Edwards Award

margaret a. edwards awardAbout the Edwards Award

The Margaret A. Edwards Award, established in 1988, honors an author, as well as a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature. The annual award is administered by YALSA and sponsored by School Library Journal magazine. It recognizes an author's work in helping adolescents become aware of themselves and addressing questions about their role and importance in relationships, society, and in the world.  The Edwards award celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2013.

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2013 Winner

Tamora Pierce for Song of the Lioness series and The Protector of the Small quartet

Tamora Pierce

Tamora Pierce is the recipient of the 2013 Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring her significant and lasting contribution to writing for teens for Song of the Lioness quartet and The Protector of the Small quartet. 

The four books in the Song of the Lioness series, “Alanna: The First Adventure”; “In the Hand of the Goddess"; "The Woman Who Rides Like a Man”; and “Lioness Rampant”, all published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, focus on Alanna’s journey to accept herself both as a woman and a warrior.

“Alanna: The First Adventure”   “In the Hand of the Goddess"   "The Woman Who Rides Like a Man”   “Lioness Rampant”

Also set in Tortall, two decades later, is the Protector of the Small quartet, “First Test”; “Page”; “Squire”; and “Lady Knight”; all published by Laurel Leaf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books.  Keladry of Mindelan goes through struggles, from her First Test, then becoming a Page, a Squire and eventually a Lady Knight. While set in a fantasy world, Pierce’s heroines face realistic challenges that resonate with teen readers.

“First Test”   Page   Squire   Lady Knight

Edwards Committee Chair Jamie Watson said that “Pierce’s books and characters have been influencing both readers and writers of fantasy since their inception.”

Tamora Pierce will be honored at the YALSA Edwards Award Luncheon and presented with a citation and cash prize of $2,000 during the 2013 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, June 27 – July 2.

Members of the 2013 Edwards Committee are: Chair Jamie Watson, Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, Md.; Shari  Fesko, Southfield (Mich.) Public Library; Heidi K. Hammond, St. Catherine University, St. Paul, Minn.; Angela Leeper, University of Richmond, Va.; Charli M. Osborne, Oxford (Mich.) Public Library; and Ed A. Spicer, Michigan Reading Journal, Allegan, Mich.

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