Nonfiction Award
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About the Nonfiction Award
YALSA's Award for Excellence in Nonfiction honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a Nov. 1 – Oct. 31 publishing year. The winner is announced annually at the , with a shortlist of up to five titles named the first week of December.
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2023 Winner
Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice, by Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes, and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile published by Norton Young Readers, an Imprint of W. W. Norton & Company.
In this stunningly illustrated graphic memoir, 1968 Olympic gold medalist Tommie Smith recounts how his love of running and his passion for activism resulted in one of the most enduring images in sports history and the fight for civil rights.
2023 Finalists
Abuela, Don't Forget Me, by Rex Ogle; published by, Norton Young Readers, an Imprint of W. W. Norton & Company. 9781324019954.
Touching on topics including domestic abuse, homelessness, racism, homophobia, and poverty, Ogle demonstrates how the unconditional love of his Abuela saved his life. Ogle’s powerful and moving verse memoir pays tribute to a grandmother now suffering from dementia.
American Murderer: The Parasite that Haunted the South, by Gail Jarrow, published by Calkins Creek. 9781684378159.
Jarrow takes a close look at hookworm, the parasitic scourge that sickened and killed millions of Americans at the turn of the 20th century. Primary sources and archival photos are used to scrupulously detail how the discovery of the parasite led to a public health movement aimed at eradicating the hookworm, and how efforts to defeat similar organisms continue today.
A Face for Picasso: Coming of Age with Crouzon Syndrome, by Ariel Henley, published by Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers
Ariel Henley, diagnosed with Crouzon syndrome shortly after birth, details the many grueling surgeries she faced with her twin sister and her tumultuous feelings toward the art of Pablo Picasso. Henley tells of navigating the condition, being an outsider, and facing intentional and casual cruelty as a young adult.
Unequal: A Story of America, by Michael Eric Dyson and Marc Favreau, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers a division Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Dedicated to revealing the history of systemic racial inequality and segregation in the United States, Dyson and Favreau connect important historical events to the current day. Included stories go beyond those of the most well-known activists to broaden the reader’s understanding of Black Americans’ fight for equality, while imploring the reader to use lessons from history to build a better future.
Members of the 2023 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award Committee are: B. Allison Gray (Chair), Elizabeth Bast, Molly Dettmann, Katy Henderson, Loren Hinton, Dana Hutchins, Pamela Kranenburg, Bethany Martin, Heather Richard.
YALSA’s portfolio of book and media awards helps strengthen library services for and with teens by identifying quality, age appropriate resources for librarians and library workers to share with the teens in their communities.
Got a craving for more Nonfiction? View the 2022 Vetted Nominations List.
View a of Nonfiction Award winners and finalists.
2022 Nonfiction Award
