The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is pleased and proud to announce the 2025 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 $3500 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 2025 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award winner is:
The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky by Josh Galarza
(Henry Holt and Co. / Macmillan Publishers)
The 2025 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Finalists are
Rez Ball by Byron Graves
(Heartdrum / HarperCollins)
Grief in the Fourth Dimension by Jennifer Yu
(Harry N. Abrams / Hachette)
Unbecoming by Seema Yasmin
(Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers / Simon & Schuster)
Libertad by Bessie Flores Zaldivar
(Dial Books / Penguin Random House)
The winning title and finalists will be honored at the 2025 ALAN Workshop on Monday, November 24th in Denver, CO, and the authors will be invited to participate in a panel discussion.
The 2025 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 2025 Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Committee considered over 300 young adult titles throughout the process. The committee was comprised of nine members representing the university, K-12 school, and library communities. They are:
Jung Kim, Ph.D., Committee Chair
Professor of Literacy
Lewis University, Romeoville, IL
L.E. Oldham, Ph.D., Past Committee Chair
English Language Arts Content Specialist
Deming Public Schools, Deming, NM
Shanetia P. Clark, Ph.D.
Professor of Literacy
Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD
Liz Deskins
Retired school librarian
Hilliard City Schools, Columbus, OH
Christian Gregory, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Education
Saint Anselm College, Goffstown, NH
Julie Hatcher
Library Media Specialist
Owyhee High School, Meridian, ID
Zainab Jabak
Secondary English Language Arts Teacher
Taylor High School, Houston, TX
Chris Lewis, Ph.D.
English Learner Teacher on Special Assignment
Mountain View High School, El Monte, CA
Lori Lieberman
Teacher Librarian
Lincoln High School, Portland, OR
T. Hunter Strickland
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
