National Book Award

Each year, the National Book Foundation honors one book in each of four categories with the prestigious National Book Award. The categories are Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People's Literature. The focus of this page will be on the award for Young People's Literature as it is the only category to include young adult and middle grade literature.

The National Book Award was first awarded in 1950. Each of the four annual awards is chosen by a panel of five judges, usually well-established writers; since 2013, judges can also be industry professionals such as librarians, booksellers, and literary critics. Each year, submission materials are sent to publishing houses in the Foundation's master list and publishers can submit nominees for the awards.

To be an acceptable nominee, books must be written by an American citizen and published by an American publisher between December 1 of the previous year and November 30 of the award year. Five finalists are announced in mid-October, and the winner is announced mid-November.

Previous Winners
This list contains the winners of the National Book Award in the category of Young People's Literature. Winners from further back than 2000 can be accessed on the National Book Foundation website, www.nationalbook.org.
 * 2014: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
 * 2013: The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata
 * 2012: Goblin Secrets by William Alexander
 * 2011: Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
 * 2010: Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
 * 2009: Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose
 * 2008: What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
 * 2007: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
 * 2006: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson
 * 2005: The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
 * 2004: Godless by Pete Hautman
 * 2003: The Canning Season by Polly Horvath
 * 2002: The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
 * 2001: True Believer by Virgina Euwer Wolff
 * 2000: Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan