Awards
Book Awards & Medals
There are a bunch of awards that are given to authors. Here are some of the ones my books and I have won.
2023 Guggenheim Fellowship
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation offers fellowships to exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in any field of knowledge and creation in any art form, under the freest possible conditions.
2020 MacArthur “Genius” Award
Awarding unrestricted fellowships to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.
THE HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN AWARD
This is the highest international recognition given to an author and an illustrator of children’s books. Given every other year by IBBY, the Hans Christian Andersen Awards recognize lifelong achievement and are presented to an author and an illustrator whose complete works have made an important, lasting contribution to children’s literature. The Author’s Award has been given since 1956 and consists of a gold medal and a diploma, presented at a festive ceremony during the biennial IBBY Congress. The Patron of the Andersen Awards is Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and the Awards are sponsored by Nami Island Inc. Nominations for the Andersen Award are made by the National Sections of IBBY. The award recipients are selected by a distinguished international jury of children’s literature specialists. The selection criteria include the aesthetic and literary qualities of writing and illustrating as well as the ability to see things from the child’s point of view and the ability to stretch the child’s curiosity and imagination. The complete works of the author and of the illustrator will be taken into consideration. (copied from the Hans Christian Andersen Awards website)
THE ASTRID LINDGREN MEMORIAL AWARD (ALMA)
The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) is the world’s largest award for children’s and young adult literature. The award amounts to SEK 5 million and is given annually to a single laureate or to several. Authors, illustrators, oral storytellers, and reading promoters are eligible for the award, which is designed to promote interest in children’s and young adult literature. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the foundation of ALMA’s work. An expert jury selects the laureate(s) from candidates nominated by institutions and organizations all over the world. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award was founded by the Swedish government in 2002 and is administrated by the Swedish Arts Council (from the Award website).
MARGARET A. EDWARDS AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
The Margaret A. Edwards Award, established in 1988, honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, that has been popular over a period of time. The annual award is administered by YALSA and sponsored by School Library Journal magazine. It recognizes an author’s work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and the world. (copied from the American Library Association website)
NEWBERY HONOR MEDAL
The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. (copied from The American Library Association website)
CORETTA SCOTT KING AWARD
The Coretta Scott King Book Award is presented annually by the Coretta Scott King Committee of the American Library Association’s Ethnic Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT). The award (or awards) is given to an African American author and an African American illustrator for an outstandingly inspirational and educational contribution. The books promote understanding and appreciation of the culture of all peoples and their contribution to the realization of the American dream. The Award is further designed to commemorate the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her courage and determination to continue the work for peace and world brotherhood. (copied from the ALA website)
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
The National Book Awards have become the nation’s preeminent literary prizes, and The National Book Awards Ceremony and Dinner the most important event on our literary calendar. Today, the Awards are given to recognize achievements in four genres: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature. (copied from The National Book Awards website)
The Caldecott Medal
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
