YALSA Announces 2024 Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award finalists

Chicago - The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), selected five books as finalists for the 2024 Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award, which awards the best in nonfiction published for young adults ranging in age from 12 through 18 years, highlighting excellence in writing, research, presentation, and readability for young adults.

YALSA will name the 2024 award winner at the Youth Media Awards on January 22, 2024, during the ALA’s LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience conference in Baltimore, MD.

The 2024 Excellence in Nonfiction finalists are:

“Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed,” by Dashka Slater. Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. 9780374314347.

“America Redux: Visual Stories from Our Dynamic History,” written and illustrated by Ariel Aberg-Riger. Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins. 9780063057531.

“Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam,” written by Thien Pham. First Second, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group. Paperback 9781250809711/Hardcover 9781250809728.

“From Here,” by Luma Mufleh. Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House. 9780593354452.

“Nearer My Freedom: The Interesting Life of Olaudah Equiano by Himself,” by Monica Edinger and Lesley Younge. Zest Books, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group. 9781728450988.

The YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults honors the best nonfiction book published for young adults (ages 12-18) during a November 1 – October 31 publishing year.  Award winners are announced annually during the ALA Youth Media Awards presentation.

“The choice of the five finalists this year was exciting and reflects some of the best in books about social justice, history and memoir in multiple formats,” said committee chair Janet Hilbun. “The wide array of quality nonfiction published and ranging from topics of social justice, history, civil rights, science and memoir made for an interesting and challenging year.”

The full list of annotations and more information on the finalists and the award can be found on the Nonfiction Award page.  Finalist seals are available for purchase by publishers and library staff to place on the finalist titles.

Members of the 2024 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults committee are:  Chair Janet Hilbun, Garland, Texas; Anne Dame, Seattle; Candace Fox, Parma, Ohio; Cyndi Hamann, Arlington Heights, Illinois; Thea Hashagen, San Francisco; Amy Ojserkis, Media Center, Atlantic County Institute of Technology, Mays Landing, New Jersey; Kali Olson, Minneapolis; Celeste Swanson, Richmond, Indiana; and Monica Toomer, Homestead, Florida.

The mission of the Young Adult Services Association (YALSA) is networking, advocacy and professional development.  The Young Adult Services Association empowers all those involved in the profession to provide equitable, diverse and inclusive teen services.  For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources, drive to www.ala.org/yalsa.