Alex Awards

alex awardsAbout the Alex Award

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.


Seal Licensing

Individuals who wish to buy small quantities of seals can find them in the ALA Online Store. Publishers wishing to buy bulk seals or license seal images can find more information by consulting YALSA's Award Seals Usage Guidelines and  ALA's Seals Sales & Permissions page.

If you'd like to license the winner or nominee seal, please learn more here.


Visit YALSA's Teen Book Finder Database, a one-stop shop for finding selected lists and award winners. Users can search this free resource by award, list name, year, author, genre and more, as well as print customizable lists.

Current Winners

Official Nominations

Previous Winners

Award Policies and Procedures

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Committee Information

Seal Licensing

Teen Book Finder App


2024 Winners

The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has selected 10 adult books with special appeal to teen readers to receive the 2024 Alex Awards. The awards, sponsored by the Margaret A. Edwards Trust and Booklist, were announced today during the ALA’s LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience held January 19 – 22, in Baltimore, Maryland.

The 2024 Alex Award winners are:

  • “Bad Cree,” by Jessica Johns (nehiyaw/Sucker Creek First Nation), published by Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House
  • “Chain-Gang All-Stars,” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, published by Pantheon Books, a division of Penguin Random House
  • “Chlorine,” by Jade Song, published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
  • “Fourth Wing,” by Rebecca Yarros, published by Red Tower Books, an imprint of Entangled Publishing
  • “The Hard Parts: A Memoir of Courage and Triumph,” by Oksana Masters, published by Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
  • “I Will Greet the Sun Again,” by Khashayar J. Khabushani, published by Hogarth Press, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House
  • “Maame,” by Jessica George, published by St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
  • “Starter Villain,” by John Scalzi, published by Tor Books, an imprint of Tor Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishing Group
  • “The Talk,” by Darrin Bell, published by Henry Holt & Co., a division of Macmillan Publishing Group
  • “Whalefall,” by Daniel Kraus, published by MTV Books and Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster

Members of the 2024 Alex Awards Committee:

Chair David C. Saia, Heim Middle School, Williamsville, New York; Alicia Abdul, Albany High School, New York; Brianna Arellano-Meli, Berkeley Public Library, California; Katie Cree, Brighton Memorial Library, Rochester, New York; Billie Jo Moffett, Gail Borden Public Library District, Elgin, Illinois; Belle Nelson, Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minnesota; Erica Ruscio, Ventress Memorial Library, Marshfield, Massachusetts; Milena S. Streen, St. Ignatius High School, Cleveland, Ohio; Anna Tschetter, Memorial Hall Library, Andover, Massachusetts; and Award Administrative Assistant, Jennifer Blanco, Holmes Middle School, Alexandria, Virginia.

Previous Winners