National Book Award for Young People's Literature

The category Young People's Literature was established in 1996. From 1969 to 1983, prior to the Foundation, there were some "Children's" categories.

The award recognizes one book written by a US citizen and published in the US from December 1 of the previous year to November 30 in the award year. The National Book Foundation accepts nominations from publishers until June 15, requires mailing nominated books to the panelists by August 1, and announces five finalists in October. The winner is announced on the day of the final ceremony in November. The award is $10,000 and a bronze sculpture; other finalists get $1000, a medal, and a citation written by the panel.{{efn|name=moredata |1= Beginning 2005, the official annual webpages (see References) provide more information: the panelists in each award category, the publisher of each finalist, some audio-visual interviews with authors, etc. For 1996 to date, annual webpages generally provide transcripts of acceptance speeches by winning authors.}}

There were 230 books nominated for the 2010 award. This had risen to 333 submissions by 2024.

Finalists

Children's books, 1969 to 1979

Books for "children" were first recognized by the National Book Awards in 1969 (publication year 1968). Through 1979, a single award category existed, called either "Children's Literature" or "Children's Books."

Children's books, 1980 to 1983

In 1980, under the new name The American Book Awards (TABA), the number of literary award categories jumped to 28, including two for Children's Books: hardcover and paperback. In the following three years, there were three, five, and five Children's Book award categories—thus fifteen in four years—before the program was revamped with only three annual awards and none for children's books. All books in the fiction paperback category were reprints except 1983's fiction paperback co-winner Marked by Fire.

1984 - 1995

From 1984 to 1995, the National Book Foundation did not present awards for young people's literature.

Young people's literature, 1996 to date

Authors with two awards

:See Winners of multiple U.S. National Book Awards

Two authors have won two Children's or Young People's awards twice.

• Lloyd Alexander won for The Marvelous Misadventures of Sebastian (1971) and Westmark (1982), among six titles that were finalists.
• Katherine Paterson won for The Master Puppeteer (1977) and The Great Gilly Hopkins (1979), among three titles that were finalists.

Isaac Bashevis Singer won the Children's Literature award in 1970 for A Day of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing up in Warsaw and shared the Fiction award in 1974 for A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories.

Notes

References

References

1. [http://www.nationalbook.org/aboutus_history.html "History of the National Book Awards"] {{Webarchive. link. (October 3, 2018 . [[National Book Foundation]] ('''NBF'''). Retrieved 2012-01-05.)
2. [http://www.nationalbook.org/nba_process.html "How the National Book Awards Work"] {{Webarchive. link. (June 9, 2011 . NBF. Retrieved 2012-01-05.)
3. [http://www.nationalbook.org/nbawinners_category.html "National Book Award Winners: 1950 – 2009"] {{Webarchive. link. (May 28, 2012 . NBF. Retrieved 2012-01-05.)
4. [http://www.nationalbook.org/selection_process.html "National Book Award Selection Process"] {{Webarchive. link. (June 13, 2008 . NBFs. Retrieved 2011-11-17.)
5. [http://www.nationalbook.org/faq.html "Frequently Asked Questions"] {{Webarchive. link. (November 19, 2017 . NBF. Retrieved 2012-01-05.)
6. Anderson, Porter. (2024-09-10). "US National Book Award Longlists: Young People's Literature".
7. "National Book Awards 1969".
8. (1978). "200 Years of Children". U.S. Government Printing Office.
9. "National Book Awards 1970".
10. "National Book Awards 1971".
11. "National Book Awards 1972".
12. "National Book Awards 1973".
13. "National Book Awards 1974".
14. "National Book Awards 1975".
15. "National Book Awards 1976".
16. "National Book Awards 1977".
17. "National Book Awards 1978".
18. "National Book Awards 1979".
19. [https://www.nationalbook.org/awards-prizes/national-book-awards-1980 "National Book Awards – 1980"] {{Webarchive. link. (April 26, 2020 . NBF. Retrieved 2012-02-08. (Select 1980 to 1989 from the top left menu.))
20. "National Book Awards 1980".
21. "National Book Awards 1981".
22. "National Book Awards 1982".
23. "National Book Awards 1983".
24. "National Book Awards 1996".
25. "National Book Awards 1997".
26. "National Book Awards 1998".
27. "National Book Awards 1999".
28. "National Book Awards 2000".
29. "National Book Awards 2001".
30. "National Book Awards 2002".
31. "National Book Awards 2003".
32. "National Book Awards 2004".
33. "National Book Awards 2005".
34. "National Book Awards 2006".
35. "National Book Awards 2007".
36. "National Book Awards 2008".
37. "National Book Awards 2009".
38. "National Book Awards 2010".
39. "National Book Awards 2011".
40. (2012-11-14). "2012 National Book Awards Go to Erdrich, Boo, Ferry, Alexander". [[Publishers Weekly]].
41. Leslie Kaufman. (November 14, 2012). "Novel About Racial Injustice Wins National Book Award". [[The New York Times]].
42. "National Book Awards 2012".
43. Clare Swanson. (November 20, 2013). "2013 National Book Awards Go to McBride, Packer, Szybist, Kadohata". Publishers Weekly.
44. [http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/awards-and-prizes/article/59564-national-book-award-finalists-announced.html "2013 National Book Award Finalists Announced"] {{Webarchive. link. (October 19, 2013 . ''[[Publishers Weekly]]''. Retrieved 2013-10-21.)
45. "National Book Awards 2014".
46. Alter, Alexandra. (November 19, 2014). "National Book Award Goes to Phil Klay for His Short Story Collection". [[The New York Times]].
47. "Get To Know The Finalists For The 2014 National Book Award".
48. "National Book Awards 2015".
49. "National Book Awards 2016".
50. "National Book Awards 2017".
51. "National Book Foundation - 2018 National Book Awards".
52. Constance Grady. (October 10, 2018). "The 2018 National Book Award finalists are in. Here's the full list". [[Vox (website).
53. "2019 National Book Awards Longlists announced.".
54. Diane, Roback. (2019-11-21). "2019 National Book Awards for Young People's Literature in Photos".
55. "National Book Awards 2020".
56. (2020-10-07). "National Book Awards 2020 shortlists announced".
57. "National Book Awards 2021".
58. (2022-11-17). "Tess Gunty and Imani Perry among National Book Award winners". The Guardian.
59. (October 4, 2022). "2022 National Book Award Finalists Announced". PublishersWeekly.com.
60. (2023-11-20). "National Book Awards 2023 winners announced". Books+Publishing.
61. (October 3, 2023). "2023 National Book Award Shortlists Announced". PublishersWeekly.com.
62. Alter, Alexandra. (20 November 2024). "Percival Everett, Author of 'James,' Wins National Book Award for Fiction". The New York Times.
63. Lee, Benjamin. (2024-10-01). "Salman Rushdie and Miranda July among National Book award finalists". The Guardian.
64. [https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/99152-a-look-at-the-2025-national-book-award-winners.html "A Look at the 2025 National Book Award Winners"]. ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'', November 21, 2025.
65. Benjamin Lee, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/oct/07/bryan-washington-rabih-alameddine-national-book-award-finalists "Bryan Washington and Rabih Alameddine among National Book Award finalists"]. ''[[The Guardian]]'', October 7, 2025.