YALSA's Alex Awards

alex awardsAbout the Alex Awards

The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18. The winning titles are selected from the previous year's publishing. The Alex Awards were first given annually beginning in 1998 and became an official ALA award in 2002.

The award is sponsored by the Margaret A. Edwards Trust. Edwards pioneered young adult library services and worked for many years at the Enoch Pratt Library in Baltimore. Her work is described in her book Fair Garden and the Swarm of Beasts, and over the years she has served as an inspiration to many librarians who serve young adults. The Alex Awards are named after Edwards, who was called “Alex” by her friends.

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Committee Information

Current Winners

Official Nominations

Best of the Best

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2013 Winners

“Caring is Creepy,” By David Zimmerman, Published by Soho Press   “Girlchild,” By Tupelo Hassman, Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux   “Juvenile in Justice,” By Richard Ross, Published by Richard Ross   “Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore,” By Robin Sloan, Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux   “My Friend Dahmer,” By Derf Backderf, Published by Abrams ComicArts   “One Shot at Forever,” By Chris Ballard, Published by Hyperion   “Pure,” By, Julianna Baggott, Published by Grand Central Publishing   “The Round House,” By Louise Erdrich, Published by Harper   “Tell the Wolves I'm Home,” By Carol Rifka Brunt, Published by Dial Press   “Where'd You Go, Bernadette?,” By Maria Semple, Published by Little, Brown and Company

  • Caring is Creepy by David Zimmerman, published by Soho Press, Inc. (ISBN # 9781569479773)
  • Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (ISBN # 9780374162573)
     
  • Juvenile in Justice by Richard Ross, published by Richard Ross (ISBN # 9780985510602)
     
  • Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (ISBN # 9780374214913)
     
  • My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf, published by Abrams ComicArts, an imprint of Abrams (ISBN # 9781419702167)
     
  • One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballard, published by Hyperion (ISBN # 9781401324384)
     
  • Pure by Juliana Baggott, published by Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. (ISBN # 9781455503063)
     
  • The Round House by Louise Erdrich, published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers (ISBN # 9780062065247)
     
  • Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt, published by Dial Press, an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. (ISBN # 9780679644194)
     
  • Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple, published by Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.  (ISBN # 9780316204279)

“From madcap adventures to portraits of compelling characters and beautifully illustrated nonfiction titles, this year's list has a book for every teen reader,” said Rachel McDonald, chair of the 2013 Alex Awards Committee.

Read the full list of 2013 nominations.

2013 Committee

Chair Rachel McDonald, King County Library System Foster  Library,  Tukwila , Wash.; Danielle Dreger-Babbitt, Sno-Isle Regional Library Mill Creek (Wash.) Library; Paige Battle, Grant High School, Portland, Ore.; Kim Herrington, Pearland (Texas) Junior High West; Janet Hilbun, University of North Texas, SLIS,  Denton, Texas; Kelly Jensen, Beloit Public Library, Delavan, Wis.; Jennifer Lawson, San Diego County Library; Ann Perrigo, Allegan (Mich.) District Library; Tina Pounds, Edison High School, Alexandria, Va.; Melissa Smith, Librarian Consultant, Literacy for Incarcerated Teens, Forest Hills, N.Y.; and Ann Kelley, Booklist, Chicago.

   

Previous Winners