Editor in chief of The Horn Book, Inc. from 1996 to 2022, Roger Sutton advanced The Horn Book Magazine’s superb reputation for book reviewing while expanding its coverage of the cultural and social significance of children’s and young adult literature. Under Sutton’s direction, most notably in special issues published annually, the magazin joined lively debates on such topics as religion and politics, the value of identity-based awards, and the boundary-blurring phenomenon of crossover titles for children and adults.

A librarian by training, Mr. Sutton is widely recognized as being among the country’s leading experts on children’s literature. Appearances on television and interviews on radio and for newspapers confirm his quick wit and his assured mastery of the field. He has taught at the University of Chicago, Columbia University, and the University of Illinois and has served on virtually every major American children’s book award committee (the Newbery, Caldecott, Batchelder, National Book, and New York Times Best Illustrated) and chaired the 2007 Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now the Children’s Literature Legacy Award) committee. He has chaired the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction committee since 2010.

Previously Editor of The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mr. Sutton has written for many journals, including The New York Times Book Review and Booklist. For School Library Journal, he conducted an award-winning series of author interviews with Judy Blume, Richard Peck, and Robert Cormier, among others.

His books include Hearing Us Out: Voices from the Gay and Lesbian Community (Little, Brown), an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; Evaluating Children’s Books: A Critical Look, coedited with Betsy Hearne (GSLIS, University of Illinois); and The Best in Children’s Books 1985–1990: The University of Chicago Guide to Children’s Literature, edited with Betsy Hearne and Zena Sutherland (University of Chicago). With Martha V. Parravano, he is the author of A Family of Readers: The Book Lover’s Guide to Children’s and Young Adult Literature, published in 2010 by Candlewick Press.

Mr. Sutton began his professional career as a young adult services librarian at the Zion-Benton Public Library District in Illinois, and then went to the Chicago Public Library as a children’s librarian, later managing a branch library. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Pitzer College and a Master in Library Science degree from the University of Chicago.

Mr. Sutton was the seventh editor of The Horn Book Magazine, which began in 1924 and is considered the foremost journal on children’s and young adult literature. He was the second editor of its sister publication, the Guide/Reviews Database, which offers short, critical reviews by trusted professionals of recommended hardcover trade books published in the United States for young people, and its former print version The Horn Book Guide, which was a semiannual review journal. He blogged regularly at Read Roger and can be found on Twitter at @RogerReads.

Read more about Roger Sutton here.