2024 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Winner & Finalists Announced

The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is pleased and proud to announce the 2024 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award for Young Adult Fiction finalists. Established in 2008 to honor the wishes of young adult author Amelia Elizabeth Walden, the award allows for a cash prize to be presented annually to the author of a young adult title selected by the ALAN Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Committee as demonstrating a positive approach to life, widespread teen appeal, and literary merit.

The 2024 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award winner is:

Saints of the Household by Ari Tison
(Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers / Macmillan)

The 2024 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award finalists are:

Invisible Son by Kim Johnson
(Random House Books for Young Readers / Penguin Random House)

An Appetite for Miracles by Laekan Zea Kemp
(Little, Brown and Company / Hachette)

The Immeasurable Depth of You by Maria Ingrande Mora
(Peachtree Teen / Peachtree)

The Next New Syrian Girl by Ream Shukairy
(Little, Brown and Company / Hachette)

The winning title and finalists will be honored at the 2024 ALAN Workshop on Monday, November 25, 2024, and the authors will be invited to participate in a panel discussion.

The 2024 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee would like to thank: the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Foundation, the ALAN Executive Council, the ALAN Board of Directors, NCTE, and the many publishers who submitted titles for consideration.

The 2024 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee considered over 300 young adult titles throughout the process. The committee was comprised of ten members representing the university, K-12 school, and library communities. They are:

L. E. Oldham, Ph.D., Committee Chair
English Language Arts Content Specialist
Deming Public Schools, Deming, NM

Shanetia P. Clark, Ph.D.
Professor of Literacy
Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD

Alison Daniels
Secondary Language Arts
Howard County Public School System

Zainab Jabak
Secondary English Language Arts Teacher
Alief ISD, Houston, TX

Jung Kim, Ph.D.
Professor of Literacy
Lewis University

Lori Lieberman
Teacher Librarian
Lincoln High School, Portland, OR

Karen Scott
Librarian
Thompson Middle School, Alabaster, AL

T. Hunter Strickland, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Reading, Literacy, and Language
Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, GA

Karimah Tennyson-Marsh, MFA
8th ELA Instructor/ELA Dept. Chair
Century Community Charter School, Los Angeles CA

Carisa Valle
Access Services & Resource Sharing Specialist
William & Mary Law School Library, Williamsburg, VA

For more information on the award, please visit ALAN Online: The Official Site of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents: http://www.alan-ya.org/awards/walden-award/.

2023 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Finalists Announced

The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is pleased and proud to announce the 2023 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award for Young Adult Fiction finalists. Established in 2008 to honor the wishes of young adult author Amelia Elizabeth Walden, the award allows for a cash prize to be presented annually to the author of a young adult title selected by the ALAN Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Committee as demonstrating a positive approach to life, widespread teen appeal, and literary merit.

The 2023 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award finalists are:

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
(Razorbill / Penguin Random House)

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor
(Astra Young Readers / Astra Books for Young Readers)

Medusa by Jessie Burton
(Bloomsbury YA / Bloomsbury)

We Can Be Heroes by Kyrie McCauley
(Katherine Tegen Books / HarperCollins)

The winning title and finalists will be honored at the 2023 ALAN Workshop on Tuesday, November 21st in Columbus, OH, and the authors will be invited to participate in a panel discussion.

The 2023 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee would like to thank: the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Foundation, the ALAN Executive Council, the ALAN Board of Directors, NCTE, and the many publishers who submitted titles for consideration.

The 2023 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee considered nearly 350 young adult titles throughout the process. The committee was comprised of eight members representing the university, K-12 school, and library communities. They are:

Elizabeth Parker, Committee Chair
Professor/Lecturer
University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI

Jodi Blair, Past Committee Chair
Librarian
Alcoa High School, Alcoa, TN

Alison Daniels
English Teacher/10th Grade English Team Leader
Long Reach High School, Columbia, MD

Jung Kim
Professor of Literacy
Lewis University, Romeoville, IL

L.E. Oldham
English Language Arts Content Specialist
Deming Public Schools, Deming, NM

Karen Scott
Librarian
Thompson Middle School, Alabaster, AL

Hunter Strickland
Director of Secondary Education/Assistant Professor of Literacy Education
Anderson University, Anderson, SC

Carisa Valle
Access Services & Resource Sharing Specialist
William & Mary Law School Library, Williamsburg, VA

For more information on the award, please visit ALAN Online: The Official Site of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents: http://www.alan-ya.org/awards/walden-award/.

2022 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Winner & Finalists Announced

The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is pleased and proud to announce the 2022 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award for Young Adult Fiction winner and finalists. Established in 2008 to honor the wishes of young adult author Amelia Elizabeth Walden, the award allows for the sum of $5,000 to be presented annually to the author of a young adult title selected by the ALAN Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Committee as demonstrating a positive approach to life, widespread teen appeal, and literary merit.  

The 2022 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award winner is:

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner
(Crown Books for Young Readers / Random House)

The 2022 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award finalists are:

Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez
(Algonquin Young Readers / Algonquin Books)

How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vásquez Gilliland
(Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers / Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing)

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
(Random House Graphic / Random House Children’s Books)

We Are Not Free by Traci Chee
(Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

The winning title and finalists will be honored at the 2022 ALAN Workshop on Monday, November 21st in Anaheim, CA and the authors will be invited to participate in a panel discussion.

The 2022 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee would like to thank: the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Foundation, the ALAN Executive Council, the ALAN Board of Directors, NCTE, and the many publishers who submitted titles for consideration.

The 2022 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee considered nearly 300 young adult titles throughout the process.  The committee was comprised of eleven members representing the university, K-12 school, and library communities.  They are: 

Jodi Blair, Committee Chair
Librarian
Alcoa High School, Alcoa, TN

Sarah Mulhern Gross, Past Committee Chair
Teacher
High Technology High School, Lincroft, NJ

Edith Campbell
Associate Librarian
Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN

Alison Daniels
English Teacher/11th Grade English Team Leader
Long Reach High School, Columbia, MD

Maria Goff
Secondary ELA & Social Studies Facilitator 
Renton School District, Renton, WA

Morgan Jackson
English Teacher
Bishop Gorman High School, Las Vegas, NV

Jung Kim
Associate Professor of Literacy
Lewis University, Romeoville, IL

L.E. Oldham
English Language Arts Content Specialist
Deming Public Schools, Deming, NM

Elizabeth Parker
Professor/Lecturer
University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI

Shannon Schilling
Teen Librarian
Delaware County District Library, Delaware, OH

Julia Torres
ELA Teacher
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Early College/Denver Public Schools, Denver, CO

For more information on the award, please visit ALAN Online: The Official Site of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents: http://www.alan-ya.org/awards/walden-award/.

2022 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Finalists Announced

The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is pleased and proud to announce the 2022 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award for Young Adult Fiction finalists. Established in 2008 to honor the wishes of young adult author Amelia Elizabeth Walden, the award allows for the sum of $5,000 to be presented annually to the author of a young adult title selected by the ALAN Amelia Elizabeth Walden Book Award Committee as demonstrating a positive approach to life, widespread teen appeal, and literary merit.  

The 2022 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award finalists are:

Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez
(Algonquin Young Readers / Algonquin Books)

How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vásquez Gilliland
(Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers / Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing)

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner
(Crown Books for Young Readers / Random House)

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
(Random House Graphic / Random House Children’s Books)

We Are Not Free by Traci Chee
(Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

The winning title will be announced May 11th. The winner and finalists will be honored at the 2022 ALAN Workshop on Monday, November 21st and the authors will be invited to participate in a panel discussion.

The 2022 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee would like to thank: the Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Foundation, the ALAN Executive Council, the ALAN Board of Directors, NCTE, and the many publishers who submitted titles for consideration.

The 2022 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee considered almost 300 young adult titles throughout the process. The committee included ten members representing the university, K-12 school, and library communities. They are: 

Jodi Blair, Committee Chair
Librarian
Alcoa High School, Alcoa, TN

Sarah Mulhern Gross, Past Committee Chair
Teacher
High Technology High School, Lincroft, NJ

Edith Campbell
Associate Librarian
Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN

Alison Daniels
English Teacher/11th Grade English Team Leader
Long Reach High School, Columbia, MD

Maria Goff
Secondary ELA & Social Studies Facilitator 
Renton School District, Renton, WA

Morgan Jackson
English Teacher
Bishop Gorman High School, Las Vegas, NV

Jung Kim
Associate Professor of Literacy
Lewis University, Romeoville, IL

L.E. Oldham
English Language Arts Content Specialist
Deming Public Schools, Deming, NM

Elizabeth Parker
Professor/Lecturer
University of Michigan-Flint, Flint, MI

Shannon Schilling
Teen Librarian
Delaware County District Library, Delaware, OH

Julia Torres
ELA Teacher
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Early College/Denver Public Schools, Denver, CO

For more information on the award, please visit ALAN Online: The Official Site of the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents: http://www.alan-ya.org/awards/walden-award/.