Find information about the current year's Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature along with information on the award, links for information on previous winners, policies and procedures and a nomination form.

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The Michael L. Printz Award for
Excellence in Young Adult Literature

The Michael L. Printz Award is an award for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. It is named for a Topeka, Kansas school librarian who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association.  The award is sponsored by Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association.

  YALSA produces seals for the Michael L. Printz Award which can be placed on the winning books.  The seals are available in the ALA online store. Gold seals for the winning book, and silver seals for the honor books. Image

2008 Award Winner

The White Darkness

The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCaughrean, published by HarperTempest, an imprint of HarperCollins has won the 2008 Michael L. Printz Award. The award announcement was made during the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, January 11-16.

Fourteen-year-old Symone's exciting vacation to Antarctica turns into a desperate struggle for survival when her uncle's obsessive quest leads them across the frozen wilderness into danger.

McCaughrean has won numerous awards for children's literature in her native England. Celebrated for her novels, picture books and folklore adaptations, The White Darkness is her first contemporary young adult novel.

"Symone's unforgettable voice propels this journey of discovery in a book that is intricately plotted, richly imaged and brings new meaning to the term unreliable narrator," said Printz Award Committee Chair Lynn Rutan. "Readers will need to hang onto their snow goggles in this compelling book in which nothing is as it seems at first glance."

 

Hear Geraldine McCaughrean's Printz Award Acceptance Speech, courtesy Brilliance Audio! The speech was given at the Michael L. Printz Program and Reception in Anaheim, California, on June 30.


2008 Honor Books

Dreamquake

Dreamquake: Book Two of the Dreamhunter Duet

by Elizabeth Knox, published by Frances Foster Books, an imprint of Farrar, Straus and Giroux

 

Hear Elizabeth Knox's speech, courtesy Brilliance Audio! The speech was given at the Michael L. Printz Program and Reception in Anaheim, California, on June 30.

One True and Perfect Day

One Whole and Perfect Day

by Judith Clarke, published by Front Street, an imprint of Boyds Mills Press, Inc.

 

Hear Judith Clarke's speech, courtesy Brilliance Audio! The speech was given at the Michael L. Printz Program and Reception in Anaheim, California, on June 30.

Repossessed



Repossessed

by A.M. Jenkins, published by HarperTeen, an imprint of HarperCollins

 

Hear A.M. Jenkins' speech, courtesy Brilliance Audio! The speech was given at the Michael L. Printz Program and Reception in Anaheim, California, on June 30.

Your Own, Sylvia

  
Your Own, Sylvia: A Verse Portrait of Sylvia Plath

By Stephanie Hemphill, published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books

 

Hear Stephanie Hemphill's speech, courtesy Brilliance Audio! The speech was given at the Michael L. Printz Program and Reception in Anaheim, California, on June 30.

 

Hear the entire 2008 Printz Program, courtesy Brilliance Audio!

Members of the Printz Award Committee are: Chair Lynn Rutan, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, Mich.; Julie Thomas Bartel, Judge Memorial Catholic High School, Salt Lake City; Betsy Fraser, Calgary Public Library, Calgary, Alberta; Jonathan Hunt, Modesto City Schools, Hughson, Calif.; Walter M. Mayes, The Girls' Middle School, Mountain View, Calif.; Jolen Neumann, Madison Metropolitan School District , Fitchburg, Wis.; Hollis Rudiger, Rochester, Minn.; Amy Sears, Teaneck Public Library, Teaneck, N.J.; Tricia Suellentrop, youth services manager, Johnson County Library, Kan. and Stephanie Zvirin, Booklist consultant, Chicago.