Significant and lasting contribution to YA Literature:

Sarah Dessen

Presented in even years only:

Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, author of more than 35 books

Honor Books

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

Unbecoming by Jenny Downham

Pride by Robin Stevenson

WINNERS

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan – didn’t see that coming!!

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

Remember to tune in to the 2017 ALA Youth Media Awards on Monday, January 23rd. The event will be live webcast at 8 am ET.

I plan to live blog the webcast with a box of tissues at hand, since the awards always make me cry happily.

The winner of the 2017 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction is Jennifer L. Holm for Full of Beans. The award includes a prize of $5000. You can read more about the award and this year’s winner at The Horn Book.

The winner of the 2016 Costa Children’s Book Award is Brian Conaghan for The Bombs That Brought Us Together.

The Guardian offers this about Conaghan:

Children’s book winner Brian Conaghan, who won with The Bombs That Brought Us Together, offers hope to unpublished writers with piles of rejection slips from literary agents and publishers, having received more than 200 refusals for his debut When Mr Dog Bites, which was published in 2014. The book went on to be shortlisted for the Carnegie medal.

Years as a frustrated unpublished writer had strengthened him, Conaghan told the Scottish Book Trust last year. “I spent years getting rejection after rejection – basically being told my work was rank rotten – so I’m pretty immune to reviews good or bad,” he said. His latest book was described by Costa judges as “a necessary take on modern life in extraordinary circumstances”.

The finalists for the 2016 Cybils Awards have been announced. The Cybils are awards for children’s and teen books that judge the merits of books based both on quality and appeal to the target age. You can see the finalist list here.

I am so pleased to once again be part of the Cybils, serving this year as a 2nd round judge for Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction. Now I’ve got to get reading!

Chicago Public Library has released their Best of the Best Book Lists. They have lists specifically for various ages. Click the links below to head to each specific list:

• Picture Books
• Fiction for Younger Readers
• Informational Books for Younger Readers
• Fiction for Older Readers
• Informational Books for Older Readers
• Teen Fiction
• Teen Nonfiction
• Teen Graphic Novels and Manga

Enjoy!