Home › A Blog › 2023 ALA Youth Media Awards

2023 ALA Youth Media Awards

Posted on by

American Library Association Youth Media Awards

On Monday, January 30, the American Library Association (ALA) announced the top books, digital media, video and audio books for children and young adults – including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery and Printz awards – at its LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience, taking place in-person for the first time in New Orleans.

A list of the 2023 award winners and honor selections from the Young Adult category follows:

Ain
We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds
Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice, written by Tommie Smith and Derrick Barnes
All My Rage, written by Sabaa Tahir
Scout
Icebreaker, written by A.I. Graziadei
When the Angels Left the Old Country, written by Sacha Lamb
Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality, written by Eliot Schrefer
The Words We Keep, written by Erin Stewart
Breathe and Count Back from Ten, written by Natalia Sylvester
Burn Down, Rise Up, written by Vincent Tirado
High Spirits, written by Camille Gomera-Tavarez
The Lesbiana
I Kissed Shara Wheeler, written by Casey McQuiston
Kings of B
Man o
The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, written by Jen Ferguson (Metis/white)
The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen, written by Isaac Blum
Wake the Bones, written by Elizabeth Kilcoyne
Hell Followed With Us, written by Andrew Joseph White
Abuela, Don
American Murderer: The Parasite that Haunted the South, written by Gail Jarrow
A Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome, written by Ariel Henley
Unequal: A Story of America, written by Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau
Himawari House, written and illustrated by Harmony Becker
The Silence that Binds Us, written by Joanna Ho
My Fine Fellow: A Delicious Entanglement, written by Jennieke Cohen
Some Kind of Hate, written by Sarah Darer Littman
Eight Nights of Flirting, written by Hannah Reynolds

Caldecott Honor Book: Ain’t Burned All the Bright, illustrated by Jason Griffin, written by Jason Reynolds

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award: We Deserve Monuments, written by Jas Hammonds

  • Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book: Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice, written by Tommie Smith and Derrick Barnes
  • Corretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book: Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice, illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile, written by Tommie Smith and Derrick Barnes

Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults: All My Rage, written by Sabaa Tahir

  • Printz Honor Books: Scout’s Honor, written by Lily Anderson; Icebreaker, written by A.I. Graziadei; When the Angels Left the Old Country, written by Sacha Lamb; Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality, written by Eliot Schrefer

Schneider Family Book Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience: The Words We Keep, written by Erin Stewart

  • Schneider Family Honor Book: Breathe and Count Back from Ten, written by Natalia Sylvester

Odyssey Award for the best audiobooks produced for young adults: The Honeys, written by written by Ryan La Sala and narrated by Pete Cross

  • Odyssey Honor Audiobook: Demon in the Wood Graphic Novel, written by Leigh Bardugo, adaptation by Garet Scott and narrated by Ben Barnes and a full cast; Inheritance: A Visual Poem, written and narrated by Elizabeth Acevedo

Pura Belpré Awards honoring Latinx writers and illustrators whose young adult books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience: Burn Down, Rise Up, written by Vincent Tirado

  • Belpré Young Adult Author Honor Books: Breathe and Count Back from Ten, written by Natalia Sylvester; High Spirits, written by Camille Gomera-Tavarez; The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, written by Sonora Reyes

Stonewall Book Award given annually to English-language young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience: When the Angels Left the Old Country, written by Sacha Lamb

  • Stonewall Honor Books: I Kissed Shara Wheeler, written by Casey McQuiston; Kings of B’more, written by R. Eric Thomas; Man o’War, written by Cory McCarthy; The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, written by Jen Ferguson (Metis/white)

William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens: The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen, written by Isaac Blum

  • Morris Award Finalists: The Summer of Bitter and Sweet, written by Jen Ferguson (Metis/white); Wake the Bones, written by Elizabeth Kilcoyne; The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, written by Sonora Reyes; Hell Followed With Us, written by Andrew Joseph White

YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults: Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice, illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile, written by Tommie Smith and Derrick Barnes

  • Finalists: Abuela, Don’t Forget Me, written by Rex Ogle; American Murderer: The Parasite that Haunted the South, written by Gail Jarrow; A Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome, written by Ariel Henley; Unequal: A Story of America, written by Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau

Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, which promotes Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage and is awarded based on literary and artistic merit: Himawari House, written and illustrated by Harmony Becker

  • Youth Literature honor title: The Silence that Binds Us, written by Joanna Ho

The Sydney Taylor Book Award, presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience: When the Angels Left the Old Country, written by Sacha Lamb

  • Young Adult honors: My Fine Fellow: A Delicious Entanglement, written by Jennieke Cohen; Some Kind of Hate, written by Sarah Darer Littman; Eight Nights of Flirting, written by Hannah Reynolds