Congratulations to Our Faculty 2020 ALA Youth Media Award Winners!

Jan 28, 2020 | Black Voices, Community Good News, Jewish Voices, Latinx Voices, Native Creatives, Nonfiction, Novels, Novels in Verse, Picture Books

This year, some of the Highlights Foundation Team were able to be there in person when the ALA Youth Media Awards announcements were made. We had a wonderful time and were especially thrilled to celebrate those award winners from our faculty. In no particular order, here they are:

Margaret A. Edwards Award
Steve Sheinkin
Steve is about to visit our campus for the first time! He is co-leader of Telling It True: The Art of Storytelling in Narrative Nonfiction.

Steve Sheinkin

Randolph Caldecott Medal Honor Book
Andrea Loney, author: Double Bass Blues, Knopf Books for Young Readers
We’re looking forward to Andrea’s return to this year’s Crafting Successful Author & Illustrator Visits, May 26-30. (Congratulations to illustrator Rudy Gutierrez!)

Andrea Loney

Schneider Family Book Award Honor Book
Pablo Cartaya: Each Tiny Spark, Kokila Penguin Young Readers Group
Pablo’s first turn as faculty is in 2020; he is one of our virtual guests for our online course From Sale to Shelf: The Debut Author’s First Year.

Pablo Cartaya

Pura Belpré Award Honor Book
Angela Cervantes: Lety Out Loud, Scholastic Press
Angela will join us for LatinX Writers: A Working Symposium.

Angela Cervantes

Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
Kwame Mbalia: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Disney-Hyperion
Kwame is one of the virtual guests for our online course From Sale to Shelf: The Debut Author’s First Year and he will be with us for Summer Camp In Writing Fiction for Children & Teens.

Kwame Mbalia

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book
James Ransome: The Bell Rang, Atheneum Books for Young Readers
James will be back for year 2 of our illustration course, Narrative Picture-Making.

James Ransome

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Honor Book &
The Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book
Nikki Grimes: Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir, WordSong
We’re honored to host double-honoree Nikki as a guest to our Black Women Writers Retreat.

Nikki Grimes

The Sydney Taylor Picture Book Award Honor Book
Lesléa Newman, author: Gittel’s Journey, Abrams Books for Young Readers
Lesléa was a co-leader of our inaugural Writing the Rainbow workshop in 2019, and this year she’s coming to the Summer Camp In Writing Fiction for Children & Teens.

Leslea Newman

YALSA Excellence Nonfiction Finalist
Deborah Heiligman: Torpedoed: The True Story of the World War II Sinking of ‘The Children’s Ship’, Henry Holt
We’re excited about Deborah’s next visit: she will join us for a special Nonfiction Writer’s Retreat.

Deborah Heiligman

Odyssey Honor Audiobook &
American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor &
American Indian Youth Literature Middle Grade Book Winner
Traci Sorell, We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, Live Oak Media
Traci Sorell, author: At the Mountain’s Base, Kokila/Penguin Random House
Traci Sorell, author: We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga, Charlesbridge
Traci Sorell, co-author: Indian No More, Tu Books/Lee & Low
Tracy is one of the virtual guests for our online course From Sale to Shelf: The Debut Author’s First Year and she is on faculty for our brand new workshop, Creating Nonfiction Picture Books for Children in a Changing World.

Traci Sorell

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award &
American Indian Youth Literature Picture Book Honor

Juana Martinez-Neal, illustrator: Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story, Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan
Juana will be with us for Summer Camp Intensive in Illustration.

Juana Martinez Neal

American Indian Youth Literature Young Adult Book Honor
Debbie Reese, co-author: An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People, Beacon Press
Debbie was with us for last year’s Building Cultural Competency and will be a virtual visitor at this year’s Disrupting Youth Literature Symposium.

Debbie Reese

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The Highlights Foundation positively impacts children by amplifying the voices of storytellers who inform, educate, and inspire children to become their best selves.  Learn more about our impact.