ShelfEvidentNational Book Award for Young People's Literature
2025 Winner
2025 Shortlist & Longlist
Shortlist
Shortlist
Shortlist
Shortlist
Shortlist
Complete History
2020s
2010s
- 20191919: The Year That Changed America — Martin W. Sandler
- 2018The Poet X — Elizabeth Acevedo
- 2017Far from the Tree — Robin Benway
- 2016March Book Three
- 2015Challenger Deep — Neal Shusterman
- 2014Brown Girl Dreaming — Jacqueline Woodson
- 2013The Thing About Luck — Cynthia Kadohata
- 2012Goblin Secrets — William Alexander
- 2011Inside Out & Back Again — Thanhha Lai
- 2010Mockingbird — Kathryn Erskine
2000s
- 2009Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice — Phillip Hoose
- 2008What I Saw and How I Lied — Judy Blundell
- 2007The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian — Sherman Alexie
- 2006The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing — M. T. Anderson
- 2005The Penderwicks — Jeanne Birdsall
- 2004Godless — Pete Hautman
- 2003The Canning Season — Polly Horvath
- 2002The House of the Scorpion — Nancy Farmer
- 2001True Believer — Virginia Euwer Wolff
- 2000Homeless Bird — Gloria Whelan
1990s
1980s
1970s
- 1979The Great Gilly Hopkins — Katherine Paterson
- 1978The View From the Oak — Judith Kohl and Herbert Kohl
- 1977The Master Puppeteer — Katherine Paterson
- 1976Bert Breen's Barn — Walter D. Edmonds
- 1975M. C. Higgins the Great — Virginia Hamilton
- 1974The Court of the Stone Children — Eleanor Cameron
- 1973The Farthest Shore — Ursula K. Le Guin
- 1972The Slightly Irregular Fire Engine — Donald Barthelme
- 1971The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian — Lloyd Alexander
- 1970A Day of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing up in Warsaw — Isaac Bashevis Singer
About the National Book Award for Young People's Literature
The National Book Award for Young People's Literature is awarded annually by the National Book Foundation to a US citizen for an outstanding book for children or young adults published in the US. The award was first given in 1969 under the category of Children's Books, was discontinued from 1984 to 1995, and re-established in 1996 in its current form. Prize money of $10,000 goes to the winner, with $1,000 to each finalist. The award covers picture books, middle-grade fiction and nonfiction, and young adult literature, making it the broadest recognition for young readers' literature in the US. Past winners include Sherman Alexie, Jacqueline Woodson, Elizabeth Acevedo, and Sabaa Tahir, reflecting the award's commitment to diverse voices and stories. The process begins with a longlist in September, followed by five finalists in October and the winner announced at the November ceremony in New York City. The award has been particularly notable for recognizing works that expand representation in children's and YA literature, including works about race, immigration, disability, and LGBTQ+ experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
- US citizens who publish a book for children or young adults in the US between December 1 of the previous year and November 30 of the award year are eligible.
- The award covers books for all young readers, from picture books to young adult novels and nonfiction. There is no strict age limit.
- The winner receives $10,000 and a bronze medal. Each of the five finalists receives $1,000 and a bronze medal.
- Yes. The award was not given from 1984 to 1995. It was reinstated in 1996 as the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
- Winners are announced in November at the National Book Awards ceremony. Longlists are announced in September and finalists in October.
- Yes. Graphic novels for young people are eligible. John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell's March: Book Three won in 2016.
- Yes. Nonfiction, including narrative nonfiction and biography for young readers, is eligible for this award.