Literary award · United States · since 2000

Michael L. Printz Award

Annual award for writing a book for young adults, from U.S. librarians. Established 2000 in United States.

About Michael L. Printz Award

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.

From the Wikipedia article “Michael L. Printz Award”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Recent winners

YearWinnerWinning work
2025Brownstone—
2024The Collectors: Stories—
2023All My Rage—
2022Firekeeper's Daughter—
2021Everything Sad Is Untrue—
2020Dig—
2019The Poet X—
2018We Are Okay—
2017March Book Three—
2017John Lewis—
2016Bone Gap—
2015Jandy Nelson—
2015I'll Give You The Sun—
2014Marcus Sedgwick—
2014Midwinterblood—

From Wikidata; the list may be incomplete for some years.

Eligibility and entering

Check the official rules of the Michael L. Printz Award for the current eligibility window, accepted formats, residency or language requirements and any entry fee. For most established prizes the publisher submits on the author's behalf, often with a limit on entries per imprint.

If you are self-published, look for an explicit statement that independently published books are accepted, and budget for entry fees and copies for judges.

Sources & data