This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
For those passionate about youth literature, the annual Youth Media Awards presented by librarians who are part of the American Library Association (ALA) are like the Grammys, the Emmys, and the Oscars all at once. Over the course of the last year, librarians have dedicated their time and energy to reading a LOT of books. They engage in lively discussions about the requirements of the award for which they’re reading in order to determine which books deserve to be crowned the best of the best.
This year’s Youth Media Awards (YMAs) open a new chapter for the ALA and its designation of the best of the best in youth literature. Once part of the Association’s annual Midwinter Meeting–later re-envisioned as ALA LibLearnX–and one of the most anticipated events by youth literature enthusiasts, with a packed theater of attendees eager to cheer for the winning titles, the YMAs are now a stand alone event. This comes as the ALA closes out its long-running winter events.
The inaugural stand alone YMA event was held in Chicago on January 26, 2026, at the Hilton, attended by awards committee members, local librarians, literature lovers, and the media. Hundreds arrived amid a record-breaking cold snap and upwards of 10 inches of snow to celebrate all things youth literature. The energy was high and excitement hard to contain, with many noting that this stand alone event really helped create a special feeling. ALA’s Executive Director Daniel Montgomery also noted in his opening address that the YMAs opened the 150th anniversary of the American Library Association.
Here are the winners and finalists across an array of categories for the youth media awards. You’ll find the best of the best in audiobooks, picture books, juvenile literature, picture books, middle grade, and young adult offerings from the past year. This is a veritable treasure trove of good reading as selected and championed by librarians nationwide.
Check Your Shelf
Sign up to receive Check Your Shelf, the Librarian’s One-Stop Shop For News, Book Lists, And More.
The 2026 Youth Media Award Winners and Honorees
John Newbery Medal
This award honors the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children in a given year.
Randolph Caldecott Medal
This award is given to the artist/illustrator for the most distinguished American picture book for children.
Michael L. Printz Award
This award honors the most distinguished work of young adult literature in a year.
Theodor Seuss Geisel Award
This award honors the author and illustrator of the best American book for beginning readers. It must be published in English in the US
Children’s Literature Legacy Award
This award honors an author or an illustrator whose work has made a lasting contribution to literature for children.
ALSC Children’s Literature Lecture Award
This honors a writer, critic, researcher, or other devotee of children’s literature with the opportunity to prepare a paper considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children’s literature.
Margaret A. Edwards Award
This award is presented for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults.
Robert F. Sibert Medal
This award honors the author and illustrator of the most distinguished informational book published in the US in English.
Mildred L. Batchelder Award
This award goes to the publisher for a book published for children considered to be an outstanding contribution to translated literature.
- Winner: Croco by Azul López and translated by Kit Maude
- Honors: The Adventures of Cipollino by Gianni Rodari (Author), Dasha Tolstikova (Illustrator), Antony Shugaar (translator); From Memen to Mori by Shinsuke Yoshitake (Author), Ajani Oloye (Translator); Picking Tea with Baba by Xu Bin (Author), Yu Yin (Illustrator), Shan Chen (Translator); and Pilgrim Codex by Vivian Mansour (Author), Emmanuel Valtierra (Illustrator), Carlos Rodríguez Cortez (Translator)
Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature
These awards honor the best in children’s literature about Asian American and Pacific Islander American culture and heritage.
The Sydney Taylor Book Awards
These awards honor the best in Jewish literature, highlighting the Jewish experience, for young readers.
Pura Belpré Awards
These awards honors Latine authors and illustrators whose work celebrates the Latine experience.
Coretta Scott King Book Awards
These awards honor the best books by African American authors and illustrators.
American Indian Youth Literature Awards
In even years, this award is given to the best writing and illustrations by and about Native and Indigenous people.
- Picture Book Winner: Chooch Helped by Andrea L. Rogers and Rebecca Lee Kunz
- Picture Book Honors: Braided Roots by Pasha Westbrook and illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight, Fierce Aunties by Laurel Goodluck and illustrated by Steph Littlebird, For a Girl Becoming by Joy Harjo and illustrated by Adriana Garcia, Raven’s Ribbons by Tasha Spillett and illustrated by Daniel Ramirez, and We Weave by Daniel W. Vandever and illustrated by Deonoveigh Mitchell
- Middle Grade Winner: Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan
- Middle Grade Honors: Jo Jo Makoons: The Super-Scary Sleepover by Dawn Quigley and illustrated by Tara Audibert; Lost at Windy River by Trina Rathgeber (Author), Alina Pete (Illustrator), and Jillian Dolan (Colorist); Outfoxed by Elise McMullen-Ciotti; Red Bird Danced by Dawn Quigley; The Ribbon Skirt by Cameron Mukwa; and The Summer of the Bone Horses by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve and Steph Littlebird
- Young Adult Winner: Legendary Frybread Drive-In edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith
- Young Adult Honors: Sheine Lende by Darcy Little Badger, Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley, Super Indian: Volume 3 by Arigon Starr, The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs, and Where Wolves Don’t Die by Anton Treuer
Schneider Family Book Awards
These awards honor the best books representing the disability experience.
Stonewall Book Awards
These awards are for excellence in LGBTQ+ books published in English.
- Stonewall Book Award for Children’s Literature Winner: Halfway to Somewhere by Jose Pimienta
- Stonewall Book Award for Children’s Literature Honors: Call Me Gray by Andrew Larsen (Author), Bells Larsen (Author), and Tallulah Fontaine (Illustrator); The Ink Witch by Steph Cherrywell, Ollie In Between by Jess Callans, and Woods and Words by Sara Holly Ackerman and Naoko Stoop
- Stonewall Book Award for Young Adult Literature Winner: One of the Boys by Victoria Zeller
- Stonewall Book Award for Young Adult Literature Honors: Devils Like Us by L.T. Thompson, He’s So Possessed With Me by Corey Liu, Hick by Sarah Miller, and Sometimes The Girl by Jennifer Mason-Black
William C. Morris Award
This award is given to the best debut young adult book.
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults
This award honors the best in nonfiction written for young adults.
Alex Awards
These awards honor the best books published for adults but with excellent appeal to young adults.
Odyssey Awards
These are given to outstanding audiobooks for children and young adults.
These aren’t the only “best of” youth literature honors, either. Throughout the week, we’ll see even more lists of excellent books for young readers emerging. Keep an eye out for Children’s Notables, the Rainbow List, RISE: A Feminist Book Project, the Best Fiction for Young Adults, and Great Graphic Novels for Teens. The links will take you to the landing pages for those lists, and the newest lists will include the year 2026 in the title–some are live now and others will be soon.
