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The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It is sponsored by Booklist magazine; administered by the ALA's young-adult division, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA); and named for the Topeka, Kansas, school librarian Mike Printz, a long-time active member of YALSA. Up to four worthy runners-up may be designated Honor Books and three or four have been named every year.

History

The Printz Award was founded in 2000 for 1999 young adult publications. The award "was created as a counterpoint to the Newbery" in order to highlight the best and most literary works of excellence written for a young adult audience.

Jonathon Hunt, a Horn Book reviewer, hopes that the Printz Award can create a "canon as revered as that of the Newbery."

Michael L. Printz was a librarian at Topeka West High School in Topeka, Kansas, until he retired in 1994. He was also an active member of YALSA, serving on the Best Books for Young Adults Committee and the Margaret A. Edwards Award Committee. He dedicated his life to ensuring that his students had access to good literature. To that end he encouraged writers to focus on the young adult audience. He created an author-in-residence program at the high school to promote new talent and encourage his students. His most noteworthy find was Chris Crutcher. Printz died at the age of 59 in 1996.

Criteria and procedure

Source: "The Michael L. Printz Award Policies and Procedures"

The selection committee comprises nine YALSA members appointed by the president-elect for a one-year term. They award one winner and honor up to four additional titles. The term 'young adult' refers to readers from ages 12 through 18 for purposes of this award. The Michael L. Printz Award is sponsored by Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association (ALA).

• Non-fiction, fiction, poetry and anthologies are all eligible to receive the Printz Award.
• Books must have been published between January 1 and December 31 of the year preceding the announcement of the award.
• Titles must be designated 'young adult' by its publisher or published for the age range that YALSA defines as "young adult," i.e., 12 through 18. Adult books are not eligible.
• Works of joint authorship or editorship are eligible.
• The award may be issued posthumously.
• Books previously published in another country are eligible (presuming an American edition has been published during the period of eligibility).

Recipients

The Printz Medal has been awarded for one work annually without exception. Only A. S. King has received the award twice, one for a single-authored book in 2020 and another as editor and contributor to an anthology in 2024.

Multiple awards

As of 2024, only A. S. King has won the Printz twice; she also received an Honor. Marcus Sedgwick and M. T. Anderson have written one Award winner and two Honor Books. David Almond, John Green, Geraldine McCaughrean, and Gene Luen Yang have written one Award winner and one Honor Book. Seven people have two Honor Books but have never won the Award: Margo Lanagan, Terry Pratchett, Markus Zusak, Deborah Heiligman, Mariko Tamaki, Candice Iloh, and Angie Thomas.

Six writers have won both the Printz Award and the annual Carnegie Medal from the British librarians: David Almond, Aidan Chambers, Geraldine McCaughrean, Meg Rosoff, Elizabeth Acevedo, and Jason Reynolds. Only Chambers and Acevedo have won both for the same book; Chambers won the 1999 Carnegie and 2003 Printz for Postcards from No Man's Land, and Acevedo won the 2019 Carnegie and Printz for The Poet X. In its scope, books for children or young adults (published in the UK), the British Carnegie corresponds to the American Newbery and Printz awards.

See also

• List of ALA awards
• Newbery Medal — the first children's literary award in the world, inaugurated 1922
• Margaret Edwards Award – for outstanding lifetime contributions to young-adult literature

References

1. "The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). American Library Association. (ALA). Retrieved 2012-04-20.
2. ^ Waddle, Linda. "The Association's Associations: YALSA Becomes Printz-Oriented. (Young Adult Library Services Association introduces Michael L. Printz Award) (Michael L. Printz Award) (Brief Article)". American Libraries 30.11 (Dec 1999): 7. Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. Hennepin County Library. June 30, 2009.
3. Piper, Rachel (28 January 2015). "Brooke Young of the Printz Award Committee". Salt Lake City Weekly. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
4. Hunt, Jonathan (July 2009). "A Printz Retrospective". Horn Book Magazine. 85 (4): 395–403. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
5. HOLLINGSWORTH, HEATHER. "Book award named for former Topeka West librarian Michael Printz | CJOnline.com". cjonline.com. Retrieved 2018-01-09.
6. "Michael L. Printz Awards". web.ccsu.edu.
7. American Libraries, March 1997, p. 76.
8. "The Michael L. Printz Award Policies and Procedures". YALSA. ALA. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
9. "YALSA Awards Youth Books." Education Technology News 17.3 (Feb 2, 2000): NA. Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. Hennepin County Library. June 30, 2009.
10. "Teen books honored". Reading Today 24.2 (Oct-Nov 2006): 12(1). Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. Hennepin County Library. June 30, 2009.
11. ^ "Michael L. Printz Winners and Honor Books | Young Adult Library Services Association". www.ala.org. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
12. ^ Yorio, Kara (January 22, 2024). "'The Eyes and the Impossible' Wins the Newbery, 'Big' Earns Caldecott, and 'The Collectors: Stories' Takes the Printz Award at 2024 Youth Media Awards". School Library Journal. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
13. "Obituary Notes: Walter Dean Myers; Matt Richell". Shelf Awareness . 2014-07-03. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
14. "John Green: Wonders Are Never Far Away". Shelf Awareness. 2021-06-18. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
15. "Rebecca Stead Wins Newbery; Jerry Pinkney Wins Caldecott". Shelf Awareness. 2010-01-19. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
16. "Book Brahmin: Nick Lake". Shelf Awareness. 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
17. "At ALA: Caldecott, Newbery, King, Printz Awards". Shelf Awareness. 2018-02-13. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
18. ^ "Elizabeth Acevedo, Winner of the 2019 Michael L. Printz Award". Shelf Awareness. 2019-01-31. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
19. "A.S. King: Michael L. Printz Award Winner". Shelf Awareness. 2020-02-28. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
20. "2020 Printz Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
21. ^ "2021 Printz Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
22. "Daniel Nayeri: 2021 Michael L. Printz Award Winner". Shelf Awareness. 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
23. ^ "Angeline Boulley: 2022 Michael L Printz Award Winner". Shelf Awareness. 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
24. ^ Communications and Marketing Office (2023-01-30). "American Library Association announces 2023 Youth Media Awards" (PDF). American Library Association. Retrieved 2023-02-01.
25. "2023 Michael L. Printz Award Winner Sabaa Tahir". Shelf Awareness. 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2023-06-16.
26. ^ "'The Collectors: Stories' wins 2024 Printz Award" (Press release). ALA. January 22, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
27. "Internet Archive: Service Availability". web.archive.org. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
28. Flood, Alison (2019-06-18). "Carnegie medal goes to first writer of colour in its 83-year history". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-24.

External links

• ALA Youth Media Awards
• YALSA's Teen Book Finder — free mobile app by ALA

• Awards established in 2000
• American Library Association awards
• American literary awards
• Young adult literature awards
• English-language literary awards