layne Fargo (Random House)
• The Whyte Python World Tour by Travis Kennedy (Doubleday)
• Insectopolis: A Natural History by Peter Kuper (Norton)
• These Heathens by Mia McKenzie (Random House)
• The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley (Knopf)
• Hole in the Sky by Daniel H. Wilson (Doubleday)

The ALSC Children's Literature Lecture

[an annual event featuring an author, critic, librarian, historian, or teacher of children’s literature, of any country, who shall prepare a paper considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children’s literature]

Kwame Alexander

American Indian Youth Literature Awards

[announced in even years...to identify and honor the very best writing and illustrations by and about American Indians and Alaska Natives. Selected titles present American Indians in the fullness of their humanity in the present and past contexts]

Picture Book winners:

• Chooch Helped written by Andrea L. Rogers [Cherokee Nation], illustrated by Rebecca Lee Kunz [Cherokee Nation] (Levine/Levine Querido)

Honor books:

• Fierce Aunties! written by Laurel Goodluck [Mandan & Hidatsa and Tsimshian], illustrated by Steph Littlebird [Oregon's Grand Ronde Confederated Tribes] (Simon)
• For a Girl Becoming written by Joy Harjo [Mvskoke Nation], illustrated by Adriana Garcia (Norton)
• Raven's Ribbons written by Tasha Spillett [Cree and Trinidadian], illustrated by Daniel Ramirez [Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan] (Little, Brown)
• We Weave written by Daniel W. Vandever [Navajo and Irish], illustrated by Deonoveigh Mitchell [Navajo and Black American] (South of Sunrise Creative)
• Braided Roots written by Pasha Westbrook [Chickasaw Nation and Choctaw Freedman], illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight [Chickasaw Nation] (Orchard/Scholastic)

Middle Grade winner: Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan [Plains Cree and Taino from Kehewin Cree Nation] (Paulsen/Penguin)

Honor books:

• Outfoxed by Elise McMullen-Ciotti [Cherokee Nation] (Scholastic)
• The Ribbon Skirt written and illustrated by Cameron Mukwa [Anishinaabe] (Graphix/Scholastic)
• Jo Jo Makoons: The Super-Scary Sleepover written by Dawn Quigley [Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe], illustrated by Tara Audibert [Wolastoquey/French] (Heartdrum/HarperCollins)
• Red Bird Danced by Dawn Quigley [Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe] (Heartdrum/HarperCollins)
• Lost at Windy River: A True Story of Survival written by Trina Rathgeber [Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation], illustrated by Alina Pete [Little Pine First Nation] and Jillian Dolan [Kapawe'no Cree First Nation] (Orca)
• The Summer of the Bone Horses written by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve [Rosebud Sioux Tribe], illustrated by Steph LIttlebird [Oregon's Grand Ronde Confederated Tribes] (Amulet/Abrams)

Young Adult winner: Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith [Muscogee Nation] (Heartdrum/HarperCollins)

Honor books:

• Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley [Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians] (Holt)
• The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs [Kanyen'keha] (Heartdrum/HarperCollins)
• Sheine Lende: A Prequel to Elatsoe written by Darcie Little Badger [Lipan Apache], illustrated by Rovina Cai (Levine Querido)
• Super Indian, Volume Three written and illustrated by Arigon Starr [Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma] (Wacky Productions Unlimited)
• Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer [Ojibwe] (Levine Querido)

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature

[for promoting Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage; awarded based on literary and artistic merit; administered by the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA)]

Pasifika Picture Book winner: Kaho'olawe: The True Story of an Island and Her People written by Kamalani Hurley, illustrated by Harinani Orme (Millbrook)

Honor books:

• Filo's Butterflies written by Litea Fuata, illustrated by Myo Yim (Hardie Grant)
• White Sunday written by Litea Fuata, illustrated by Myo Yim (Hardie Grant)

Asian American Picture Book winner: Many Things at Once written by Veera Hiranandani, illustrated by Nadia Alam (Random House Studio/Random)

Honor books:

• Every Peach Is a Story written by David Mas Masumoto and Nikiko Masumoto, illustrated by Lauren Tamaki (Abrams)
• A Vaisakhi to Remember written by Simran Jeet Singh, illustrated by Japneet Kaur (Kokila/Penguin)

Children's Literature winner: Hungry Bones by Louise Hung (Scholastic)

Honor books:

• The Queen Bees of Tybee County by Kyle Casey Chu (Quill Tree/HarperCollins)
• Fresh Start written and illustrated by Gale Galligan (Graphix/Scholastic)

Young Adult Literature winner: The Red Car to Hollywood by Jennie Liu (Carolrhoda Lab)

Honor book: Tall Water written by SJ Sindu, illustrated by Dion MBD (HarperAlley/HarperCollins)

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, and subsequently translated into English for publiation in the United States]

Winner: Croco written and illustrated by Azul López, translated from Spanish by Kit Maude (Tapioca Stories)

Honor books:

• Pilgrim Codex written by Vivian Mansour, illustrated by Emmanuel Valtierra, translated from Spanish by Carlos Rodríguez Cortez (Em Querido/Levine Querido)
• The Adventures of Cipollino written by Gianni Rodari, illustrated by Dasha Tolstikova, translated from Italian by Antony Shugaar (Enchanted Lion)
• Picking Tea with Baba written by Xu Bin, illustrated by Yu Yin, translated from Chinese by Shan Chen (Charlesbridge)
• From Memen to Mori written and illustrated by Shinsuke Yoshitake, translated from Japanese by Ajani Oloye (Yen)

Children's Literature Legacy Award

[honoring an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children through books that demonstrate integrity and respect for all children's lives and experiences]

Candace Fleming

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award

[given by the Coretta Scott King Task Force to young authors or illustrators who demonstrate outstanding promise]

Steptoe Author Award winner: Arriel Vinson for Under the Neon Lights (Putnam)

Coretta Scott King — Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement

[given by the Coretta Scott King Task Force for lifetime achievement]

Kadir Nelson

Margaret A. Edwards Award

[for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults]

Candace Fleming

Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award

[for distinguished digital media for an early learning audience]

Winner: Weather Hunters produced by WeatherHunters, Inc. and Silver Creek Falls Entertainment

Honorees:

• Reading Rainbow produced by Buffalo Toronto Public Media PBS and Kidzuko
• Terrestrials produced by WNYC, Radiolab

William C. Morris Award

[for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens]

Winner: All the Noise at Once by DeAndra Davis (Atheneum)

Finalists:

• Love, Misha written and illustrated by Askel Aden (First Second)
• Red Flags and Butterflies by Sheryl Azzam (DCB/Cormorant)
• You and Me on Repeat written and illustrated by Mary Shyne (Holt)
• First Love Language by Stefany Valentine (Penguin Workshop)

Odyssey Award

[for best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States]

Winner for children: Clack, Clack! Smack!: A Cherokee Stickball Story written by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Joseph Erb, read by the author and a full cast (Live Oak Media)

Winner for young adults: Trans History: From Ancient Times to the Present Day written and illustrated by Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett, read by the authors and a full cast (Listening Library/Penguin Random House Audio)

Honor audiobooks:

• The Dead of Summer written by Ryan La Sala, read by the author and a full cast (Scholastic Audio)
• Soundtrack written by Jason Reynolds, read by a full cast (Listening Library/Penguin Random House Audio)
• Whale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen written and narrated by James Robinson, illustrated by Brian Rea (Listening Library/Penguin Random House Audio)
• Legendary Frybread Drive-In: Intertribal Stories edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith, read by a full cast (Eljin Productions, Inc. for Heartdrum/HarperCollins)

Schneider Family Book Award

[for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience]

Younger Children (ages 0 to 8) winner: Wanda Hears the Stars: A Blind Astronomer Listens to the Universe written by Amy S. Hansen with Wanda Díaz Merced, illustrated by Rocio Arreola Mendoza (Charlesbridge)

Honor books:

• Bat and the Business of Ferrets written by Elana K. Arnold, illustrated by Charles Santoso (Clarion/HarperCollins)
• I Hear the Snow, I Smell the Sea written by Janice Milusich, illustrated by Chris Raschka (Schwartz/Random)

Middle Grade (ages 9-13) winner: Where Only Storms Grow by Alyssa Colman (Farrar)

Honor books:

• The Strongest Heart by Saadia Faruqi (Quill Tree/HarperCollins)
• Octopus Moon by Bobbie Pyron (Paulsen/Penguin)

Young Adult (ages 14-18) winner: Whale Eyes: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen by James Robinson, illustrated by Brian Rea (Penguin Workshop)

Honor books:

• The Golden Boy's Guide to Bipolar by Sonora Reyes (Harper/HarperCollins)
• The Poetry of Car Mechanics by Heidi E.Y. Stemple (Wordsong/Astra)

Stonewall Book Award — Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children's & Young Adult Literature Award

[given annually to English-language children's and young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender experience]

Children's Literature Winner:

• Halfway to Somewhere written and illustrated by Jose Pimienta (RH Graphic/Random)

Honor books:

• Woods & Words: The Story of Poet Mary Oliver written by Sara Holly Ackerman, illustrated by Naoko Stoop (Beach Lane/Simon)
• Ollie in Between by Jess Callans (Feiwel)
• The Ink Witch by Steph Cherrywell (Little, Brown)
• Call Me Gray written by Andrew Larsen and Bells Larsen, illustrated by Tallulah Fontaine (Kids Can)

Young Adult Literature Winner:

• One of the Boys by Victoria Zeller (Levine/Levine Querido)

Honor books:

• He's So Possessed with Me by Corey Liu (Little, Brown)
• Sometimes the Girl by Jennifer Mason-Black (Carolrhoda Lab)
• Hick: The Trailblazing Journalist Who Captured Eleanor Roosevelt's Heart by Sarah Miller (Random House Studio/Random)
• Devils Like Us by L. T. Thompson (Bloomsbury YA)

Sydney Taylor Book Awards

[to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience; presented by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL)]

Picture Book winner: Shabbat Shalom: Let's Rest and Reset written and illustrated by Suzy Ultman (Rise/Penguin Workshop)

Honor books:

• My Body Can written by Laura Gehl, illustrated by Alexandra Colombo (Apples & Honey/Behrman)
• The Keeper of Stories written by Caroline Kusin Pritchard, illustrated by Selina Alko (Simon)
• The Book of Candles: Eight Poems for Hanukkah written by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Leanne Hatch (Clarion/HarperCollins)

Middle Grade winner: Neshama by Marcella Pixley (Candlewick)

Honor book: Beinoni by Mari Lowe (Levine/Levine Querido)

Young Adult winner: D.J. Rosenblum Becomes the G.O.A.T. by Abby White (Levine/Levine Querido)

Honor book: The Rebel Girls of Rome by Jordyn Taylor (Harper/HarperCollins)

Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Award winner: Uri Shulevitz

For the complete list, including Notables, visit AJL's website.

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults

Winner: Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming (Schwartz/Random)

Finalists:

• White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote the History by Ann Bausum (Roaring Brook)
• A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, a Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out written by Nicholas Day, illustrated by Yas Imamura (Random House Studio/Random)
• White House Secrets: Medical Lies and Cover-Ups by Gail Jarrow (Calkins Creek/Astra)
• American Spirits: The Famous Fox Sisters and the Mysterious Fad That Haunted a Nation by Barb Rosenstock (Calkins Creek/Astra)

See the Horn Book's reviews of major 2026 ALA Youth Media Award winners.

For more, click on the tag ALA 2026.